St Mary of the Cross

Mary MacKillop was canonised on 17 October 2010, becoming Australia’s first saint. Last Thursday, the students of St Joseph’s celebrated her Feast Day by learning about her life and discovering ways they can live out her message of “never seeing a need without doing something about it.”

Each year level worked together to create a “Hope Tree,” where they expressed their prayers and intentions, asking for Mary’s intercession to continue her mission of helping those in need. This activity beautifully connects with our school’s theme for the year: Being Pilgrims of Hope.

Mary MacKillop loved bringing joy to the children she met and taught. To give our students and teachers a taste of both the enjoyment and the challenges she experienced in her life, we held a friendly competition between year levels.

The Hope Trees were judged using the following criteria:

• Creative display of the year level’s assigned Mary MacKillop quote
• Inclusion of St Joey’s Values, inspired by the Charism of St Mary of the Cross
• Student-created prayer cards
• Qualities the students identify with Mary MacKillop

It was wonderful to see the creativity, thought, and care each year level put into their Hope Tree. How do you think your year level went?

Announcement will be made on Monday the 18^th of August during morning assembly.

When you are next in the school, take the time to stop and read some of the students’ prayers and comments on these trees.

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