Connections Term 4 2023

2023

4-5 REGIONAL

TERM 4

COORDINATORS 8-9 SPIRITUALITY 12 PRINTABLES 15 RESOURCES

VOL27 ISSUE 4 EVANGELISE + GATHER >< SEND >

Advent & Christmas

An Advent Blessing Set up a sacred space that picks up on the liturgical colours and themes of Advent. It might contain some of the following items: Small piece of mauve satin fabric Advent wreath with three purple and one pink candle Bible Flower or petals (mauve agapanthus or hydrangea) Candle (battery operated for safety) Small bowl of holy water A small box to carry the items and to use in the sacred space to make it two dimensional Place the box on a desk or the floor; drape the fabric over the box and allow the folds to create another level. Invite the students to help you set up the sacred space by placing items on the two levels of the fabric. Towards the end of your lesson ask the students to hold their hands out towards the sacred space as you pray the following prayer:

Jesus, in this season of Advent we wait and prepare for you at Christmas.

You bring light even in the darkness.

You bring peace through your love.

You bring joy even when we are sad.

You protect us when we are frightened.

You bring love into our hearts.

You bring hope into our lives.

Help us to prepare our hearts to receive you with hope this Christmas.

Invite the students to bless themselves with the holy water as they leave the classroom.

CONFRATERNITY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE BROKEN BAY Caroline Chisolm Centre 423 Pennant Hills rd PENNANT HILLS NSW 2120 PO Box 340 PENNANT HILLS NSW 1715 ALISON NEWELL CCD Diocesan Coordinator P: 8379 1637 M: 0424 737 911 E: alison.newell@bbcatholic.org.au

KRISTY KOMADINA North Shore Region P: 8379 1674 M: 0400 809 644 E: kristy.komadina@bbcatholic.org.au SUE-ANNE SHERWOOD North Shore Region P: 8379 1639 M: 0416 141 508 E: sueanne.sherwood@bbcatholic.org.au

JOHN DONNELLY Northern Beaches Region P: 8379 1640 M: 0437 964 072 E: maricel.malapira@bbcatholic.org.au E: john.donnelly@bbcatholic.org.au MARICEL MALAPIRA Diocesan CCD Admin P: 8379 1638

2 | CCD NEWSLETTER TERM 4 2021 | VOL 26, ISSUE 4 Cover artwork used with permission by the artist, Emily Shay

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Central Coast CCD Resource Centre 12 Ashton Ave THE ENTRACE NSW 2261 (Behind OLOR Church) PO Box 390 THE ENTRANCE NSW 2261 MICHAEL TEBBUTT Central Coast Region P: 8379 1641 M: 0407 218 677 E: michael.tebbutt@bbcatholic.org.au

ALICIA KLEIN Diocesan CCD Admin P: 8379 1642 E: alicia.klein@bbcatholic.org.au Registrations for CCD Training P: 8379 1643 E: registrations@bbcatholic.org.au WWJ Curriculum Resources P: 8379 1642 E: ccdresources@bbcatholic.org.au

Join the conversation on our social media pages. instagram.com/ccdbrokenbay facebook.com/ccdbrokenbay

FROM THE DIOCESAN COORDINATOR Christmas - the Season of Hope The story of Christmas is one of the most familiar narratives in the Gospels. The very word brings a sense of expectation, joy and hope to Christian people around the world as annually they take leave of the busyness of the year to honour this significant Christian feast.

For many in our world today Christmas is a time for family re-unions, fellowship, food and gift-giving. Even non-Christian people will speak of the spirit of Christmas because they long for that time of the year when that spirit invades their hearts, homes and communities as it brings with it peace and hope. For Christians, it’s a no-brainer, we know what we are celebrating through worship and family celebrations; the greatest gift of all, the Lord Jesus Christ, God with us, that makes Christmas overflow with joy and celebration.

For many though, Christmas can be the opposite to peace and hope. It can be a reminder of lost loved ones or broken relationships or family far away. It can be a time of anxiety, depression, or loneliness. It is important for us to remember the hope that Jesus brings. Let’s do what we can to bring that hope to the lives of others through prayer and charity and through our presence and hospitality this Christmas.

The infancy narrative from Luke’s Gospel portrays an image of humility. The shepherds symbolise that Jesus is here for the poor and the outcast. Jesus was not born among kings and royalty in Luke (no Magi mentioned here).

Shepherds were the working class of the Jewish society. They were marginalised peasants who gave little attention to Jewish customs and laws. Luke’s narrative tells us that Jesus came with a unique mission to the poor and disenfranchised.

As we teach our students about the Birth of Jesus, it is important we remember that each of the children brings their own story into the classroom, and they will interpret the Gospel message through that lens. It might be rich, poor or marginalised, it might be happy or sad, it might be from a stable family or a broken one, it might be from a family that is in crisis for one reason or another. The important message to bring to children is one of hope, that the birth of Jesus brings new hope to our lives.

In the Gospel of Luke, some of the first words that the Angel Gabriel speaks to Mary are:

The season of Advent provides an opportunity to bring that hope and joy to the children, which is celebrated in its fullness at Christmas. In this edition, you will find an Advent blessing and prayer that might be used during the final weeks of your SRE classes to help prepare the hearts and minds of the children and young people you teach for the coming of Jesus at Christmas.

I hope to see many of you at our Annual CCD Mass and Presentation of Awards ceremony on Saturday 28 October at our Cathedral at Waitara.

In thanking you for your dedicated ministry

“DO NOT BE AFRAID.” this year, I wish you and your families a Lk 1:30

very happy and holy Christmas

Alison Newell

Everyday, the CCD team prays using the ‘Pray as you Go’ website. Please know that you and our students are always in our prayers. This morning, the reading and reflection was Jonah and the Whale. What struck me was: ‘Have you ever had a calling that made you feel uncomfortable, that challenged you or asked you to go somewhere new…? Like, Jonah are you sleeping or perhaps your fear paralyses you and leads to inactivity? Are you being challenged, like Jonah, to wake up? Reflect on a time when God was present in others, who spoke love and truth to you in a time of adversity.

This made me think of Advent. A time to challenge ourselves to be more, to do more, to be better, to share and be the face of hope, peace, joy and love. And to also allow ourselves to receive.

This is a big year for me, I’ve just turned 50 and I think I’m preparing for empty nesting in a few years’ time. This entailed performing in my first musical show and starting a church choir. I feel like I am challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone to pursue dreams and callings.

Remember to tell your students to pat themselves, and you yourselves, on the back for the good you do. Then ask for forgiveness for the moments you’re not proud of and pick yourselves up and get uncomfortable, answer a call, go somewhere new and thank those around you who spoke with love and truth. Have a blessed, beautiful Christmas season.

Sue-Anne Sherwood NORTH SHORE

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The season of Advent is probably my favourite part of the year. I love all the build up to Christmas day, the way that we get ready and prepare to receive guests into our home, plan a big lunch and tick off all the jobs we want to finish by Christmas day, not to mention all the present shopping!

To you my audience of Catechists, I know that I am preaching to converted when I say that we know that Advent is a time of preparation and anticipation of the birth of our Lord Jesus. For us, our challenge is to convey the hope, love and joy that the birth of our Saviour brings to us, to the children we teach in SRE. I love that our faith is rich with tradition and this time of year really packs them in. Having an Advent wreath in your home is an easy way to mark the weeks and count down to Christmas day. For an idea on a simple Advent Wreath Liturgy, check out our Advent and Christmas Booklet from last year. It has lots of great resources for this time of year.

I particularly hold my own Croatian traditions dear and as a mum, I’m trying to pass these down to my children. Many Croatians like to plant grains of wheat in a shallow plate on St Lucy’s feast day that grow several inches tall by Christmas. The new green shoots, reminding us of the new life born in Bethlehem. We also have a big seafood feast on Christmas eve, an easy tradition to get on board with!

May God bless you and your families this Christmas and I hope you all have a restful break over the next few months. See you in the new year!

Kristy Komadina NORTH SHORE

YAY! It’s nearly my one year anniversary in the CCD Team!!!

What an honor to be part of this wonderful, amazing, and friendly people. Somebody asked me recently if I was happy in my new role and without hesitation I responded, “YES I AM! Every day has been a positive learning experience as I continue to grow into this role at CCD Broken Bay. Over the last term, I have been involved with training, the CCD Annual Mass preparation, the Census, the OES (Online Enrolment System) in addition to the usual administrative side of CCD. There is never a dull moment in the life of this ministry, and that is mainly in part because of you Catechists who keep it going. Your wonderful work and your generosity of sharing the Word of God with the younger generation has been the soul of this ministry.

As the most awaited time of the year draws near (the “BER’ months are here again), may you all enjoy the Christmas season and the joy it offers to all of us. As always, our family will be doing the traditional Filipino “Dawn Masses” (called Simbang Gabi and Misa de Gallo) in the Cathedral.

Whatever traditions you normally do to celebrate the Birth of Jesus, keep in mind, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”.

May the spirit of Christmas infuse your life and your family members with hope, positivity and joy.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Maricel Malapira ADMINISTRATION

Spring is already heralding, a hot dry summer is on the way. The changing of the seasons reminds us of the cycle of life and the inevitable changes that occur.

Many people are travelling at home and abroad and this often provides challenges for our weekly commitments to SRE classes. One Parish Catechist Coordinator was recently overseas and a couple of others are currently away. Another long-standing Coordinator has left the role and is moving to another parish.

Changes both short and long term, bring challenges to this ministry. Who will cover our commitments for a few weeks? Who will carry on when I leave? What will become of SRE in schools? These challenges often provide opportunity, as you all would know well.

Over the school holidays I travelled around NSW to meet a few different challenges. The Catholic Conference of Religious Educators in State Schools (CCRESS) met in Broken Hill to work together on Future Proofing SRE in NSW. Representatives of every diocese came together to share ideas and resources that will help make the SRE ministry more sustainable.

After the long weekend I travelled to Dubbo and Tamworth to be part of two regional training days for primary school SRE Teachers from various churches. This ecumenical endeavour was part of Christian SRE’s efforts to share the experience and expertise around the member churches of the Inter-Church Commission for Religious Education in Schools. (ICCOREIS) So as we begin the Advent/Christmas term, let us all commit to doing what we can to herald the Good News that Jesus came to earth as a small baby to save us and lead us back to God. Enjoy this important time of the year and please share it joyfully with the children in your classes.

John Donnelly NORTHERN BEACHES

A term full of training catechists, teaching lessons and welcoming new catechists to this wonderful ministry. This sums up term 3. It was great that CCD had to have 2 CCDMI’s last term to manage the number of new catechists, some from the Central Coast and other catechists who needed to complete their CCDMI training.

Over the past few years the number of new catechists has grown steadily on the Central Coast with one parish adding five new catechists and assistants to the faithful four catechists who have been keeping the ministry alive and well over the past two years. The students in another parish on the Central Coast have had their parish priest visit them in the class and teach them a lesson or two over the last term. The students ask their catechist when Father is coming again. One student was particularly impressed with Father’s bike riding when he spotted him outside of school pedalling up a steep incline. The student’s comment was “And it wasn’t even an e-bike!”

To finish this term, the ongoing training was Safeguarding and an enthusiastic crowd attended the ongoing safeguarding training at Terrigal.

As term 4 begins, already requests for Christmas Assemblies are being made.

Preparing for an assembly can be an exciting and possibly a tense time, but seeing the children dressed as angels and shepherds, kings or the holy family and presenting the story of the birth of Christ is always something special.

I hope and pray that you have a great term and as you walk with the children as they walk with Jesus.

Michael Tebbutt CENTRAL COAST

I can hardly believe it has been almost 12 months since I began my role at CCD. I am so grateful to work with such an incredible team of talented and caring people, and I love supporting and learning from you, our amazing catechists! I am in awe of your dedication to teaching our faith to children and your commitment to enhancing your skills and knowledge.

In term 3 we held two CCD Ministry Induction 8-week courses. I am so pleased that more than thirty catechists were able to complete their mandatory training during that time and are now fully authorised.

Well done!

During the holidays, we held face-to-face Ongoing Safeguarding training for experienced Catechists. Thank you to all who attended to ensure this important training is up to date. Zoom sessions will be held in November and December for catechists who still need to do this training before returning to schools in 2024.

This term, our Level 2 Zoom course continues, and we’ll also be holding a Workshop Fun day on 23 October at Chatswood Parish, focused on Music, Drama and Story-telling in the Classroom.

There are few spots remaining so if you are interested, please contact registrations@bbcatholic.org.au.

Our Advent Reflection Days will be held late November/early December. We encourage you to come along and take a break from the busyness of this time of year. It’s also a great opportunity for us to thank you for your time, commitment, and dedication to our ministry.

Lastly, don’t forget to check the CCD Website for the latest WWJ Powerpoints, the Term 4 links have been added.

Wishing you all a wonderful Term 4 and blessings as we head towards Advent and Christmas.

Alicia Klein ADMINISTRATION

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From The Regions TRAINING BLITZ! We have been on a bit of a training blitz this year with our Regional Coordinators facilitating more training sessions than ever before. One of the positive impacts to have come out of the pandemic years is our shift to Zoom training. This has meant that many people who weren’t able to make our daytime training sessions have more flexibility to be available for a couple of hours on Zoom.

Thankfully though, this year we have also increased our in person training offerings around the regions and we have really enjoyed visiting you in your parishes as well as hosting you at our offices in Pennant Hills and The Entrance.

We’ve had the privilege of meeting a large number of new Catechists this year through the CCDMI training and catching up with our experienced Catechists through the ongoing training sessions on the school holidays.

Mostly we’d like to thank all the catechists for their commitment to training this year.

It’s been a blast!

WHEN ONE JOHN DONNELLY IS NEVER ENOUGH! Some of you may know that our Northern Beaches Regional Coordinator John Donnelly has an identical twin brother. If you ever see someone who looks like John out and about, you may have to double check that you’ve got the right person.

So it’s rather funny, that in the Northern Beaches region, there is also another long time Catechist also called John Donnelly. They were together in one room at a recent training day in Forrestville.

Both Johns are good sports and posed for this photo and both have a heart for this ministry and love what they do.

(John Donnelly, Coordinator, left and John Donnelly Catechest, right.)

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OUR TEAM VISITS BROKEN HILL

Over the school holiday period, Ali, Michael and John visited Broken Hill to reunite with our colleagues from across NSW for the September CCRESS Conference. As you can see by the photos it’s quite a unique place, a mining town with so much history. It’s a good reminder that SRE is happening all over NSW, even in Broken Hill!

REGIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOPS Regional Coordinator John was a busy man over the school holidays as not only did he visit Broken Hill, he also ran two two ongoing classroom management training sessions in Dubbo and Tamworth as a part of a combined Christian group of experts looking to reach SRE teachers in remote parts of NSW. SRE teachers drove, caught the train and even flew into these regional centres so that they could be up to date with their training requirements. They also had to stay two nights in a hotel. It was such a privilege for John to have a part in training the combined Christian groups (including many Catholic Catechists!)

The dedication of these regional SRE teachers is phenomenal.

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The Birth of Jesus and the First Disciple The story of God becoming incarnate in the shape of a human baby boy born to a young Jewish girl forms our identity as Christians. Indeed, the Christian story, which began with the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, has shaped the way the world has evolved across 2000 years.

When we reflect upon the Mother of God, our minds wander to the passages of Scripture which contain narratives of Mary – the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of Jesus, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Foot of the Cross and Pentecost, to name some.

Have you ever thought of Mary as the first disciple of Jesus? Mary marks her place in human history as the first disciple because she receives the grace of God and responds to this grace by confessing her faith, as we see in Luke’s Gospel.

Luke’s account of the Annunciation is a decisive moment in the life of Mary for that matter the whole of human history.

Visualise the scene. The angel visits Mary and tells her not to be afraid……. Imagine Mary’s confusion upon hearing the words of the Angel Gabriel:

“You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Lk 1:31-32

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With little information about what is to happen, Mary puts her trust in God. A woman of deep faith grounded in her Jewish roots, Mary’s decisive fiat or yes was an immediate acceptance of God’s will for her life.

“Here I am, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to thy word.” Lk 1:38 Mary held nothing back from God. She could have said no, but she didn’t hesitate; such was her faith in God. She didn’t know what would happen next, yet she said yes anyway. A role model for all women, indeed for all of humankind, Mary’s faith changed the course of human history.

Then, as Mary is still trying to process God’s will for her life, Luke tells us that she set off “with haste” to visit her relative Elizabeth. The Angel Gabriel had told Mary that Elizabeth had conceived a son in her old age. Not thinking of herself and her own dilemma with Joseph, “the handmaid of the Lord” selflessly sets off on the journey to the hill country to be of service to Elizabeth.

As we wait with great hope this year for the coming of the Lord at Christmas, let’s turn both to Mary, the first disciple of Christ, and to the Scriptures to guide us through the weeks of Advent.

In the First Week of Advent – we hear from the Prophet Isaiah (64:1-9). This passage is a prayer of repentance - a fitting way to begin our Advent journey. Let us use this time to repent and examine our consciences as we prepare for the Sacrament of Penance during Advent.

In Mark’s Gospel (13:24-37) we hear an apocalyptic speech with Jesus reminding us to stay awake and be watchful for “the son of man is coming on a cloud”. This of course is a reference to the second coming of Christ which we also look forward to during Advent. Whilst this reading provides a warning, apocalyptic literature typically proclaims a message of hope in coded language, understood by the faithful who suffer now but who will receive a Godly reward in the end.

In the Second Week of Advent – the Prophet Isaiah (40:111), speaks words of comfort to God’s people. The “penalty is paid “(40:2) and “the word of our God will stand forever” (40:8). The people are told that a “voice cries out in the wilderness to prepare a way of the Lord” (40:3).

John the Baptist echoes Isaiah’s words in the Gospel (Mark 1:1-8) when he proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He is the messenger sent ahead to “prepare the way of the Lord”. The Baptist does this by calling the people of Judea and those in the city of Jerusalem to turn from their godless ways and receive the forgiveness that is present in God.

In the Third Week of Advent – we hear again from Isaiah (61:1-4, 8-11) with the good news of deliverance. Isaiah’s vision for a spirit-filled servant who will deliver the people is a prophecy which is, of course, later fulfilled through the birth of Jesus.

John’s Gospel (1:6-8, 19-28) – provides John the Baptist’s testimony quoting from Prophet Isaiah, that he is the “voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord” (1:23). When challenged by the Pharisees about his ministry the Baptist makes it clear that he is not the Messiah; he is only a “voice” preparing for the arrival of the Messiah who is so much greater and that he (John) is “not worthy to untie the thong of His sandal” (1:27) In the Fourth Week of Advent – we read of God’s covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16). In this passage, at the beginning of King David’s monarchy, David asks the Prophet Nathan to build a permanent home for the Ark of the Covenant, but God uses Nathan as a go-between to tell King David that God doesn’t need a fancy house built of stone. God needs a people built by God. God, through Nathan, reminds David of who and how God is – omnipresent, God is with the people of Israel wherever they are, pasture, exile or tent. God tells the people that He doesn’t need them to build Him a house; He will build a house for them.

And in the Gospel of Luke (1:26-38), God’s covenant is brought to fruition as the birth of Jesus is foretold by the Angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

(Lk1:32-33) As we prepare ourselves to receive Jesus Christ this Christmas, let us look to the example of Mary, the first disciple and also ponder the words of Sacred Scripture over the four weeks of Advent, as we give thanks to God for Mary and for the greatest gift ever to humankind, the Incarnate Son of God’s own self – Jesus.

Alison Newell CONNECTIONS

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A Guide to Christmas Assemblies One of the joys of our year as Catechists has to be the assemblies we get to participate in and plan with our friends from other Christian denominations.

This ecumenical approach to our biggest and most important dates in our Christian calendar, Easter and Christmas, underscores that though we may have some differences, we are united in our belief in our Saviour Jesus Christ. The children also always look forward to these occasions as a time to gather with their friends and to engage with a fun and interactive assembly presentation.

Typically representitives from each Christian provider in a school will plan an assembly together and we think this is an important opportunity to get as many of our Catechists involved.

Not only does your involvement make sure that the Catholic perspective is preserved and respected, but it’s really good for our students to see their teachers participating meaningfully in the presentation of the assembly.

Look for opportunities to represent the learning that the children in our Catholic SRE classes have been doing.

Inspiriation can come from adapting one of our lessons or by incorporating a song the children have been learning in class. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to invite parents along so they get to see the joy that SRE brings to their kids.

Ultimately assemblies are a celebration of SRE and a coming together in Christ. What a privilege it is to get to do this in our state schools!

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How to successfully plan a combined Christian SRE Assembly 01

Determine the purpose of the assembly. The aim of the assembly must be clear and agreed to by all participating churches. Agree on roles that each SRE teacher will have on the day and in preparation.

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Once all roles have been determined, go away and obtain any resources you might need. Any video material must carry the “G” rating for primary schools. High school assemblies may have a PG rating. Contact other teachers in your group and inform them of their roles, ensuring they have sufficient prep time.

Brainstorm a variety of ideas.

What part of the scriptures will you be highlighting? Do your kids have the right context to understand the message? Is the message age appopriate? Speak up on behalf of your kids.

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Spend a few weeks preparing the children you teach for the assembly. This could look like playing music to learn, practicing actions, reading from the scriptures and prayer. Remember to help them feel the excitement and anticipation of celebrating Jesus!

Christmas in Any Language It was halfway through the year before we realized why some of the students in our class were so talkative. As a last resort to manage the constant chatter of the Stage 1 students we decided to place their books randomly on desks around the room, hoping to break up the friendship groups. This strategy worked reasonably well as it often does. But then the teacher informed us that two of the students had English as a second language and needed a buddy to translate our instruction into Portuguese. I would have been good to know this at the beginning of the year.

Oy vey! (Yiddish)

Here are some ideas for a multi-cultural Christmas Assembly

So of course, we let these ‘language buddies’ sit together and we checked on them regularly to see they had our instruction correct. Unfortunately, their helpful talk often served as a signal to other students that it was OK to chat.

Classroom management continued to be a challenge, but we learnt to work with the noise, and they learnt to be silent when we clapped a pattern for them to repeat.

Inspiring modern video of Silent Night in Four Languages https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo_Fu6tkH-Y

Coincidently the catechist I was mentoring also has English as a second language. Having recently migrated from Peru her first language is Spanish. When she was preparing to teach solo for the first time she was concerned the students would not understand her especially as she sometimes reverts to Spanish for the name of Jesus and Mary. We decided to explain this to the Stage 2 class who accepted her warmly and happily translated both her accent and language when necessary.

Catechists may like to draw upon their own national traditions to celebrate Christmas with words and symbols as well as music and song.

There seems to be a growing number of families from South America settling in the area which gave our Coordinator an idea for the Christmas Assembly. Our new Catechist will teach the students to sing a song in Spanish to perform at the Christmas Assembly. This got me thinking about Christmas around the world.

The Christmas lessons and classroom/family supplements in the Walking with Jesus program offer a number of religious ideas and images that can be highlighted in the assembly. For example Jesse Tree, Shepherds, Angels, Manger, Wise Men and of course the baby Jesus. There are Advent activities, Christmas crafts as well as bookmarks and prayer cards which can be handed out to take home at the end of the assembly. Let’s keep the focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

Christmas is one of the few universal celebrations. Along with the Christian faith it is part of the culture of almost every country. Due to ongoing migration, Australia in one of the most multi-cultural countries and our Catholic parishes have always reflected this fact. Many of our parish communities have embraced customs and practices from other countries and incorporated them into our way of worship. So why not take some of this to school with us this year?

John Donnelly

Songs: Christmas in Any Language https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC8NGDtq_Xk

Silent Night in other Languages Silent Night in German by Nana Mouskouri with the Birth of Jesus as the video clip https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=pLkr_WYvHec&list=PLAzCNo4qq-6HI-v-VX-eLJhUxPCYIisyK

For a contemporary English song that covers many aspects of the Christmas message try When I Think Upon Christmas by Worship Together Kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnCfnwKG3s8

Other Resources: This Homeschool site is full of activities and crafts ideas both religious and secular from many countries. https://livingmontessorinow.com/40-free-resourceschristmas-around-world-unit/

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KINDERGARTEN

SIMPLIFIED ADVENT WREATH Sometimes with the limited time we have in our classes, simple is the best option! We have created this bold and easy printable wreath that can be coloured in by the children or can be printed in colour by you. You choose, depending on your resources or time available. Designed to compliment the Kindy K.9.2 lesson. A great one to send home and get conversations happening in the family.

or

To download the template

STAGE 1

MEMORY VERSE CHRISTMAS CARD The children will get crafty creating a modern Christmas Card that introduces them to the words of the Prophet Isaiah who foretells the birth of Jesus. This card compliments the lesson 1.19.1 in stage 1, but could be used across the stages if desired.

To download the template with complete instructions:

or

Don’t forget that we have an Advent and Christmas activity booklet that we published last year but is a wonderful resource full of craft, liturgies, prayers, quizes, music and recipes. There are a bunch more Christmas cards and colouring pages that you can print out as well.

Click on the image of the booklet to the right or do a google search for “my Catholic Advent and Christmas bbcatholic” and it will be the first result.

STAGE 2/3

Date:

Name:

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Angel Baby Bethlehem Donkey God

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CONNECTIONS

Gold Jesus Wise Kings Gift Glory Innkeeper

Joseph Mary Manger Shepherds King Peace

Son Emmanuel Gabriel Myrr Frankinsence Rejoice

Resource Centre @ The Entrance For those catechists located towards the northern part of the Diocese (and those who’d like to take a day trip!), we encourage you to pay a visit to our CCD Regional Office at The Entrance. Here we have a wide variety of resources available for you to borrow, to support your lessons. Some of the items include: Big Books with bible stories, such as The Last Supper, Pentecost, The Nativity, Jonah and the Whale, Daniel and the Lions; Felt Board sets, including Noah’s Ark, Pentecost, Jesus as a Child; Musical Instruments, including tambourines, triangles, percussion; Puppets to assist with story-telling; Soft toy sets, such as Noah’s Ark and the Nativity; Candles, figurines, crosses, lighthouse; Posters and flashcards relating to lesson plans; Childrens Bibles.

We can make deliveries to local parishes, or you are welcome to visit and collect the resources yourself.

Come in for a browse or email alicia.klein@bbcatholic.org.au to request specific resources. We are open most days but please phone ahead to check our hours – phone 8379 1642.

We look forward to seeing you!

CONNECTIONS

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