Gospel Reflection - The Sower and the seed

 “Hear this! A sower went out to sow.”  Mark 4:3

This line begins the familiar Parable of the Sower.  We are aware of the details of this parable in that the sower sows seed on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns and ultimately on good soil.  The story reveals that we must strive to be like that “good soil” in that we must receive the Word of God into our souls, allowing it to be nurtured so that it may grow in abundance.

But this parable reveals something more that could easily be missed.  It reveals the simple fact that the sower, in order to plant at least some seed in good and fertile soil, must act.  He must act by going forth spreading seed in abundance.  As he does this, he must not become disheartened if the majority of the seed he has sown fails to reach that good soil.  The path, the rocky ground, and the thorny ground all are places where seed is sown but ultimately dies.  Only one of the four places identified in this parable produces growth.

Jesus is the Divine Sower and His Word is the Seed. Therefore, we should realise that we are also called to act in His person by sowing the seed of His Word in our own lives.  Just as He is willing to sow with the realisation that not every seed will produce fruit, so also we must be ready and willing to accept this same fact. 

One lesson we must take from this parable is that the spreading of the Gospel requires effort and commitment on our part.  We must be willing to toil and labour for the Gospel despite whether or not people are willing to receive it.  And we must not allow ourselves to become discouraged if the results are not what we had hoped for.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Semester 2!

It has been wonderful to return to school and to see the students so well rested and ready for a new term of learning.

On behalf of the staff, I offer my thanks to all parents who were able to attend the Parent / Teacher Interviews held at the end of Term 2. These meetings were an important opportunity to set learning goals for the second semester of the year. Goals are a wonderful means of focusing effort and improving motivation.

Several studies have shown improved academic performance when parents are part of this goal setting process with their children. These goals don’t need to be competitive, like being the best at something, or topping the class in a subject. Nor do they need to all be directly related to academic goals; some more personal learning goals are just as relevant. Educational goals should be achievable, but they should also be aspirational. For instance, parents could ask their children what they’d like to do differently this term compared to the first part of the year. Parents may need to ask their children some leading questions and explain that goals at school don’t need to be world changing.

It always helps to write goals down so they can be referred to throughout the term. Setting goals alone are not sufficient, a strategy or plan on how to go about trying to achieve them is also required. This often requires adjustments to be made by the child, but also by members of the family. What is important is that children are empowered by their parents to come up with their own goals. Children will be more motivated to achieve their goals if they’ve set them themselves because these goals will be important to them.

An important part of this whole goal-setting exercise is celebrating your child’s success when a goal is attained. Parents generally know what best motivates each of their own children and often rewards or enticements are not as effective in helping children achieve goals as personal attention and words of affirmation from their parents.

Thank you for the ongoing support that you provide in supporting your child strive to meet these learning goals

May we continue to Seek Wisdom and Love God over the coming term.,