Face of the Parish

Your Parish Information

Mass times:	Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9am & 11am, Tuesday 7pm, Wednesday to Friday 9.15am
			Dee
Office Hours:	Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.00pm
Location:	10 Unitt Street, Melton 3337
Website:	www.meltonstdoms.bigpondhosting.com
Contact Numbers:	Telephone: (03) 97436515 & Fax: (03) 97478603
		Father Michael
Parish Directory:	St Dominic’s Primary School
	PO B0X 298, Melton 3337
	Telephone: (03) 9743 6225 & Fax (03) 9743 5889
		Mozart
Choir:
	(Please Advise us of any inaccuracies or changes)

Message from Father Moody

Wish you were here!!!	BY AIR MAIL		STAMP
		St Dominic’s Parish
		10 Unitt Street
		Melton 3337
		Australia

	CARPENTERS CLUB – 5th May 2004 The inaugural men’s breakfast was held at St. Dominic’s Parish Hall on the 1^st of May this year. The event which started at 7.30 a.m. was well attended. A breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausages and toast was followed by a talk given by Fr Iru. Father gave a run down of his life to date, from his birth and primary days, his becoming a biologist and his long trial to finally being accepted into the priesthood. From his Tamil beginnings he has traveled to Taiwan, (where he worked with the Aboriginal people of that country), to the U.S. and now Australia. On his journeys he has had to learn various languages including English and Mandarin and then was confronted by learning Australian. He has been in Australia doing his Ph D., which he finished last year. He hopes now to travel to China as a teacher. The Chinese government is prepared to accept teachers but not priests. The idea of having a men’s breakfast originated in Hopper’s Crossing, where it is called the Carpenter’s Shop and is held every Saturday morning. As it happens our first breakfast was held on the Feast of St Joseph the Worker and quite properly for both these reasons our future breakfast will be referred to as The Carpenter’s Shop, although to commence, ours will be held quarterly. The next occasion will be in July.
	Our first breakfast was organised by John Binek and Ray Wong and they should be thanked for bringing the concept to Melton. The event is open to all men, not just Catholics, and is a great occasion to bring friends along. See you there!		Father Iru
Wholesale Direct to the public You too can join in on the savings. With More than 100,000 Plants & Trees in Stock. We Have Something For Everyone.
9747 1818 1646 Melton Highway Melton, Vic 3337 Nursery Hours: 8.30am -5.30pm

NEWS FROM FATHER DOMINIC

Dear St Dominic’s Parish, I am so glad to write this letter to you. How are you all? I pray for you all in a very special way that God may bless you and keep you under his Providential care and love. I am extremely happy for those of you who have come forward to sponsor a child from our mission in India. It is indeed a great support for our children to get good education. The children you are sponsoring are blessed because of your good will and generosity. May God bless you more and more that you may carry on doing good and chartable works like this. Surely you will receive a lot of blessings and graces from God for doing this. I shall be sending those who have sponsored you a photo of the child whom you are sponsoring and you will receive two letters per year. You may always write to the child through me. The children do not know English, but I will translate their letter for you. If anyone is interested to sponsor a small room where 4 or 6 children could be able to live or to sponsor a study hall, dormitory, dinning hall, prayer hall or Chapel, Kitchen, store room, Office, Guest room, Wardens room, are most welcome. If an individual or a family comes forward to sponsor such, his or his family name shall be given to the room or the name shall be engraved in a Tablet. A group of persons interested in this program could collect the money from the sponsors and deposit the money in to my account or the sponsors can contact Mrs. Jane Mifsud- Tel: 9747-3761. She is ready to help us or you yourself can help us. If anyone wants to send the money through the bank can just deposit the amount into my bank account in Sunshine branch, my bank details: Name: Fr. Dominic, Account Number: Savings Investment Account, 763172. 5019037, Bank: Commonwealth Bank, Sunshine Branch. We shall be so glad and thankful to the parishioners if they come forward to help us buy the above said things for the children’s home. Sponsors are welcome.
Have you sponsored a child yet?

MORE NEWS FROM FATHER DOMINIC

The Home for the poorest children: We are trying our best to have funds to build a home for the poorest children, orphans, street children and the like. It is to impart good education to the under-privileged and make them stand on their own feet. We wish to help at least 100 children and accommodate them in the home, feed them, educate them, and provide them good opportunities to come up in life. It will serve hundreds and thousands of children in future for better learning, better living and supporting other poor children who are craving for education and development. Sponsorship Programme A child can be sponsored for $ 10 per month. The amount will go directly for the education, fees, books and stationary and uniforms for the child. A photo of the child will be sent to the sponsors. Every year the sponsor will receive two letters during Christmas and Easter time. The sponsor will be informed of the progress of the child. This will be a worth doing or helping project to educate the poorest children. Physical And Geograpidcal Aspects Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu, India is situated at the southernmost part of India. It is called the Land's end of India. It is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west, Bay of Bengal on the east and Indian Ocean on the south. The district has an area of 1600 Sq. Kilometers. About one third of the area is mountains with forests. There is a coastal belt to a length of 62 Kilometers where there are 42 fishermen villages. Economic Aspects: The modest economic progress which India has made since independence did not reach the fishermen in Kanyakumari District. Mechanisation of fishing crafts which took place in Kerala, the neighbouring state did not reach our district. The fishing equipments which majority of these fishermen use are primitive. They are still wedded to country-boats, sails and hand lines. They are at the mercy of the winds. If the wind is good they can go deep into the sea. Otherwise they are limited to the shallow waters. Employment opportunities are very low as there is no industry or Factories. The majority of the fishermen are employed in fishing. Since there is no alternative employment to fishing, most of these people go for fishing. Very often, the young kids are forced to go for fishing at an early age because of poverty and misery at home. Religious Aspect: The fishermen in Kanyakumari District are 100% Catholics. They are the descendants of the converts of St. Francis Xavier, who came to our region and baptised the people 450 years ago. Though the people are very poor, they profess strong catholic faith. Most of them, nearly 90% of the people attend Sunday Mass. On weekdays also many children and women do come for the daily mass. It is interesting to see so many people are very much involved with the activities of the church and we can see the church so active and vibrant in fishermen villages. Educational aspects: Most of the villages have Elementary Schools but not High Schools and Higher Secondary Schools. The literacy rate in the coastal villages is 30%. Many people even now use thumb impressions for signature. Many do not know how to read and write. On account of poverty, many parents are unable to send their children to schools. The root cause of underdevelopment in the fishermen villages is lack of education.

Need of the project: Although we have a Higher Secondary School at Muttom, hardly 100 children reach up to Higher Secondary Level, in a population of 30,000 people, comprising four nearby fishermen villages. Most children drop out at the primary level finding it difficult to pay up the school fee and the cost of books and uniforms. These drop out children go fishing to augment the income of the family who are only happy to have an extra income through child labour.

PARISH PROFILE: JOHN LOGAN John and Trish Logan have lived in Melton 25 years. Ostensibly a typical married couple. There is nothing to distinguish them from any other person you might meet, but their lives have been touched by world events, far more deeply than many of us have experienced. In May last year John left for Iraq. John unassumingly tries to explain how he didn’t put his hand up to volunteer for this duty, but let me tell you he did volunteer. Of course he discussed the matter with Trish, who with the courage of a good wife and mother of three children condoned his decision.	Trish & John Logan
He went as a civilian non-combatant, and was neither uniformed nor armed- except for, as he puts it, his witty personality. His task no less formidable than the climate and geography of that country was to find and eliminate conventional weapons. As part of the Australian Iraqi Survey Contingent (AISC) in their mission to search for and destroy Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD’s) he was, no matter how modest he makes it sound, in harms way. I was interested in why John volunteered; he felt that it was his duty, he had the skills to do what was needed, and said that he believes that you can’t just take the good things with a career, you have to accept the things that aren’t so good -“ If it’s there to be done you should do it.” He also explained how on September 11 he was overseas, just outside New York city and how these events impacted on him and he wanted to “do his bit” to counter terrorism, and more broadly to take an opportunity “to do some good”. We will never know all of what he did, because much of it is classified, however, some of the innocuous (I use the word tongue in cheek) dangers he faced were dehydration, heat exhaustion, malaria, dysentery, rabies (from feral dogs), scorpions, camel spiders (a large ugly looking, world record fast, spider), sand fly fever, and a rather unpleasant disease called Leishmaniasis which is transmitted by sand flies and in its advanced stages is treated by chemotherapy. Then there were the more obvious perils of enemy action, mines and various types of improvised explosives devices and the very essence of his task of working with unexploded ordnance most of it in precarious condition. Operating in an extreme climate when the temperature was mostly 40 degrees and over, and on one particular day even reaching 55 degrees, would have been on its own a huge burden. In fact John suffered second-degree burns to his hands due to the sun! The heat was so debilitating he initially doubted how he would cope. He couldn’t rest properly; showers were very limited both in time and access, and the food took some time to get used to. Once he began to do things, though, he began to feel better and slowly began to settle in.

PARISH PROFILE: JOHN LOGAN Back home Trish and family had to deal with the news reports of the death and destruction continually taking place. Trish remembers her apprehension on the bombing that day of the U.N. in Baghdad not far from John’s base at the Baghdad International Airport. She retells of the six months he was away, waiting for the phone to ring with news of John’s welfare, or the calls John could make when an occasion became available. During this time she was buoyed by her fellow staff at St Dominic’s, which she says were terrific and expressed her gratitude to them. The children were a great solace and friends and neighbours called in. I asked what most helped her, or what she felt would help any one else in the same situation and she replied, “Just keeping in touch, even on an irregular basis.” A rewarding aspect to John’s time in Iraq was the people. He says that the people made them very welcome. He speaks highly of the Iraqis and tells how often the children, some encouraged by their parents, would come out to greet them as they traveled through the country. He tells how the children were often keen to try on their sunglasses, some of them had been told they were actually x-ray glasses that enabled the wearer to see through the women’s clothing, this little bit of propaganda was easily dispelled when the kids tried them. I can imagine there would be mixed feelings on finding the truth. People were profuse in their gratitude for the relief from what was a brutal regime-of which John had first hand stories. He sees a vastly improved future for the people particularly if the Western nations get behind them and we as a people support them. He admired their bravery and points to the lowly paid Iraqi police risking their lives daily to make it a better place. When asked could he sum up Iraq in one word his reply was, “HOT!” But all the same he would appreciate the chance to return some time in the future when hopefully the country was reaching its potential for prosperity. He looks not at the pros and cons of the intervention, but positively towards the future and hopes for the Iraqi people a deserved decent and safe way of life.
John has now began to settle back, and he and Trish, who obviously have a close family, emphasise the value and importance of family beyond any material well being. I asked Trish now that John is home, are you glad he went, glad is probably not the best word to choose, but she knew what I meant and said yes-I think I caught a slight sign of justifiable pride. No words can better finish this piece than those that appear on the Australia Day Medallion Award presented to John this year.		Trish, John & General Crosgrove
“In appreciation of your outstanding devotion to duty by volunteering at short notice to deploy to Iraq as a part of Australia’s commitment to Operation Catalyst and becoming a member of the Iraq Survey Group to locate, account for and subsequently destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and associated programs. Your dedication, commitment and professional competence contributed significantly to the success of the mission. You have brought great credit to yourself, the Australian Public service, the Defence Materiel Organisation and to our nation and you can be justly proud of your achievement.” Eddy Turner
	8 WALLACE SQUARE MELTON 3337 Ph: 9743 0942		ALWAYS REQUIRE GOOD USED CLOTHING, FURNITURE ETC. TO ASSIST THE NEEDY. PHONE FOR PICK UP

School pages – Primary

ST CATHERINE’S PRIMARY SCHOOL
At St. Catherine’s we have been celebrating our 20th Anniversary. On Friday, April 30 we began our celebrations with a mass celebrated by Fr. Michael. We then had a school birthday party where we had some party games and dances. We celebrated with lots of food and our school captains cut the cake with Fr. Michael. Helping us to celebrate our anniversary and feast day were Year 3 children from St. Dominic’s School. Our Grade 3 children and St. Dominic’s children participated in some Tabloid Sports. All our children had a lot of fun on this day.
	During Term Two our students have been working hard and learning many new things. Our Prep and One children have been learning about Staying Safe on the roads and when playing at home and school. The Year One and Two children have been looking at the weather and what makes it rain. They have a Weather Watch Station outside their classroom so they can report back to their classmates the temperature and how little rain we have been having! Our Year Three and Four children have been very busy preparing for their First Eucharist Celebration.
Our Year Five and Six Students are looking at Asia, our near neighbour and how it has influenced our Australian culture. The children visited Chinatown and the Chinese Museum to immerse them in this culture as well as looking at ways they live their lives and even the type of food they eat.
During Term Two our School Representative Council is working hard to organise some activities for children to participate in during lunchtime. Some of these activities include a chess club, football and netball clinics, a buskers corner and playing games like hopscotch. We have a quiet area for children to go and sit and play as well as an oval where we can run and play football and soccer games.
	We are having a School Disco later this term and we are practicing skipping in our Physical Education lessons because we are having a Skipathon early in Term Three. This is a great way for us to keep fit and healthy. As the year continues we will continue to work hard as well as having a lot of fun at our school!
ST DOMINC’S PRIMARY SCHOOL
2004 started off as an adventure into the unknown. We welcomed our new Principal Mrs. Benson as well as new staff members and of course new students to our school. Mrs. Benson settled into our school community very quickly and changed many things. Much to the delight of all the students the need for a playground CV'Id sandpit became a priority. Parents, students CV'Id staff are working together to raise money to make our dreams come true. Our Easter Raffle was a great Success and set us on our way. The S.R.C organized a Spellathon throughout the school and this is also proving to be a success with olllt\Drley going towards our playground. The Senior students have been trying woodwork. We participated in the Art Beat Display at the Willows. Walking through our school takes us feel happy because the art work on display is fantastic. The camping program in the Middle and Senior area is something that we all look forward to. This year the Seniors went to Sovereigl1 Hill and saw first hand what life in the goldfields was like. The Middles are getting ready to visit Lady Northcote in Bacchus Marsh. Being in the middle of the AFL football season we thought it would be great to have some real live footy players visit our school. We look forward to welcoming two Western Bulldog players, who will share their stories and run footy clinics with us. Our uniform on the day will become a who's who of the footy world with students wearing jumpers of their favorite footy team. Our school newsletter "Newshound" is put together by some amazing students and the S.R.C. Each area of the school has their own section where their astonishing work can be published for all to see. Newshound comes out at the end of each term end is a must read. We think our school is a great school. Come and visit us some time.