This year, St Therese School at Colonel Light Gardens looked for a different way of celebrating the Feast of St Therese. The feast of St Therese is celebrated on October 1 each year, since St Therese died on September 30.
Known as the Little Flower, St Therese taught that following her path of love, her ‘Little Way’, is a sign of God’s grace.
Back in 1925, four Dominican sisters were sent over from Cabra, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, to set up a school in Colonel Light Gardens, Adelaide, in the name of St Therese.
“After speaking with the students, we felt we needed to deepen our connection to the Dominican order, who are the founding teachers here at St Therese School”, explained Principal Amanda Humeniuk.
Today’s students researched some of the ways the Dominican sisters are still supporting those in need both locally and overseas. This research directed the students and school leadership to the Congregational leader for the Asia Pacific region of the Dominican Sisters International, Sr Mary-Clare.
Year 6 student Mika wrote to Sr Mary-Clare on behalf of the students outlining their plans for a special market day, called Little Way Day, to honour St Therese and the Dominican Sisters.
The planned day would be a fundraiser to support the good works of the Dominican sisters in the Solomon Islands. Sr Mary-Clare wrote back to the school expressing her delight at the idea and the enthusiasm of the students.
The stalls were set up and Little Way Day commenced with a liturgy led by senior students.
The gentle yet powerful messages from the liturgy energised the students, and they further connected to the ‘Little Way’ of St Therese knowing that their market stall contributions would assist those in need.
Little Way Day was made even more special by a visit from Dominican sisters who have worked in the Solomon Islands, Sr Philomena and Sr Enid. Both Sisters have historical connections to St Therese School, with Sr Philomena teaching at the school in 1943, and Sr Enid Principal in the 1960s!
The students and their families were incredibly generous in their donations, raising over $720 to send to the Solomon Islands, following St Therese’s path of love, her ‘Little Way’.
“Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love” - St Therese of Lisieux
St Therese Primary School at Colonel Light Gardens has achieved significant gains in both literacy and numeracy across the school through the introduction of a multi-sensory, phonic-based language approach (MSL).
