Dear Parents & Guardians,

The year continues to zoom along, I cannot believe we are already coming to the end of the first month back at school!

Welcome Back BBQ - Thank you to all our families who came along to our Welcome BBQ last week. We were blessed with beautiful weather and a well-deserved icy pole at the end! Thank you to the many staff who assisted with preparation, cooking, serving etc.

Finance Officer - I communicated to families last year that our current Finance Officer, Sue Reardon would be retiring at Easter time. Towards the end of last year, we undertook a recruitment campaign for her replacement. I am pleased to inform you that Mrs Jessica Webb, who is currently the Finance Officer at St Paul’s Catholic School, Bridgewater was successful in her application. To ensure a smooth and adequate transition Jess will commence in her role on 18th March and Sue will finish on 28th March.

Wyndham Road Shopping Centre Carpark - The management from the shopping centre opposite the school have politely requested that cars DO NOT park in front of the shops at ANY TIME. As a school community, we are fortunate to have such a large parking area with available spaces close to the road and around the back. Many of our families have their own businesses and would understand the importance of customers being able to access their business. There were occasions last year when potential customers had to leave as they could not find a park. It is up to us to please support their request and leave these parks available at all times. Your support is appreciated.

Student Leaders - Tomorrow afternoon we welcome the opportunity to commission our Student Leader body for 2024. They have already shown themselves to be admirable leaders in their initiative and leadership of the younger students! Well done to you all!

Grade 1 has had a fantastic start to the year as we welcomed all our students into their new space.

Shrove Tuesday

In the second week of school, we celebrated Shrove Tuesday by discussing what the day was and why we might eat pancakes on this day. We learnt that because Lent is a time to give up things, some people choose to give up all the yummy ingredients used in pancakes, which is why this day is also called Pancake Tuesday. We all then got to enjoy some delicious pancakes together.

Ash Wednesday

The next day, we celebrated Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a time for spiritual growth and change as Christians make a special effort to be the kind of people God wants them to be. Father Suresh and Mrs Piesse visited Grade 1 to talk to us about Ash Wednesday as we shared in a prayer together. Father Suresh and Mrs Piesse then placed an ash cross on either our head or hand as we turned to God and welcomed him into our lives.

Buddies

Last Friday, we met our Grade 5 buddies from 5 Maroon and 5 Blue. Each student was paired with someone new and we then filled out a questionnaire and drew a portrait of each other. We look forward to getting to know our buddies more throughout the year. 

Lent – A conversion of the mind and heart

We are now Two weeks into the Liturgical Season of Lent. Lent is a time for self-reflection and for action. Lent is not a time to merely "give up something." It is a season to do something. For others. And for God. It is a time to focus the heart. As Dr Drasko Dizdar explains so beautifully:

To think of Lent only as a time of penance is to do it an injustice. While the traditional practice of "doing something" for Lent is praiseworthy, there is much more to this wonderful season than just additional practices of piety or acts of penance and mortification. 

Lent is a time to ask ourselves a simple question. How should we live our lives? If our answer gravitates more towards ourselves than others, it is time to reassess our motivation. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are only means to an end. We practice them to open ourselves up to God and the needs of others. So, during Lent, we should focus on relationship, not on reputation. When we sincerely seek God's will and the good of others, reputation will follow, for good or ill. As one wise man said, "My reputation is the responsibility of others."

Project Compassion 2024

Members of each family received a Project Compassion box to take home for the Season of Lent.  Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. 

The theme of Project Compassion in 2024 is For All Future Generations, with Caritas Australia highlighting the inspiring journeys of three resilient women from the Philippines, Malawi, and Samoa.. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues.  

We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Boxes are to be returned to the school office in the week before Easter.

Orders for Easter treats from Banjos can be made via QKR as of the 1st of March until the 22nd of March.

Orders will be held at the office for collection on Wednesday the 27th of March.

A portion of the proceeds are kindly donated to our school by Banjos.