What a wonderful start to Lent with our Ash Wednesday Mass at 9am with Year 4, 5, 6 classes as well as members of the community. Thank you to Father Biju for leading your first official services with our school. Father Biju also led our 11:20am Liturgy with the Year 1, 2 and 3 classes. It was wonderful to see parents and family members join us during the Mass and Liturgy. Father gave us three areas to focus on during lent:
1: Prayer; taking time to talk to God.
2: Fasting; giving up something to challenge ourselves in self control.
3: Alms Giving; looking for ways we can help others that have less than we do.
After snack break, I took the ashes over to Prep and the teachers and I discussed with the Prep Students about Ash Wednesday and Lent. We spoke about Lent being a time (40 days – not including Sundays) of preparation and waiting. The students engaged well and were curious to see their crosses on their foreheads.
Over the remaining five weeks of Term 1, our students will learn more about the Lenten efforts of Caritas Australia through Project Compassion. The theme for this year is “Unite Against Poverty”. Each class has a collection box on the prayer table in the classroom, and students are encouraged to bring in donations to add to the box. We will keep a weekly tally of the monies collected in each class – learning that ‘small change can make a difference’. If you would like to see some of the information shared with students, check out the focus countries via this Project Compassion Student Portal Link. Your generous donations this Lenten Season will enable Caritas Australia to provide life-changing support to communities facing poverty, food insecurity, lack of education, and water shortages, while building resilience against future challenges. Together, through faith and action, we can bring hope and opportunity to those most in need.
It is exciting for me in this APRE role when students come up and share their ideas on ways we can help the planet and each other. Last week, Ashley in Year 6 came to Kristina Armstrong and I with an idea to participate in a local radio station’s “Recycling Recruits” promotion. Ashley has planned ways as a school to build on the already awesome work some students and teachers have been doing with popper collection, and be in the running to win $1000 as well as Tammy and JB from Triple M broadcasting live from school. For 2 weeks from Monday 10th March until Friday 21st March – we will collect Containers for Change: bottles, cans and poppers containers. Our collection efforts will be taken to the recycle depot with the collection receipt handed into Triple M Radio Station and the winning school will be announced on air at a later date. You have to be in it to win it – so thank you Ashley for taking this initiative to bring this to our attention and being a recycling recruit.
Parents we need your help – Please donate your clean recyclable cans, bottles, and poppers for us to collect and add to our in school lunchtime collection. Collection points will be set up outside the Library. (breezeway area)
If you recycle containers yourself, please keep the receipt and drop it off at the school office. This will count toward our school tally and save families from having to bring recyclables to school.
