Last Sunday’s Gopsel reading was the story of the prodigal son. What makes this story so powerful is the abundance of love the father shows towards both his sons. By the end of the story we see that both of them in different ways prove themselves to be obstacles to the family unity and harmony, which the father desired more than anything. It is very tempting to feel sorry for the eldest son, in his mind, the spoilt brother comes home after squandering his father’s money and is given a big party. While, he, the faithful son is taken for granted. The elder son also did not know what forgiveness and love meant. He did not and could not forgive his younger brother for his misdeeds. In this parable Jesus teaches us the depth of the generosity of God and his mercy. God our heavenly Father is always waiting at the door for us to come to him. The younger son thought he could go out by himself and didn’t need the father. This was proven incorrect. He needed to turn back from his frivolous lifestyle and return to the father’s house and be a responsible and obedient son. In our life we often regret that the other is more privileged and gets more benefits than us. Often we are hurt and indignant like the elder brother in the parable. We have missed the point. It is not about who is more or less deserving in a given situation. It is our ability to love unconditionally and to believe in the basic dignity and equality of all people.
 
Girls’ Summer Uniform
Thank you to the large number of people who responded to the survey. The results are overwhelmingly in support of the dress with the red trim.

Mimosa have quite a few uniforms still in stock that they are selling at a reduced price. As the new uniform will be phased in over a two year period, the current uniform can continue to be worn. If you were considering a new uniform, a second uniform or want to last out the time your daughter has left with us, as they are in Years 5 & 6 you might consider purchasing one of those uniforms. Attached is an order form for you to complete, just as you do with the shirts. If we put the order in through the school the dresses will be at a heavily reduced price of $30 each so it will be first in best dressed.

Haircuts
There are a number of students again coming to school with haircuts that have different lengths over their head and draw attention to the style. We still have almost 2 weeks of the term left, please save these types of cuts for the holidays.
 
Reconciliation
Please keep in your prayers this week the students who will be making their Reconciliation. The lessons in preparation for Confirmation also start this week.

Cross Country
Thank you to all of the wonderful helpers for the carnival yesterday. We had a great day, we were lucky with the beautiful weather and students were very eager to participate. Congratulations to the green house, Alexandra who was the winning house.

Canteen Closure 
Please note that the canteen will be closed next week (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday).  To assist parents, the school will offer a hot dog lunch on Thursday 11th April.  See below for further details. 

Hot Dog Lunch - Thursday 11th April 
Next Thursday, 11th April, the school will be selling hotdogs for lunch.  Hotdog with sauce $2. See order form coming home today. For catering purposes, please return order and money by next Tuesday 9th April.

• 3 old style trestle tables;
• 18 old style chairs.
Please contact the office if you would like some or all of them.

Have a lovely week everyone,
Kayleen Petzer

The date for the 2^nd Rite of Reconciliation (mentioned in last week’s newsletter) has been moved to Monday 15^th April at 6:30 pm. This is the first week of the school holidays (Holy Week) and will take place at St Thomas Aquinas Church, Bowral. Several priests will be in attendance. This is a very good way to prepare for the Easter season and is quite timely for our Year 6 Confirmation candidates who have been asked to participate in the sacrament of penance as part of their preparation.

If participating in this sacrament is something that interests you but you are unsure of the process, here is a short summary of what takes place:

The second form of the sacrament of penance is a communal liturgical celebration and begins with the community listening to the word of God. There is a brief homily which emphasises our need for repentance and the infinite mercy of God. During the examination of conscience, the assembly reflects together on where and how they have fallen short of their baptismal commitment to follow Christ.

The individual confession and absolution that follows is communal too in that the penitents approach the priests in full view of all present. The priests stand at appropriate points around the church in such a way that penitents can be seen but not heard by others. Those who wish to confess their sins approach one of the priests. While no restriction is placed on the individual's confession, good manners and common sense dictate that people limit the time they spend with priests.

‘Stations of the Cross’ 
Next Monday afternoon (8^th April) children from Year 3 to Year 6 will walk the outdoor ‘Stations of the Cross’ at “The Hermitage” (A Retreat and Spirituality Centre in Mittagong). Br Bill has kindly offered to provide bus transport free of charge for us. Classroom teachers will accompany the children through the 14 stations and lead the prayers and reflection. The outdoor stations are quite beautiful and experiencing them in this way will be quite meaningful as we approach Holy Week.

There are just two more weeks to contribute to our Project Compassion appeal. Thank you very much to the families who have donated already.

Mr Richard Tuckwell, REC

School Fees

If you are paying your school fees throughout the year you should have returned your School Fee Agreement by now.  If you have not returned a School Fee Agreement your school fees IN FULL are now overdue.  

All school fee payments as nominated in your School Fee Agreement should now be taking place with regular payments being made towards your school fees.   

Please note that the School Fee Agreement IS NOT A DIRECT DEBIT FORM and if you have elected to pay by direct debit you need to have completed and returned a separate form so that your direct debits can be arranged.  The School Fee Agreement does not have bank details on it so no payment arrangements can be made from this form.

Scholastic Book Club 
The school, together with Scholastic Book Club, runs a book club which consists of approximately eight issues a year. The school earns bonus points from the amount of sales of books and these points are used to purchase books through Scholastic for our library. ALL ORDERS need to be placed by using the Scholastic Loop.  No paper orders or money will be accepted at the school. Thank you and happy reading for 2019.

Listed below are some important school dates.  The school calendar is updated regularly and can be accessed via the school website and Compass parent portal.

Cross Country
It was a beautiful day yesterday for our cross country.  The park certainly has some track challenges when used as a cross country course! Thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers for their assistance throughout the carnival and to the P&F for hosting the cake/lolly stall. Carnival results:-

Encouragement Awards:
Ava Fairbairn & Ajay Negi

House Points:

1^st: Alexandra (Green) - 50
2^nd:Jellore (Yellow) - 33
3^rd: Gibraltar (Blue) - 32
4^th: Oxley (Red) - 30

NOTE: Next week, last week of Term 1, the school canteen will be closed.  

Happy birthday to the following students who celebrate a birthday this week:

Aimee J, Lucinda T, Melinda W.S