TERM 1 WEEK 7 NEWSLETTER

Dear Families,

The past two weeks have been filled with a great deal of sadness in regards to the floods that have occured over parts of Australia including our own district as well as the devastation of the turmoil in Ukraine. May we keep all those in need in our prayers, as we pray..

In Our Hearts

Compassionate Lord, 

We pray for those who have been devastated by recent natural disasters or turmoil. We remember those who have lost their lives so suddenly. We hold in our hearts the families forever changed by grief and loss. Bring them consolation and comfort. Surround them with our prayer for strength. Bless those who have survived and heal their memories of trauma and devastation. May they have the courage to face the long road of rebuilding ahead.

 We ask your blessing on all those who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their security and their hope. Bless the work of relief agencies and those providing emergency assistance. May their work be guided by the grace and strength that comes from You alone. 

Help us to respond with generosity in prayer, in assistance, in aid to the best of our abilities. Keep our hearts focused on the needs of those affected, even after the crisis is over.

 We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen

During the coming weeks, we will hold a fundraiser for the St Vincent de Paul Flood Appeal. More details will be sent to you when preparations are finalised.

LENTEN SPIRITUALITY

The Catholic Education Office of Wollongong has created a spirituality program for our staff called CR+FIT (CROSSFIT) A SPIRITUAL BOOT-CAMP-LENT 2022. 

I was looking through the program and thought that maybe our parents and carers would like to participate in this program as well, as it is something you can do individually or with a friend(s) once a week, throughout Lent. 

The details for this program are below. I will share two weeks' instructions and reflections, each newsletter during Lent. I hope this is something that you would like to try.

“Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.” 
Pope Francis 2021

INTRODUCTION
A few years ago a Year 11 Catholic Studies student was challenged regarding the significance of Shrove Tuesday. Without hesitating, she suggested that Lent was a spiritual boot camp and that Shrove Tuesday was a ‘carb loading’ session before one starts a group exercise program or boot camp’. She further explained that the 40 days of Lent were like the period of time needed to prepare yourself physically for a big event, like a wedding or graduation. 

Although the historical meaning behind Shrove Tuesday may be quite different, the brilliant insight provided by this young Catholic woman was profound and inspiring.

As we start our journey towards our ‘big event’, Lent provides us with the opportunity to spiritually prepare. A time to stand in solidarity with our ‘bootcamp guide’, Jesus. A time to call on his strength, power, endurance, spiritual agility, holistic coordination and big heart to become better versions of ourselves.

OUTLINE
CR+SSFIT - A Spiritual Boot Camp - Lent 2022 is a 6 week guided program to a ‘fitter’ spiritual self. The method used for the bootcamp is Faith in Action. The 6 Elements of Spiritual Fitness which will be deliberately targeted and practiced each week will be the 6 Catholic Social Teaching Principles provided by CARITAS Australia. 

The first two weeks CR+SSFIT Instructions are provided. They include the Spiritual and Physical Elements for each week and a guided example for the first week - Solidarity.

The sessions involve guided movement around an outside environment with periodic pauses to read scripture, prayers,reflections and journaling and setting of ‘faith in action’ challenges for the week ahead.

The program involves one half hour session per week for 6 weeks during Lent. A basic journal including the program and space for reflecting is provided for all CR+SSFIT participants. 

PARTICIPATION

• Read the Spiritual Reflection and Instruction each week throughout Lent including the scripture passage, the target Spiritual and Physical Element for each week and their respective Challenges. 
• Complete a 20 minute walk each week alone or in a group without our phones or other devices, in an outdoor environment (eg. oval or garden) to symbolise our walk with Jesus as he spent 40 days in the desert. Incorporate the suggested or any other Physical Element during the walk. This is a time of prayer and reflection focussing on the identified Spiritual and Physical Element for each week. 
• Journal your progress each week as you plan, select and complete the reflection questions and your deliberate practice Challenge for the week.

JOURNAL

SESSION 1- INSTRUCTIONS 

Thank you for your understanding in regards to the non-operational conditions that have occurred over these past two days. On Monday, as we heard about flooding in parts of our district, we decided to ask parents if they could come and collect their children if possible. The quick action on your behalf, meant that the children arrived home safely. I realise this is not an easy feat for you to stop work etc to collect students. We are very grateful for your support. The conditions in Bowral and Mittagong with flash flooding and the landslide on the road to Hill Top, then caused buses to be cancelled, so that prompt action by you, helped keep our students safe. 

THURSDAY 10 MARCH
At this point in time, we should be returning to classes as normal for tomorrow. If I hear any details about buses or road closures I will advise you as soon as I hear. Please stay safe. 

PARENTS AND FRIENDS MEETING THIS FRIDAY
This Friday 11th March, we will hold our first Parents and Friends Meeting for 2022. All are welcome to attend.

We will meet in the library at 9am. It will be lovely to finally be able to welcome our new parents and say hello again to our other parents, who we have missed seeing. We are looking forward to planning some great activities for our school community. 

Have a wonderful week ahead. Hopefully the adverse weather will dissipate. Please continue to keep in your prayers, those who have been affected by the floods and weather damage.

Take care. 

Best wishes,
Katrina West
Principal

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.

• Wednesday 16^th March - Year 2 Maubara Fund Raiser- Green Day for St Patrick’s Day (1 day early as we have Mass on the 17^th)
• Thursday 17^th March – Feast Day Mass 9.30 am
• Saturday 19^th March – St Joseph’s Day
• 4^th – 8^th April - School acknowledgement of Holy Week
• 10^th April (first week of the holidays)- Holy Week
• 15^th April - Good Friday
• 16^th April - Holy Saturday
• 17^th April - Easter Sunday

St Joseph’s Day  Mass
Saturday the 19th March, is the Feast Day of St Joseph. As our school was founded by the Sisters of St Joseph, we will be celebrating our connection with St Joseph and the sisters with a very special Mass on Thursday the 17^th of March. This will be our first whole school Mass.

Project Compassion

On Tuesday the 1^st March (Shrove Tuesday) students from Years 5 and 6 participated in the virtual launch of Caritas Australia, Project Compassion. They listened to guest speakers from different parts of the world discussed the communities and people who are empowered by the support given by Caritas. Over the coming weeks Year 6 will be holding different fund raisers. Each class has a money box in their classroom prayer space to collect donations. Please keep an eye out on COMPASS and our weekly assemblies for when these will be happening.  

Confirmation

Enrolment for the Scarcement of Confirmation has begun. If there are any children who are in Year 6 or older who would wish to be confirmed, please attend any of the weekend Masses over the next two weeks to fill in a registration form.   

St Patrick’s Day
Year 2 will be hosting their St Patrick’s Day Fundraiser on Wednesday the 16^th March. All students will wear Green Mufti and bring a gold coin as a donation for the Maubara Orphanage in East Timor.  This is a day early due to Mass on the 17^th.

Corpus Christi Parish Mittagong-Bowral News

Mass Times 

Weekend Masses

• Saturday Vigil - 5:00pm
• Sunday - 8:00am 
• Sunday - 9:30am
• Sunday - 5:00pm

Weekday Masses

• Tuesday - 8:00am
• Wednesday - 8.00am
• Thursday - 8.00am
• Friday - 8:00am​

Please remember that all Masses are being held at St Thomas Aquinas Church, Bowral.

Register Here for Webinar

Ubuntu,
Nathan Sherry
Middle Leader | Instructional Coach | Diverse Learning Needs

Please find attached a tip sheet to support your children with their writing. The tip sheet provides practical ideas that you may wish to try at home.

We are most appreciative of your support and appreciate the time that you spend with your children to consolidate what they are learning at school.

2022 Premier's Reading Challenge
The Premier's Reading Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely.  All students in Years 3 - 6 will be registered to take part. 

You can search our Library catalogue to see all the available books by clicking on the link below. 

2022 Challenge dates

• Challenge opens: Monday 28 February 2022
• Challenge closes for student entries: Friday 19 August 2022
  
  

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB
Book club orders are due 16th March 2022.  A reminder that we do NOT accept cash for book club orders.  All orders are made online via the LOOP system. Details below.

Dear Friends,

Over the past week it has been heartbreaking to witness the devastating floods affecting towns across NSW and QLD and to see the trail of destruction left behind.

Many of you have already reached out to enquire about ways to donate and support those impacted by this unfolding crisis. We are so appreciative of these offers and there are a couple of ways that your school community can assist:

If you would like to make a financial donation now to the Vinnies NSW Flood Appeal, you can do so here: https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-nsw/vinnies-nsw-flood-appeal.

It’s clear that the people within these communities need urgent help and our Members and Conferences throughout the state will be mobilising in the areas of need to provide assistance as soon as it is safe for them to do so. Relief will include essentials like food, help with bills and unexpected expenses as well as clothing and other vital items for families who have had to flee their homes. We are not currently accepting in-kind donations, as we are still assessing the situation and want to make sure we are providing items that are needed and minimising potential waste.

Thank you again for your generous offers of support,

Vinnies NSW