Term 1 - Week 5

As we approach the midpoint of our first term, it is hard to believe that Summer is coming to a close and Shrove Tuesday is just around the corner. We have enjoyed some wonderful moments with students in these last few weeks, with highlights including the Seniors leading our Assembly last week, and a very fun visit to our Preschool to Year 2 classes by Fringe performer and magician, Josh Staley. Our Goody Two Shoes Café has been so popular on Wednesday afternoons for Gelato and Friday mornings with coffee, biscuits, toasties and uniform sales. The buzz of community in this space is delightful so if you have not yet made a visit, please try to get there and enjoy!

Next week, we begin the sacred season of Lent, a period of reflection and observance in the Church leading up to Easter. This time is marked by key events in the liturgical calendar, including Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. Our school will acknowledge these occasions, helping our students reflect on the significance of this season in our Catholic faith. Please join us for Ash Wednesday in the church if you are available.

We are also busy preparing for our much-anticipated Gala! This special event brings our school community together and always promises to be a great day. Thanks to the generous efforts of our parent volunteers, led by wonderful Trish Jarvis, preparations are already well underway. I want to extend my gratitude to them for their hard work so far, as well as all the Stallholders who have offered to coordinate a stall. We are also asking for parents to add their names to shifts on each stall, so please try to contribute if you can. Be sure to mark March 22nd on your calendars and we look forward to celebrating with you, your families, and friends.

As we also look ahead to Harmony Day towards the end of term, we want to take the time to focus on the diverse cultures that make up our school community. This is an opportunity for us to learn from one another, celebrate our diversity, and grow in our understanding and awareness. If you have time, inspiration, or cultural expertise to share, we encourage you to contribute in any way you can. Whether it’s sharing a story, a tradition, or an experience, your involvement will help enrich our school’s appreciation for cultural diversity. Please reach out to your child’s class teacher if you would like to be involved either on Harmony Day or in the lead up.

I want to also inform families that our Physical Education teacher, Mr Toby Priest, will be taking some extended Leave from Term Three, returning in Term Two next year. During this time, Mr Sebestyen Maglai will be taking PE classes, coordinating SACPSSA Carnivals and Sports Day. We wish Mr Priest all the best during his Leave and extend our gratitude to Mr Maglai as he dons his sneakers for PE lessons.

Thank you all for your continued support, and best wishes for the remainder of term, with another newsletter coming out in our final week, before holidays.

Belinda Burford

Principal

SUFFERING AND CHALLENGE ARE PART OF OUR SHARED HUMAN STORY

Life has a funny way of throwing the odd curve ball our way and forcing us to rethink, reconsider and refocus our attention. We see these ‘curve balls’ throughout the life of a school and throughout the journey of each of our young people. One minute things seem to be going in one direction and the next, a new situation arises. It reminds us how important community is in supporting others through these times of change and transformation.

As we reach the middle of Term 1, with all the busyness of life, there may be some of our families who are experiencing these challenges. Without the instruction manual we never received, parenting during these times can be tough. We want our kids to be happy, but can forget to acknowledge the existence of suffering and challenge in our human lives. 

All our world religions offer an acknowledgement of the suffering and challenge that exists in our human story; and they all offer guides for how to best to approach these times in our lives. Our Christian faith holds the story of the Resurrection and the understanding that new life always follows death; new life always follows times of challenge or suffering. Sometimes times of change can feel like this.

While in the midst of these moments of change and transformation, we can often find ourselves feeling challenged and uncomfortable. As creatures of habit, we really don’t like these forced changes. But what if our perspective changed and we held our judgement as to whether or not these events were ‘good’ or ‘bad?’ Could an event, which we first experience as something ‘bad’ actually be something that is ‘good’ for us and others?

Sr Joan Chittister, a Catholic theologian, retells a Taoist tale that says something about the need to hold our judgement about these events of change in our lives...

“Then I remembered another story that may explain best the difference between despair of the present and hope in the future.

In this Taoist tale, an old peasant has only one son and one fine stallion with which to farm his land. All the other farmers in the valley pity him for his poverty but the old man says of his situation simply, “Bad event, good event, who knows?”

Then, one day, the farmer’s only stallion bolts from his hitching post and thunders up into the mountains, leaving the farmer and his son to do all the sod-breaking work by themselves. Neighbours commiserate but the old man says simply, “Bad event, good event, who knows?”

Suddenly, the next morning, the stallion races back down the mountain and into the corral, followed by a whole herd of wild horses. The neighbours are astounded by the man’s new wealth and congratulate him but the old man says simply, “Good event, bad event, who knows?”

Soon after, one of the wild stallions throws the son, falls on him and breaks his legs, crippling him for life. The peasants grieve such a loss but the old man says simply, “Bad event, good event, who knows?” Then, one day in the fall, just at the beginning of the harvest, the local warlord rides into the valley and conscripts into his army every young man there with one exception: the crippled, limping, apparently useless son of the old farmer.

The other farmers in the valley wail in despair at their misfortune and the old man’s luck, but he says simply, “Good event, bad event, who knows?”’

So, I wonder what impact this kind of thinking can have on our own happiness and that of our children? It certainly forces us to surrender to what might be and place our trust in God and in others. It also forces us to be patient and remember that things happen when they are meant to happen. This is the key to the kind of happiness that Jesus speaks about, which comes from freeing ourselves of worry and stress.

So in times of changes and transformation, simply ask yourself…Good event, bad event, who knows?

Go gently,

Paul Mensforth

Deputy Principal

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends,

As I checked my calendar at the beginning of the week, I could hardly believe that next Tuesday is already Shrove Tuesday, followed by Ash Wednesday. To mark the occasion, we are organising a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Picnic at the school.

All members of our community are invited to gather for this special event. Each student will receive a pancake, with the option of having it with or without maple syrup. We will also be preparing special pancakes to accommodate dietary requirements.

We look forward to celebrating together!

Every year we celebrate Shrove Tuesday, or as you may know it…Pancake Day!

But what is the meaning behind this special day? How and why is it celebrated around the world? It’s time to find out with our ten Shrove Tuesday facts!

Shrove Tuesday facts

During Lent, Christians give up luxuries to remember when Jesus went into the desert for 40 days to fast and pray.

The exact date of Shrove Tuesday changes from year to year. But one thing stays the same — it’s always 47 days before Shrove Tuesday is a Christian festival celebrated in many countries across the globe. It falls on the Tuesday before the beginning of Lent – a period of around six weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. And yes, you guessed it, it’s always on a Tuesday!

The name Shrove Tuesday comes from the old word “shriving,” which means listening to someone’s sins and granting them forgiveness. Traditionally, Christians around the world would attend church on Shrove Tuesday to seek reconciliation with God, others, and themselves. In other words, they would be “shriven.

Ash Wednesday - March 5th, 2025

The first day of Lent

Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer.

Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday, and is chiefly observed by Catholics, although many other Christians observe it too.

Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the head. The ashes symbolise the dust from which God made us. As the priest applies the ashes to a person's forehead, he speaks the words: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Alternatively, the priest may speak the words, "Repent and believe in the Gospel."

During our Ash Wednesday celebration, we will be using the phrase “Remember, God loves you.”

Ashes also symbolise grief, in this case, grief that we have something wrong and caused division from God.

Writings from the Second-century Church refer to the wearing of ashes as a sign of penance.

Priests administer ashes during Mass, and all are invited to accept the ashes as a visible symbol of penance. The ashes are made from blessed palm branches, taken from the previous year's Palm Sunday Mass.

God bless

Sebestyen Maglai

REC