Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Today marks the commencement of the season of Lent, a period of forty days of reflection. Traditionally, the church encourages us to focus on three actions: giving to the less fortunate, prayer and fasting. For most of us, providing donations for the good of others is relatively easy, and it seems that there is much generosity when the need is high, as evidenced by the support shown recently to families who lost so much in the recent bushfires. Fasting and prayer can be more challenging when our lives are so busy and there is constant bombardment of our senses enticing us to consume more and do more. The key message of Lent, however, is that whatever actions we choose, we do it with genuine connection to God and with humility. As the Gospel reading from today’s Mass says: “Be careful not to parade your good deeds before others to attract their notice; your Father in heaven who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.”

Catholic Schools Week

Next week marks Catholic Schools Week (CSW) with the theme ‘Embracing our future together’. CSW is about celebrating the diversity and uniqueness of Catholic education and is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of our school community. CSW also marks the beginning of the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong enrolment period. Please click here to access a school enrolment package.

To help celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we will be holding the following on Friday 6 March:

• Liturgy under the COLA at 10.30am
• Following the liturgy, parents are invited to share a BYO morning tea with your children
• From 11.45am, we will have Open Classrooms to give parents and visitors an opportunity to visit your children’s classrooms.

We hope that you are able to join us on the day.

Goals for 2020

As commenced in last week’s Newsletter, the following are some of the goals our school has set for 2020.

• The school will develop Case Collaboration structures to ensure that the learning needs of students learning needs are being met
• The staff will become familiar with the collaborative inquiry process which targets classroom learning that is based on current student needs.

I hope that you have a great week,

Paul Moroney
Principal

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a Principal's Award this week.

• William Cameron
• Lachlan Arentz
• Arya Bhattarai
• Penny O'Connor-Milner
• Alicia McDivitt
• Jett Fleijsman
• Paityn Rebolledo
• Savannah-May Phommaxay
• Xaver Tumanic
• Lachlan Fuller
• Lucinda Caronna
• Noah Johnstone
• Maddy Stevens
• Nia Leota
• Sophie Kagame
• Joshua Lovell
• Mikaela Lette
• Annie Jacob

Congratulations to the following students who received Good Samaritan Awards this week.

Ash Wednesday – 26th February 2020

                 

This week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice. 

We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box and/or a set of envelopes for their donations or you can donate online via our website at lent.caritas.org.au 

Let’s Go Further, Together!

____________________________________________________________________

First Holy Communion

This Sacrament is for students who have made their Sacrament of Reconciliation.  There is a Parent Information Evening on Wednesday 6 May 2020 at 7 pm in the church. All parents must come to this information evening if they wish their child to be part of this sacrament program.  This is Week 2 in Term 2. Put it in your calendars!

Enjoy your week.

Mrs Kathryn Hampton
Religious Education Coordinator

Launch of Project Compassion

On Tuesday 25 February the student leaders of St John the Evangelist Parish Primary were given the opportunity to go to St Benedict’s Catholic College for the launch of Project Compassion. Each year Project Compassion invites us to open our minds and hearts and to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in our world. Project Compassion gives us a wonderful opportunity to learn about life in different countries through the personal stories of people who have participated in Caritas. Through Project Compassion, we are asked to acknowledge that we are all members of the one human family, all equally worthy of love, mercy and respect. Project Compassion 2020 takes the theme of Global Community - GO FURTHER TOGETHER as we collectively aim to support the other to thrive in a union of love and compassion and let’s do this together! As students in our Catholic schools of the Wollongong Diocese, we believe in the “two feet of justice”. 

At the launch all of the schools from the Diocese of Wollongong participated in a liturgy about being the hands and feet of Jesus and about something said in the bible: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. The student leaders from a wide variety of schools in the diocese had some very special visitors including, Bishop Brian Mascord, the Director of Schools in the Diocese of Wollongong and the Director of Caritas. Our student leaders participated in singing many songs, they participated in The Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water and receiving our Project Compassion box and our Caritas candle. All in all, the student leaders of St John the Evangelist Parish Primary School had a fun time and enjoyed representing our school.

Happy Birthday to the following students and staff who are celebrating their birthday this week, February 24 - March 1

Waste Free Wednesday is back again this year. We ask that students pack their lunch in re-usable containers to reduce the amount of classroom waste around the school. Points are awarded to classes for the least amount of rubbish each Wednesday.

RETURN AND EARN DRIVE WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH – START COLLECTING NOW!

St John’s will hold our first termly return and earn drive on Wednesday 18 March.  All items received will be collected by St Vincent De Paul raising funds for their important work in the community.

On 18 March students will be invited to place their return and earn items in their house colour under the COLA. The team that brings the most items will get 200 points, 2nd will get 150, 3rd 100 and 4th 50. The points will help them to earn the Waste Warrior Trophy each term in addition to the waste free Wednesday points

School Banking Day is Wednesday!

High School Information Evenings

John Therry Catholic College

Information Night for Year 7 2021 will be held on Monday 2 March at 7pm in the College Hall. All welcome.    

School Crossing Supervisor

The RMS have advised a crossing supervisor has been appointed. Unfortunately there has been a delay processing and we will have someone onsite both morning and afternoon from Thursday 5 March.

School Bus Travel

A reminder to all students catching buses must remeber to Tap On and Tap Off each time you travel. A letter from Busabout is attached for your attention.

Sisterhood is a rapidly growing national movement of Catholic women seeking to deepen our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and those we do life with. We are regular everyday women; students, sisters, daughters, wives, mums, career women and grandmothers, walking alongside one another and doing life together.

Sisterhood has now been operating for the past 14 years. Each year the conference draws between 200-300 Catholic women of all ages and from right across Australia for a weekend of prayer and formation on what it means to be a Catholic woman in the Church today.

Through keynote talks and workshops, mass, adoration of the blessed sacrament, reconciliation and quality sisterhood with other women, women are given the opportunity to deepen in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ and develop community with other women. The conference seeks to provide keynote inputs which are both spiritually enriching but also practical to the lives of women of all ages and stages of life.

We are excited to announce the 2020 Sisterhood National Catholic Women’s Conference, ‘Anointed’ will be held from 20 – 22 March 2020 at The Tops Conference Centre, Stanwell Tops. Tickets can be purchased via Trybooking - https://www.trybooking.com/BFQZP

This year's keynote speakers include the very beautiful and well known singer Alyssa Agius from Melbourne and Katie Kobler. Katie has a passion for seeing women released to be who they are created to be.  She also has a powerful personal story to share. The other keynote speakers include: The Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia of Nashville Tennessee, Trish Macarthy, Vivian Dolar, Carrie McCormack, Renee Doyle, Kate Seseljia and more. 

We want to invite women to what will be an incredible weekend of dynamic talks, quality sisterhood time and most importantly an encounter with an amazing God who loves us beyond measure and pours His Grace abundantly.