Newsletter LENT. Father, our source of life, you know our weaknesses. May we reach out with joy to grasp your hand and walk more readily in your ways.

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1 Banksia Avenue, Engadine NSW 2233 PO Box 548, Engadine NSW Newsletter No. 2 February 13, 2013 Newsletter Dear Parents Today is Ash Wednesday the beginning of the Church Season of Lent. The Years 4 to 6 classes attended Mass this morning where they received their ashes, while Kinder to Year 3 classes received ashes at a class Liturgy of the Word. During Lent, we take the time to prepare our hearts and minds for the Resurrection of the Lord at Easter through prayer, fasting and acts of kindness to those less fortunate than ourselves. LENT Father, our source of life, you know our weaknesses. May we reach out with joy to grasp your hand and walk more readily in your ways. REST IN PEACE Please pray for the repose of the soul of: Finn (6IB) and Edan (3KC) Walsh s uncle, who died suddenly on the weekend. My cousin, Stephen Cummins, who passed away unexpectedly last week. Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. STAFF NEWS Belated congratulations to Mrs Tricia Fitzgerald, who became an Australian citizen on Australia Day and to Mrs Wendy Lloyd, who became a grandma for the first time during the holidays to baby Isabel. Congratulations and best wishes. WELCOME MASSES Last Thursday we celebrated our Welcome Mass, during which we commissioned the Student Council. Congratulations to the 2013 student councillors. Fr Michael offered a special blessing to staff, parents and the Year 6 students. This beautiful Mass was celebrated in the school hall. On Sunday, there was a special Parish Mass of Welcome for the Kindergarten children and their families. Many of the Year 6 students and families attended also. I thank Mrs Christy Honeysett, our Family Educator, and Mr Matt Evans, our Religious Education Coordinator, for their organisation, and the many other staff members who supported the children and families through their attendance at this Mass. Mrs Lee Scola and I were presented to the parish and received a beautiful plaque from Fr Michael on behalf of the Parish. It now hangs proudly on my office wall!

2 BHP BILLITON SCIENCE & ENGINEERING AWARDS It was with great pleasure that I attended the National Science and Engineering Awards presentation in Melbourne last Tuesday. Seth Coppock (Year 4AH) was a finalist and he spoke with great confidence about his project Living With Dyspraxia. Seth was the youngest of the 26 finalists and he represented St John Bosco with distinction. Congratulations Seth! STUDENT LEADERSHIP Fr Michael joined us at Monday s assembly where the Year 6 R.E Leaders received their badges of office. Congratulations, children. The Sports Captains will be commissioned during next Monday s assembly. Peace be with you. Maureen Higgs Principal FAMILY & FAITH Firstly, thank you for the warm welcome I have received since starting in the role of Family Educator at St John Bosco Primary. The role is all about nurturing families and supporting faith and wellbeing initiatives around the school. You may already know that we have three meeting points that have started this week: Toddler Tales: Tuesday Mornings from 9.10am 10.30am in the Mazzarello Centre. Stories, a song, craft and free play (and tea and coffee provided for the parents). Lenten Group: Wednesdays from pm in the School Hall. Come & journey in your faith this Lent with a group of like-minded parents. This will be a chance to Stop, Pray and Reflect together. Tea & coffee: Wednesdays 2.45pm onwards in the School Hall. We have a proper coffee machine, so come & have a drink and mingle with other parents before you pick up your children. As we begin Lent, I pray that the next five weeks for you and your family is a time of living out the Salesian value of Presence: Presence to your family and others, Presence to the gift of yourself, and Presence to the love of our God. I hope to see you around the school! Christy Honeysett Family Educator

3 FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL PARENT / TEACHER INTERVIEWS Parent teacher meetings have been scheduled during this week (Monday 11 February- Friday 15 February) and next week (Monday 18 - Friday 22 Feb ) This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to share information regarding their child. This information helps teachers to better understand the students in their care. Many parents have taken the opportunity to meet with their child s teacher and the feedback from both parents and teachers has been positive. If you have not made an appointment with your child s teacher and wish to have an interview please contact the class teacher. BEFORE SCHOOL SUPERVISION In the morning students are supervised from 8.30am. We do not encourage students to arrive before this time. St John Bosco Before and After School Care moved to the Mazzarello Centre on the primary school premises and is available for parents if they need to drop their child before 8.30am. The contact number is This facility will be of great benefit to many of the students in our school. DATES TO REMEMBER: Week 3 Week 4 Parent/Teacher Interviews Parent/Teacher Interviews Mon 11/2 Mon 18/2 Mon 25/2 Week 5 Tues 12/2 Tues 19/2 Toddler Tales am Mazzarello Centre Tues 26/2 Toddler Tales am Mazzarello Centre Wed 13/2 Ash Wednesday Year 4-6 Mass 9.20am K-3 Class Liturgy Wed 20/2 Confirmation Enquiry Night 6.30pm School Hall Lenten Group School Hall Afternoon Tea for parents and carers pm School Hall Wed 27/2 Chapel Mass 1MC Lenten Group School Hall Afternoon Tea for parents and carers pm School Hall Thurs 14/2 Thurs 21/2 Year 6 Leadership Day Thurs 28/2 Chapel Mass 1SF Fri 15/2 Awards Assembly K am Fri 22/2 Fri 1/3 Awards Assembly K am Clean Up Schools Day Sun3/3 Sacrament Enrolment ASH WEDNESDAY Today we begin the season of Lent. Year 4-6 attended Mass this morning to mark the beginning of Lent. Thank you to all the students for their reverence and participation during mass. Kindergarten, Year1 and Year 2 participated in class liturgies. I share with you a Lenten reflection.

4 Lent is a time when we prepare as a faith community to meet the risen Christ at Easter. It is a time for us to turn away from what keeps us from living the Gospel, and to remind ourselves that we are called to lives rooted in justice. To be just in the biblical sense is to be in right relationship with God. As we prepare to meet Christ in his resurrected glory, we pray for a change of heart towards greater love of God and each other and we share our food, our wealth and our time with others in need. Over these 40 days, may the Holy Spirit give us the strength to act justly, the courage to love tenderly and the faith to walk humbly with our God, that we might rejoice in the triumph of God s justice in Jesus at Easter. PRAYER Let us pray. Lord, as we begin this holy season of Lent, grant us a change of heart that we might turn away from sin and follow your Son s Gospel. We ask you to fill us with a hunger for what is just. By your grace, may our lives become more deeply rooted in prayer, self-sacrifice and a willingness to share. We ask you this, through Christ our Lord. Kind regards Lee Scola Assistant Principal CANTEEN NEWS * Please note the following information when ordering lunches from the canteen: - There is to be a separate order for each child - Money MUST be included with each lunch order. Change will be taped to the front of the bag for your child to return to you - The canteen DOES NOT offer credit - Lunch orders are for LUNCH ONLY. Morning tea snacks can be purchased at morning tea from the canteen - Garlic Bread is 50c each and is available Monday to Thursday, definitely NOT on FRIDAY - Foreign coin / game tokens / plastic money is not accepted at the canteen - Paper lunch bags are 10c each, all orders must be in a paper bag or Lunch Wallet - If you wish to pay for your children's lunches together, please put all the orders (enclosed with the money) in ONE child's order, and they will be separated in the canteen. - Ice blocks and Slushies are sold over the counter NOT in lunch orders - except frozen yoghurt - Please write your child's Name and Class on each order LUNCH WALLETS have been ordered ($14 each). They should arrive at the end of next week. Canteen Roster The following is the roster for the next fortnight. If you cannot attend please call me on Thank you, Maureen. Thu 14th Feb: Kaylene Cox, Vicki Forrest, Chantelle Walker Fri 15th Feb: Debbie Gibson, Susy Sayle, Megan Venturs Mon 18th Feb: Elaine Phoon, Jenni Parsons, Dorothy McRae Tue 19th Feb: Megan Bentley, Amanda Lisser Wed 20th Feb: Jennifer Campbell Thu 21st Feb: Suzy Bowdler, Donna Coote Fri 22nd Feb: Donna Lough, Marion Flanagan, Lisa Ellis Mon 25th Feb: Angela Hick, Justine Fettell Tue 26th Feb: Robin O'Connell, Leonie Stone, Anne Johnstone Wed 27th Feb: Helene Hudson, Leeanne Selar, Antionette Minehan

5 RE NEWS LENT Open doors into the future. Pope Benedict XVI Almighty and merciful God, Lent is a time for making choices, renewing commitments and returning fully to a life of faith and love. Help us to choose those actions and attitudes that bring us fullness of life. Renew in us a commitment to following your ways ways of love for your law; a law that does not bind but truly sets us free. With your help, today we choose goodness over evil, love over hate, forgiveness over revenge, freedom over oppression. Strengthen us in our resolve so that we will come to know you better, love you more and serve you more fully in our world. Amen Today we celebrated Ash Wednesday marking the commencement of the season of Lent. Lent is a time when we respond to God s love through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The following is a link to a great clip of facts about Ash Wednesday and Lent. One way we can open our hearts to the needs in our world, during Lent, is through Project Compassion. Project Compassion enables us to open our hands to share what we have with those who lack basic human rights food, water, shelter, healthcare and education. This week the children will receive a Project Compassion box for their family. This is one way we can help to make a difference in our world. The boxes can be returned to the Church or the Presbytery. Please follow this link to find out more about the wonderful work CARITAS Australia is able to do as a result of our generous support. Click on the picture to hear Ditosa s story.

6 RE Leaders 2013 On Monday we commissioned our RE Leaders for Congratulations to: Alex Hayston Emma Jones Jade Lockton Jacqui Cope Emilio Carrick Erin Denneen Jade Simpson Mitchell Long Alyssa Cook Jared El-Hassan Jarrod McCrae Rachel Aquilina Angelina Browne Tim Gibson Jessica Longville Christopher Mills Bianca Scully Finn Walsh Jordan Considine Ryan Senior Brianna Trudgen Haylee Collins Kaitlyn Sadler Tahlia Blair Charlotte Flegar Kristie Ekutu Lara O'Shea Tahlia Walker Rebecca Chedra Madeleine Davies Laura Sayle Tamsyn Hales Eliesha Miller Jade Dries Lauren Bellingham Taylah Ross Tiarn Clinch Confirmation Enquiry Evening On Wednesday 20 th February a Confirmation enquiry night will be held for the children receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation and their parents. The night will commence at 6.30pm in the school hall. Father Michael will lead us through activities to deepen our appreciation of this significant Sacrament. St Vincent de Paul Society Christmas Appeal Thank You On behalf of St Vincent de Paul of Engadine, I would like to say a very big thank you to the staff, students and parents of St John Bosco Primary School, who so generously donated to the Vinnies Christmas Appeal. We thank you for all the delicious food hampers that were able to be put together with the wonderful toys and gifts. We always appreciate the time devoted to this appeal and to those who kindly organise it so successfully. The gratitude from all the families who received the hampers was overwhelming and we made sure every family received as much as they needed and more. Anything left over was sorted and delivered after Christmas as many of them are still in need. The gifts were all loved and the food was very much enjoyed. We are always so grateful for all your help. Kindest Regards, Sue Khallouf. President of Engadine St Vincent de Paul

7 St John Bosco Primary School Whole School Masses, Grade Masses & Sacrament Dates 2013 The following is a list of key events in the Religion program for the Primary School for THURSDAY KMJ & KTG 1PW & 1SF 2NC & 2LB 3MB & 3KC 4AV & 4CM 5CB & 5CG 6MF & 6JD FRIDAY KJP & KAR 1AB & 1MC 2GC & 2TM 3RP & 3ML 4AH & 4SC 5WL & 5TP 6KL & 6IB Whole School Masses 9.20am - Shrine of St. John Bosco or School Hall TERM ONE TERM TWO TERM THREE TERM FOUR Feast of the Sacred Feast of the Feast of the Heart Giving Assumption of Gratitude Masses Mary Thur. Aug. Mass Thur. 6 th and Fri. 15 th Yrs 4, 5 & 6 Fri. 6 th Dec. 7 th June attending Parish Mass Welcome and Commissioning Mass Thur. Feb. 7 th (School Hall) Ash Wednesday Feb. 13 th Yrs 4, 5 & 6 Easter Masses Thur.4 th & Fri. 5 th April Year 6 Graduation Wed. 11 th Dec. 7.00pm Grade Masses & Morning Tea TERM ONE TERM TWO TERM THREE TERM FOUR Thur. 23 rd May Yr1 Thur. 22 nd Aug. Thur. 7 th Nov. - Wk 4 Yr3 Wk 6 Kindy Wk 5 Thur. 13 th June - Yr 2 Wk 7 Thur. 27 th June Yr 6 Wk 9 Thur. 12 th Sep. Yr 4 Wk 9 Thur. 21 st Nov. Yr 5 Wk5

8 Sacraments TERM THREE Sun. 11 th Aug. Sacrament of Confirmation 11:30am - 6IB & 6KL 2:30pm 6MF & 6JD TERM FOUR Sun. 20 th Oct. Eucharist (First Communion) 11.30am - 3MB & 3KC 2.30pm 3RP & 3ML Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. Tue. 27 th Aug. 6.30pm 2TM &7.30pm 2LB Thur. 29 th Aug. 6.30pm 2GC & 7.30pm 2NC Sacraments - Building Families, Enquiry Evenings & Retreats TERM ONE TERM TWO TERM THREE TERM FOUR Wed. 20 th Feb. Confirmation Enquiry Evening 6.30pm Wed. 15 th May Reconciliation & First Communion Information Evening 7.30pm Thur. 30 th & Fri. 31 st May - Confirmation Retreats Wed. 21 st Aug. Building Families Confirmation 6:30pm Wed. 5 th & Tue 6 th Sep. First Communion Retreats Wed. 18 th Sep. Building Families - Reconciliation Wed. 27 th Nov. Building Families - First Communion The Year 6 Religious Education Test will take place on Wednesday 12 th June. For information about the sacraments or other aspects of our parish, please visit the parish website: Thank you for your support. Mr Matt Evans Religious Education Coordinator