Wednesday, 1st March, 2017 Term 1, Week 5 Learning Power Project Our Vision With family, faith and friendship, we grow, share, and live as authors of our own learning. Our Values Excellence Compassion Trust Courage Respect Green Tree Frog, I grow and change. Bush Bee, I can work with others and on my own to be successful. A Message from the Principal Year of the Family Ash Wednesday Eagle, I see what I need to do to achieve my goal and take responsibility. Today we celebrated our Ash Wednesday with a prayer liturgy to begin Lent. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others. With this year being declared by our Bishop as the Year of the Family, it is an opportunity for us to deeply consider what this means for us in our own family units. Below is taken off the Australian Jesuit site which discusses the significance of the 40 days for Lent. Taking Up the Cross in These 40 Days Social scientists say it takes 28 days to change a habit. Lent asks us to change more than a habit. Crocodile, I can overcome challenges and keep going when things get tough. Dolphin, I am free to develop my own ideas and take risks. Green Ant, I use what I know and what others know to build meaning. Tata Lizard I can become a learning detective, searching for answers or clues to my own or others questions. We're invited to change our priorities and the focus of our lives. Maybe that's why Lent takes a full 40 days and happens every year. There are other reasons that our Lenten journey lasts 40 days. Throughout the Bible, the number 40 holds special meaning, indicating a span of time when significant events took place. It rained on Noah and his ark for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses spent 40 days and nights with God on Mount Sinai. The Hebrew people spent 40 years wandering in the desert upon their deliverance from slavery to the Promised Land. Jonah gave the city of Nineveh 40 days in which to repent. And Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. Our time of preparation in Lent is akin to Jesus' preparation for his work. We spend 40 days fasting, praying, and giving. By the solemn 40 days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says. We are called to live as representatives of Jesus today even when the ashes have been washed away, even when no one is looking.
A Message from the Principal... School Board AGM On the 27 th of March, we will hold our School Board AGM. We invite any new parents to the Board and if you are interested, please come and speak to me or our School Board Chair, Lorraine King. Disco The on again, off again disco is back on! Kev, our DJ, has had a cancellation and we are good to go for Friday March 17 th. Thank you to our P&F for being so flexible and committed to make this happen for your children. Go Casual Day for Camp Quality This Friday, we have a fundraiser for Camp Quality. We normally reserve all our fundraising efforts for Catholic organisations, but, we felt this would be a good one off event to support this year. Please remember that students are to wear sun-safe clothes (eg no tank tops) and covered in shoes. Today, the NT News came and did a photo shoot as a promotion. Therefore, keep your eye out for some of our students in the paper tomorrow. Holy Family App Last year, we surveyed around the use of the school app and found that it was being used less and less and that parents were using ClassDojo more and more. As the app had an annual fee of close to $1500 and ClassDojo is free, we have decided to not continue with the app. Police Presence Yesterday afternoon, NT Police were present outside our school checking for speeding vehicles. This is a timely reminder that the speed limit outside our school is 40km/h in an to keep your children safe. It was fantastic to see that nearly all parents were sitting on the speed limit and unaffected by his presence. God Bless, Shane Donohue Principal SCHOOL PHOTO DAY! School Photo envelopes went home early this week. If you require a Family Photo Order form, please come collect one from the office. 01/03 03/03 Reconciliation Enrolment Meeting Holy Family Parish Church, 6:45pm Go Casual for Camp Quality gold coin donation 10/03 School Photo Day 17/03 DATES TO REMEMBER Soccer Competition Bagot Fields 8:30am 2:00pm Harmony Day/National Day Against Bullying School Disco P&F Event 21/03 Harmony Day 27/03 School Board AGM
Around the School...
Student Awards Congratulations to the following students who received an award at Assembly last week. Parents & Friends Committee Preschool Cooper Bamblet Tarshia Orr Rm 15 TR/1 Rm 14 TR/1 Frederick Gomez Noah Briston Tiras Barrett Aamani Singh Jack Anstess Emmi-Jay Williams Ethan Harker Please keep the evening of Friday, 17th March free for our Rm 13 1/2 Laoise Hart Michael Kirby NIGHT Rm 11 3/4 Illyssa King Jorja Murray-Govan Maddy Walter William Smyth Rm 10 3/4 Blade Russell Ciara Ransome Kate Melzner Lucas Handebo - Rm 09 4/5 Bryce Church Scarlette Olsen Zak Busteed Watch this space for more information. Rm 06-5/6 Rm 07-5/6 Jett Colquhoun Jorja Handebo Geoff Edwin Jennifer Salee If you are interested in joining the P&F Committee, please come and see us in the office or forward your expression of interest to admin.holyfamily@nt.catholic.edu.au
AROUND THE SCHOOL... TECH MINIONS 2017 This week we wish the following students a Happy Birthday Maria Petrakis Saphira Olsen Cooper Dalmazzo Nahla Dale 27 February 03 March 04 March 05 March RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Birthdays from last week Congratulations Room 6 lead the school in our Ash Wednesday Prayer Liturgy. The Year 5/6 class displayed great leadership and reverence. Project Compassion This year s Lenten Groups will focus on how the money we raise is used to help the less fortunate. Due to this the project Compassion boxes will be distributed on Friday the 3 rd of March. God Bless, Hannah Foody Religious Education Coordinator
Easter Raffle It is that time of year again. Please donate chocolate/easter items to the Office for our Easter Raffle. Raffle will be drawn Friday, 7th April. Lunches Please remember to keep your child's recess separate to their lunch as their lunch gets stored in the cool room in the canteen. We are finding that some students are eating their lunch with their recess and therefore not having anything to eat at lunch time. Also, some students are arriving at school without any food. Please ensure your child has been catered for appropriately for food during the school day. A lack of food does hinder concentration and therefore will not perform at their best during the day. If your child arrives late to school, please leave their lunch box either at the front office or in their classroom.
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