This week I would like to share with you extracts from the Pope’s message for Lent; The Hope of Lent

Lent is a favourable time for personal and community renewal, as it leads us to the paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For our Lenten journey in 2022, we will do well to reflect on Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Galatians: “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. So then, while we have the opportunity (kairós), let us do good to all” (Galatians 6:9-10).

1. Sowing and reaping

Lent is certainly such an opportune time, but so is our entire existence, of which Lent is in some way an image. All too often in our lives, greed, pride and the desire to possess, accumulate and consume have the upper hand. Lent invites us to conversion,to a change in mindset, so that life’s truth and beauty may be found not so much in possessing as in giving, not so much in accumulating as in sowing and sharing goodness.

By making good use of the present time (cf. Ephesians 5:16), we too can sow seeds of goodness. A first fruit of the goodness we sow appears in ourselves and our daily lives, even in our little acts of kindness.

2. “Let us not grow tired of doing good”

Christ’s resurrection enlivens earthly hopes with the “great hope” of eternal life, planting the seed of salvation in our present time (cf. Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, 3; 7). Bitter disappointment at shattered dreams, deep concern for the challenges ahead and discouragement at the poverty of our resources, can make us tempted to seek refuge in self-centredness and indifference to the suffering of others. Indeed, even our best resources have their limitations:

Let us not grow tired of praying. Jesus taught us to “pray always without becoming weary” (Luke 18:1). We need to pray because we need God. Thinking that we need nothing other than ourselves is a dangerous illusion. If the pandemic has heightened the awareness of our own personal and social fragility, may this Lent allow us to experience the consolation provided by faith in God, without whom we cannot stand firm (cf. Isaiah 7:9).

May the Virgin Mary, who bore the Saviour in her womb and “pondered all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:19), obtain for us the gift of patience. May she accompany us with her maternal presence, so that this season of conversion may bring forth fruits of eternal salvation.

The Hope of Lent (extracts)

Pope’s message of Lent

With all that is happening around us at the moment the message of Hope and the true meaning of Lent is a timely reminder of our calling as a Catholic Community. In light of this we also offer a prayer for the people of Ukraine and keep in our prayers all those affected by the floods.

God Bless

Mrs Belinda Hughes - Principal

Beginning of School Liturgy & Induction of Leaders 

Blessings of Hope

All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 were involved in the Beginning School Year Liturgy via Zoom on Friday 25th February at 9:30am. The Liturgy was led by Father Ken in the school hall. Father Ken blessed the Year 6 students and presented them with their badges. Thank you to the student Inspired By Christ team for their contributions to our liturgy. 

Last week the season of Lent began with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. 

The theme of Project Compassion 2022 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. 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 the Caritas Australia website at: lent.caritas.org.au

This year our Caritas: Project Compassion fundraiser will focus on the theme... ‘FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS’.

This year in linking with the theme ‘For Future Generations’ our Caritas: Project Compassion Fundraiser for the students is - come dressed up in “What you want to be when you grow up.” This will be held on Friday the 8th April (Last day of Term One).

Ash Wednesday - Classrooms Liturgies 

On Wednesday 2nd March at 9:15 am, representatives from the Year 6 ‘Inspired by Christ’ team attended the Ash Wednesday Mass in our Parish Church with Mrs Hughes and Father Ken. After Mass, the Year 6 students visited each of the classrooms (K-5) and held an Ash Wednesday prayer service. 

Ash Wednesday begins the Season of Lent - time to prepare ourselves for Easter. Ashes on our forehead mark us as Christians, as people who carry Christ’s message in the actions of our lives. It is a time for refocusing and renewing our lives so that we more closely reflect our Baptismal promises. 

Catholic Schools Week

Last week we celebrated Catholic Schools Week, a week where the students could celebrate their love for learning at our wonderful school St Michael’s. The students  participated in a range of in class activities from mindfulness, gratitude games, Shrove Tuesday, in class Liturgies and the creation of a  lovely whole school display “200 reasons why we love our school.”

St Joseph Liturgy - Thursday 17th March 

Year Five will host the St Joseph Liturgy  on the 17th March at 2.30pm in our school hall.  All parents and caregivers are welcome.

Harmony Day

On March 21st St Michael’s will celebrate Harmony Day with in class activities and a creation of a whole school display. Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 

Over the next few weekends, students from St Michael’s will receive the Sacrament of Eucharist for the first time. These children are joining the faith community at the table of God’s family. We wish these students and their parents the strength to continue to share with each other their beliefs and love in Jesus Christ.

Save the date - Andrew Chinn Easter Concert 

- Friday 6th of May (Term Two)

Andrew Chinn is a composer of liturgical music for children. Our children sing Andrew's songs in our Masses and Liturgies and also in class. On Friday 6th of May Andrew will be visiting our school to conduct fun singing workshops with all of our students during the day. All parents, friends and members of our school community are then invited to join us for a concert from 2.05pm -3.05pm in the school hall. Andrew will host the concert which will involve every one of our students performing one of his songs with fun, energy, singing and movement.

Mrs Stephanie Brown - Religious Education Co ordinator

Religious Education and Catholic Life Goal 2022: All staff will be involved in the actioning of the finalised vision and mission so that the school community has a strong commitment to its vision and mission.

During the first half of Term One the Staff have been engaging and connecting with our new school Vision and Mission and discerning how we can ritualise the vision and mission across the school. 

We will commence with unpacking the statements (What does it feel like? What does it  look like ? What does it sound like?) with our classes allowing students the opportunity to familiarise, connect and make meaning of them in their school lives.

Moving forward we would also like to introduce Leadership awards (presented at the end of each term) that align with the school vision and mission. The staff will use next term to establish the criteria for these awards with the intention to commence the leadership awards at the end of Term Two. This will also allow teachers to fully unpack these with the students so that they know what to work towards.    

Mrs Stephanie Brown - Religious Education Co ordinator                                 

2023 Kinder Enrolments

The enrolment package is available from our school or online at www.dow.catholic.edu.au

Mini Vinnies  

The Term 1 Mini Vinnies team consists of an enthusiastic group of Year 6 students. 

Last week all Mini Vinnies received their badges and pledged their time and compassion to the projects that Mini Vinnies will take on. 

Easter Appeal:

This term, the Mini Vinnies are hosting an Easter Appeal so that they can provide non-perishable food and water to those less fortunate and enable them to celebrate in this Holy holiday. Each classroom will be provided with a basket for students to collect their non-perishable items. Non-perishable items include but are not limited to pancake mix, muesli bars, canned tuna, canned beans, noodle cups, tea bags, powdered milk, juice poppers etc. 

The Easter Appeal collection will be running from Monday 21st March (Week 9) through to Friday 1st April (Week 10). The baskets will then be collected by John Denning, the St Vincent de Paul Thirroul coordinator for our school, who will provide these items to people in need in our community.

Vinnies Flood Appeal: 

We have been seeing many members of our community impacted by the devastating floods across the east coast of Australia. 

The Mini Vinnies team is stepping up to help those that have been affected to rebuild their lives by creating ribbons for St Patrick’s Day and Harmony Day. 

Through this initiative, students will be supporting each other and the members of the community by buying green ribbons on St Patrick’s Day (Thursday 17th March - Week 8) and orange ribbons on Harmony Day (Monday 21st March - Week 9) with a gold coin donation. 

All proceeds raised during these two events will be donated to the Vinnies Flood Appeal. 

You can also donate directly to St Vincent De Paul Society by accessing their site. 

To quote Mary MacKillop, “Never see a need without doing something about it.”

More often than not, it takes only a few small steps to make huge changes in the world. We are a small school that can make a big difference.

We thank you in advance for all the support you provide to the school, the Mini Vinnies team and the community. 

Miss Negus and the Mini Vinnies team.

ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS

Teacher WEN (Wollongong Environment Network) Day

On Wednesday 9th March I attended the WEN Teacher Contact Professional Development Day which was held at St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School, Gwynneville. It was a wonderful day where I got to collaborate with teachers from other Primary Schools as well as Secondary Schools. We had time to reflect on our own school’s journey with environmental initiatives. I also looked at our SEMP (School Environment Management Plan) and came up with a plan forward on what we can work on this year as a school community.

SCHOOL GARDEN

We will be starting our Garden Club at the beginning of Term 2. There will be students from each class who will spend time with me each Friday in the garden. 

In the meantime, we would like to prepare the garden beds with the soil and tidy the area up.  

If there are any parents / grandparents available on Friday, 25th March, your help would be greatly appreciated. Please contact the school office if you’re free. We will be working in the gardens from 1.00 - 1.45pm on this day.

Mrs Katie Kelly - WEN (Wollongongong Environment Network Contact)

The lovely Year 1 students have settled into the 2022 school year very well.

Students have been learning to identify and respond to their emotions so that they can interact positively and respectfully with their peers. Year 1 have enjoyed participating in the activities for Catholic Schools Week, including sharing what they love about St Michael’s. The students have shown determination when learning how to add and subtract numbers using concrete materials and strategies such as a number line. Year 1 have enthusiastically participated in English activities related to the book Rosie’s Walk, by Pat Hutchins. We have also learnt about Picasso and his cubism art by creating cubism self portraits.

Please see some of the students' wonderful work below. 

Congratulations to Amelia Mc and Riley S who attended the DOW Basketball Trials on Tuesday 8th February and were selected for the Diocese Representative Teams. The selectors had a difficult job selecting students due to the number of talented individuals who trialled.

Miss Emma Wargge - Sports Coordinator 

Principal Awards:

• Aria G
• Taylah E
• Summer F
• Oscar S
• Eliza B
• Mahli D
• Lila H
• Arabella D
• Isla O
• Elyza R
• Lillian C

Gold Award

• Elyza R
• Arabella D
• Mahli D
  

St Michael's Blue

• Elyza R