Dear Parents and Carers,

Unfortunately our Year 3 – 6 students did not have the opportunity to gather in the Church to celebrate Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent. All students participated in an Ash Wednesday liturgy in their classrooms with their teachers. The ashes we received today serve as an outward sign of our need for penance and symbolise our mortality, a reminder that one day we will die and our bodies will return to dust. The following reflection by Fr Ron Rolheiser, OMI provides deeper meaning and insights into the symbolism of Ash Wednesday.

It is no accident that ashes have always been a major symbol within all religions. To put on ashes, to sit in ashes, is to say publicly and to yourself that you are reflective, in a penitential mode, that this is not ‘ordinary time’ for you, that you are not in a season of celebration, that you are grieving some of the things you have done and lost, that some important work is going on silently inside you, and that you are, metaphorically and really, in the cinders of a dead fire, waiting for a fuller day in your life.

All ancient traditions, be they religious or purely mythical, abound with stories of having to sit in the ashes. We all know, for example, the story of Cinderella. This is a centuries-old, wisdom-tale that speaks about the value of ashes. The name, Cinderella, itself already says most of it. Literally it means: "the young girl who sits in the cinders, the ashes."  Moreover, as the tale makes plain, before the glass slipper is placed on her foot, before the beautiful gown, ball, dance, and marriage, there must first be a period of sitting in the cinders, of being smudged, of being humbled, and of waiting while a new life is being prepared. In the story of Cinderella there is a theology of Lent. In some Aboriginal communities there was the concept that occasionally someone would have to spend time in the ashes. Nobody knew why a specific person was called at a particular moment to sit in the ashes, but everyone knew that this was natural thing, that ashes do an important work in the soul, and that sooner or later that person would return to his or her regular life and be better for having spent time in the ashes. The belief was that the ashes, that period of silent sitting, had done some important, unseen work inside of the person. You sat in the ashes for healing.  

The church taps into this deep well of wisdom when it puts ashes on our foreheads at the beginning of Lent. Lent is a season for each of us to sit in the ashes, to spend our time, like Cinderella, working and sitting among the cinders of the fire - grieving what we've done wrong, renouncing the dance, refraining from the banquet, refusing to do business as usual, waiting while some silent growth takes place within us, and simply being still so that the ashes can do their work in us.

Wishing each of you the companionship of Christ in the Lenten journey ahead.

Tina Murray

Principal

We are extremely grateful to the members of the Parents and Friends Association for the time and effort invested in the planning, organisation and delivery of thousands of pancakes to our students during yesterday’s Shrove Tuesday celebrations.  We are extremely grateful for your support, commitment and dedication.

On Tuesday, our senior students participated in the online Launch of Project Compassion for 2022. Spanning the six weeks of Lent each year, Project Compassion brings thousands of Australian schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world. 

As Pope Francis said, “Education is an act of hope” and we have an opportunity through our involvement in Project Compassion to celebrate the power of learning and the ability we each have to make a difference in our world, especially in the lives of those who are most vulnerable to extreme poverty and injustice.

Project Compassion offers all of us an opportunity to allow our Lenten promises to take active form. In giving to those in need, we express the love and compassion modelled by Jesus. During Lent, Project Compassion boxes will be part of each classroom’s sacred space and will be available to assist our students to fulfill the Lenten promise to care for those who are less fortunate. Gratitude is extended to our Year 6 Mini Vinnies Team supported by Miss Earnshaw, Mrs Young and Mr Edwards, for coordinating initiatives at our school. Each family will receive a box and is invited to participate in collecting funds to contribute to the Project Compassion appeal.

ATTENDANCE

Regular school attendance is essential for all children to achieve their educational best. When your child attends school every day, learning becomes easier and your child will build and maintain positive friendships. To ensure students do not miss out on essential learning activities it is important that all children arrive at school prior to the first bell at 8.23am. Arriving to school prior to the bell helps students learn the importance of punctuality and routine and gives children an opportunity to greet their friends before class. It is essential that if your child is absent from school an explanation for the absence is provided to the school within 7 days. If your child is absent from school for three consecutive days, your child’s class teacher or a member of the school leadership team will contact you to discuss the absence. Education is a sequential process and absences often mean students miss important stages in the development of topics, causing them to find ‘catching up' difficult. Appointments should be scheduled outside of school hours where possible. Below are some very interesting figures regarding the impact of days and minutes lost on learning.

 

 

 NAPLAN 2022

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2022. 

Our school will be participating in NAPLAN between 10 and 20 May 2022.

In preparation for NAPLAN, our school will also be participating in practice tests between 23 March and 8 April. The practice test is a trial run and key preparation activity for NAPLAN in May. It is not an assessment of student ability, and the tests will not be marked.

Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher.

Parents of Year 3 and 5 students have been sent additional information via Compass.

 

Tina Murray

Principal