Lord, I will follow you.

Guide me to follow you.

I will listen to you.

And believe in your words.

I will not listen to mean words.

An will encourage others to hear your words.

I will strive to share your message.

And live those messages in my everyday life.

Guide me to follow you.

Amen.

CARITAS PROJECT COMPASSION 2020

Your eldest child will have brought home a Project Compassion box for your family.

Project Compassion fundraising has been a foundation of Social Justice awareness in the archdiocese for many years.  Project Compassion is run by Caritas Australia and is the single largest fundraising initiative of Caritas and is their largest source of income.

At St Mary’s we are promoting the theme, Let's Go Further, Together. As a school we will be setting fundraising targets and celebrating the class with the most money raised during Lent. Your children will learn about who Project Compassion is for, why we are fundraising and how their giving can help.

As Pope Francis said, “The future does have a name… and its name is hope.”

Some ways that you and your family could make a difference could be:

-          Giving up weekly canteen money;

-          Going without takeaway during Lent;

-          Giving the loose change found around the home; and

-          Giving pocket money.

Together we have the power to build a movement and create lasting change for our global community. We can help break the cycle of poverty and injustice by taking the next steps from charity to justice – to Go Further Together.

The Project Compassion boxes will be collected in Week One, Term Two.

Each week of Lent, we will share the story of another person who always goes further. These stories show how Caritas Australia’s training, development and support have improved their way of life.

   

Shirley, 36, is an indigenous Manide woman living in a remote province of the Philippines. She is a mother of four and the sole breadwinner of the family, as her husband is sick. But Shirley was struggling to support the whole family and keep her children in school. With Caritas Australia’s support, Shirley trained to become an indigenous health worker and a leader in her community. She has learned to supplement her income and is able to feed her family. The program has also helped Shirley’s children with school fees, uniforms and supplies.

The renovation project is in full swing and lots of progress is being made.

Stage 1A (demolish stairwell and build new toilet block) is slightly behind schedule, however the team has begun Stage 2 (upstairs classrooms) of the project and the work completed in this area puts the overall project on time, if not slightly ahead of schedule.

The four pictures show, the footings for the new two storey toilet block ready to be poured, the demolition of the upstairs classrooms that illustrate how the classrooms will be lengthened to utilize the space in the hallway and the removal of the old windows and frames ready for the new windows to go in.

Our students and staff have been very patient with the noise of the works and now that most of the demolition upstairs is completed this will become less of factor in the coming weeks.

The excitement levels of the school community will increase as things begin to go into the building rather than coming out.  Stay tuned for more updates towards the end of term.

• Zoomobile - All Years - If you have not already done so please complete the electronic permission form found here.  Please send $6 per child to the school office.

• Candy Stripe Fair - Kinder, Year 1 & 2 - If you have not already done so please complete the electronic permission form found here.

• Local Excurstion (Walking) Permission Note - All Years - Please complete the electronic permission note found here for all your children.

Mrs Emma McRae our counsellor will be visiting our school next week on Wednesday the 4th of March.

 If you would like to make a confidential appointment for your child please contact the office.

Happy Birthday to

Lexi Patton

who celebrates her birthday next week.

   We hope you enjoy your special day.

We have received the following information from Kelly's coaches for our parents who may need bus transport around West Wyalong:

REPRESENTATIVE TEAM SPORT

If your Year 5/6 child has the ability to compete at a representative level in the following sports - Cricket, Basketball, Tennis, Netball, Rugby League, Football (Soccer), Hockey, Softball, Touch Football and Rugby Union - you are able to nominate them for the Archdiocesan trials.

Please note that the Archdicocesan representative sport trials are highly competitve and there is an expection that children nominating for these trials have extensive experience in the sport and currently compete at a high level.

The nomination and payment is now done on-line.  Please click on the links below for the sports website and for instructions.  Once you have nominated your child, approval to participate will come from Mr Nielsen. Please contact the school office if you are unsure.

CARNIVAL QUALIFICATION

Additionally online registration for Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn carnivals such as Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics will be available on-line.  If you qualify at Western Region for the Archdiocesan event then the school will notify you so you can do an on-line entry.

Opening School Mass

This week we held our Opening School Mass where our Year 6 school leaders received their school badges.

Open Classrooms

Prior to our Opening School Mass we had open classrooms to allow our parents and carers to visit their child's classroom and gain some insight into the classroom activities and practices.

Ash Wednesday Mass

Assembly

The following events are in next weeks calendar.

To see the school's full calender check out the SZApp or our website.