Dear Families,

I am writing this whilst on Grade 5/6 Camp in the City. We have had a wonderful first
day and it has been fantastic watching the children enjoy all of the things Melbourne
has to offer. For some children, it has been their first time on a train or tram, for
others, they are navigating two nights away from home, eating food that is different
to what they usually eat and trying new things in general. Myself and the other staff
members here are incredibly proud of the way that they have conducted themselves
and the resilience that many of them have shown.

Today is also a significant day in the Catholic Church calendar. We observe Shrove
Tuesday today, which traditionally was when Catholics used up all of the surplus
food in their homes before the season of Lent and preparations for Easter come.
Shrove Tuesday is better known as “Pancake Day” and I hope that the children have
the opportunity to have some pancakes at school with their teachers and friends.

On Wednesday, the children will celebrate Ash Wednesday at school and we will
hold a liturgy at school which Mrs Szkwarek has prepared for us. Ash Wednesday
signifies the beginning of Lent, which is the forty days and forty nights before Easter.
Traditionally, Catholics might “give something up” for Lent and has been a time of
fasting from certain foods. Instead of giving something up, we might instead try to do
something extra for others. One way that we do this at school is through the Project
Compassion boxes – our children and families are always so generous. During Lent,
we donate money through Project Compassion to help others in countries where
they may not have everything they need to thrive in the world. Catholics call this
“Social Justice” – where we look after others in need.

Remember that Friday is our Athletics Day – families are very welcome to attend.
Please come along and support all of our children, it is always such a great day and
we love having our families there with us.

Have a wonderful week ahead,

Sally

Please take note of these dates for your family calendar

Term 1 2025

Week 6: 5th March- Foundation Rest Day

              3rd - 5th March - Grade 5/6 Camp to Melbourne

              5th March - Ash Wednesday Liturgy

              6th March - Whole School Mass Cancelled

              7th March - Whole School Sports Day

              8/9 March - Eucharist Commitment Mass 1

Week 7: Foundation First Full week

              12th - 14th March - NAPLAN Window Open

              15th/16th March - Eucharist Commitment Mass 2

Week 8: 17-21st March - Australian Smile Group

              17th - 21st March - NAPLAN

Week 9: 24th March - NAPLAN Last Day

              30th March - First Eucharist Celebration 9:30am at Lumen Christi Church

Week 10: 3rd April - End of Term Mass 9:30am

                4th April: Grade 5/6 Passion Play and Easter Raffle (Time TBA)

                4th April: Last day of term 12.30pm pick up. 

Week 1: Term 2

               23rd April: Return from school hoildays 

Religious Education - Important News

ASH WEDNESDAY LITURGY - TOMORROW (5th March) @ 11:15am

Tomorrow our students will be taking part in a whole school liturgy at the church for Ash Wednesday, this day begins a very important time in the church year called Lent. Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter where Catholics are asked to reflect on themselves and their choices and try to be the best versions of themselves that they can be by doing things like praying, fasting and almsgiving (or giving to the poor). 

All parents are welcome to join us for this liturgy.

At Lumen Christi we have our first sacrament coming up, 

FIrst Eucharist - 30th March 2025

As a school community we prayer for:

Joshua Sheary

Thomas Breheny

Esmae Fairbrother

Nils Schelfhout

Emmanuel Ryan

Erin Robinson

These students are beginning the process of preparing for their First Eucharist THIS WEEKEND with commitment masses on:

8/9 March

15/16 March

22/23 March

All students preparing for their First Eucharist will need to be at one of our parish masses THIS WEEKEND with their prayer letter that they have written.

Also coming up soon we have our GRADE 4 EUCHARIST NIGHT which is a night for ALL GRADE 4 students to attend. It includes the  children re-enacting the events of the last supper and sharing a meal together of pizza with their special family member. This will be held at school on Wednesday 19^th March from 5:30 - 6:30pm. This is something that we have done for the last couple of years to replace the sacrament workshops that we had and it was a really well attended event and our students really enjoyed it.  The idea is for students to demonstrate this Sacrament in action and will be a whole Year 4 celebration so that the children receiving the sacrament are supported by their peers and the wider community in their preparation for their First Eucharist. Details about this event will come home shortly.

Please dont hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions about the Sacraments this year. (jszkwarek@churchill.catholic.edu.au)

The School Savings Bonus is a State Government initiative designed to assist
families with cost-of-living pressures. Under this funding, each eligible student is
entitled to a $400 bonus for application towards activity levies and uniform purchases
from approved supplier. Within our school, all CSEF applicants are eligible to receive
this funding. All families who have a Centrelink Health Care Card and have not
applied for CSEF in the past are encouraged to contact the school office and initiate
an application this year. Please refer to the below link for more information:

Anzac Badges Have arrived and can be purchased from the office.
Prices range from $1.00 to $10.