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 7: Foundation First Full week

              10th March - PUBLIC HOLIDAY NO SCHOOL

              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

At Lumen Christi we have our first sacrament coming up on the 30th March

As a school community we pray for:

Joshua Sheary

Thomas Breheny

Esmae Fairbrother

Nils Schelfhout

Emmanuel Ryan

Erin Robinson

These students had their first commitment mass last weekend and presented their prayer letter to the parish and have another commitment mass this weekend where they will receive a special mass book.

All students preparing for their First Eucharist will need to be at one of our parish masses THIS WEEKEND, ready up the back to process in with Father at the start of mass.

                                            GRADE 4 FAMILY NIGHT

Next week 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. 

Last year this 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 came home last week, please fill out the slip and bring it back to the office as soon as possible.

Please dont hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions about the information given above. (jszkwarek@churchill.catholic.edu.au)

PROJECT COMPASSION 2025

This Lent, we are called to Unite Against Poverty through Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion. By taking home a Project Compassion donation box (which came home on Friday last week), you’ll be helping to answer the Gospels’ call to care for our global family and walk alongside the most vulnerable.

This term students will be learning about Project Compassion and Caritas and the many ways they help people all over the world. Each classroom and child has a project compassion box and we encourage you at home to try and find some loose change to pop in your box, maybe go without that all-important coffee from the shop for 1 day and pop the money in the box instead, or your children might like to think of ways they can give something up (like a treat) and put the money in their project compassion box instead, or earn a few dollars by doing a job for someone and putting the money in the box. We will collect the boxes at the end of the term. 

We have a Whole School Project Compassion fundraiser at the end of the term called "The great water walk" so keep your eyes out in the newsletter for more information in the coming weeks.

Your generous support this Lenten Season will enable Caritas Australia to provide life-changing support to communities facing poverty, food insecurity, lack of education, and water shortages, while building resilience against future challenges. Together, through faith and action, we can bring hope and opportunity to those most in need.

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

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:

Making memories at our 2025 Athletics Day. Well done to all of our children for being respectful, responsible and resilient and to Bethlehem Stars (Gold House) for winning the day. Thank you to our teachers and staff for running the day and to our amazing P&F for the BBQ lunch!

Our grade 1-4 students celebrated a beautiful Ash Wednesday liturgy this morning in our church. We learnt about project compassion and each class was presented with their project compassion box to raise money for caritas this term.

The grade 5/6 had an incrediable time on school camp, vistiting lots of amazing places.