In struck me earlier in the week how lucky we are at the moment with the amount of volunteerism that is happening at Lumen Christi, with our senior students certainly leading the way.  Congratulations must go to the way the Year 5/6's have used their initiative and are taking on roles in the school to benefit others and to make the school run cohesively.  Likewise we have had tremendous support from families and we thank everyone who contributes as it certainly makes a difference.  Can I especially thank Gary Masters for his help in tidying the yard as well as the great crew that helped at the Family Breakfast.  Many hands do in fact make light work.

The school foyer at the moment looks fabulous with Mrs.Colaciello's display featuring the faces of all our children, alongside the challenge ..... Be the 'I' in kind.  In this newsletter we have added some information about the church season of Lent, with this simple kindness challenge a message that we could all aspire to.

Finally, thank you to everyone for their efforts in adjusting to the new system of communication.  We have worked through using the online permission note platform, the next challenge we set you is using the online booking system for the upcoming Parent-Teacher Interviews.  As always, if you are having trouble please call by the office.

Enjoy your weekend.

Dave Cooper

As we celebrate our Catholic Faith story we at times must be wonder about where some of our traditions come from.  This week is a perfect example of opportunities of things happening that are worth learning more about.

Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday which signals the start of the Church season of Lent.  The early believers spent Shrove Tuesday consuming food supplies as they prepared to live and eat more simply during Lent.  This year we came together as a school community to celebrate by having a shared family breakfast, while in Italian classes Signora Colaciello taught the students about Martedi Grosso (Fat Tuesday) as they cooked up biscotti which aligns with the pancake tradition.

Ash Wednesday is the day on the Christian calendar that marks the season of Lent, the 40 days before Easter Sunday ..... but grab a calendar and count that up.  What's happening there?  Another complication that creates confusion in our local context were the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires.  By coincidence this traumatic event actually took place on the Church's Ash Wednesday, therefore adopting the same name.

This Lent we will be working as a community to live the message of Lent, reflecting on how we can live a life in tune with the message of Jesus in the Gospels.  At Lumen Christi that is to be the 'Light of Christ' as we build the Kingdom right here in Churchill.

The following Youtube clip provides some further information about Lent.

Project Compassion is Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal. Millions of Australians come together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

Over Lent our students will be exposed to age appropriate activities that teach them about injustices that are occurring throughout the world.  As a school community we will support fundraising initiatives that reach out to make a difference in our world.

Please take the time to learn more the Project Compassion's Week 1 story about Shirley who lives in the Philippines.

On Tuesday our students were excited to welcome the team from Spartan Kids.  More than simply a sports activity, Spartan is a great opportunity for our children to try something different, to take safe risks and to be resilient.  We thank the Spartan representatives that led the activities, Nikki and Jennifer, and encourage families to consider the upcoming Spartan Race Day as a terrific school holiday activity.  Spartan are offering Lumen Christi families the following discount codes: NIKKI15 or SOAWESOME.

Click the following link for further information

The following events are happening soon.  Further details for each event is available via the school calendar.  We request that families complete any permission forms using the online system.  If you need support or access to a computer, the admin staff are more than happy to help out.

Week 6:

Thursday 5th March - 2pm The Bull Ring Show

Thurday 5th March - 5pm First Eucharist Workshop 2

Friday 6th March - Lumen Christi's Clean Up Australia Day

Week 7:

Monday 9th March - PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Tuesday 10th March - Preps go fulltime

Wed 11th/Thu 12th March - Parent Teacher Interviews

Thursday 12th March - Casual Clothes Easter Egg Donation Day

Friday 13th March - Lumen Christi Athletic Sports Day

Thank you to all the children and famileis that participated in the first workshop.  It was a terrific session and we were very grateful that Fr.James was able to join us on the night.

We encourage parents to continue to bring their child along to the Lumen Christi Parish Mass (Sat 6pm or Sun 9am).

Upcoming key events:

Workshop 2: Thursday 5th March 5pm

First Communion Night: Saturday March 21st 6pm

Also ...... Are you looking to baptise your primary aged child?  Contact Mrs.Campbell so that we can organise for them to participate with their classmates in the appropriate scaramnt preparation.

Any questions?  See Mrs.Colaciello or Mrs.Campbell

In class the students learn the phrase and its accompanying actions/signs.  The actions serve the purpose to carry meaning for the word or sometimes mirror the motions made by our mouths or tongue.  We hope to be able to create some simple videos that can be shared via the Schoolzine platform for families to access at home.  In the meantime why not try our first phrase:

Posso mangia per favore?

Can I eat please?

For further information feel free to call pass and chat to Signora Colaciello.

Frittelle Biscoti Recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups of Plain flour

2 Eggs

6 Dessert Spoons of sugar

6 Dessert Spoons of oil

6 Dessert Spoons of icing sugar

2 Dessert Spoons Vanilla Essence (for children)

¼ -½ cup of water as needed

Method:

1.  Mix all of the ingredients together to form a firm mixture.
2. Roll out pastry with rolling pin or pasta machine
3. Cut into strips (6 – 8cm)
4. Plait strips or cut center and fold in
5. Place the frittelle strips into a hot fry pan with ½ cup of olive oil and cook until golden brown.
6. Sprinkle with icing sugar e buon appetito!

(Also known as Naccotoli in Calabria, Crostoli in the centre, Galani also in Venice, Lattughe in Lombardy, Donzelle in Tuscany and many more around Italy)