Family Educator News
St Anthony's Celebrates Shrove Tuesday
On Tuesday 17th February, we will celebrate our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Feast Day. To help us prepare, we’re asking each family to donate just one packet of pancakes. This helps ensure we have the right amount for everyone and don’t end up with too many. If your child has dietary requirements, please pack their pancakes separately. They can bring them to the serving area on the day so we can add toppings safely. We also invite students to bring a gold coin donation for Caritas as part of our Lenten giving.
Thank you in advance to our 2026 Mini Vinnies Leaders who will serve the pancakes for our community on the day. If there are any parents who would like to volunteer to help us set up and clean up on the day (from 9.30am to 11am), please emailinfo@staclovelly.catholic.edu.au
Playgroup Begins in Term 2
We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Playgroup in Term 2 on Monday, April 27. We’ll also be continuing our Hearts of Hope sewing during our Monday sessions and on Friday mornings.
Vinnies Bayside Van Outreach Opportunity
During the season of Lent this term, we will be organising another opportunity for parent outreach, making sandwiches for the bayside lunch service at the Eastlakes Community Centre. We will gather in the staffroom to prepare sandwiches and deliver them to the Eastlakes community centre where we will serve them to the community in need there. Last year, we made 120 sandwiches thanks to the generous donations of parents and those who came along to make and serve them. Our dates this year will be:
Tuesday 31st March/ Tuesday 27th May / Tuesday 18th August. Coordinating details will be sent out closer to the dates. In the meantime, please place your name in this form to express interest in assisting.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 18th February
This beautiful quote from Catholic spiritual writer Catherine Doherty challenges us to look honestly at the small, quiet barriers that build up in our daily lives, often without us realising.
For many families, these barriers aren’t dramatic. They’re the hurried mornings that leave no room for breath, the conversations half‑heard, the worries we carry alone, the habits that drain our energy and attention. Yet these small things can slowly dull our awareness of God’s presence and chip away at our capacity for connection.
This Lent, I invite you to let this question be pondered.... What is holding you back from your relationship with God? What stands between you and the peace, clarity, or closeness we all long for?
May this season give each of us the courage to name one barrier... just one, and gently loosen its grip. Even the smallest shift can open a doorway to grace, healing, and deeper love and joy in our homes.
Upcoming Events:
Sydney will host the 54th International Eucharistic Congress 2028
In 2028, Australia will host a landmark moment as Sydney hosts the International Eucharistic Congress (Eucharist28). Eucharistic Congresses began in the 1880s to promote reverence for Christ's real presence in the Eucharist, uniting Catholics in prayer and worship. They serve as vibrant, revitalising, faith-filled expressions of love for Jesus in the Eucharist, and the congress will be coming to Sydney in 2028!
A photo from the Eucharistic Congress held in Sydney in 1928. The congress opened with the consecration of the newly completed St Mary's Cathedral and included the largest religious spectacle seen in Australia at that time: the Blessed Sacrament borne by ship from Manly Cove to Circular Quay, while five biplanes flew overhead in the shape of the Southern Cross and a crowd of people in boats across the harbour joined in passionately singing 'O Sacrament Most Holy'. The Blessed Sacrament was then processed through the streets of Sydney, with both the secular and Catholic press estimating the crowds for the event at over 500,000 people. To learn more about the congress and stay updated with events: www.eucharist28.org
Laura Neeson
Family Educator