R.E.

2025 Prep Family Welcome Mass - Thank you!

Thank you to all families who joined us last Sunday morning for our Prep Welcome Mass.  It was wonderful to see our Prep families being welcomed by members of the St Andrew’s community.  Our Prep children certainly stole the show by sharing their song with the community at the conclusion of Mass!   

Thank you Preps and thank you Prep families for your support of your children and the school.

We also thank our 2025Prep team and members of leadership for their support of the mass

Shrove Tuesday

On Tuesday 9th February, we began preparing for our Lenten Journey by celebrating Shrove Tuesday. This follows the tradition where people used up all of the fats in the house that they would go without until Easter.  Lent is a time for self-discipline. Throughout the 40 days of Lent, people are called to fast and pray. 

The name Shrove Tuesday comes from the custom of ringing the ‘shriving bell’ to summons the people to church to be ‘shriven,’ that are to confess their sins at the beginning of Lent. At that time, certain foods like eggs, milk, meat and rich buttery dishes were given up for the duration of Lent. One way that they used up the eggs, milk and fats in the house was to add flour to make special pancakes. In England, the popularity of pancakes caused Shrove Tuesday to be called Pancake Day, a tradition we also follow here in Australia.

Thank you to our wonderful parent helpers in all year levels who made pancakes for Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday)

Ash Wednesday

The school went to Mass yesterday for Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday begins our special time of Lent. Ash Wednesday begins the forty days of preparation for celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. The word ‘Lent’ actually comes from the old English word meaning “springtime”. In Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere, Lent usually falls in the season of summer and autumn and the experience of what comes with springtime is therefore different. However, it is still a time with rich meaning and symbols. 

Lent is a time for strengthening our faith, a time to reflect on who we are and where we are going. It is a time of quietness and prayer, a time of penance and meditation, a time to become aware of our strengths and weaknesses. During Lent we try to make a conscious effort to prepare ourselves for Easter. We can do this by increasing our prayer, helping others, fasting, giving up things we particularly like, and supporting Project Compassion. 

Lent urges us to identify and walk with Jesus as he travels towards Jerusalem and the place of his death and resurrection. In the spirit of renewal and conversion we observe Lent by reflecting on the central events of Jesus’ life and welcoming the opportunity to grow through changing our lives.

Sacramental Dates for 2025

Kind Regards,

Emma Strom

Deputy Principal & R.E.L.