Dear St John's Community,

Last week we celebrated our first mass together for the year for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a time of preparation to celebrate Jesus' Resurrection at Easter which is the holiest day in the catholic year.

During Lent, we search for God through prayer and by reading scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. Lent calls on us to abstain from luxuries and seek to engage in acts of spiritual self-discipline.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once noted that many people will say, “First comes the feast, then comes the hangover,” while the Catholic attitude is “First comes the fast, then comes the feast.”

Fasting is often a large part of Lent, this is derived from the bible in both the Old and the New Testament. Jesus expected his disciples to fast (Mt 9:14-15) and told them how to do it (Mt 6:16-18). Catholics follow this pattern by holding a partial fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Abstinence from certain foods is also part of this and comes from Daniel 10:2-3 where it says, “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” Catholics are called on to follow Daniel's example as a way of remembering that Jesus was crucified on a Friday. The only kind of flesh they can eat on Friday is fish, which is a symbol of Christ.

Why fish? I hear you ask...was it to help the Catholic fishmongers make more money? That's one story, but it's not true. The bible says that when fasting, warm-blooded flesh cannot be eaten. Fish are cold-blooded so they are fair game. If you wanted to eat snake, you could do that too. Fish are more abundant and easier to catch, and in most cases, not as dangerous!

The giving of alms is another tradition for Lent and another way to share God's gifts. Not just through money, but through sharing our time and talents with others. St John Chrysostom tells us: "Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2446).

So, as we move through the Lenten Season, pause and reflect on where you want to be in 40 days.

In the words of Pope Francis:

Let us pray that as we begin the season of lent we embrace the opportunity to:

Fast from hurting words and say kind words.

Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.

Fast from anger and be filled with patience.

Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.

Fast from worries and have trust in God.

Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.

Fast from pressures and be prayerful.

Fast from bitterness and fill our hearts with joy.

Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others.

Fast from grudges and be reconciled.

Fast from words and be silent so we can listen.

We ask the lord to guide our decisions and to bless our Community with His peace, His joy, His love.

Staff news

We extend our congratulations to Mrs Caitlin Matticoli and her partner Tom who recently got married! And then went straight back to work! We wish them all the best in married life.

Family Movie Night

Saturday nights the night!

Tickets on Trybooking

Easter Raffle

If you can spare an easter egg or two, or some Easter stuff for the raffle. Please send it in to the office for our parent helpers to organise. Ticket details will be out soon.

Social Media Ban Legislation

Some parents are already asking questions about how these changes will impact children’s experiences on the internet and what parent responsibilities in supporting them will be. I've attached a handy resource that comes from the organisation that provides our online monitoring systems of student online activities.

Operoo Account & nForma App

Please make sure you set up your child's account on Operoo so all our correspondence and permission forms, etc, can get to you.

Please make sure you have downloaded the nForma App and set up your account. You need to use the same email address you used for the school to set up the account so you can access your child's information. All parent-teacher meetings will be managed and booked through the nForma App.

SAM4SCHOOLS

Those of you with Working with Children Checks may receive emails from SAM4SCHOOLS in the next few weeks as we transfer your details to the new checking system.

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards,

Derek Bruitzman

Principal

Jokes of the week:

Why was Cinderella terrible at AFL?

A. Her coach kept turning into a pumpkin!

Q: How did a team of octopuses beat Collingwood in a footy game?

A: They initiated all the tackles!

Q: Why were there chickens at the Carlton vs Richmond game?

A: Someone needed to egg them on!

Fun facts of the week:

Lou Groen, an enterprising McDonald's franchise owner in a largely Catholic part of Cincinnati, found himself struggling to sell burgers on Fridays. His solution? The Filet-O-Fish.

In the USA, 16 billion jelly beans are produced in the lead up to Easter.

The first Ash Wednesday ceremonies were held in the 11th Century.

MATHEMATICS