Good afternoon everyone,

Hope everyone has had a rewarding week. A reminder that I am out of the school all of next week. During this time, should you need to make contact, our Deputy Principal Christy Roberts will be available. You can contact Christy by calling the school on 5662 2192.

As we are approaching the end of term one, I wish to remind families that full payment of school fees are due before the end of this term please, unless you are on a current payment plan or have made contact with the school with an alternative arrangement. As always, if you are having family budget concerns, please make contact with the school as soon as possible so we can assist in how to best support your family in meeting the school fee commitments.

The grade 3 - 6 Swimming programs last day was Monday, where children wore their pajamas in the water as part of the water safety module. The children always enjoy and have fun during this activity. Today the Division Swimming team of 13, went off to Korumburra Pool to compete. What a great day, with all swimmers doing their best and our freesyle relay girls are off to Sale for the Regional Swimming meet after their win today. Well done team Laurence.

The foundation students have had their last rest day this week and will be at school fulltime from March 3rd. It has been so nice to see them getting comfortable around the school and getting into school life with enthusiasm.

Don't forget that there is a school closure on Friday 7th March for a staff PD. Hope you all have a happy extra long weekend. Tuesday 11th March there are no buses running, however, school will be open as normal. Families who utilise the bus services will need to arrange alternative arrangements on this day. We apologise for the inconvenience, we are governed by LSC's bus network as to when buses do and don't run.

The Social Justice Grade 6 Leadership Team will be representing St Laurence's at Caritas' Project Compassion launch. This is being held at Mary Mackillop Regional College on Tuesday 4th March. This should be a very interesting and rewarding day for them.

Ash Wednesday and Lent are important Catholic traditions. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Catholic Church’s season of Lent, a special time of preparation, when we stop and think about how we can play our part in God’s hope for a world that is fair, just and peaceful.

While Lent prepares us for the season of Easter, the most important time in the Church’s calendar, it is a time of prayer, fasting and giving to others and when we think about all our blessings giving thanks for all that God has given us.

The ashes that will be sprinkled on the children's head at our Ash Wednesday mass are a symbol, reminding us that during Lent we are trying to grow to be more like Jesus.

We invite you all to attend our

whole school Mass

celebrating Ash Wednesday

and the start of Lent on

Wednesday, March 5

at 11:30am.

Each year during the 6 weeks of the Lenton season, St Laurence's supports Caritas Austraila's Project Compassion. Families will have received a Project Compassion moneybox. The idea is to give something up for the Lenton period and pop any monies saved into the money to help other less fortunate that ourselves. It can be a challenge. Anyone can practice this and it is not limited to simply donating money.

Here are a few ideas:

Kids / Teen Fasting Ideas

Give up a favorite toy or game
Fast from social media for a day
Give up a favorite snack
Drink only water
Go without headphones/air pods for a day
Play your favorite game, focusing on helping others instead of winning
Allow others to pass in front of you
Introduce children to a charity and explain to them how and why we donate to them
Have children identify a toy they are willing to donate
Help children identify an article of clothing (in good condition) they can donate and explain that their donation can be a blessing to someone in need
Donate food to a food bank
Give a smile to someone you pass

General Ideas for Lenten Sacrifices

Give up your favourite drink (or make it at home)
Give up alcohol
Give up certain social media sites, or limited them to certain days/time of day
Give up electronics after a certain time in the day (i.e., no screens after 8 p.m.)
Wake up without hitting the snooze button
Shower without hot (with only lukewarm) water
Abstain from reading gossip/rumor sites

"How often do we get caught up in our own wants and needs, lose sight of the heart of the matter, and fail to embrace the true meaning of our lives in this world! Lent is a time of truth, a time to drop the masks we put on each day to appear perfect in the eyes of the world".

Pope Francis – Ash Wednesday homily in 2023

Have a safe and relaxing weekend.

eSmar