Message from the Principal 

Welcome to Week 6 of Term 1

We gathered as a school and parish community on Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and prayer for Christians, as we enter into the 40 days of Lent leading up to the celebration of Easter. During his homily Fr Andrew asked us to reflect on how we live our lives each day - is it bringing us closer to God? Lent is a time where we can really focus on building our relationship with Him.  Lent is a time for prayer, almsgiving and fasting. 

Some people fast from a certain kind of food, others from tempting, time-consuming activities such as television or social media. The idea is to practice denial of something so that we can focus more on what Christ has done for us.

In the words of Pope Francis: Do you want to fast this Lent?

• 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 trust in God.
• Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.
• Fast from pressures and be prayerful.
• Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy.
• Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others.
• Fast from grudges and be reconciled.
• Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.

Morning routines and bell times

I would like to remind everyone that the morning bell is at 8:50am. It is vital that all students are at school before this time. School gates open from 8:30am, with teachers on duty. This is an ideal time to have a small play before school and catch up with class mates before the bell at 8:50am. Students who arrive after this time are missing out on the time when teachers are setting up the learning environment for the day. Our learnings from the work we are doing with Berry St means we have introduced Welcome circles as the way to start each school day. 

"The first 5 minutes of class are critical for setting the tone for the rest of the learning. Welcome circles – nurturing routines that support engagement in learning and wellbeing (Roffey, 2006) – are a key strategy for consistently embedding strengths and also tending to the body and relational connection." (https://www.berrystreet.org.au/news/rhythms-for-success-trauma-informed-routines-to-centre-culture-and-strengths) 

It is also important students do not arrive before 8:30am as there is no supervision.

Keeping everyone safe

School drop off and pick up is an important time when safety needs to be at the top of everyone's list! We have observed an increasing number of unsafe behaviours from our parents with their cars! Hopefully this improves now that our gates on Mary St can be used.  

Rose St is not a place to do u-turns; children should not be dropped off on the far side of the road and then cross it by themselves.  There is no right turn from Mary St into Rose St at these times either. 

There is no right turn out of the car park on Mary St at the beginning or at the end of the school day.

Can we please all work together to keep our community safe!

Sharon Daujat

Principal

principal@spclayton.catholic.edu.au