OUR FAITH

PRAYER 

God our Father, hear our prayers for a truly fruitful Lent. May our efforts in prayer and our deeds of mercy lead us to renewal, reconciliation and Easter Joy. 

Through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

We pray ... 

for.....our school community as we continue to pray, give and reflect on our words and actions through the season of Lent, and for those who are undergoing and/or recovering from procedures and surgeries. 

LITURGY NEWS

Project Compassion Boxes

Yesterday each family received a small Project Compassion box to keep in their home during Lent. We are particularly encouraged during Lent to give greater attention those who might be in need. 

One way we are able to do this as a Catholic Community is by supporting Project Compassion run by CARITAS Australia and over the next forty days of Lent we should be looking to make monetary contributions (big or small) to these boxes.

We are aware of many local families doing it tough given the current circumstances so prayers for those in need and random acts of kindness that don't cost money can be just as good as a monetary contribution!

SHROVE TUESDAY - PANCAKE DAY - THANK YOU!

I am sure if you asked your child/ren what was one of the highlights of their week, at school, most would say “Pancake Day!” This day was a huge success thanks to the generosity of our mums, dads and Year 6 student leaders who helped make batter, cook, spread, mix, dollop, squeeze, sprinkle, herd and serve a multitude of pancakes to the masses of children who were very keen and eager to purchase their oversized pancakes and fruit stick kebabs to help raise funds for CARITAS. A big thank you to Josh & Bec Johnson, Michael Mulligan, Mel Ison and Veronica Attard for volunteering their time on the day. 

A massive thank you to our school community especially all who donated batter, helped cook and serve the delicious pancakes. As a school community we raised $726.30. these funds will be directly donated to Caritas.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Yesterday, Years 3 to 6 gathered in the undercroft for Mass to celebrate Ash Wednesday. The undercroft was transformed into a place of prayer where staff, students, parents, and friends joined together to mark the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent.  We thank Fr John for presiding over the mass. The students are to be commended on their reverence and participation throughout the Mass. Thank you also to the staff and students who helped prepare the sacred space. Our Infants students had the opportunity to participate in a liturgy in which they were very reverent and learned about Ash Wednesday. 

Family Masses

Our Family Masses have become an important part of our School culture and these are usually held on the first Sunday of every month of the school term. Therefore our first Family Masses for this term will be held on Sunday 3rd March (Kindergarten and Yr 6) and Sunday 7th April (Yr 1 and Yr 5) at St Nicholas Church at 9.30a.m. These Masses are an opportunity for our School community to come together with our Parish Community to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word and to share a ‘cuppa ‘and morning tea afterwards. 

SACRAMENTS

This year our Year 3 and Year 6 baptised Catholic students will be involved in Sacramental Programs for Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation respectively. These are important events in the life of our students, School and Parish and we look forward to sharing these occasions with our students. For new students enrolling at St Nicholas in 2024, if there is a Sacrament that they have missed receiving please contact Mrs Dunst as soon as possible  rdunst@arm.catholic.edu.au

The following dates have been set aside for these special events:

DATES FOR 2024 SACRAMENTS

First Reconciliation - Year 3 - Wednesday 12th June 2024

First Eucharist - Year 3 - Weekend of 15th/16th June 2024

Confirmation - Year 6 - Weekend of 7th/8th September 2024

Please mark these dates on your family calendar.

ALTAR SERVER TRAINING

Student who are baptised Catholics and have received their First Reconciliation and First Eucharist are eligible to become an Altar Server. Altar Server training will be conducted on Thursday 21st March at St Nicholas Church 4pm-5pm. More information will be forthcoming in later weeks.