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Dear Parents,
I have very vivid memories of Lent as a child where I grew up, as one of 8 children in country NSW. Lent in our family meant only one thing. Giving up lollies! My elder brother, who I adored, would continue to spend his pocket money on buying sweets every week. He would then bring them home proudly from Martin’s Corner Store and carefully decanter them into a large glass bottle. Every night I would watch Michael visiting his precious stash which he would secretly open, roll the lollies around in his mouth longingly, before spitting them back into the bottle. This continued for 40 days!
“While it is true that we have our entire life to sow goodness, let us take special advantage of this Lenten season to care for those close to us and to reach out to our brothers and sisters who lie wounded along the path of life,” he said.
If the pandemic has heightened the awareness of our own personal and social fragility, may this Lent allow us to experience the consolation provided by faith in God, without whom we cannot stand firm.”
Prep Enrolments 2023
Applications are now open. Private tours can be arranged by emailing office@spbentleigh.catholic.edu.au
Reconciliation Commitment Mass
It was wonderful to see so many families at both Masses over the weekend as the Year 3 students continue their preparation for making their First Reconciliation.
School Photos
The new date for school photos is 29 March. Students will be in full summer uniform. Orders can be placed online.
Parent-Teacher Interviews Term 1
This Term we will be conducting Parent-Teacher Interviews in Week 10. Interviews are offered either onsite in your child’s classroom or online via a google meet. Bookings are filling up fast. Interviews will run for 15 minutes and students in Year 4-6 are asked to attend with their parents. We are looking forward to sharing the results of recent testing and the learning goals for Semester One
Interviews will run over two days; 29-30 March from 1.30-6pm.
Parents are asked to collect their children at 1.30 on both days to support teachers in completing all interviews in a timely manner. We appreciate your support.
Fete
We are excited to confirm that the Fete will go ahead this year on Sunday 23 October.
This means that we need all hands on deck to make the fete a success. A lot of experienced fete parents have departed St Paul's over the past 2 years, and we need new people willing to own a task - so please don't be afraid to put your hand up to help, as many others will be learning the ropes too.
Our first Gold Coin Collection Day for the Fete Handcraft stall will be on the last day of school - Friday 8 April. Students are invited to wear non-uniform clothes with a touch of crazy accessories and bring a gold coin or two! (crazy sox, crazy hair, crazy clothes).
There will be a Fete subcommittee meeting Monday 28 March at the RSL at 7.30pm. All are welcome and we need the help of every family to make the fete happen.
Things happening around St Paul's
Second Hand Uniform Shop
St Paul’s second-hand uniform shop is located onsite and will next be open for business on Monday 28 March 8.30-9am. Please come along or email Louise at office@spbentleigh.catholic.du.au with your requirements. Limited numbers will be allowed in the uniform shop at one time and masks will need to be worn.
Prayer Cloths Decorated by the students
As part of our morning prayer, the students gather around their personal prayer mat for meditation and prayer. Our thoughts and blessings are with the many people in Ukraine who are suffering.
It’s Harmony Week!
This Friday the 25th of March, students are to wear casual clothes with ‘a touch of orange’ as it is the colour for Harmony. Students are encouraged to try and pack some ‘Orange’ food into their lunches - eg: carrots, oranges, mangos, peaches and many more. You could also pack your child some cultural food, for example if you're Italian you could pack some pasta.
In the canteen, Gill will be working hard and providing a special ‘Harmony Day’ menu for students and staff to order from. Some orange foods you could pack your child/children are:
Things to look out for during the special week - fun classroom activities, whole school art activity run by the S.R.C leaders and Mrs Saunders (the art teacher) on Thursday at lunch time and lots more engaging activities. The Year 4 & 5 students will be participating in an incursion, ‘Wominjeka: The Reconciliation Workshop’, run by Jan Wozitsky, a storyteller and songwriter. Jan teaches students to sing a song of respect for Indigenous people. The song contains many stories of black-white history which Jan tells with the aid of appropriate images. There is significant discussion and the song is recorded so students and choirs can sing it again at concerts, assemblies and Indigenous Welcome to Country.
All grades will be doing fun activities in art:
Preps, One’s and Two’s: making their hands with clay or paper.
Three’s: oranged themed gel prints
Four’s, Fives and Sixes: finger knitting
I hope to see every student wearing a touch of orange on the Friday!
From the SRC team
Hello St Paul’s parents,
We are holding an Easter raffle on the last day of Term 1. We will start selling the raffle tickets on Monday the 28th of March - Friday 1st April (Week 10). The fundraiser is for Caritas, Australia. Caritas is a charity but the fundraiser is for Project Compassion. Caritas aims to end world poverty and promote justice and uphold dignity. The Grade 6 Social Justice team will be working hard and selling tickets at Recess each day in Week 10. The tickets cost $1 each and the maximum is 5 tickets per student. The chocolates and Easter goodies we have collected will be put together into hampers and will be given out to the winners of the raffle on the last day of Term, Friday 8th April! Thanks for your support.
From,
The Year 6 Social Justice Team
Tickets are selling fast for the St Paul’s Parents Welcome Night on Friday April 1st over at the Bentleigh Bowls Club, but we know schedules are hard to predict at the moment, so tickets will now be on sale up until March 31!
The Parents Nights are always the pinnacle of the Bentleigh social calendar, and we look forward to welcoming all of the new parents that have missed out on their first Parents events these past two years!
Costumes are optional but there will be a prize for the best dressed – with this year’s theme “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. There will be music, dancing, finger food, barefoot bowls and plenty of places to sit, chat and enjoy a drink and get to know the rest of the wonderful St Paul’s community. Best of all, it’s right across the road from the school, so it’s easy to find and to get home!
Tickets are $35 per head (including food) and note that you don’t need to book as a group of 10 (like some past events). Bring some money for drinks – they’re great value at the Bowls Club prices!
You can book online at: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=852199
See you there!
