www.stjohnsprimarydubbo.catholic.edu.auWeek 5 Term 1 Monday,22nd of February

SCHOOL MANAGER/PRIEST:Father Greg Kennedy PRINCIPAL:Mr Anthony O’LearyP&F MEETINGS:2nd & 7th Tuesday each term.

Parents/guardians Please note that photographs of students may be used in publication. Please advise the School Office if you do not approve of your child’s photo being used.

School Vision StatementTo change the world through our faith in Jesus who is our light

From the Principal’s desk….Dear Parents and Friends,Welcome to Week 5. Here we are halfway through the term. Time does move along at a rapid pace. Last Week we commenced our school and Parish Lenten journey with a very moving Mass with Father Matthew. We are very fortunate to have Father Matthew with us. Thanks again to Mrs Clifford for all of her dedicated work as our REC. The choir sounded wonderful and it is a joy to her singing voices after the restrictions of Covid, which are ongoing in so many areas of our lives. Well done choir!

As we continue the liturgical season of Lent, Pope Francis has written his annual Lenten message on the three theological virtues, inviting the faithful to “renew our faith, draw from the living waters of hope, and receive with open hearts the love of God.”

Grounding his reflection on the Paschal Mystery, the Pope says, “This Lenten journey… is even now illumined by the light of the resurrection, which inspires the thoughts, attitudes and decisions of the followers of Jesus.”

He goes on to say that the journey of conversion, through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, “makes it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope, and effective charity.”

Father Matthew mentioned these things during Mass. Our children have the opportunity to give alms, by participating and giving to Project Compassion.

Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia,

the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development,

to work with local communities around the world to alleviate

poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice. ‘’Caritas works

alongside communities to tackle the root causes of poverty

through development, relief and advocacy work. Together,

we believe in building lasting change.’’

We begin our annual Lenten Project Compassion journey by learning about the story of Jamila and her

family. Jamila, 22, is a Rohingya woman, living in the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar,

Bangladesh. A single mother, she fled armed conflict in Myanmar to save herself, her elderly mother and

eight-month-old baby.

With the support of Caritas Australia, through Caritas Bangladesh, Jamila was able to access emergency

food and shelter. She also received counselling, emotional support and learnt sewing skills, to help her

earn an income. Jamila now feels less alone, with a sense of community around her. She is able to ‘Be

More’ to her little family. Watch a short film about Jamila’s story here.

“Aspire not to have more, but to be more.” Please support Project Compassion: lent.caritas.org.au

Welcome to Catholic Schools Week 2021 and 200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia

This week we will be joining all of the Catholic schools in the

Diocese as we celebrate Catholic Schools Week. Mrs Clifford and

the teaching team have planned a full week of exciting activities.

We have much to be grateful for at SJP. Amazing students,

dedicated staff and modern facilities, supported by a giving parent

body and Parish.

I am sure the children will enjoy the week. On Wednesday, Mrs

Clifford and I will be travelling to Orange with the school student

Leaders and the Year 6 Christian Ministry group to attend the 200

Year celebration.

Faith in Our Future

This year marks a significant milestone in our country's history. As a Church, an education system and

for many of us, a product of a Catholic school, we celebrate 200 Years of Catholic Education in

Australia. The event was launched yesterday and for the next twelve months we will see many events

that will commemorate this achievement, some of which will be taking place in our own school and

parish. The theme is “Faith in our future”; please click to find out more.

Updated Parent Handbook.We have recently updated our Parent Handbook for 2021. The handbook will be sent to each parent via

compass and also added to our school website.

Can I please encourage all members of our parent community to visit the school's web page regularly.

The webpage itself is updated each week with items from the newsletter and also contains the

FaceBook feed. Policies and school procedures can also be found there.

The schools webpage address is http://www.stjohnsprimarydubbo.catholic.edu.au/

Compass Guide for Parents

Compass is now our main form of communication with all families. If you are experiencing any issues

with logging in, booking parent teacher interviews, viewing school reports or adding attendance notes,

please refer to the Compass Guide for Parents. If you need to have your password reset please email or

call the office 6882 2677.

All the best of luck to all of our swimmers who will be competing at the Northern

Region Swimming Carnival this Thursday.

Sunday Readings and Gospel & ReflectionGenesis 9:8-15. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant – Psalm 24(25):4-9. 1 Peter 3:18-22. Mark 1:12-15.

The Temptation of Jesus

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;[e] repent and believe in the gospel.”

We pray, Lord, bring your light

Today’s readings capture fundamental antitheses we find in life: the dark and the light, temptation and liberation, justice and injustice – but then, Divine surprise. In the wake of disaster, God provides salvation. In Genesis, after the flood, God opens the skies with light, colour – hope; an ‘everlasting covenant’. In Mark, we find Jesus in the desert, ‘with the wild beasts’ … ‘tempted by Satan…’; but, in a flash of time, later, ‘The time is fulfilled … the kingdom of God has come near!’ Again, light beyond darkness. And in the letter of Peter, perhaps the greatest surprise of all is magnificently recalled: Jesus died ‘for all, the righteous for the unrighteous….’ Nor has he merely died, as if he were some hapless lamb dragged to the slaughter: he has provided ‘baptism’, ‘an appeal to God’ – resurrection. Triumph. Weakly as sinners we pray, Lord, bring your light – quickly!

God bless and have a wonderful Week

Anthony O’Leary

Clarifying dates and times: Apologies to all families of children receiving a sacrament this year, who were confused by inconsistent advertising of dates and times. The correct dates for the Sacramental Information Evenings at St. Brigid’s are: Tuesday 2nd, Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th of March. The Meetings will commence at 6:30 pm and conclude by 7 pm. On Tuesday and Thursday there is an opportunity to attend Mass at 5:45pm prior to the meeting.

Religious Education News: Term 1, Week 5

Take care

Paula Clifford

Religious Education Coordinator

Meeting 4 Mass: Yesterday our Year 5 grade was invited to attend Mass at St. Brigid’s Church. Parents were asked to bring their children to Mass and sit with their teacher while celebrating with parishioners from St. Brigid’s. Thank You to the Year 5 students and their families who attended Meeting 4 Mass. We trust that you enjoyed this celebrating our faith alongside your teacher and parishioners from St. Brigid’s.

Lent - Project Compassion: Lent is a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation of the celebration of Easter. Throughout the season of Lent we are encouraged to explore ways in which we can respond to our desire to follow Jesus’ example of prayer, fasting and good works. One of the practical ways in which we can do this is by contributing to Project Compassion. At school we have discussed the many ways in which the money raised from Project Compassion can help and support people around the world who are less fortunate than ourselves. One child from your family should have brought home a Project Compassion box today and we ask that you encourage members of your family to use the Project Compassion box as a way of giving and therefore following in the footsteps of Jesus. The Project Compassion boxes will be collected towards the end of Term 1.

Catholic Schools Week: This week SJP will celebrate Catholic Schools Week. CSW was created to raise awareness of the strength and distinctiveness of a Catholic education. It gives parents, families and communities an opportunity to better understand and celebrate their local Catholic school. We encourage you to show your support and encouragement of your child’s catholic education by asking your child how they are celebrating Catholic Schools Week in their classroom. Unfortunately due to restrictions still in place, we are unable to offer classroom visits or BBQ lunches to families this year, but are very much looking forward to the time when we can be together and return to welcoming our families back into our classrooms.For further details, please see the Catholic Schools Week Outline in today’s newsletter.

MASS TIMES: St. Brigid’s Church: Saturday - 6:00 pm, Sunday - 9:00 am and Sunday- 6:00pm.

St. Laurence’s Church: Sunday -7:30 am and Wednesday 9.30am

Catholic Schools Week 2021 @ St. John’s Primary Monday 22nd February-Friday 26th February

Catholic Schools Week is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate who we are and what we do. It is a time for parents, students and staff to come together and celebrate the learning that takes place in our school and

enjoy what it means to be a member of our SJP Community. This year Catholic Schools Week will include many activities that are related to showing some of our core values like prayer, service and teaching and learning. Our Year 6 Ministries and their Ministry Leader will lead our school in a variety of activities, catering for all

members of our community to participate and value the opportunities and experiences offered at St. John’s Primary School.

Monday: - 9am Launch of Caritas Australia Project Compassion 2020 at Assembly

Project Compassion boxes will be distributed by the Christian Ministry on Monday afternoon to each class.

- 9am Catholic Schools Week Colouring Competition Launched at Assembly (Organised by the IT/School Events Ministry)

- 11-11:30am Coding Club on Beebots and Ipads in the STEAM room (Organised by the IT/School Events Ministry)

Tuesday:- 11-11:30am Coding Club on Beebots and Ipads in the STEAM room (Organised by the IT/School Events

Ministry)

- 2-2:30 Kids Connections (Organised by the Social Wellbeing Ministry) “Kids Connections”- the aim of this session will be to give students the opportunity to connect with another student in the school to build relationships across the grades. Classes will meet with another class in designated areas, buddies will introduce themselves, younger grades will come with their favourite book to read or be read too and then play a five minute game at the end of the session.

- Tree planting in Area (Organised by the Environment Ministry)

Wednesday:- Bookwork Awards Time TBC (Organised by the /ITSchool Events Ministry)

- Diocesan launch for the celebration of 200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia. Mr O’Leary, Mrs Clifford, Christian Ministry and School Captains attending Mass in Orange

Thursday:- Catholic Schools Week Liturgy 10:30 (Organised by the Christian Ministry)

- 1:15 BBQ Lunch for Students (Organised by the Christian Ministry)

- Karaoke Disco Day in Area 1 2nd break after BBQ Lunch (Organised by the Christian Ministry)

Friday:- Out of uniform gold coin donation to start Project Compassion Fundraising

- 1:50-2:40 pm Student vs Teachers Games in the break (Organised by the Playground Games Ministry).

Important Dates to Remember

Week 5 ● 22nd Feb- Catholic Schools Week. As per outlined activities.● 23rd Feb- AFL Gala Day Year 5 & 6 students.● 25th Feb- Northern Region Swimming Carnival.

Week 6● 2nd, 3rd and 4th March- Sacramental Information Evenings at St Brigid’s 6.30pm.

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CDF Banking 2021Next School Banking day is This Friday 26th February. Please ensure banking books are here by Thursday 25th.

Canteen News Week 5

This weeks Special MINI FRUIT CUP 50cents

Cathy Dries 0458 550 747Canteen Manager.

THE SOCIAL WELLBEING MINISTRY INTRODUCES- Kids Connections.

Dear Parents,This week for Catholic Schools Week, one of the activities organised is a ‘Kids Connections’ session to build relationships amongst students across the school.Tomorrow, Tuesday the 23rd of February your child will be meeting with an older ‘buddy’ in the school to read (or be read) their favourite book!We would like your child to bring in their favourite book. Could you please ensure their name is on the book so they can go home after the session is finished. If you have any questions you may contact Mrs Shields. Thank You for your assistance. Regards

The Social Wellbeing Ministry.18/2/2021

Community News