"…what God yearns to give us, if only we will have it, is unstinted life. We cannot have this unless we concede, and confess, that there are places in our hearts which actively resist life, places where we cling to our greed, our anger, our self-preening, our self-hating…Lent is a time when we pray to be made sound again.”

Peter Steele SJ, Bread for the Journey

Dear Parents and Carers,

Our reflections on Lent continue this week with a passage from Peter Steele SJ. Peter Steele is writing of Lent being a time of healing, but a healing that can only take place if we can be honest with ourselves. It is always difficult being asked to give an account of ourselves. Yet when we do, even if only to ourselves, the experience can be liberating – if we have a deep trust in the God who loves us beyond all earthly measures of what that might mean. Lent is a closer step to the life that Easter offers.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Last week we held our Parent Teacher interviews over 3 days. My thanks to all teachers for their commitment and involvement as well as to the many parents who were able to attend. If you were unable to attend last week, please make a time to see your child’s teacher. My thanks to Sean Rutledge who coordinated the interviews.

Swimming Carnival

Yesterday we held our Swimming Carnival, at the Tuggeranong Leisure Centre. It was an excellent day and the children had a wonderful experience. My thanks to Mary de Smet, who coordinated the carnival and did an amazing job. My thanks too to all staff for their support of the students and their hard work, and to the many parent volunteers who gave up so much of their time to assist in the running of the carnival. It was an excellent example of the home and school partnership and what we can achieve together.

Thank You

During the summer holiday break, many parents contributed to the watering of the vegetable and herb garden, which is an important part of the school’s kitchen processes. Like the Swimming Carnival, it is a great example of parental help and support. My thanks to Maggie Lau, Jacqui Scanlan, Kate Marshall and Llewella Jago for their great support.

2021 School Parent Directory

A huge thank you to Sally Blacker for all her efforts in producing this document.  This is a massive task and we appreciate the time you have spent preparing this for the school community.  Each family will receive a copy and it will be given to the eldest child in the family to bring home sometime this week.

Have a wonderful week with your families.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal

Sacrament of Reconciliation Commitment Mass

All members of the school community are warmly invited to the Reconciliation Presentation Mass on Saturday 6:00pm and Sunday at 9:30am at Holy Trinity Church.

Gospel Reflection

Eph 2:4-10 and Jn 3:16

Jesus converses with Nicodemus

The reading demonstrates God’s infinite patience with humankind. God gives the people another chance and calls on them to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. God is willing to wipe the slate clean and start afresh. It is in this context that we must understand the Gospel passage. In yet another attempt to demonstrate love and forgiveness, God’s only Son – the Word made Flesh – is sent into the world to lead the people from darkness to light.

From Greg Sunter

Project Compassion

The Season of Lent marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. 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. Each year we raise student awareness of people around the world who need support and encourage giving to this cause. Your child can take donations to school at any time throughout Lent and place it in the donation box in their class.  

https://www.prayingwithchildren.org/h34rtm4du.html

Praying with Children is an online resource that is designed for families with children to use at home.

It includes an extract from the Sunday Gospel, along with some reflection questions, family activities and a short video to watch.

Blessings,

Fron Garrett

Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)

DATES TO REMEMBER

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to those students celebrating their birthday this week.

Isabella T

Lachlan A

Emma I

Roxie M

Book club orders

Unfortunately our book club orders have been delayed at the warehouse. I have spoken to them and they have promised to deliver our order as soon as possible.

Keep reading!

Mrs Basedow

Saints Peter and Paul Swimming Carnival
Thank you so much for everything that you did to help your child/ren prepare for and participate in our swimming carnival yesterday. Everyone seemed like they had a great day, so I really hope that this was the case.

A huge thank you to all the staff and parent volunteers who helped the day to run smoothly. We would not have been able to do it without you.
It was also really nice to see so many parents and relatives that were able to come and watch some of the races.

Congratulations to TALARA, who came away with the house win on the day.

We will let you know when we will be handing out ribbons and announcing age champions at a morning assembly soon.

South/Weston Region Swimming Carnival Thursday 25^th March
at the Stromlo Leisure Centre, Corner of Uriarra Road and, Dave McInnes Rd, Stromlo.

If your child is selected to represent our school at the regional carnival, they will receive information in relation to this on Friday this week. Please be aware that there will be a quick turnaround for bringing these notes back (Wednesday 17^th March) as nominations need to be submitted to the convening school for organisational purposes. Thank you in advance for your assistance with this.

Unfortunately, it was confirmed at the ACT sport meeting that there will be no 8 and 9 year old events at this carnival. However, they will now be allowing one parent/spectator per student.

Please note that any parent/spectator; will not be allowed on the officials side of the pool (glassed wall side), is not allowed to be accompanied by any other family members, must provide their contact information and intent to attend the carnival no later than Wednesday 17^th March (as I will have to submit this information to the organisers) and must line up and get their name checked off the list that I will be submitting to the organisers (if your name is not on the list you will not be allowed to enter the pool.)

Cricket Clinics

Cricket clinics are continuing each Monday for the rest of the term in Weeks 7, 8 and 9, so please send your child to school in their sports clothes, on these days. Thank you so much for your assistance with this.

If you ever have any questions about anything related to Sport, please don’t hesitate to get in touch mary.desmet@cg.catholic.edu.au Hopefully I’ll be able to help you out!

Kitchen and Canteen Ingredient Drive

To help stock our pantries for 2021 we are having an Ingredient drive.

On Thursday 18^th March we are having a mufti day.

This is where we are asking all students to come to school wearing casual clothes, not school uniform and in return bring an item to stock our pantries.

Each class will be asked to bring in a different item and there will be prizes for the class that has highest percentage participation.

There will be a box in each the classroom to place the items.

Your class item is listed below.

Thank you  Robyn Moore and Lauretta Raccosta

Kinder W  500gms Butter block

Kinder M   500gms Butter block

1 W   Tin of Condensed milk         

1 M Desiccated Coconut or paper towels       

2M Foil

2 W Rolled Oats or paper towels

3 /4 M Plain Flour (white or wholemeal)                 

3 /4 W Self Raising Flour (white or wholemeal)

3 /4 B Self Raising Flour (white or wholemeal)

5 W Dishwashing Liquid

5 M Baking Paper (not greaseproof paper)

6 W Sugar (Brown ,White or Raw)

6 M Oil or Oil spray

Gardening Club/Cooking (Food Science)/Health and Curriculum

Years 1 and 2 are having a great time learning about health in the classroom and seeing how we can eat healthily by cooking some yummy food. They have also had a go at some fabulous skills such as stirring, measuring, chopping, grating and telling the time (so we didn’t burn the pudding). Cracking eggs was also a fun first for some!

In Health we have now learnt about the Five Food Groups and how important water is. For example, the children have talked about why we need the diary group as well as becoming familiar with some tricky words such as protein and calcium.

We have cooked pasta bake using tomatoes from our garden and old fashioned bread and butter pudding using our own nutritious apples and milk.

This week we also incorporated Maths in the kitchen. We made bracelets and necklaces using different coloured pasta to make patterns. This was also great for our fine motor skills.

In Garden Club, we have been busy planting and harvesting. It is great to have so many helpers each week to keep our garden growing.

It has been a busy 6 weeks!!

If you have any questions about Gardening Club or cooking and Health in the classroom, please email Katherine.birch@cg.catholic.edu.au

The Gardening Club

If you have any wool, cotton thread or material scraps, please send them into Year 6.

They need it for their art unit.

CANTEEN IS CASHLESS

 Families can make contactless payment via Qkr!

 Purchase over-the-counter sale items (snacks & treats) for your child/children in a lunch order via Qkr! 

or 

you can purchase a “daily counter sales voucher” via Qkr! for your child/children to go to the canteen to collect something at lunchtime.

Thank you helpers; your assistance is very much appreciated!

Please contact me if you are unable to make your shift, Thank you.

Are you able to help out in the canteen?

 Parent/carer helpers are most welcome in the Canteen. A lending hand is always required and very much appreciated.

Helping in the Canteen is a great opportunity to meet new people and make a valuable contribution to the school.  No doubt your child/ren will get a buzz from seeing you at the school. 

So if you have any spare time and would like to help out in the canteen, PLEASE feel free to contact me through email at lauretta.raccosta@cg.catholic.edu.au

 Or click on the link below to add your selected time to the roster. 

Please ensure you have your WWVP card.

https://stpandp.schoolzineplus.com/CanteenRosterTerm12021

Lauretta Raccosta,

Canteen

Lauretta.Raccosta@cg.catholic.au

OPEN TUESDAY MORNINGS

8.30 – 9.30AM

 The Uniform Shop is a service for the parents and children.  We sell New & Quality Second-hand school clothing, and all money raised goes back to the school to provide resources for the children.

You can place an order via Qkr! Order on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday and the item/s will be delivered to your child’s classroom. Orders need to be placed before 8.45am.

Please see SZapp for the Summer Uniform price list.

It is usual practice for most schools to offer second-hand clothing at the uniform shop to families at a discounted price. Quality second-hand clothing can only be purchased during uniform hours.  We do understand that this may not be convenient for some families so please feel free to send me an email if you are unable to get to the uniform shop during its hours and I will do my best to attend your needs.

The uniform shop is limited with space, so as a guide, clothes should only be donated if washed and in perfect resalable order.

Please give any used second-hand uniform to Mrs R in the canteen, Thank you.

UNIFORM OUT OF STOCK ITEMS ARE ARRIVING SOON!

 Apologises to all the families that have been awaiting on uniform items that they have purchased.

  Unfortunately, our supplier LW Reid ran out of stock on their end which has left us waiting for new supplies.

 BUT new stock is arriving soon!

Navy Shorts, sizes 6, 12, 14 - delivery due 15 March (date changed)

Maroon Skorts size 12 arrived late last week, and all deliveries were made.

 Thank you for your patience.

Lauretta Raccosta

Uniform Shop

Lauretta.Raccosta@cg.catholic.edu.au

PUMPKIN AND CORM MUFFINS

Ingredients

3 cups self raising flour

Pinch sea salt & pepper

400 gr pumpkin, peeled and grated

1 corn, husked and kernels cut off

1 lemon, zested

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley & thyme

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, line a 12 hole muffin pan with cases and spray with oil, then set aside.

Place the flour, salt & pepper in a bowl. Add grated pumpkin, corn kernels, lemon zest and chopped herbs, mix lightly and make a well in the centre.

Place the eggs, milk and oil in a separate bowl, whisk lightly with a fork.

Pour milk mix into dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin (about 2/3 full).

Cook for approximately 15 minutes (insert a skewer if unsure). Cool on a wire rack.

This recipe is on page 136 of our 50th Anniversary Cookbook.

The cookbook, full of recipes from either Mrs Robyn Moore (fab cooking teacher) or donated by our school community, can be purchased for only $20 via Qkr! or eftpos (No cash please). Books can be collected from the front office. 

Autumn in Canberra is such a colourful, vibrant season and the weather is usually lovely. Take a stroll around one of our lakes and marvel at all the different colours.

Please see the attached PDF for information on 'Holiday Happenings'.

We would like to invite Year 6 female students to participate in one of our Be a Merici Girl (BMG) for a Day. This year, BMG days will be held on Thursday 22 April, Friday 23 April and Thursday 6 May.  BMG days provide the students with the opportunity to experience a typical day in a College. A timetable is given to each student detailing the classes she will be attending, as well as the classroom location. Senior Transition Team members will be assisting students throughout the day. Students will attend five classes.

Similar to last year, registrations for a BMG will be required to be made by the parent as we have not organised dedicated days for specific schools to visit.  Transport to and from the College will be required to be organised by the parent. Students are required to arrive at 8.30am and are asked to assemble in the auditorium. The day will conclude at 2.30pm with a brief talk auditorium. Parents are requested to collect their daughters from the auditorium at this time. Recess will be provided to students and they will be required to bring their own lunch, however our canteen will be open and students are more than welcome to purchase food and beverages from our healthy canteen; $5.00 will cover food and a drink. In addition, students are requested to come dressed in their sports uniform.

Please find attached our flyer with online registration details at www.merici.college.

School Sport ACT (SSACT)

Please follow this link www.schoolsportact.org.au to access all information related to School Sport ACT. The current primary school sporting calendar can be found on this page. Please ensure that you visit this page regularly as dates sometimes change due to unforeseen circumstances.

SSACT Trials

The process for registering your child for an ACT sport trial can be found below. If you need any assistance registering your child, don’t hesitate to get in touch and we will hopefully be able to help you out. If you find that there are any steps missing within this process, please let me know at your earliest convenience.

SSACT Registration Process

School Sport ACT now collects all registration information online – this is to prevent the movement to and fro of a paper note and have all information readily available to officials prior to the trial. As this process incurs a fee for data storage, system maintenance and admin, a small fee payment via credit card will be required.

How to register a Student with School Sport ACT.

1. Go to the School Sport ACT website schoolsportact.org.au
2. Go to Register (top right corner of the homepage) and create an account.
3. After completion, check your registered email to verify your account. (Always check your spam folder in case you didn't immediately receive the verification email).
4. After verifying your account, Log In (top right hand corner of the homepage) using your registered email and password.
5. You’ll be presented with your Parent Dashboard. From there you can start the process of registering a Student into a Trial.
6. Click the green Add Student
7. Complete all of the information required for your Student (e.g. Medical Details, Sport, Playing History, Preferred Position, School etc.) and save the information. (If your child is already in the system, please ensure that your child’s school is up to date in your profile.)
8. Click on the trial information box and then click on the register to trial link.
9. Make the small credit card payment. After payment your Principal/School Approver will receive an email for their approval to trial.

You will be able to see the process has been complete back in My Profile – once your Principal/School Approver has completed the approval process your child’s information will be collated onto a list for the Team Manager and Coach prior to trial.