There is a long tradition of giving something up for Lent. In the Christian tradition, the forty day fast originated with Jesus' forty days and nights in the wilderness. Ever since, people have followed this in a variety of ways, giving up specific items (abstaining) or having meat-free days during Lent.

At our school we ask students to “do more” for others during the Season of Lent. We ask them to be kind, to include others in their games, to sit next to someone they wouldn’t normally sit with, to be more tolerant, and so on.

Each year Project Compassion brings together thousands of Australians in schools, parishes and the community to stand in solidarity with the world’s most vulnerable communities, to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. This year, the theme of Project Compassion is “Be More.” It challenges us to venture into a new experience of compassion, and is taken from the invitation of Saint Oscar Romero, to “aspire not to have more, but to be more.” This message invites us to step up and step out for those who do not have the essential resources they need for their survival.

Our school supports Project Compassion through Caritas Australia. Each class has a Project Compassion box for coin donations. If you would prefer to donate online, click on this link - https://lent.caritas.org.au/

Below are two posters the Yr. 5/6’s have been working on. Their work fits perfectly with the Season of Lent.

Community Picnic

Thank you for coming along to our Family Picnic last Thursday evening. It was such a fabulous event and we couldn’t have asked for better weather! Congratulations to the voucher winners! Our next event will be the Mother’s Day breakfast on May 7.

Class Contacts

We only have one class contact so far. It’s not a huge job; it’s mainly about sending out important information from time to time and facilitating get-togethers, etc. Contact Julie Ogden if you’re interested.

Catholic Leader’s Retreat

I am currently attending the annual Catholic Education Leader's Retreat. At the retreat, we hear the latest news, procedures and policies from Catholic Education, as well as spend time in prayer and reflection as Catholic leaders. Please contact Kristy Poole or Samantha Mance if you need to speak to a Leadership Team member.

Pupil Free Day – For your diaries

April 19, 2021 is a Pupil Free Day for ALL Catholic schools in our Archdiocese. (It is the first day of Term 2). Team Kids will provide care on this day, but you will need to register beforehand.

School Photos

School Photos will be on Tuesday 16th March. Ordering envelopes were sent home today, one for each student. Please return to your child’s teacher prior to photo day.

Yours sincerely,

Julie Wiley
Principal

Year 1 attending 10 am Mass this Friday

Parents and caregivers of students in Year One are welcome to attend our 10am Parish Mass with the class this Friday the 5th of March.

Sacrament of First Reconciliation

We continue to pray for our students who are preparing for the Sacrament of First Reconciliation. The celebration of the Sacrament will take place on Saturday 27th March. 

Centred in Faith Gathering- Monday 15th March

It has been wonderful to be able to gather again as a community. These community gatherings unite us as a school. On Monday 15th of March at 9:00am in the hall, Mrs Washington and the Year 2 students will share the message of the Prodigal Son. The students will demonstrate how the father in this parable showed the unconditional love and forgiveness that we can have for others.

Yours in Christ,

Samantha Mance 
Religious Education Coordinator

School Chaplain/Mini Vinnies

Mini Vinnies

During our first Mini Vinnies meeting on Friday 26 February, it was unanimously decided that we would run our Fairtrade Easter Egg Raffle again this term. Over the next several weeks we will work on making posters and promoting our Easter Raffle.

On Friday the 12th of March we have invited Matthew Wilson, a Youth Liaison Officer from St Vincent de Paul, to our school for the students Commitment Ceremony  Mini Vinnies 2021.

Fairtrade Easter Egg Raffle

The aim of our Mini Vinnies Fairtrade Easter Egg Raffle is to raise awareness of the global social justice issue of child labour and slavery in the chocolate industry, particularly in West Africa where the majority of the world’s cocoa production occurs. It is very sad to think that child exploitation has occurred in the production of the Easter Eggs we are enjoying.

Baptist World Aid Australia and World Vision Australia produced a report in 2016 titled ‘A Matter of Taste’ on the topic of child labour and slavery in the chocolate industry. In this report it was estimated that 2.26 million children and young people (under 18 years of age), worked as labourers in the cocoa harvesting industry in West Africa where the majority of the world’s cocoa production occurs. They generally work under hazardous conditions for little or no pay. It is thought that 10% and upwards of these are trafficked children. There is a global movement to try and change this situation. When purchasing chocolate please look for the Fairtrade, UTZ Certified or Rainforest Alliance labels which shows the cocoa has been sourced ethically from farmers who engage in good labour practices.

There is a push for change for the better. Fairtrade, UTZ Certified and Rainforest Alliance are three certification bodies in Australia who identify companies using ethically sourced cocoa beans from farmers engaging in good labour practices and sustainable farming methods.

Also a number of organisations are doing great work in advocating for better practices in the chocolate industry:

Stop the Traffik Australia and Baptist World Aid Australia have produced an excellent report on this topic titled ‘A Matter of Taste’ which can be viewed at

http://acrath.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/A-Matter-of-Taste-2017-Full-version.pdf

ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious against Trafficking in Humans) advocate strongly and have great resources:

https://acrath.org.au/take-action/slavery-free-easter-chocolate/

A guide listing Easter Eggs that are free from trafficked labour is at https://baptistworldaid.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/goodeggguide2016.pdf . It includes:

• Aldi's UTZ Certified Dairy Fine, Choceur, Moser Roth and Specially Selected Easter chocolate ranges.
• Chocolatier Australia's Fairtrade milk and dark chocolate 100g eggs, available through Coles, Woolworths, David Jones and other chocolate suppliers.
• Coles also has a range of branded UTZ, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance-certified Easter chocolates.
• The Haigh's Chocolate-made Easter egg range is UTZ Certified.
• Divine chocolate eggs and bunnies are Fairtrade certified and are available through IGA, other selected stores and online. 

What can we do?

• Choose chocolate with Fairtrade, UTZ or Rainforest Alliance certification.
• Advocate by writing letters to:
  - chocolate producers requesting they work towards 100% ethically sourced cocoa. (Worthy of mention is Nestle, the first company in Australia to achieve 100% ethically sourced cocoa for their chocolate bar range).
  - retailers requesting they stock 100% certified chocolate. (Aldi and Haighs entire Easter Egg range are certified against human trafficking).

A note will be sent home this week to families requesting donations of Fairtrade Easter Eggs, with donations being accepted until Wednesday 24th of March. Raffle Tickets will be sold before and after school on the playground in Week 8 (1 ticket for 50cents or 3 tickets for a dollar). The raffle will be drawn on Monday  29 March.

Feel welcome to visit or contact me on 6249 8869 or send an email to brenda.galvin@cg.catholic.edu.au

Brenda Galvin
School Chaplain

We are now up and running with our Thursday craft groups and I am running a separate craft group on Tuesdays for students with a parent away, whether it be on deployment or course.  I am also including in this group any students who might just need some quiet time during lunch or feel they are having a little help settling in.  So please let me know if you would like me to invite your child to our Tuesday craft/Lego sessions.

I have received an email from the Royal Australian Air Force regarding their upcoming Centenary Week celebrations and have inserted that information below.  I have marked the day in our school calendar and am hoping to get the students out onto the oval to see the Flypast.

Centenary Week

Our 100^th anniversary is fast approaching! Many of the keynote events will be in Canberra – involving Air Force personnel and aircraft from almost every State and Territory. 

On 31 March, the presentation of a new Queen’s Colour for the Royal Australian Air Force will occur at Government House. This will conclude with the Spectacular Centenary Flypast over Lake Burley Griffin – more than 60 current and historic aircraft will participate!  

For those unable to be in Canberra, a two hour live television broadcast will be available to view on the ABC1 from 1000 local time, including the Colour Parade and Spectacular Centenary Flypast. This will also be viewable on iView and our website.

Note: Due to COVID-19 and capacity constraints, the Colour Parade is not open to the public. Members of the public in Canberra are encouraged to gather in a COVID-safe manner around Lake Burley Griffin to view the flypast

For further details visit: https://airforce2021.airforce.gov.au/events

Duntroon Community Centre

The Duntroon Community Centre is a not-for-profit organisation for Defence and non-Defence families of the greater Canberra region. The centre has excellent facilities available for members. Their programs include 3 and 4 year old Playschool, Playgroups, community events, craft groups, book club, fitness, short courses and social activities. Please see their website for further details they offer https://www.duntrooncommunitycentre.org.au/  or phone   6265 9411

Please feel welcome to visit me at school or contact me on 6249 8869 or, alternatively, send an email to brenda.galvin@cg.catholic.edu.au

Brenda Galvin
Defence School Mentor

Update on School Uniform Results

Thank you to those of you who have participated in the school uniform survey that was sent home in Term 4 of last year. We received 66 responses. Of those 17 families indicated a preference to keep the white sports polo top with the remaining 49 families indicating a preference for a change to the colour of the sports polo top.

Based on feedback provided by the community and families of St Thomas More and in consultation with Julie Wiley and staff, it was decided that this component of the school uniform will change. The School Community Council (SCC) with guidance and direction from Julie Wiley are in the process of sourcing samples from suppliers to ensure the new sports polo top is of the same/ comparable standard to the current polo top and that the colours chosen reflect our School colours- bottle green, white and maroon.

Regular updates via the newsletter will continue, to ensure parents are kept informed on the progress of this matter and that informed decisions can be made when purchasing the current sports polo top.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank SCC members, Mrs Mhanda Van Engelen and Mrs Julie Wiley for their hard work in organising uniform samples from suppliers.

Kind regards,

Sonia Skinn
(SCC Chair and mum of Alyssa 3/4 White and Rhianna 5/6)