“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him

Will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jn 4: 14

(from the Gospel for the third Sunday of Lent, Year A)

Dear parents and carers

This weekend’s Gospel is the story of the woman at the well. Jesus upon arriving at Samaritan town in the middle of a hot day, asks a woman he encounters at the well to give him a drink of water. This seemingly trivial incident is laden with meaning. Culturally, Jesus as a Jew was not expected or even permitted to speak to a Samaritan. The Jewish people considered to an inferior and ritually unclean people. Jesus, as a Jewish man, should not have been speaking to a woman who was not a member of his family. It transpires that this woman had also been wife to five husbands and the man she was currently living with was not her husband. Culturally, she was considered an adulterer, the punishment for this crime was stoning to death. That is why she was at the well in middle of the day when it was hottest and thus not busy. In this simple incident Jesus broke many of the cultural taboos of his time. In doing so, Jesus reveals that God is God for everybody, not just the elect or those who are part of the “in group”. He showed that God’s love is unconditional. Jesus extends his love this woman and her response was simply to accepted it. This is the “spring of water… to eternal life” that Jesus refers to. The scandal of the Christian message is that God loves everyone, irrespective of our past. We need merely to accept this fact. In this third week of Lent, let’s focus on how we can put the past in the past and turn back to God who is always waiting for us.

Parents & Friends Meeting- Brigadoon volunteers needed!

Thank you everyone for your attendance at the P&F meeting on Tuesday evening. Our first major fundraiser for the year is fast approaching with Brigadoon to be held on Saturday 4 April. We are looking for volunteers to man the gates. Our P&F are paid according to the number of volunteers we have on the day. The more volunteers, the more money we raise for our school. You will find a letter from our P&F President Amanda Eccelston regarding Brigadoon attached to this newsletter. There is a copy on our facebook page as well. If you give us just one hour, that will help. You merely need to indicate your time availability on the note. The three hour time brackets on the note are indicative only. If you cannot do 3 hour block, that is fine. Any time you can give will be helpful. Please try to support this very significant fundraising event.

Working Bee- Friday 20 March

The second P&F matter arising is for a working bee to be held after school on Friday 20 March. The main jobs that need to be completed is spreading soft fall in the Infants play area adjacent to the large weather shed, some weeding and pruning of gardens especially around the St Paul statue as well as some general gardening (particularly at the front of the school). The working bee will commence after school and run to 5:30pm. Some families may wish to stay at school after dismissal and start on a job. Others may wish to go home, have afternoon tea, change and return. Any time you can give, however long or short, will be both helpful and greatly appreciated. There is no expectation that you stay until 5:30pm. It important that protective footwear and hats be worn. Gardening gloves are also a good idea. Children are welcome to stay and help. If children are helping, they will be supervised by and in the care of their parents. Many hands make light work. Please come along and help out if you are able.

Paul Kelly Cup

Our Year 5 and Year 6 students participated in the Paul Kelly Cup at Welby today. The Paul Kelly Cup is a non-competitive day that aims to give children a positive initial experience of playing AFL. Thank you to the parents who transported the children to and from the day. Without your support, these events would not be possible. Thank you to Mr Boyd and Mrs Gillespie who attended the event with the children. And finally, thank you to the children who participated so enthusiastically and with such good spirit. They were as always, a credit to our whole school community!

Cross Country Thursday 19 March at school

Our annual cross country carnival will be held in Week 8 on Thursday 19 March here at school on our oval. The cross country will select runners to represent the school the at primary schools cross country to be held on 5 May. Parents and community members are most welcome to join us for the day and cheer the children on. It is always a lovely community day!

Photograph Permission- thank you for returning them asap

Thank you to the many families who have returned this permission form. If you haven’t yet returned the form, we ask that you do so at your earliest convenience.

Responsible User Agreements- thank you for returning them asap

Thank you everyone who has already signed and returned your child’s Responsible User Agreement. We ask that you return these as a priority if you haven’t already done so.

Sacramental Programme

First Reconciliation

Our First Reconciliation programme begins this Sunday, the 15th March. Participants are required to attend the 10:00am Mass at St Paul’s Parish, followed by light refreshments and the lesson in the school hall.

• Reconciliation Classes: 15th, 22nd and 29th March
• First Reconciliation: Friday 3rd April

Catholic Schools Week

To celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we held a poster competition with each class. Students designed a poster based on the theme ‘Embracing Our Future Together’. Everyone did an amazing job and many of these are currently on display in the school foyer. Kindergarten created a Wordle as a class, using words that are important to them. Students from Year 1 to 6 designed their own posters. The winners from each class are listed below:

Year 1: Alexa Cuttriss – My hope for the future is to redesign the prayer garden so that more children can pray to Jesus.

Year 2: Liliana Giro – The comments on my poster describe the wonderful opportunities that we have at St Paul’s.

Year 3: Angel Cecilio – I used words on my poster that are important to us and show that we care for others.

Year 4: Kaydee Cuttriss – My poster describes values that are important to our school such as respect.

Year 5: Ruya Gunduzalp – The horizon on my poster represents the future. The students are looking towards the future, considering the ways we can overcome the problems of today.

Year 6: Ben Rushton – The circle of people in the centre represents our school in the future who are demonstrating the words in the acrostic poem.

Well done everyone!

Thank you

Catherine du Bois

Religious Education Coordinator

Being vigilant with signs of illness

If you notice your child is developing flu-like symptoms, coughing, sneezing, fever, feeling of being unwell then please keep them home. Being vigilant reduces the risk of illness spreading. We are continuing to talk to the children about hand washing, sneezing and coughing into their elbow or a tissue and letting adults know when they are not well. If your child is unwell then please call the office or send an email to let us know they will be staying home. There are many news reports in the media about the current Coronavirus. This can cause anxiety in children especially when they do not understand the adult content of news articles. Please be alert to the ongoing exposure of such news items and talk to your child if they appear worried or anxious.

Regards,

Katie Browne

Assistant Principal

Our School Cross Country will be held on Thursday 19th March on school grounds, beginning at 9.30am.

The order of events is:

4 LAP RACES (2 km)

Year 2, 7 yrs girls

Year 2, 7 yrs boys- both run simultaneously with 8 yrs

8 yrs girls

8 yrs boys

9 yrs girls

9 yrs girls

10 yrs girls

10 yrs boys

LUNCH BREAK

11 yrs girls

11 yrs boys

12 yrs girls

12 yrs boys

WAR CRIES (approx. 11.30am)

Kindergarten girls

Kindergarten boys

Year 1 girls

Year 1 boys

PRESENTATION OF MEDALS AND RIBBONS -  Will take place in the hall on Thursday 26th March.

Important information for the day

• All children will be involved.

• Children are to wear their sports uniform but may wear a t-shirt the same colour as their colour house if they wish.

• Remember school hat and sunscreen.

• Children may bring a rug/tarp to sit on, food for lunch and afternoon tea and plenty to drink.

• Canteen will be available for lunch orders.

• If parents choose to take their child at the conclusion of the carnival please notify the class teacher.

Chris Boyd

Sports Coordinator

Chocolate Easter Lambs $9 each - Available from the Parish or School office.

Proceeds to help support works of the St Michaels Mission society in Papua New Guinea and our own Parish maintenance fund.

School photos are on Tuesday 31st March.

Yesterday/Today the photo forms were sent home.

Sibling photo forms are available from the School Office.

We have had an incident of head lice recently in the school. To prevent the spread discourage your children from sharing hats and ensure that long hair is tied back. The only way to combat them is to be vigilant; by regularly checking the hair and treating immediately.

Attached is the NSW Government information from their website along with the recommended treatment plan: