WHOLE SCHOOL FOCUS

The Whole school focus theme for this year is:

‘We Are Bee-Attitude Keepers”

Our value for the next two weeks is:

Compassion

At Mother Teresa we are going to show
compassion towards those we meet in our class and on the playground by:

• Empathising
• Expressing care
• Describing feelings
• Taking action to assist others
• Responding to other’s needs
• Giving generously to Project Compassion.

Thank you to those families who attended the information session on Tuesday. We look forward to supporting you and your child on the next step of their faith journey. We look forward to seeing you this weekend at one of the masses.

Commitment and Enrolment Mass:

¨ Saturday 20 February at 5:00pm or 6:00pm

¨ Sunday 21 February at 8:00am or 9:30pm

ASH WEDNESDAY & LENT

Fr Thon celebrated a beautiful Mass on Wednesday with the teachers and students. It was a particularly different way of receiving the ashes being sprinkled. Fr Thon commented on how the students responded and sang. He especially enjoyed the final song of The Beatitudes.

This week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also 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.

We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. On Wednesday each student took home a set of envelopes for their weekly donations.

Saint Oscar Romero is our inspiration for Project Compassion 2021, so in his words let’s “Aspire not to have more, but to be more".

God Loves a Cheerful Giver

As we teach our children to know and love God and follow in His ways, encouraging them to honor God with their money is an important task that cannot be neglected. Here are some basic strategies to help get our kids off to the right start.  

How well do your children understand the value of hard work and the value of a dollar? Do they give generously and save for the future? 

In order for parents to be united in teaching their children biblical money management, they must first practice what they preach. No wonder the Bible contains over 2300 verses instructing us on how to handle money and possessions! 

I highly recommend Dave Ramsey: Junior’s Adventures Story Time Book Set. This six book collection introduces the concept of budgeting through the ‘envelope system,’ where all money received is divided into envelopes marked Give, Save, and Spend. They teach young children to pro-actively find extra work to do when they want something they cannot afford, save up for it, and pay cash for it rather than going into debt because they cannot wait to have it. They teach responsible spending, delayed  gratification, the joy of sharing with others, and the importance of honesty and integrity.

It is our responsibility to prepare them to recognise these negative influences and stay the course toward Biblical stewardship and financial freedom. Even if you were not taught sound money management principles growing up (they were rarely taught in schools) there are resources to help guide you, and you have the ability to potentially change your family’s legacy for generations to come.

Peace and best wishes

Anne Leet REC