Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and we started the season of Lent as part of our Catholic traditions. It started with us receiving a cross of ashes on our forehead, reminding us that we are trying hard to be more like Jesus through prayer, doing extra or going without something we enjoy and giving to the poor. The ashes were cold and came from the burning of palms from Palm Sunday. Your child may have come home with a cross on their forehead. Please ask them about the meaning of the cross and Lent. I would like to thank Mrs Collins for her organisation of the Mass and to all our wonderful student readers. Additionally, well done to all our students for being so reverent in the Mass.

I attended the Archdiocesan Secondary Swimming Carnival in Goulburn on Tuesday this week. Well done to Olivia, Guinevere, Evie and Myra for representing St Anne's with great spirit. 

Well done to all our Primary Students for their efforts at the Western Region Swimming Carnival last week. Good luck to Lani, William and Chelsea. They will travel to Narooma on the 2^nd March to compete in the Archdiocesan Primary Swimming Carnival. We look forward to hearing of their results.

Thank you to all the Kindergarten parents for your attendance at last Friday night's welcome evening at the Temora Hotel, it was nice meeting you all in a less formal setting. Well done and thank you to Miss Simone Pope for her organisation of the night.

Last week our staff renewed their First Aid certificates, including CPR and anaphylaxis.

We are very lucky to have our school counselor Danielle Hudson with us again this year. Danielle will be with us every Monday as Catholic Care have increased her hours this year. Please contact the school for further information.

Teachers are busy this term with a number of professional development opportunities. We have staff attending an Autism course, staff collaboration days, middle years numeracy development, first aid and network days. 

Renovations- It is slow and steady at the moment. The scaffolding is now up and the builders have started the demolition process of removing the internal brick walls. They  have put in place the new steel support beams for the roof on the second floor above the library. 

Take care,

Grant Haigh

Altar Server Training Tomorrow

Training will be taking place tomorrow morning (Friday 28th March) for new altar servers and a refresher is also possible for any existing or previously trained altar servers. The students are asked to indicate their interest with their teachers if they have not already done so. 

I ask that you please have a conversation with your child in support of their interest. There is commitment required by parents to help ensure that their child is able to attend Mass when they are rostered on for either Saturday evenings or Sunday mornings. Please feel free to email me as soon as possible at jacqueline.collins@cg.catholic.edu.au if you are interested in your child attending or queries regarding this training. Please also nominate a preference for 6pm Saturday evenings (1st & 3rd weekends of the month) or 10am Sunday mornings (2nd & 4th weekends of the month) for the roster. We appreciate your support in teaching your child the value of commitment and service. The more support we receive, the less regular the commitment. It would be wonderful to take the pressure off the extremely small group of current altar servers who give of their time so very generously. We sincerely thank the altar servers for their dedication and look forward to a healthy number of new volunteers.

Keep in mind that it is never too late for new volunteers to be trained!

A date for the Calendar: Reconciliation Information Evening is Thursday March 26th for candidates making the Sacrament of Reconciliation this year. The Year 3 class will begin preparations shortly. Any students who have missed out on making the Sacrament in the past are welcome to contact Mrs Collins for further details regarding joining the program.

Lent

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent. A time of focus on the preparation for, and the celebration of, the death and resurrection of Jesus - the core of our faith. We were very fortunate and grateful to have Fr Bill celebrate the Mass for us and we also thank the students for the prayerful and reverent way in which they participated in the Mass.

Lenten Message for 2020 from Pope Francis

Take some time as you begin your Lenten journey to consider the words of Pope Francis in his Lenten address for 2020 "We implore you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God". The following links will take you to a description and to the original document.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-02/pope-for-lent-with-god-there-is-always-a-dialogue.html

http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/lent/documents/papa-francesco_20191007_messaggio-quaresima2020.html

Project Compassion

The Theme for Project Compassion this year is “We go further together”.

Project Compassion boxes have been sent home with each of the youngest students in the school today. Please help support your child/ren in their almsgiving this Lent by giving a little of their own pocket money to help the poor and vulnerable in our world. We ask that the boxes please be returned to school by the end of the Term. The Caritas project which our Project Compassion funds support, is this year providing skills and education to improve the quality of vulnerable people’s lives. Some of the stories highlighted on the website this year demonstrate how Caritas Australia empowers people to become channels of love and positive change for their communities. Feel free to visit the Caritas website to see where your generous donations are spent www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion

Thur 26th March - Reconciliation Parent Meeting, St Joseph's Hall, 7pm

Sun 29th March - Reconciliation Enrolment during Mass, 10am

Mon 30th March - Cross Country

Tues 31st March - Small School Rugby League, Cootamundra — U13 & U16

Wed 1st April - Yr 9 Retreat Temora

Thur 2nd April - Yr 8 Retreat Temora

Fri 3rd April - Primary Winter Trials Netball & Rugby League, Canberra

Sat 4th April - Reconciliation Enrolment during Mass, 6pm

Mon 6th & Tues 7th April - Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews

Thur 9th April - Last Day Term 1

Thur 9th April - Stephen Bleyer Cup Rugby Union, Yr 5 & 6

Thur 9th April - Easter Hat Parade, 9am

Thur 9th April - Passion Play, 2.30pm

Fri 17th April - Catholic Debutante Ball

On Saturday 22nd February, a number of family members, friends and past cadet members, assembled with Mr Brian Hughes at St Patrick's Cemetery in Goulburn, NSW. Mr Hughes has been working tirelessly over a number of years to research the history and acknowledge the contribution that Temora's St Anne's Convent School Nuns made to the Cadet Unit. It was a great occasion where a special plaque was revealed in honour of Sister M. Paul in particular. I encourage you to read the history of the Cadet Unit via the photos below, or to come in and read about it in our front office. Thank you to Mr Hughes for all of his time and efforts in seeing this project through to completion.

Our parish is holding a movie night on Thursday 5th March. They will be screening 'The Peanut Butter Falcon'. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased after Mass this Saturday night or by contacting Geraldine Holland. Ticket price includes pre-show drinks and nibbles.

Yearbook

2019 Yearbook’s are still available for purchase.  Cost is $25.00 and they are available from the front office.

30th March - School Cross Country, Nixon Park

31st March - Small Schools Secondary Rugby League Knockout, 13's and 16s         

3rd April - Primary Winter trials Canberra Goulburn selections, under 11's and              12's Rugby League, Netball, Hockey

3rd April - MacKillop AFL, Wagga

8th April - Primary Touch Selection trials Lyneham, ACT

9th April - Stephen Bleyer Cup, Rugby Union, Yr 5/6 Boys

There are a number of sports trials/competitions being held this term. Individuals enter via the website csnsw.sport.

Parents are encouraged to check out the website if there is a sport trial your child is interested in attending.

If you have any difficulties with online registrations please see Mrs Taylor.

Canberra Goulburn Swimming

Congratulations to our four swimmers who took to the pool at the Canberra-Goulburn Swimming Championships, Olivia Bett, Myra West, Guinevere Drumore and Evie West.

All girls swam well with Evie placing second in the 12yr girls 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke and 50m Butterfly. Evie now progresses to the NSWCCC carnival.

Cricket Trials

Good luck to Noah Harper who will trial for the NSWCCC Cricket team next week.

Winter sport Canberra Goulburn nominations are due by 27th March. These are for netball, under 11's and under 12's rugby league. Trials are in Canberra on 3rd April.

A squad of twenty one swimmers travelled to Harden to trial for the Western Region swimming team. Many parents and grandparents were present to cheer their children on and thanks goes to the many who helped with time keeping. All competitors are to be congratulated on their enthusiasm and sportsmanship. Three students were successful in making the Western Region team,  Lani Summerfield (butterfly), William Maxwell (50 free) and Chelsea Kite (butterfly, backstroke and 50 freestyle). They will travel to Narooma on the 2^nd March and we wish them the best of luck.

There is still time to nominate for a position on the School Community Council. The next meeting is on Tuesday 10th March. Please email Grant on grant.haigh@cg.catholic.edu.au if you are interested.

Saturday 28th March - G Drumore & A Wiencke

Mon 30th March - Meg Morton, Ali McCrone, Carissa Bett, Klara Kite

Mon 6th April - Sally Cassidy, Marna Crawford, El Warren