Our Lady Help of Christians School Murtoa eNewsletter

Our Lady Help of Christians is a Child Safe School and is committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We acknowledge the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, and Japagulk peoples as the traditional custodians of the land upon which our school was built.

Principal Report

Dear Parents and Friends of Our Lady's,

We celebrated as a school together a few times this week. We took a rest from our Lenten fast and acknowledged St Joseph's Day on Tuesday. Because of the catastrophic fire day earlier in the term, we missed the opportunity to mark Shove Tuesday with a traditional feast of pancakes. The students patiently awaited another opportunity to cook and eat some pancakes and it finally arrived. The seniors were superstars and showed the virtue of hospitality by arranging chairs, tables, tablecloths, flowers, prayer cards and cutlery for all students. They cooked and chopped, washed up and served all the student body. Well done!

On Friday we celebrated again, this time with icy poles. All the students had a little working bee, helping Mr. Critch with a few jobs, gardening, raking, digging, replacing sand in the sand pit...it was amazing to see all the teamwork. A well-earned treat was enjoyed by all.

We belong to a special school and are blessed to enjoy grounds and gardens that show the beauty of God's creation, and the stewardship of past teachers and principals. Seeing the children working hard to maintain our school, coming up with ideas for future improvements, and enjoying each others company as they work, is heartwarming and edifying.

As we enter Holy Week and the final week of school, I wish everyone a restful weekend. May we finish the school term in the right spirit- working hard in the classroom, socialising well in the yard, and preparing for the mysteries of Easter in our hearts and minds.

All the very best,

Chris McCumstie

principal@olhcmurtoa.catholic.edu.au

Project Compassion - 5th Week of Lent Reflection by Michael McGirr Jeremiah 31:31–34 I Ps 50:3–4. 12–5. R. v.12 | Hebrews 5:7–9 I John 12:20–33

The word ‘heart’ occurs almost a thousand times in the Bible, more than three times as often as the word ‘soul.’ Perhaps this is just another item of trivia but surely it gives us a clue about Christianity. It is a religion of the heart. It gets our blood pumping.
As we approach the climax of our Lenten journey, this week’s readings ask questions about our hearts. The psalm begs ‘a pure heart create for me, O God.’ Those words invite the Lord to come right inside us, into the very core of our being. The prophet Jeremiah quotes the Lord as saying, ‘deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts.’ In other words, we won’t find God’s most intimate whisperings to us just in books or lectures. We will find it when we are genuinely in touch with our core, our most intimate space. God’s love is inscribed on our hearts.
In his letter Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis speaks against ‘a culture of walls.’ He asks us to treasure the hope found in every heart:
Hope ‘speaks to us of something deeply rooted in every human heart, independently of our circumstances and historical conditioning. Hope speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration, a longing for a life of fulfillment, a desire to achieve great things, things that fill our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love... Hope is bold.’
The word ‘caritas’ means love. The work of Caritas Australia is a heartfelt response to the needs of the world, one that gives expression to our shared hope. Caritas always works in partnership with others. During Lent, as we have listened to the experience of people we have helped through our support of Project Compassion, we will have noticed that life-giving partnerships with groups on the ground in many countries make this possible.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the grain of wheat that must die to create a rich harvest. Of course, he is referring to his own passion. But there is a message here for us all. ‘Anyone who loves their life will lose it.’ We are called to wear our hearts on our sleeves. To be led by love for others.

PRAYER
We pray for all who go out of their way to bring God’s love to others, especially to those most in need. We pray in gratitude for the many partners of Caritas Australia who ensure our contributions to Project Compassion reach the places they are needed.
Amen

School Wide Positive Behaviour

We have noticed a distinct change in classroom behaviours in Term 1. Students have settled into their learning routines and are getting better at the entries, exits and transitions in their learning time. The Junior room is a busy hive of learning, and the seniors are producing excellent work through consistent effort. None of this occurs by accident; rather, it is the teaching of expected behaviours, and the hard work of students to meet these expectations. Well done to all!

To reward and encourage good behaviour, we use positive reinforcement systems. One you may have heard your child mention is dojo points. These are points awarded to students who follow rules, set a good example, participate in class, or show other positive behaviours. Once a student receives 20 points, they are entered into the dojo raffle, which gives them a chance to win a prize at assembly. 100 points gives the child a separate ticket into a bigger raffle. Thanks Eimer for organising the raffle, and Eddie and Hunter for drawing it at assembly.

Photos From Around the School

Pirates at Lake Marma, school captains bringing in whips, cooking pancakes on St Joseph's day, eating sour lemons, swinging on monkey bars, chalk drawings with beautiful messages, whole school sport, award winners at assembly.... it's been a busy and fun week at Our Lady's school!

March:

Thursday 28th - Last Day Term 1 Early Finish 2.15pm
Thursday 28th - Holy Thursday
Friday 29th - Good Friday Stations of the Cross at St. Mary's Church, Murtoa at 3.00pm
Saturday 30th March - Easter Vigil Mass at 6.00pm at St. Mary's Church, Murtoa
Sunday 31st - Easter Sunday

April