When Moses was leading God’s people through the desert, God gave them ten rules or commandments to help the people to live in God’s way.  In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus reminds His followers of these rules which were to guide and teach them how to show respect and love for Him and each other.  Our SPIRIT Way encourages our students to develop attitudes of inclusion, co-operation, shared responsibility, self-discipline and mutual respect lived in the spirit of Gospel Values.

This week at Holy Spirit Catholic School, we value respect.  Having respect for someone means you think good things about who a person is or how he or she acts.  Respect also means that you accept somebody for who they are, even when they are different from you or you don’t agree with them.  We often use the value of respect in schools when we are speaking with children and how they treat others.  We reinforce that showing respect to someone means they act in a way that shows they care about their feelings and well-being.  This week, we pray that our students show respect for others by thinking and acting in a way that shows others they care about their feelings and their well-being, not calling others names, treating each other with courtesy and caring about themselves.  

Sacramental Programme:  A reminder to all families with children participating in the Sacramental Programme that the Parent Information Sessions are being held Monday 13th February at 6:30pm in the Church and Tuesday 14th February at 2pm in the Church.  There is an expectation from Fr John that families attend one of these two sessions to learn about the programme and what it involves.  The Sacramental Programme is open to all students in Grade 4, 5 and 6.  All those wishing to be part of the Sacramental Programme should have completed the necessary forms and returned them to the Parish Office.

Tuesday 21st February, is Shrove Tuesday.  In ancient times, this was a day of celebration, when there were processions and people feasted together before they entered a time of fasting and prayer during Lent.  Today, many still follow this tradition by eating pancakes.  This is associated with the ancient custom of eating the last supplies of milk, flour and eggs before the beginning of Lent.  This year the Caritas Project Compassion Appeal Launch which will be taking place at Gilroy Santa Maria College, Ingham.

Lent also begins with Ash Wednesday on the 22nd February.  Our whole school will be attending Mass in the Hall with Fr John at 9am and everyone is welcome to join us.  

God bless.

Caroline Fuller – APRE