Next week as a Catholic community we celebrate Ash Wednesday that marks the start of Lent. During Lent we look to three actions: Fasting, Almsgiving and Prayer. 

In simple terms ......

Fasting is giving up certain foods. Meat or your favourite foods are typical things to give up, while in a modern world this can be spoken about us 'fasting' from social media. The most well known behaviour would be how some people fast from meat on Fridays.

Almsgiving refers to giving to charity. In Australia we use Caritas Australia's Project Compassion as our focus point, with their fold-up donation boxes well known by school children for decades.

Prayer are the opportunities we seek individually and collectively to deepen our relationship with God and our community of believers. To make sense of what is asked of us in terms of our actions and attitude.

At St.Vincent's we do this in a deliberate and age-appropriate way allowing every child, family and staff member to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the message of Jesus, regardless of their specific faith stance.

On the day prior to Ash Wednesday our faith traditions have us celebrating Shrove Tuesday, or more commonly known - Pancake Tuesday.  In earlier times people on Shrove Tuesday used up their basic food supplies of flours and eggs etc. in preparation for fasting through Lent.  This practice has developed into Pancake Tuesday, and while supermarkets may have us buying shaker mixes and an exciting range of toppings, the message we need to remember is simplicity.

As a school classes will enjoy a pancake together. Our Shrove Tuesday may look like a Pancake Party however through our teaching we hope to draw the children's attention to the FASTING concept behind this tradition. To bring the element of ALMSGIVING we are asking students for a gold coin donation as a terrific way to springboard into our Project Compassion fundraising campaign. Project Compassion is the first of our Social Justice fundraisers for the year. On Wednesday we will PRAY as a school community at our Ash Wednesday liturgy at 9.15am, we invite family and friends to join with us.

We encourage you as a family to consider how you too might like to acknowledge this day at home, through conversations and action.

Through PAM, parents have constant access to their child's medical profile on record.  Any food event presents risks to all our students, especially those with known allergies and conditions. As always we encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher if you have any queries or concerns.

This year we have Markye Day generously bringing her Dutch Pancakes Food Van to school to cook her delicious treats for us, and as such contribute heavily to our fundraising efforts.