Crazy Hair Day

We had a wonderful turnout for Crazy Hair Day last week, with some very creative hairstyles. Thank you to all our parents and families who donated. On this day, we raised almost $600 for Project Compassion and its mission to serve those in need. 

 

Project Compassion

We were also very lucky to have Samantha Hazlett from Project Compassion, who spoke to our students about the great work they do. Samantha provided some key statistics that our students and staff found quite interesting.

Through partnerships with local organisations and Church networks, and as a member of Caritas Internationalis – the second largest humanitarian network in the world – Caritas Australia is able to reach where the need is greatest and work together for a just future.

Last year (2022-2023), Caritas Australia directly supported over 760,000 people worldwide, delivering 108 projects across 36 countries. 90 national and international partners were fundamental to the success of these development programs and humanitarian responses.

Over the year, over $1.7 million was raised for the people of Turkey and Syria and over $2.6 million to support other emergencies, including Ukraine and the Africa Food Crisis. In Ukraine, this translated into 1.9 million people receiving food packages, 690,000 receiving hygiene kits, and 290,000 benefitting from protection services.

For every dollar fundraised through Project Compassion, 83 cents go to recipients in poor countries through our project partners, 4 cents go towards Caritas Australia administration and staff, and 13 cents are dedicated to ongoing fundraising.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Project Compassion, which, along with Caritas Australia, is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year.

As we have now finished Lent, we have submitted our final donations to Project Compassion and in total, St Matthew’s has raised $1615.55. We are so grateful for all the donations we can now pass on to Project Compassion. 

Holy Week

Last week, we also reflected on the events of Holy Week when we remembered Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, The Garden of Gethsemane, and the Crucifixion. 

Our students were so excited to share their part of the story with the school and their families. It was a special event, and the students did a wonderful job helping us create a reverent and reflective space as we remembered Jesus and his journey. Thank you to the families and friends who joined us in commemorating this event.

This week, we completed the story with The Resurrection and shared the joy of Easter. The Year 6 team did a wonderful job sharing this with us through drama and music. 

St Matthew’s was also lucky enough to have a visit from our Easter Bunny, who hopped on by and delivered a chocolate egg to all our students. Thank you, Mr Bunny!

We hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend and were able to celebrate with all your loved ones.