Commencing this week with Ash Wednesday, Lent is one of the five seasons of the Catholic liturgical calendar, along with Advent, Christmas, Easter, and Ordinary Time. Lent is a time of preparation for Easter and is a solemn period centered on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Lent offers an opportunity to look at what clutters our life and to identify those things that can get in the way of what really matters - to let go of distractions and perhaps be rewarded with the gift of a new perspective and a greater sense of purpose.

In his Message for Lent 2025, and in line with the theme of the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis invites all of us to “journey together in hope," and to take the opportunity of the upcoming Lenten Season to ask ourselves whether we are truly willing to respond to God's call to change our lives, or in the language of the St Matthews Way - to answer the call to be more.

The Pope is urging us to reflect on the way we live each day and to ask ourselves if we are living a truly life marked by love, compassion and generosity of spirit, or instead being held back by fear, hatred and hopelessness. Pope Francis reminds us that this Lent, God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are truly walking together with others - are we listening to them and resisting the very human temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs.

As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter this term, the Jubilee Year can be seen as an opportunity to reset. As a staff, the lens through which we are striving to see with fresh eyes this year is one of connection. We know that when students have a sense of connection and belonging in their school community they are more likely to be engaged and focused on learning. Teachers used the opening weeks of the year to begin explicitly building connections with students and setting the tone of their classrooms. As the Season of Lent commences, we are called to reflect on the idea that relationships are like a garden. The early weeks of school are about planting seeds—introducing ourselves, finding common ground, and creating a welcoming environment. But if we stop tending to those relationships, they don’t grow. Our real goal isn’t just connection—it’s belonging. And belonging isn’t achieved in a single moment or a single lesson; it’s reinforced through ongoing, intentional actions. This not only applies to how we connect with our students, but also to the relationships we develop with you as parents.

Perhaps we can use the season of Lent as a reminder to keep looking for day to day opportunities to strengthen those connections with one another.

God bless.

Angela Myles