During Lent, we are encouraged by the church to mark this time by doing certain things; prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These practices help us walk closer to Jesus by talking with Him, simplifying our lives and giving generously. They prepare us for commemorating His death on Good Friday and celebrating His Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Giving is something at which our SJB community is very good, demonstrated by the incredible response to our Christmas hamper campaign and we are now launching our Lenten charity collections. We will be fundraising for, locally, The Lighthouse Jigsaw Project in Woking and Age Concern Woking, nationally, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity in honour of Mr Windsor and the Daniel Spargo Mabbs Foundation and internationally, the charity CSW.org.

If you would like to hear more about each of our nominated charities, why they were nominated and their link to our school and how our fundraising will help them please watch our charity video.

Fundraising is being done in year groups, form groups and individually. We are encouraging all students to aim to fundraise at least £10 each (£2.50 a week) during lent. Some students have started to get sponsorship for challenges, some have created business enterprise ideas, some are selling homemade items, others are creating raffles and some people are creating ticketed events, some students are getting the whole family involved! We are grateful for any support you can give in helping your child achieve their Lenten fundraising target.

Getting involved and playing a part is the most important thing. We would kindly ask that families collect their sponsorship and any money made from sales and donate it via the Lent donations item that has been added to your Scopay account which has been set at £zero and should be changed to equal the amount you have fundraised or wish to donate.

This year, more than ever, those we collect for need our help. Times are hard and many charities are struggling and so are extra grateful for our help.

With grateful thanks for all your support and contributions to these ventures.