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Dear Parents and Carers,
During the last two weeks we have finally moved towards a more normal version of school operations. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate the great feast of Easter upon our return to school last week. Our Year 6 RE Team supported our students to remember these events and this experience was beautifully enhanced by the setting created by Mrs Simpson. ANZAC Day each year goes beyond just the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is the day we remember all Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.
The spirit of ANZAC, with its human qualities of courage, mate-ship, sacrifice and resilience continues to have meaning and relevance for our national identity.
On Monday our school community gathered to remember the sacrifices and courage of past and present service men and women who served and died in many and varied conflicts.
We were extremely grateful to Mr Wayne Goldstraw, a parent at our school who visited Year 3 and Mr Reg Muddle, a veteran representing the Campbelltown RSL Sub-Branch who spoke to Year 5 and 6 and was then able to join our school community for our commemoration.
In my time as Principal at Mary Immaculate, last Monday ranks as one of my most proud moments. Our school was able to once again gather together as a whole school community for the first time in more than 12 months. Even better, we were joined by many parents and grandparents. Central to our commemoration was the special remembrance area on the Infants playground that we were able to use purposefully for the first time since it was created last year. Our ceremony was enhanced by the symbolic display created by Mrs. Simpson and the confidence displayed by our Year 6 students who led the entire service. We are grateful to both Mrs Simpson and Mr Edwards who supported the students during the preparation phase. At the conclusion of our service, we received very positive feedback from Mr Muddle who complimented our community on the reverence, respect and attention displayed throughout the service. All our students were a credit to their families and their school, a real example of our school values in action.
Wishing you all continued blessings for the continuing Easter season as we strive as a community and as individuals to make Christ Our Way and Life.
Mrs Tina Murray
Principal
Over the next few weeks Mrs Del and I will be involved in Kindergarten Enrolment Interviews for 2022. Conducting these interviews, especially with parents who attend for the enrolment of their first child is a wonderful privilege. In our conversations with families one of the topics touched upon is the motivation behind choosing Mary Immaculate as the school for their child. Often, this choice is not just an educational choice for parents, but it is also very much linked to consciously choosing a faith centered, educational community. Our school actively promotes, teaches and celebrates our Christian faith and our Catholic traditions. It is a real privilege to partner with parents and to support their conscious choice for a Catholic education.
Parents will receive the Term 2 overviews which outline the planned learning for their child’s grade via Compass.
Significant dates will be included in this information.
We wish to apologise for the confusion that may have been caused by unavoidable changes to Sport / Library / Creative Arts. In future, we want to reassure parents that an alert will be sent to parents via Compass when a change of day is necessary. Teachers will also notify the students and the Compass parent calendar will be amended to reflect these changes. We are grateful for the feedback from parents that have highlighted the need to make these adjustments.
SCHOOL PHOTO DAY THURSDAY 6 MAY
School Photo Day will take place on Thursday May 6.This is a reminder that school photos will take place on Thursday 6 May.
It is important that all students wear their Full Summer Uniform on this day. Hair should be neatly presented and reflect normal school requirements.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
Due to the unpredictability of the weather students may wear either full Summer or full Winter uniform for the next 3 weeks not a mixture of both.
The official changeover date for all students to wear their full Winter Uniform is Monday 10 May.
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating their birthday this week:EASTER SEASON
Did you know butterflies are a symbol of new life? Each one of our students has created a butterfly to symbolise the hope and joy of Jesus’ resurrection. The Year 6 Religion Team are currently organising the display. I thought I would add a couple of the stunning butterflies that have been created!
ANZAC DAY PRAYER
On Monday, we were extremely blessed to have retired personnel from the Australian Defence Force visit our school to support our students' understanding of ANZAC Day.
We would like to thank Mr Goldstraw who explained to us the importance of mateship and how peacekeeping missions support and protect those countries in need. He shared images of East Timor and explained how children had to travel over 5 km a day just to have access to water. It made us feel very grateful for the little things we take for granted.
We are also extremely grateful to Mr Reg Muddle who discussed the importance of ANZAC Day to Year 5 and 6 prior to our ANZAC Day commemoration. He enabled us to make a connection to the defence personnel that have served our country over the years since World War 1. It is through these opportunities that our children can understand the importance of this national day and its role in building peace in communities today.
MOTHER'S DAY PRAYER
Please join us in prayer on Friday 7 May, 8.45 am to celebrate our mothers and those in our lives who are like mothers to us. Kindergarten will be presenting a song praising our mothers.
Mrs Kirsty Simpson
Religious Education Co-Ordinator
Congratulations to all families making time to read - reading can take us to many places!! We can make a virtual escape to either somewhere real or make-believe, the choice is ours, depending on the book we are reading. It appears that there are many using Sora to access either Ebooks or audiobooks, and hopefully some of you are also using the International Children’s Digital Library , where you will find books from around the world, and in many different languages:
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
Congratulations also to all the students who are remembering to bring their Library bags, there are so many wonderful books we can borrow to read at home. This term we are focussing on information texts and non-fiction books, so the students have a chance to compare story and information books. Library lessons this week:
Thursday – Year 1
Next week:
Tuesday – Year 3
Wednesday – Year 5
Thursday – Year 2
Friday – Year 4
Premiers' Reading Challenge: Remember to look at the PRC website to make sure the books chosen by the students are on the correct list – if you have too many not on the list they will not be accepted. Years 3 - 6 must read at least 15 from the lists and may read up to 5 personal choice books; Kinder – Year 2 must read 25 from the lists and may also read 5 personal choice. Have a look at the Premiers' Reading Challenge website:
https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html
Our Oliver Library catalogue will let you know what books from the lists are available in our Library. Go to: oliver.dow.catholic.edu.au/miev and type ‘premier’ in the search box. Then select the level required and the search results will indicate available titles.
Scholastic Book Club The catalogue for Issue 3 is going home this week. Browse the catalogue, and if there is anything you would like to purchase you just go ahead and order through LOOP as we have been doing. All orders must be placed and paid for online. No orders or money will be accepted at school. The items you order will be delivered to school, and will be distributed to the students on the days they are in attendance. The current catalogue closes on Friday 14 May, so just have your orders in by then. Thank you.
Daily Reading: Remember how important it is to read every day, please encourage your children to read for at least ten minutes a day. Reading along with them is even more invaluable! The wise man Confucius once said:
“No matter how busy you think you are, you must find time for READING
– or surrender yourself to self - chosen ignorance.”
Happy reading!
Mrs Susan Bryant - Teacher Librarian
CANTEEN ONLINE ORDERING IS NOW AVAILABLE
Supporting Diverse Learning in Catholic Schools
The Supporting Diverse Learning in Catholic Schools - A Guide by Parents for Parents was developed to support and accompany families as they prepare their child for school, or for the transition from primary to secondary school. It offers practical ideas and advice from parents and carers who have 'been there and done that'. It includes areas such as 'Preparing the School for Your Child', communicating with the school, conversation starters for challenging topics, as well as practical ideas such as visuals board to help establish morning and evening routines once school has commenced.
Whilst it has a specific focus on supporting families of a child with diverse needs, many of the tips and strategies are useful for all parents and carers at the start of their school journey.
This resource can be accessed via the following link: