Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Last Friday our Year 3 - 6 students participated in a beautiful celebration of our annual Sacred Heart Mass.  We were extremely grateful to our Year 3 teachers and students who took responsibility for planning and leading aspects of the liturgy. 

A highlight of this special celebration was the opportunity to announce the 2021 recipient of the Sacred Heart Award. This student now joins a long list of fellow Mary Immaculate students who have consistently brought to life our school motto by making Christ Their Way and Life in their everyday words, actions and interactions. It is wonderful to be able to share the beautiful citation for our 2021 Sacred Heart recipient.

This year’s recipient of the Sacred Heart Award is a young person who

possesses many special qualities. They display the values and

attitudes that reflect both the Gospel and Mary Immaculate

School values of Justice, Compassion, Doing Your Best, Faith, Respect

and Celebration. They demonstrate this in all aspects of school life.

This person is someone who possesses a compassionate and caring demeanour,

and who is very honest, considerate and thoughtful.

They also show the utmost respect towards all those they meet.

Pope Francis has said, “May we be in this world a ray of that light which shone forth from Bethlehem bringing joy and peace to the hearts of all”. This person is an embodiment of this statement. This person greets everyone with warmth and joy and has the ability to reach out to others in love and positivity and has also been observed supporting younger children with patience and empathy. This student will make an effort to say hello, greet with a warm smile and check if others are alright. 

This person has been described by previous teachers as someone who always displays Gospel values in the way they speak to and care for others.  They go above and beyond to help and are always prepared to help those in need.  Another quality this person exhibits is their initiative, because they see what someone else may need and is prepared to do something about it.  

This person welcomed and embraced various leadership roles this year. They were always the first  to offer assistance in their own time and is an active member of the Ecology and Mini Vinnies Teams.  It was this person’s compassion and empathy,  and support of the younger children that many teachers commented on. 

Other special qualities this person exhibits is that they are sympathetic to the needs of their peers and others, is someone who participates actively during the day and always tries their very best.  

This student is a safe, respectful and responsible student. In their own discreet way, this person is willing to stand up for others when they see an injustice being done. They offer words of encouragement and celebrate the achievements of others.

The recipient of this award has an excellent reputation built up over their years at  Mary Immaculate by their modest actions and empathy towards others.

Congratulations to Jaiden Miles!

Tina Murray

Principal

DATE:  THURSDAY 24 JUNE 2021

PRINCIPAL APPRAISAL - I am currently finalising the documentation for my Principal Appraisal. This appraisal is scheduled to take place in Term 3 and the date, Tuesday 20 July was confirmed as the Appraisal Day late last week. 

An Appraisal occurs for each Principal every four years of his or her contract and is part of the ongoing Principal Performance and Development Plan (PDP) Process. The fundamental purpose of this process is to identify the Principal’s leadership strengths as well as, areas for future development and growth.  

Part of this process involves consultation through surveys and relies heavily on honest feedback from all sectors of the school community. Surveys will be emailed directly to staff and parents shortly and will need to be completed before Friday 9 July.

I encourage each of you to be part of this very worthwhile exercise.

Additionally, there will be an opportunity for a number of parents to be involved in interviews with a member of the panel on the day of the appraisal via telephone. If you would like to be included in this parent group please let me know. Thank you in advance for your contributions to this important personal and professional growth opportunity.

SCHOOL REPORTS

This week you will receive your child’s Semester 1 Report and speaking to their class teacher during Parent Teacher Interviews next week. The report and interviews provide a great opportunity to discuss your child’s learning with them. Please find below some ideas taken from ‘Big Life Journal’, for talking to children about their work.

How can you help your child understand that what THEY think of themselves and their work is WAY more important than what others think of them?

You can do so by helping them develop internal validation so they stop seeking validation from other people. Easier said than done, right?

Our human's primitive brain is wired to seek validation from others. We want to be accepted by the "tribe" so that we're safe and protected from external threats. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Nevertheless, you can make a big difference on how much your child values their own opinion of themselves and their work.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Begin by paying attention to how you give them feedback.

Next time, instead of immediately jumping to praise or offer criticism about something your child has done, ASK them questions instead:
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“What do YOU think you did well?”
“What do you think you could have done better?”
“How did you feel when you were making this?”
“How does your work make you feel?”

And if your child answers with "I don't' know", it's a great reason to continue to encourage them to self-reflect. 

When we ask our children for their own assessment instead of immediately jumping in with our opinion, we’re giving them a chance to self-reflect and self-evaluate.

This helps them develop internal validation, which is the most important voice to be listening to and nourishing.

REMINDER - PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Parent Teacher Interviews will take place next week, beginning Monday 21 June. Booking times for Semester One Parent Teacher Interviews are now closed on COMPASS.  If you have not yet booked your Parent Teacher Interview please contact the class teacher directly.  

LILLIAN DEL GIUDICE

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Upcoming Events -  3 Green St Joseph Liturgy  - Thursday 23 June 2021

Sacred Heart Mass

Last week, Year 3 students busily prepared to lead the celebration for the Sacred Heart Mass. They asked Mr Marshall to compose a new gathering hymn, practised a guided reflection and chose the music they felt enabled us to praise and worship our God.

How joyous! The look on Jaiden’s face says it all...

Congratulations to Jaiden Miles who was the recipient of our Sacred Heart Award. He was unanimously voted by staff for his kindness, compassion and being the face of Christ in his interactions with others.

Mrs Kirsty Simpson

Religious Education Co-ordinator

Congratulations again to all those who have returned their books, sadly we still have  324 overdues! We need to try to return the rest of the books before the end of term please. Look under beds, behind desks and shelves, in secret spaces.  It would be good to have them all back and ready for  next term. Library Bags can be washed and ready to start again.

Library this week;

Thursday 17 June – Year 2

Friday 18 June – Year 4

Next week:

Tuesday 24 June – Year 6

Wednesday 25 June – Kindergarten

Thursday 26 June – Year 1

Premiers' Reading Challenge: We now have quite a few students who have already completed the challenge, and a lot more who have logged in and registered their books read so far. We still have until the end of August to complete the challenge, so see how much you can read during the holidays so we can register them when we return in Term 3. Holidays are a great time to catch up with some extra reading, especially at this time of the year when it’s cold outside. https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html

Remember Kindergarten – Year 2 must read 30 books, and Years 3 - 6 must read 20, with only 5 Personal Choice books allowed. If you are reading books from a series you can only count 2 towards your Challenge, any extra will be counted as Choice books, even if they are on the Premiers' Reading Challenge list.

"If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books."

  Roald Dahl

Happy reading!

Mrs Susan Bryant - Teacher Librarian

NSW Health is seeking the support of schools to encourage parents and carers to vaccinate their children against flu this winter and has provided the following advice.

For young children, flu can be life-threatening, and the flu shot is their best protection against severe flu. Flu shots are free for children from 6 months to under 5 years of age, as well as pregnant women, all Aboriginal people from 6 months of age, people aged 65 years and over, and people with medical conditions such as severe asthma, diabetes, and cancer.

JUST A REMINDER TO CONSENT TO YOUR CHILD ATTENDING THE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL ON COMPASS TO GIVE THEM PERMISSION TO ATTEND.  YOU WILL NEED TO ANSWER THE COMPULSORY QUESTIONS TO PROCEED TO THE CONSENT TAB.

ANY CHILD THAT DOES NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO ATTEND THE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL WILL BE STAYING AT SCHOOL AS A NORMAL SCHOOL DAY.

Parents are able to drop off students to the Athletics Stadium between 8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. 

Selected 800m and High Jump competitors MUST be at the stadium by 8:30 a.m. to begin.

Bus will depart school at 8:45 a.m. SHARP.  The carnival concludes approximately 1:45 p.m.

The Cost of your child's Entry into the Athletics Stadium is included in the Sport Levy. This is part of the School Fees, please ensure this is paid prior to the Athletics Carnival.  IF YOUR CHILD IS CATCHING THE BUS TO OR FROM THE CARNIVAL THE COST IS $15.00 AND MUST BE PAID TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE PRIOR TO FRIDAY 18 JUNE SO THAT WE CAN CONFIRM BUS NUMBERS.  PLEASE ENCLOSE THE $15.00 IN AN ENVELOPE WITH YOUR CHILD'S NAME AND CLASS ON IT.

• All students will be participating in athletics and games rotations. 
• Students can NOMINATE for the Junior and Senior 800m events and  Junior and Senior High Jump.  Both of these events will be the first events of the morning. Students who nominate for this will have their participation confirmed before the carnival. Students need to have regularly participated in these events prior to the carnival in order to nominate. Competitors in these events MUST be at the stadium by 8:30 a.m. 
• A canteen will be available for parents and spectators.  Students must be with a parent if using the canteen. 
• Parent helpers are required - please complete the questions to indicate if you are able to assist and staff will be in contact with you regarding your role.

COVID REQUIREMENTS

All spectators will need to sign into the Campbelltown Athletics Stadium using the Service NSW App QR Code.

Parents and spectators are encouraged to social distance at all times.