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Remembrance Day offers the opportunity to commemorate the lives of fallen heroes, pray for the living heroes who continue to safeguard our freedoms and to acknowledge the bravery and sacrifice made by the families of the members of the armed forces.
In a time when all families are facing significant struggles Remembrance Day provides us with an opportunity to stop and remember the struggles of others and perhaps see our own in a different perspective. Bravery comes in many forms. We pray for all members of our school community, as well as the wider community and all those who continue on bravely and gracefully in the face of their struggles. Thank you to Mrs Simpson who has provided the resources to support Remembrance Day to be celebrated in each classroom. All classes will stop at 11am to participate in a Remembrance Day liturgy with their classmates.
It is with great sadness but also a great deal of pride that I share the news that Megan Price and Ally Carter have been successful in gaining permanent positions at St Paul’s, Camden and St Clare’s, Narellan Vale commencing in 2022. St Paul’s and St Clare’s will be enormously blessed by the gifts both Megan and Ally will bring to their communities and the contributions they will make. In turn, both educators will have the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION - We remember the many young members of our parish and school who have been preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Please keep these young people in your prayers as they prepare to receive this important sacrament next week. We are grateful to the members of the Parish Sacramental Team for supporting parents to prepare their children for the next step in their sacramental journey.
Tina Murray
Principal
SAFETY CONCERNS
At last night’s P & F Meeting a number of concerns around safe parent behaviour were raised and I promised to provide appropriate reminders in this week’s newsletter.
As staff are currently not able to monitor this routine due to additional duties required each morning we are reliant on parents following the established school procedures to maintain the safety and security of all.
To ensure the effectiveness of the Kiss and Ride Zone the following procedures need to be followed at all times:
- Cars will proceed to the first 3 spaces of the Kiss and Ride Zone, closest to the School Office entrance.
- Only the first 3 cars will drop off children. All other cars will need to line up and wait until they reach this area to drop off their children.
- Adults need to REMAIN IN THE CAR AT ALL TIMES. This means that children will need to have their school bags with them in the car, so that they are able to exit the car from the left hand side, onto the footpath.
- Cars will exit the Kiss and Ride Zone in the order that they entered. Do not leave earlier than the car in front or overtake them.
- If the Kiss and Ride Zone is full or you wish to get out of the car, please park in an area away from the Kiss and Ride Zone.
- Do not park or drop off in the Bus Zone.
- Do not double park.
- Do not make u-turns - they are illegal, dangerous and put everyone at risk.
SCHOOL CROSSING
At Mary Immaculate we are fortunate to have access to Jim, our School Crossing Supervisor. Parents are requested to take the extra time to use the crossing and refrain from crossing in the middle of the road or between cars, especially on Emerald Drive, which has a very active and potentially dangerous Bus and Kiss and Ride zone. It is vitally important that our students establish safe habits at a very early age. These may be lifesaving habits that hold them in good stead later when they are independent road users. The following video is a great resource regarding the use of the children’s crossing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih0rXAqxSZg
MORNING SUPERVISION
Supervision commences at 8:00 am each morning.
NO student should be left unattended at the school gates prior to this time for safety and child protection reasons. The school is unable to accept responsibility for supervising students outside the school premises prior to the internal gates being opened.
AFTERNOON DISMISSAL
Supervision concludes at 2.45pm each day.
In the event of an emergency, parents are requested to contact the school if they are running late.
Parents who require care for their children outside of these times are encouraged to contact OOSH to discuss onsite options. OOSH can be contacted on (m) 0409 960 803 to organise before and after school care.
If any parent or guardian has difficulty in ensuring that their child does not attend school before 8:00am or after 2.45pm please contact the school to discuss possible arrangements that may be made.
Please ensure your morning / afternoon routine takes into account the busyness and possible congestion at peak times. Please ensure you attend to signage regarding Bus, No Stopping, Kiss and Drop and Parking Zones around the school site and model safe behaviour for your children by always following road rules and school procedures.
Police regularly make random checks of these areas (Emerald and Aquamarine Drive) and will impose fines and demerit points for non-compliance. The following link provides information that outlines the restrictions related to the signage around our school site.
https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/safety-rules/road-rules/parking.html
CHURCH CAR PARK
Parents are NOT permitted to use the Church car park or the turning circle as a drop off point in the morning or afternoon. The safety of all our children is always of the greatest importance. We thank you in advance and continue to ask for your cooperation, patience, and respect of others.
ANNUAL SCHOOL REPORT PARENT SURVEY
Each year we seek parent, staff and student input to prepare aspects of the Annual School Report. This year all parents have the opportunity, via an anonymous online survey, to provide input into areas affecting the education of their children and the general functioning of the school. All feedback is greatly valued and will assist in contributing not only to the preparation of the Annual School Report but also to future directions and school improvement initiatives.
In 2021 we have again faced many challenges and disruptions to our normal operations and in many ways we have been unable to operate as we normally would have.
We greatly value all feedback and suggestions from our community members as contributions will assist in the preparation of the Annual School Report and planning for 2022.
Please access the survey via the following link
https://forms.gle/gWndNYsMgyxVihUQ6
PRINCIPAL APPRAISAL
The Principal Appraisal was originally scheduled in July and was postponed during lockdown. This process has now been rescheduled to take place this term. I am seeking nominations from parents / carers who wish to provide input during this process to a member of the panel on Tuesday 23 November. These conversations will be undertaken during a telephone conversation during the appraisal day. Thank you in advance. Please contact the Office so we are able to provide nominating parents with details for the day.
WELLBEING ACTIVITIES AND CONVERSATION STARTERS FOR PARENTS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
This week I am including a range of activities, that will help build and maintain your child’s wellbeing in the elements of Stress Management and Help Seeking. These activities are based on the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships teaching and learning materials.
STRESS MANAGEMENT
KINDERGARTEN:
- Ask your child to interview different family members and then draw a picture of them. Your child can ask: What do they like to do to help them calm down or cheer up?
YEARS 1 AND 2:
- With your child, tell each other about a situation when you felt stressed. How did the body respond to this this stress (e.g. sweaty palms; butterflies in your tummy).
- Write a list of actions with your child that you can take to deal with stress, fear or anger. Name this list: Our Family’s Calming Strategies. Display this list somewhere at home.
YEARS 3 AND 4
- With your child, come up with a list of positive strategies your family can use to relax or calm down.
- Do something active with your child. Turn off screens, get out and play in the backyard, listen to music, draw together or have a dance!
YEARS 5 AND 6
- With your child, share a time you felt stressed and explain how you managed this. Then swap!
- Create a stress-free space or a space within your home that your family can use to wind down.
HELP SEEKING
KINDERGARTEN:
- Make a 'hand' or 'star' to show five people your child can seek help from. Use it as your family plan by writing it up and placing it somewhere it is visible
to everyone.
YEARS 1 AND 2
- Encourage your child to help a family member with a something around the house, such as clearing the dishes after dinner.
- Make a 'hand' or 'star' showing five people your child can seek help from. Use it as your family plan by writing it up and placing it somewhere visible to everyone.
YEARS 3 AND 4
- Make a 'hand' or 'star' showing five people your child can seek help from. Use it as your family plan by writing it up and placing it somewhere visible to everyone.
- Discuss with your child. Imagine a friend comes to you for advice. They tell you somebody has been mean today online. What advice would you give to your friend and why?
YEARS 5 AND 6
- With your child, draw a star and on each tip name five people they have helped or provided support to this week, and how.
- Make a 'hand' or 'star' showing five people your child can seek help from. Use it as your family plan by writing it up and placing it somewhere visible to everyone.
MRS LILLIAN DEL GIUDICE
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is an important commemoration where we stop to remember those who have served and died trying to protect our nation.
This week our school community will be pausing to commemorate Remembrance Day on Thursday. Each class will engage in prayer followed by one minute of silence at 11:00 a.m. This will be followed by the laying of a wreath at the foot of our school memorial.
Mission Month: Socktober Fundraising
This week we will be holding a school wide mufti day on Friday for Socktober. Students are asked to bring a gold coin donation in a sock.
This special Socktober fundraiser coincides with ‘World Day of the Poor’ on Sunday. Students will participate in a special prayer; make a soccer ball with their socks, plastic bags and string and participate in classroom activities to put their faith into action.
Why a soccer ball?
When Pope Francis was a boy in Argentina, he played soccer in the streets of Buenos Aires with his friends using a ball made of rags and tied together with string. Even as the highest official in the Catholic Church today, Pope Francis shares this in common with children from the poorest communities on earth. It is this reality that captures the essence of Socktober for Mission Month. No other sport in the world has such metaphorical power to represent the bonds we can form with our brothers and sisters with whom we may share little else in common. When we create our own sockball, made of recycled materials and bound together with string, we are joining millions of other children from other cultures, past and present, and forming a clearer comprehension of what it means to ‘have’ and ‘have not’. The empathy that comes with this is what drives our desire to make a difference.
Dear Students and Parents/Carers,
Why?: We are creating hampers for the St Vincent De Paul Society to give generously to families this Christmas.
What?: Collecting items to create Christmas hampers.
Who?: Mini Vinnies team in conjunction with the whole school community.
Where?: Students can bring their allocated items to school and place them in the class tubs.
When?: Items are to be donated by Monday 22 November (beginning of Week 8)
When considering your donations please check the use by dates and ensure that they are as long as possible.
Grade Allocations:
Kindergarten: Christmas puddings and Fruit Cakes
Year 1: Chips
Year 2: Wafer crackers, Jatz, Ritz, rice crackers
Year 3: Tea, Coffee, Hot chocolate
Year 4: Shortbread biscuits, cake/muffin/cupcake mixes
Year 5: Bags of lollies or chocolates
Year 6: Bon Bons (Christmas Crackers)
Thank you in advance for your generosity and to all of those families who have already donated.
PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f3-HreBskg5tP73-poJ2cEJOVD8BewiW/view?usp=sharing
Yours Sincerely,
Miss Earnshaw, Mr Edwards, Mrs Young
Year 6 Mini Vinnies Team Staff Mentors
Congratulations to all the students who have remembered to return their books, well done! Please try again this week – as we are nearing the end of the year we need to return all outstanding loans, we still have over 400 outstanding loans from students. Please search your rooms, book shelves etc to see where they are hiding! Thank you.
Year Six at the moment are enjoying challenging themselves preparing for a debate. Teams of three are given a topic, and told whether they are for or against – affirmative or negative. Some of the topics are not perhaps what they might agree with but it means they need to consider two sides of the argument, and learn to see something from someone else’s point of view.
Scholastic Book Club – The brochures for the last campaign for 2021 have gone home, you may be able to do some Christmas shopping! Thank you for supporting this project, which earns commission for the school, enabling us to acquire resources, which can then be used by your children. The orders will close this Friday. Thank you
It is a very busy time of year but please try to take time to read with your children every day:
"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."
Albert Einstein
Happy reading!
Mrs Susan Bryant
Teacher Librarian
Each year the students of Year Six hold a fundraiser to put money towards a gift for the school. The purpose of the gift is a gesture made in commemoration of their time at Mary Immaculate. A $1.00 Lolly Bag Fundraiser will be held in Week 7 (next Friday) -Friday 19 November at Lunch 1. Students will be able to purchase a lolly bag from their teacher to bring home.
For 90 years, our School Banking program has helped children learn about money, reinforced the importance of regular savings and provided structure for parents to support their children to save.
Though the program continues to have strong support from schools, parents and teachers, recent decisions by some state and territory governments because of a review by the corporate regulator mean we are unable to continue providing programs in schools, and we have had to make a difficult decision to close our School Banking program for all government and non-government schools across the country.
Our School Banking program was established in 1931 at a time when having a bank account was not commonplace, and since then we have helped more than 15 million Australians take their first financial steps. This would not have been possible without the wonderful support we have received from schools like yours, including all the parents and volunteers, and for this we are deeply grateful. Thank you.
Even though this is a sad time, School Banking has taught so many young Australians, past and present, the value of money and we believe this should be celebrated. We have created a place for you to share your stories, fondest memories and lessons learnt through the program. To share your story and access our financial education resources, please visit commbank.com.au/schoolbanking
Even though the CommBank School Banking program will not be returning to your school after this year, you can continue to make deposits into your child’s Youthsaver account through online transfers or at any CommBank branch. If you need further information please phone 132 221 or visit your local CommBank branch.