Welcome to 2022 at Mary Immaculate!

We hope that after a restful holiday break all members of our school community have returned re-energised and ready for another year filled with learning. Our Year 1-6 students displayed great eagerness to be back at school, to resume their learning, to reconnect with old friends and to be introduced to new ones. As a staff it is our sincerest hope that all our students continue to embrace this new school year with enthusiasm, determination and a positive mind set.  We all have much to be grateful for, especially the great opportunities that a Catholic Education, here at Mary Immaculate can provide.

We especially extend a warm welcome to all the new families who have joined our school community in 2022, especially those parents who will commence the journey with their child at ‘big school’ for the very first time. We welcome in a very special way all our new staff who are commencing at Mary Immaculate in 2022. Maryanne Bulfon, Bianca Grasso , Megan King, Melanie Keith, Jodie Hillhouse, Olivia D’Souza, Jessica Walker, Diviyashni Nand (Catholic Care Counsellor).

As we welcome new members to our community, we extend our prayers to all 2021 students and staff including Chris McInerney, Megan Price, Ally Carter, Amanda Newcombe and Bianca Scaramella (Catholic Care Counsellor) who are commencing new adventures in 2022. We wish them every blessing for the future and continue to be grateful for the contributions made to our community during their time here.

 In our role as teachers and educators we devise plans and make decisions that directly affect and impact on the life of your child. As a staff we willingly accept the great joy and important responsibilities that come with our chosen vocation. Please keep all our staff in your prayers over the coming months so that we can complete our work with grace, courage, compassion and faith.

In a sense, our school has a double staff; not only the staff who perform within the school, but also the very important “staff” that perform in the home. Your child’s education can be greatly enhanced by your engagement in their learning at home and through involvement in school activities. It is often the enthusiasm, support and involvement of parents that will help to inspire children to do their best.

 As members of a Catholic school community, we all teach in Jesus’ name, we all have Him as a wonderful example from which to draw inspiration and confidence as we, the staff at school and the 'staff' at home, work together to create the best possible learning environment for all the students in our school.

Once again, Welcome to our New School Year!

May we enter this new adventure together in anticipation of the possibilities that lie ahead and remember our collective responsibility to make Christ our Way and Life a lived reality within our community each day.

Tina Murray

Principal

SITE WORK DURING THE HOLIDAYS

Although our students returned yesterday, the school site has been a hive of activity during the holidays. Staff have spent many hours preparing for the return of their students. This has involved setting up new classroom spaces, planning learning activities and preparing resources.

The students in Year 3 Blue and 3 Green are now housed in 2 of the 6 demountable classrooms that have been moved onto the school site. Library lessons will once again take place in the designated Library space and all IT equipment has been updated and in the process of being redeployed throughout the school for students to access as a tool for their learning.

A sandstone wall has been constructed to enhance the garden created at the end of 2020 as part of the Cooling Schools Project in collaboration with Greening Australia.

SPORT UNIFORMS

The students will begin accessing the Sport / Library / Creative Arts timetable next week.

Students will be required to wear their Sport Uniform on the following days from next week.

TUESDAY – YEAR 4 & 6

WEDNESDAY – YEAR 1 & 5

THURSDAY – YEAR 3 & KINDER

FRIDAY – YEAR 2

This information will be added to the school calendar for parents to reference.

 CANTEEN

The Canteen will resume operations for lunch orders only on Monday 7 February.

Parents are able to order for both Lunch 1 and Lunch 2 via the QuickCliq online ordering system.

An updated list and instructions will be forwarded to all parents via Compass. 

SCHOOL LEADERS

Congratulations to the following students who were voted by their peers at the end of 2021 to represent the student body through formal leadership roles at Mary Immaculate.

School Captains - Ysabella S, Patrick F 

School Vice Captains - Jeanelle S, Lucas F

House Captains

Mitchell - Mitchell S, Charlee P (YELLOW HOUSE) 

Farmer - Steven M, Jasmine S (BLUE HOUSE) 

Gibbs - Romell F, Havahna-Eve A (GREEN HOUSE)

Therry - Jarrod B, Olga M (RED HOUSE)

ENROLMENTS FOR 2023

Applications for enrolment for Kindergarten 2023 at Mary Immaculate will be accepted by the school office. Enrolment applications can be downloaded from the school website  www.mievdow.catholic.edu.au or alternatively, from the Catholic Education website www.dow.catholic.edu.au

Children are eligible for enrolment if they turn 5 before 31 July, 2023.

Mary Immaculate is a fantastic community of learning. Parents please spread the word!

MARY IMMACULATE 2022 STAFF LIST

Welcome back to Library for 2022, and a big welcome to our new students and their families.  It is very exciting that we are back in our Library space this year!. Library lessons will be fortnightly, coinciding with Sport and Creative Arts. The regular timetable starts next week, with Year 6 Tuesday, Year 5 Wednesday, Year 3 on Thursday and Year 2 Friday. 

For our Library lessons, the students need to bring a Library bag to carry home the books they borrow, they cannot borrow without a Library bag. If a student forgets to bring the Library bag on the day of the lesson, he / she can bring it in the following day and borrow then. The Library bag is important for transporting the books to and from school because it helps protect them while in the school bag. We regularly have books which have to be disposed because they get wet. 

Premiers' Reading Challenge (PRC): Any students who would like to take part in the PRC for 2022 are encouraged to do so. All students from Years 3 - 6 will be registered, Year 2  students will complete the Challenge in class, and we ask parents of students in Kinder and Year 1 to please notify us in writing if your children would like to participate.

It is an easy challenge – students in Years 3 - 6 only need to read 20 books from the PRC list, and students in K, Year 1 and 2 are required to read 30. The booklists are found at https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html

You can search our Library catalogue to see all the available books on the list – go to oliver.dow.catholic.edu.au/miev, and type ‘premier’ in the search box. You can then select the required level, either K - 2, 3 - 4, or 5 - 6. We have until the end of August to complete the Challenge. 

 All those students who have participated in the PRC in previous years are able to use the same User name and password to login this year, but you cannot login until registration is completed in early March. Registration can only be done through the school. In the meantime it is a good idea to keep a list of the books read.Thank you.

Scholastic Book Club: The brochures will be sent home this week, ordering is available online as indicated on the brochures, using the LOOP system. No orders or money are able to be accepted at school. If you have any problems, please don’t hesitate to contact us in the Library. Orders close for this issue, Issue One, on Monday 14  February. Orders are delivered to the school, and distributed to the students as soon as they arrive. Thank you. 

World Read Aloud Day Today Wednesday 2 February  is World Read Aloud Day. For 13 years, World Read Aloud Day has called attention to the importance of sharing stories by challenging participants to grab a book, find an audience, and read-aloud! The global effort, created by the non-profit LitWorld and sponsored by Scholastic, is celebrated annually in over 173 countries and is all about bringing people together through the shared connection of reading aloud in all of our communities. Teachers will be celebrating at school today by reading a book to their students. 

Daily Reading: It is important to try to read with your children for at least ten minutes a day. Let’s hope there is time in your day to read aloud with your family today to celebrate WRAD! 

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."           

Emilie Buchwald, Children's Author

Happy reading!

Mrs Sue Bryant

Teacher-Librarian

2022 SCHOOL FEE INFORMATION

School fees for 2022 have now been invoiced and statements will be issued by the end of Week Two with annual or first instalment payment due on 28 February 2022.  You may view school fees in the Compass Parent Portal.

We would also like to advise you of the following important information in relation to school fees and the rollout of new administrative systems.  All primary, secondary and K-12 schools have now been transferred to the package which includes Compass and Technology One.  This has provided the Catholic Education Office with the ability to perform centralised functions relating to school fee accounts on behalf of our schools.

WHAT CENTRALISATION OF FUNCTIONS MEANS FOR FAMILIES

The invoicing of school fees and the distribution of school fee statements each month, is now a function carried out by the Catholic Education Office.  Payment of fees, whether as an annual payment or payment by instalments is due on the date/s provided on your school fee statement.

Please note that if an adjustment is made to your school fee account eg your child changes subjects in a secondary school, etc., we will email a new school fee statement.  If you are paying by instalments, they may need to be regenerated and a change may occur in your payments.  If this is the case, a new schedule of payments and due dates will appear on the last page of your statement.

REMINDERS FOR LATE PAYMENTS

In 2021, the issue of reminders for late payment via email was introduced and in 2022 the ability to send SMS messages will be added to the system.  These reminders are automatically generated by the software based on the number of days a payment is overdue and are distributed by the Catholic Education Office.  For those families that may have difficulty in paying their school fees, these reminders may cause some distress. This is not our intention.  Our intention is to manage the collection of school fee accounts with new technology and in so doing, alleviate some of the administrative work of our schools.

SCHOOL FEE ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES

Please note, despite the centralisation of various functions, your school/s will always be your point of contact for matters pertaining to fees.  If you wish to discuss your school fee account, please contact your school office.  The role of the Catholic Education Office is to action centralised tasks on behalf of schools.

IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY INSTALMENTS

Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments.  If you wish to avail yourself of this option please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on your school’s website or at your school’s office.  On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at your school’s office.  Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your account and a schedule of payments and due dates will be provided on your next school fee statement.  Please note it is only necessary to complete this form once during the period of child/children’s enrolment, unless you wish to amend your payment frequency.

DIFFICULTY WITH PAYMENT

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage you to contact the school in which your child/children are enrolled to discuss an arrangement that will assist you meet your commitments.  This may include the completion of a Diocesan Application for Fee Concession which is available from the administration office of each school.  Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances. 

For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2021, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession.   If you wish to submit the application, please do so at your child’s school.  Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application.

For further information regarding school fees, please access the Diocesan School Fee Management Policy and Frequently Asked Questions which is available on your school’s website.