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Thank you to our parent/carer community for your unwavering support during the last few challenging weeks.
Thank you to our amazing staff who have responded with grace and generosity to all the challenges that have come their way.
Dear Parents and Carers,
This is my third year at Mary Immaculate as Principal, and I am yet to experience a normal year. We are certainly living in what will be marked as an extraordinary time in history. Bushfires and floods, the global COVID-19 pandemic, our recent amazing rain systems due to the El Nino effect and the recent Russian invasion of the neighbouring Ukraine.
I cannot help but think about what our children must think about everything that is happening around them and in the wider world. Although the learning of all our students has been disrupted our current Year 2, Year 1 and Kindergarten students are yet to experience the normality of school the way it used to be.
As we strive to re-establish the whole school timetable and processes since COVID restrictions have eased, we have been focusing on the importance of reconnecting and belonging to a community. The paradox is that outside of the protection of our school community and our families we are often bombarded by images and information that present an opposite view of what it means to be connected or belong. What the world is witnessing can be very difficult for our children to understand. This means that there is all the more reason that we should be working to help our children understand the facts about community and world events, to be critical in their thinking and to allow their compassion for others to be informed and generous.
So where do we start? In a practical sense, I would highly recommend the ABC Podcast Squiz Kids. This is a short podcast that is updated each day with world news and is communicated in simple ‘kid friendly’ language. The ABC radio program Parental as Anything is another useful resource that supports parent conversations across a range of topics. Additional links to resources that further support parents are included in this newsletter.
Whilst we need to make sure that our children are informed, we also need to balance that with reassurance and gratitude for the many blessings that come from having the opportunity to connect and belong within a safe environment.
I leave you this week as we enter the second week of our Lenten journey with the 2022 Project Compassion prayer. As we commit our prayers for all those within the community of Ukraine - may they feel our connection to them as we pray with compassion:
Loving God,
We thank you for the gift of our lives and
for the life of every person, both near to us and far away.
We thank you for the wonder of your creation.
Through fasting, almsgiving and prayer
may this Lent draw us deeper
into the warmth and light of God’s love.
May we see the world more clearly,
Especially those who are often overlooked.
May we come closer to your heart,
which you showed through the cross of Jesus.
May we be full of hope for future generations.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen
Wishing you a week ahead with many opportunities to journey with Jesus.
Tina Murray
Principal
PARENT RESOURCES
How to talk to kids about news – https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/parental-as-anything-with-maggie-dent/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-news/13389392
How to talk to kids when the news is scary - https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59143/war-crisis-tragedy-how-to-talk-with-kids-when-the-news-is-scary
Selection of Children’s Online Books - Natural Disaster Recovery storybooks | Children's Health Queensland – in particular “Birdie and the Flood” - https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/chq/our-services/mental-health-services/qcpimh/natural-disaster-resources/storybooks/?fbclid=IwAR2Vf_6ZRZ1vA_aA-TvQjYvvb-kIOsqe1Wg83hjKLLFwdoSlM0A08c0jCJo
PARENTS AND FRIENDS ASSOCIATION
Many thanks to the parents who were able to attend our Parents & Friends Zoom AGM last Wednesday night. It was wonderful to see a number of new parents in attendance. This is a great testament of putting into practice the commitment made during the enrolment process.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the members of the outgoing committee for their energy, positivity and tireless efforts in helping to build community spirit during extremely challenging circumstances in 2021. Thank you to the members of the outgoing P & F Executive: Lorraine Brown (President), Heather Franshaw-Thomas (Vice President), Mesfin Desalegn (Secretary), Chris Thomas (Treasurer).
We are grateful for their hard work and commitment during 2021.
I look forward to the opportunity of working with the members of the new P & F Executive, as we continue to work together to promote our school and our mission to support the opportunities for all our students at Mary Immaculate.
Congratulations to all the parents who accepted nominations and leadership roles in this vital group within our school community for 2022.
President – Lorraine Brown
Vice President – Kerry Watson
The positions of Secretary, Treasurer, Hospitality Co-ordinator and Fundraising Co-ordinator were not able to be filled at last week’s meeting and we are seeking support from the wider parent community from anyone who may be interested in assuming any of these roles. Copies of the Role Descriptions are included with this newsletter to support parents who may wish to consider taking on one of these roles.
Please contact Mrs Murray to discuss further.
RAINCOATS
The last few weeks have reinforced the need for all students to have a raincoat packed in their bag for use when needed.
Due to safety concerns, it is preferable that students use raincoats rather than umbrellas at school.
Tina Murray
Principal
Liam P K Gold, Olga M 6 Green, Fred B K Green, Paula M 6 Green, Nate G 3 Green, Jack A 2 Gold, Lawson Schryver 4 Green and Stavros I 1 Green
Well, congratulations to Kinder Blue on earning their first Gold Star, an excellent effort, well done! We need to try to remember our Library bags each fortnight. Please keep in mind that we need Library bags on our Sport day– a good clue!
THIS WEEK:
Thursday – Year 3
Friday – Year 2
NEXT WEEK:
Tuesday – Year 4
Wednesday – Year 1
Thursday – Kinder
DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP AND CYBER SAFETY
All classes are learning about these important topics in our Library lessons, it is important for parents to continue discussions at home. The Australian Government has a website worth exploring:
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents
PREMIERS' READING CHALLENGE
User names and passwords for login will be sent out as soon as we get them – please be patient, we will get to it as soon as we can. While you are waiting you can still be reading the required books, and keep a list of the books read. Just remember to look online, or for the correctly-marked books either in our Library or in the Eagle Vale or Campbelltown libraries. If the students are reading books from home, you can check to see if those titles are on the list. If not, each participant is allowed five free-choice books.
https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html
SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB
The brochure is going home this week for Issue 2, orders will close on Friday 18 March, which gives you plenty of time to browse the catalogue to find the reading bargains! Remember all ordering is done online through LOOP – check the back of the brochure for details. No orders or money can be accepted at school. The school receives reward points for all items sold, which enables us to buy more books for the Library, so we thank you for your support.
DAILY READING
Don’t forget to try to make time to read with your children for at least ten minutes a day – maybe after dinner or just before bedtime.
"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world.
Love of books is the best of all."
Jacqueline Kennedy
Happy reading!
Mrs Sue Bryant
Teacher-Librarian
21 March there will be a MUFTI DAY and students are encouraged to wear the colours of their families cultural heritage flag or if you would like, traditional clothing that is a representation of your family's culture. During Harmony Week (Week 9) students will participate in a range of activities that promote the many diverse cultural backgrounds we have here at Mary Immaculate.
A gold coin donation will help support the Project Compassion Appeal that our Mini Vinnies team is working hard on. This will further support the many cultures around the world.
At Mary Immaculate Eagle Vale, we are very fortunate to have a wide array of languages spoken by some of our families. One of the easiest things that families can do to foster home language learning is to read stories in whatever language parents feel most comfortable. Sharing stories with children is more than reading print - it can be talking about pictures that can be seen, symbols within the text or even having children read to adults or other children within the family. As part of our Harmony Week celebrations at Mary Immaculate we are encouraging students to bring in stories from home, especially those written in different home languages to share with students in their class.
A great website to access books in multiple home languages is https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/. This resource has many different books that can be accessed in multiple languages other than English.
We look forward to this purposeful opportunity where students are able to share the incredible gift of being exposed to and coming from different cultural backgrounds.
Nicole Martin
EAL/D Support Teacher
Danielle Grados
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Coordinator and Year 3 Teacher
IF YOUR CHILD HAS NOMINATED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 800M RACE OR THE HIGH JUMP YOU MUST BE AT THE ATHLETICS CENTRE TO BEGIN AT 8:30 A.M. FOR AN 8:30 A.M. START.
BUS AND / OR ATTENDANCE CONSENT IS NOW DUE
Please check COMPASS for details and permission.
ALL students are expected to attend the Athletics Carnival as it is considered a normal school day.
Parent helpers are also needed - if you are able to assist in any way - please answer YES in the questions tab of the COMPASS event.
Parents are able to drop off and collect students from Campbelltown Athletics Centre from 8:30am.
A bus is also available for students at a cost of $15.00 - if you would like your child to catch the bus, please complete the COMPASS event titled - Athletics Carnival BUS CONSENT AND PAYMENT.
Kindergarten Welcome Liturgy
Last week, we held a Welcome Liturgy for the newest members of our Mary Immaculate Family. The youngest members of our community sat reverently and sang beautifully. A big thank you to our Year 6 students who welcomed our families to this event and the Year 3 choir who proudly sang.
The symbols of Lent….
One of the Year 6 Faith Teams roles is to set the Prayer Spaces within our school. On Wednesday, they set our prayer spaces with a purple cloth to symbolise the Lenten season, the crucifix to remind us of Jesus’ sacrifice for us and a Project Compassion box.
Our Mini Vinnies team has also started to visit our classes to encourage students to ‘reflect’ on stories of hope from communities around the world and ‘act’, by giving to Project Compassion. This has inspired some classes to start ‘Match it Monday’ with their teacher.
Mrs Kirsty Simpson
Religious Education Co-Ordinator