The Gospel last Sunday, was a familiar one, Luke’s account of the parable of the Prodigal Son. The word prodigal is defined as 'reckless' or 'wasteful'. This adjective fits the younger son. He is certainly reckless and wasteful of his share of the estate and his relationship to his father. Summarised simply, the parable recounts how a younger son asks for his share of his father's estate. He wants his own life apart. His father obliges and the young man runs off to a distant country, quickly squandering his inheritance. He is soon hungry and destitute—and forced to live with the consequence of his actions. The son comes to his senses and returns home, prepared to acknowledge to his father that he has failed and no longer deserves to be called one of his sons. Although this story rightly reflects God’s love and forgiveness, an understanding of the implications of the father’s actions in the context of the honour and shame system prevalent in Jewish society in the time of Jesus can provides a much greater depth to our understanding of this story. The father’s very public reaction to his son’s return must have shocked Jesus’ audience who would have understood the depths of shame and humiliation the father would have suffered as a result of his son’s actions. The father in the parable, is clearly meant to be an image of God, in the way that he is willing to address each of his wayward sons. His older son is estranged from his father within the law. His younger son is equally estranged, living a life without God’s law in his heart. The prodigal father reaches out to both lost sons. Both need to find their way home. The prodigal father is 'reckless' and 'wasteful' in his all-encompassing love for both. But this was precisely the point Jesus was trying to make. God’s love and forgiveness are completely beyond our understanding or comprehension.                                             

Lord, wait for me on the roads of my choices, today and always.

Be God for me, with me and in me. 

With this sure knowledge, just like the lost son I will find the way home to you.

I hope your week ahead will be filled with opportunities to acknowledge and express compassion, forgiveness, and unconditional love.

Tina Murray

Principal

SCHOOL PHONE NUMBER

Could you please ensure that you have the correct phone number when contacting the school - 4626 7880.  There has been some confusion between the School Office and the Parish Office.  Thank you.

CROSS COUNTRY

Due to the continuing wet weather and concerns for the safety of students the Cross Country Carnival scheduled to take place at Eschol Park on Friday has been CANCELLED.

We will look at the possibility of rescheduling this event to be completed in the school grounds during the normal school day in the last week of term. This event will continue to depend upon the weather and condition of the grounds.

RECORDING OF ABSENCES ON COMPASS

The NSW Education Act (1990) and Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) require Parents / Carers to ensure that children of compulsory school age attend school on each day that the school is open for instruction. If children are absent from school, Parents / Carers are required to provide the school with an acceptable explanation, within seven days of the absence. 

During the next school holiday vacation period the settings in Compass will be adjusted to reflect the requirements of the Education Act (1990). After seven days, absences will automatically be recorded as Absent - unexplained / unjustified if the school is not provided with an acceptable explanation from Parents / Carers. Parents wishing to provide the school with an acceptable explanation after the seven-day period, will need to contact the school and the school will adjust the attendance register. Parents will no longer be able to enter the absence through the parental portal in Compass after the seven-day period. 

The school will continue to support Parents / Carers and frequently send home letters giving Parents / Carers the opportunity to provide the school with an explanation for absences.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school should you require further information regarding the change.

RECONCILIATION SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM

Fittingly, given the theme of last weeks’s gospel, the Parish Reconciliation Sacramental Program culminated this week. We express our gratitude to the numerous staff who have given so generously of their time and expertise to support the lessons during the last few weeks – Taylah Earnshaw, Maryanne Bulfon, Hollie Wulf, Danielle Grados, Michelle Nash. Together with the members of the Parish Sacramental Team they have supported parents to deepen the knowledge and understanding of the students as they take the next step in their sacramental journey.  Thank you to Taylah Earnshaw for her work in coordinating this sacrament and to the many members of staff who were able to attend the Reconciliation liturgies to support the students and their families.

LOST PROPERTY

There are a considerable amount of items in Lost Property. These items together would amount to thousands of dollars. Most have no names and so, cannot be returned to their owners. If your child is missing any pieces of uniform please take the opportunity to visit the lost property basket near the Admin entry. Remaining items will be passed on to the Uniform Pool at the end of term.

SHOP FOR OUR SCHOOL TO WIN!

Macarthur Square together with Macarthur FC are giving customers the chance to win a share of $30,000 in sporting and school supplies for their local schools.

Simply spend $50 or more in centre at Macarthur Square at ANY store and collect your Bulls for Schools Token(s) from guest services (on level 3, near Gattea Jewellers). Head on over to the Bulls for Schools Activation on (Level 3, next door to City Cave) to vote for your school by placing you token(s) in your schools goal.

The top 3 schools with the most tokens will WIN a share of sporting and school supplies for their school.

1st Prize - $10,000 of sporting and school supplies

2nd Prize - $7,000 of sporting and school supplies

3rd Prize - $5,000 of sporting and school supplies

4th Prize - $4,000 of sporting and school supplies

5th Prize - $2,500 of sporting and school supplies

6th Prize - $1,500 of sporting and school supplies

Competition runs from Thursday 31 March through to Thursday 12 May 2022

Tokens are limited to 4 per collection, per person, per day.

Launching Thursday 31 March, shoppers will be able to score a ‘goal’ for their school for the chance to win a share of $30,000 in school and sporting supplies for the top 3 schools with the most goals!

For more information visit our website rb.gy/qb2m8o

OFFICIAL DATE FOR CHANGE-OVER TO WINTER UNIFORMS IS

MONDAY MAY 9.

Due to the unpredictable weather, there will be a grace period during Week 1 and 2 of Term 2 where students are able to choose the most appropriate uniform for the weather conditions.

All students will officially commence wearing their Full Winter Uniform on

Monday 9 May - Week 3.

 ANZAC DAY MARCH - 25 APRIL 2022

We are pleased to inform our community that we will once again have the opportunity to participate in the Campbelltown RSL commemoration of ANZAC Day March and Service at Mawson Park. Students are invited to join in the ANZAC Day celebrations and march with the Mary Immaculate group. Students are to wear Full Summer Uniform including hat and meet at the corner of Queen and Dumaresq Streets at 8:20 am and then proceed to Mawson Park for the commemorative service. Students will be accompanied during the march by Mrs Murray. Parents are most welcome to join our school group. Participating students will need to be collected at the conclusion of the commemorative service at approximately 9:45 am at Mawson Park.

Parents are invited to register attendance via the Compass event that will be shared shortly.

Upcoming Events

Andrew Chinn Concert: Holy Week Remembrance

On Wednesday 6 April, Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn, will be visiting our school to share his songs with our children. Andrew’s songs, such as “These Hands”, “Rainbow”, “An African Blessing” and “Rise Up!” are used in classrooms and liturgies around Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. 

Our children are currently busy practicing for this special concert which will be shared with parents via our school website. 

We would like to thank our P&F for funding this very special event. 

ANZAC Day Liturgy 

We will be holding our ANZAC Day Liturgy on Tuesday, 26 April at 11 am.

Year 6 will be leading this very special prayer for our school community in order to commemorate all Australians and New Zealanders who have served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. 

Mrs Kirsty Simpson

Religious Education Co-Ordinator

Once again the Mini Vinnies Team would like to extend our gratitude for all of the generosity towards the Project Compassion Campaign this year.

As a community we have raised $1855.65 meaning that we are now helping to provide education assistance in Mozambique and are hoping that with the final fundraising stall as well as the last week of classroom collections we can help three families in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  

We are excited to announce that on Monday 4 April we will hold a fundraising stall where students will be able to buy a number of different items for $1 or $2. This stall has only been made possible once again from the kind donations of new and near new items brought in by the Mini Vinnies Representatives and their families.

As Week 11 approaches, we encourage students and their families to begin bringing back their project compassion boxes from home if they have any donations so that they can be added to the total before the end of the term. 

Congratulations to K Blue and 2 Gold for earning Gold Stars this term - well done!!  It’s great to see so many students making an effort to remember their Library bags! Keep up the good work. It is tricky when our lessons are fortnightly, but let’s hope next term we get into the rhythm of lessons and borrowing. 

Our lessons next week;         Tuesday          Year 6

                                               Wednesday     Year 5

                                               Thursday        Year 3

                                               Friday             Year 2

Premiers’ Reading Challenge: We have until August to read the required number of books, and holidays are the best time to catch up on our reading. 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 least15 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. The important thing is to keep reading!!

Story Writing Competition: We know there are many talented story writers at Mary Immaculate – you may be interested in entering one of your stories in a competition and have your story published. Better Read is a bookshop in Newtown which is running this competition. Write a tiny short story no longer than 300 words. You can be as creative as you like and choose any theme! All entries will be collated into an anthology produced by Better Read Publishing, which will be launched online, and sold thereafter at Better Read Than Dead bookshop. The winning entry in each age category will receive a $100 store voucher, with $50 vouchers for the two runners-up. The age categories are;​ 6 - 9, 10 - 12 and 13 - 17. You have until the 30 June to write and submit your story. For more information go to https://www.betterreadkids.com/competitions

Daily Reading: Parents, share with your children the titles of books you enjoyed as a child – they would love to know what you liked to read. Perhaps even encourage them to find these titles on our Library shelves …..

"Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him."

~ Maya Angelou, Poet

Happy reading!

Mrs Sue Bryant

Teacher-Librarian

FRIDAY 8 APRIL 2022 - CHILDREN'S LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

SATURDAY 9 APRIL 2022 - SUNDAY 24 APRIL 2022

MONDAY 25 APRIL - ANZAC DAY

TUESDAY 26 APRIL - CHILDREN RETURN TO SCHOOL