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Dear Parents / Caregivers and families,
Welcome back to Term 2!
I trust the holidays were a wonderful opportunity for the students to rest and recharge in preparation for another extremely important term of learning at Mary Immaculate.
ANZAC Day each year goes beyond just the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is the day we remember all Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. The spirit of ANZAC, with its human qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity.
On Monday, Mary Immaculate, students and their families joined with staff to
represent our school at the Campbelltown ANZAC Day March and Service. This annual celebration acknowledges our veterans, many of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to enjoy the freedoms we have today. Our school was well represented by the many students and their families who were able to attend. Despite the inclement weather all our students were exemplary in their behaviour and confidently demonstrated very publicly our important school value of respect. We are grateful for the support of our staff who were able to attend and to the parents who made the students attendance possible at this special community commemoration. We are grateful to our Year 6 students, staff and Mr. Reg Muddle who helped us commemorate this special event as a school community yesterday.
As we begin this term together it is essential that we do so with a positive attitude towards all that the next 10 weeks may hold in store for us.
Over the next few weeks, the members of the Leadership Team will be involved in Kindergarten enrolment interviews. Conducting these interviews, especially with parents who attend for the enrolment of their first child is a wonderful privilege. In our conversations with families one of the topics touched upon is the motivation behind choosing Mary Immaculate as the school for their child. In outlining the reasons behind their willingness to apply for enrolment at Mary Immaculate, the conversation often centres on the fundamental differences between the choice of a Catholic School, such as Mary Immaculate, and other schools in the area. Our surrounding area is blessed with many quality schools. All strive to be places of quality learning and teaching, and all follow the common curriculum provided by NESA. We are alike in so many ways. The fundamental difference however, is reflected in our Catholic identity. Our school actively promotes, teaches and celebrates our Christian faith and our Catholic traditions. Supporting this identity must be a conscious choice that is made by parents seeking a Catholic education.
Catholic Schools enrol approximately 20% of Australian students and whilst we teach the same curriculum as our government colleagues, the primary difference is on our faith being central in all that we do. We proudly and willingly identify ourselves as Catholic and we strive to bring to life the gospel teachings of Jesus Christ in all that we do and say by making Christ Our Way and Life.
It is with hope and excitement that we commence this new school term together. A term where we continue to work together through our words and actions, to provide a rich and nurturing environment where all our students can strive to be the best they can be. In doing this we hope to ultimately bring Christ’s presence into our corner of the world.
Tina Murray
NATIONAL ASSESSMENT PROGRAM LITERACY AND NUMERACY (NAPLAN)
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2022.
Our school will be participating in NAPLAN between 10 and 20 May 2022.
Year 3 and 5 students have already had the opportunity to participate in practice tests to expose them to the format of the tests.
Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN.
If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher.
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 May 9 - Week 3.
Mrs Murray
Principal
Welcome back to Term 2. Sadly no classes earned a Gold Star for the last week of Term One, but we will see how we go this week! We still have 332 overdue books from Term One, but a few are coming in this week which is good. During the holidays I printed out Overdue Notices for 23 students with outstanding loans from 2021. There are 45 books worth a total of $547.05, so please take a look at home and see if they can be found. Thank you.
Tomorrow is Library for Kinder. Next week: Tuesday – Year 6
Wednesday – Year 5
Thursday – Year 3
Friday – Year 2
Please remind your children to bring their Library bags on the day of their lesson – encourage them to be organised and have it in their bags the night before! Our Library lessons this term will see a focus on non-fiction (information) books and efficient research skills. Year 6 will be learning the skills required for Debating.
Premiers' Reading Challenge: We have till August to read the required number of books, so making a start is a good idea. We encourage all students to aim to read at least one book a week. It is important to develop a habit of reading every day.
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 least 15 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 PRC website:
https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html
Remember 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.
Daily Reading: Remember how important it is to read every day, please encourage your children to read for at least ten minutes a day, maybe ten minutes in bed at night before lights out. Reading is a god way to settle before sleep. Reading along with them is even more invaluable!
“Research shows that reading rich narratives and metaphors activates areas of our brain outside of language, and frequent fiction reading is correlated with empathy.”
Annie Murphy Paul, Time Magazine
Happy reading!
Mrs Sue Bryant
Teacher-Librarian
On Tuesday, Year 6 held a special ANZAC Day Service for the whole school. This was the first time that we had been able to commemorate this special day all together since 2020. Our guest speaker Mr Reg Muddle, an ex-serviceman who had served 24 years in the army, read the ode. He also spoke to the older students about what ANZAC Day means to him.
Ana D & Emma G - 6 Gold
Shaashini S - 4 Green, Aiyanah O - 1 Blue, Ava S - K Blue, Sonny-Jake R - K Green, Ava R - 2 Gold, Summer S - 4 Gold, Marko K - 3 Gold, Evelyn C - K Blue, Shane M - 4 Green.