Dear Parents / Caregivers and families,

On Friday we will gather as a school community to celebrate the life of St Eugene de Mazenod the founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and one of the patron saints of our parish and school.

From the earliest days of his life and mission St Eugene, had a dream to teach the most abandoned to lead them to a deep personal encounter with God. St Eugene depended on the co-operation of others to make this mission possible. This mission continues today and is embodied not only by our beloved Oblate priests, but also by every member of our parish and school community. 

When we think about the lives of saints, like St Eugene we are reminded that each of us is called to be like a stained-glass window, through which the light of God’s love and presence can shine. This is our Christian vocation, and a saint is recognised by the Church as someone from whom we can learn. St Eugene de Mazenod was canonised in 1995. In this way the Church recognised that Eugene’s life can teach us valuable lessons. Born a rich boy in 1782, he became a poor boy during the French Revolution and lived in exile outside of his country for 11 years. When the political situation allowed him to return to France he reverted to being a rich and self-centred young man but was transformed when he became aware of God’s love for him. 

Like us, Eugene was not one dimensional but had a complex character. He had a huge heart and a great capacity to love others, but this was shadowed by his moments of impatience and his outbursts of anger. His struggles to reconcile the opposite aspects of his character found strength in his relationship with Jesus as his Saviour. He dedicated his life to evangelising the poor – precisely because he experienced the power of faith in the context of his own weaknesses and during his struggles. His life became dedicated to bringing his experience of God to others. Eugene became a fighter for the poor and for the Church during times of persecution. For this reason, his personal motto, and that of the Oblates is “He has sent me to bring Good News to the poor.”

St Eugene’s life teaches us that each one of us is like a coloured-glass window through which God wants to shine. In our weaknesses, it is the light of God’s strength that shines; in our strengths it is the assurance of God’s presence that shines; in our moments of darkness, it is God who shines to lead and encourage us. Every page of the life of St Eugene is an encouragement for us to recognise each aspect of our lives as a window. Many people find in St Eugene a powerful saint to accompany them in their personal struggles.

Through his missionaries, countless people have come to discover the grace of finding God’s presence in their lives. In later life, Eugene encouraged his Oblates “to treat people as human beings, then as Christians and finally to help them become saints”. St Eugene teaches us that it is possible to be transformed and that we too may be a multi-coloured window that brings God’s light to the world. Wishing you moments in the week ahead that bring to life our school motto,

"Christ Our Way and Life" and allow St Eugene’s mission to become a reality within the context of your own life.

Tina Murray

Principal

 POLICE LIAISON VISIT

Campbelltown Senior Constable Louise Michell visited Mary Immaculate on Monday 16 May to inform Years 5 and 6 about how to be safe online and what would be considered a criminal offence. Louise mentioned restricted ages for social media platforms and explained the reality of how criminal records never go away. Teachers and students were very interested to learn about the role of a police officer in these types of incidents and about our own responsibilities and accountability. Mary Immaculate is very appreciative for Louise in taking time out of her day to advise Year 5 and Year 6 about how to be safe online and at school. 

Steven M

6 Blue

On Friday, Mary Immaculate students are invited to participate in Walk Safely to School Day.

This is an Australia wide event, where all primary school aged children are encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. This is a wonderful opportunity for our families to walk to school together and discuss safety issues when crossing a road. It is also an opportunity for extra exercise in the morning which may also help ease traffic congestion on the roads around our school. Plus, it’s also great for the environment!

Some families live close by the school and are regular walkers anyway, which is fantastic, we will hopefully see you walking to school on this day.  However, even if you live much further away, we encourage you to park the car a few streets away from the school and take the time on Walk Safely to School Day to walk those extra few blocks to school together. On Thursday, teachers in Kinder and Year 1 will be providing students with a special tattoo, that can be applied to the child and parent’s hands as a reminder of the importance of holding young children’s hands while walking to school.

WHATS HAPPENING IN YEAR 1?

This term Year 1 have been learning about Living Things. The children will observe the external features of living things, their environment and how they change and reproduce.  They will learn about the reason why plants are classified as living things and investigate how living things can be grouped according to their external features. They will also learn about why living things live in different environments. To support this learning, Year 1 visited Symbio Wildlife Park. Rielle, Mitchell and Mellieha from Year 1 shared a recount of their excursion. 

Year 1 went on an excursion to Symbio. We travelled on two buses, and we left in the morning. We got to sit with a partner on the bus. When we got there, we met the Rangers. Their names were Mango and Olivia. We learnt the secret ranger call – “Coo-eee”. The rangers would say it first and then we would say it back. We got to pat some animals – a snake, an alligator, and a blue tongue lizard. We saw a Tawny Frogmouth which is a bird that looks like an owl but isn’t an owl. It has a yellow tongue, and it attracts bugs when it opens its beak. We learnt that the Red Panda was the first animal to be called a panda. It is a panda because it likes to eat bamboo. We saw the most venomous snake in Australia. We went for a walk around Symbio and saw a cheetah. It can climb up high and run really fast. We saw koalas, kangaroos, and joeys. We also saw Tasmanian Devils in cages, and we learnt that they are carnivores which means they eat meat. They had a white stripe on their backs. We saw lots of emus running around. We also saw turtles and meerkats. We were allowed to feed the kangaroos and the goats. We also saw guinea pigs, rabbits, and chickens. We also saw two rescue eagles in their cages because they were hurt. One of them had gotten run over by a train. We saw different monkeys.  The rangers said that humans are their biggest predators because we don’t know how to take care of them. The monkeys were sunbaking, and one was on the roof. We all had lunch together.

Then it was time to get the bus home. We had a great day at Symbio Wildlife Park.

Mrs Lillian Del Giudice

Assistant Principal

What do these two men have in common?

You guessed it….

They are Oblate priests. If you have an opportunity this week please ask your children about the Oblates, as this is something we have been teaching across the school in preparation for the Feast Day of St Eugene.

St Eugene (pictured on the right) is the founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. His overwhelming desire to serve God as a missionary priest inspired Father Slawek and many like him to join the priesthood. 

You are invited to.....................

The Feast Day of St Eugene is this Friday- we would like to extend a warm invitation to attend at 11:00 am in the Church.

Congratulations to all students remembering to bring their Library Bags – we have lots of lovely new books available to borrow!  Let’s hope we can see many more this week! Just a reminder again about our Library days:

This week:

Thursday – Year 3

Friday  – Year 2

 

NEXT WEEK:

Tuesday – Year 4

Wednesday  – Year 1

Thursday  – Kinder

 

Please remind your children to bring their Library bags on the day of their lesson  – encourage them to have it in their bags the night before! The Library bags are essential for protecting the books as they are carried to and from school. Thank you. 

This term in Library lessons we are looking at how we can use non-fiction texts and the internet to find the information we want. Each grade is studying different topics, related to their class units. Kinder students are learning that non-fiction books give us information, and we are learning about animals, what they eat  and where they live. 

Premiers' Reading Challenge

We have a number of students who have already completed their PRC, and some students who have nearly finished, great effort!. Remember to register the books once you have read them, and the students are welcome to come to the Library at Lunch 2 to register the books they have completed. Check the lists at

https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html

Many of the books on the lists which are in our Library are marked with the sticker to indicate which level – red for Kindergarten - Year 2, green for Years 3 - 4, and purple for Years 5 - 6.

 National Simultaneous Storytime

National Simultaneous Storytime is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association. Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian Author and Illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. This year it will be  at 11:00am on Wednesday 25 May. Many of the classes will share Family Tree written by Josh Pyke, illustrated by  Ronojoy Ghosh.

 Daily Reading

Don’t forget to try to take at least ten minutes out of your busy day to read with or to your children. 

"I beg you all to read superb books aloud to your children! Begin on the day they are born. I am very serious about this: at least three stories and five nursery rhymes a day, if not more, and not only at bedtime, either!.”         

Mem Fox

Happy reading!

Mrs Sue Bryant

Teacher-Librarian