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Last weekend we celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi or the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. This feast celebrates the great mystery that is the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. It is a feast that has great relevance for us because it culminates the preparation and celebration of First Holy Communion within the Mary Immaculate Parish. In this week of The Body and Blood of Christ’ we are called to reflect on our personal and communal commitment to this greatest and most mysterious of gifts - the Eucharist. It is, as Vatican II tells us, “The source and summit of our Christian life.”
We are grateful for the contribution of the parish sacramental team and school staff who assisted the parents in the preparation of the candidates who received the sacrament for the first time, during the two special masses on the weekend. As a school community we are certainly fortunate to be able to celebrate this great gift on a regular basis through our school masses. This would not be possible without the generosity of Fr Slawek and Fr Casmir.
The gospel on Sunday recounted the story of the ‘Feeding of the Five Thousand’. The gospel writers must have known how important this story was, for it is in fact, the only event in Jesus public ministry to be recorded in each of the four gospels. This story is essentially about being challenged to do more with less and can’t we all relate to that! It is also the story of how the meagre resources of 5 loaves and 2 fish, were distributed for the good of everyone. The miracle of the story in the feeding the five thousand may have less to do with Jesus’ multiplying what was available, and more to do with his ability to challenge strangers to share and contribute, whatever little they may have had. Perhaps it all revolved around Jesus’ ability to ‘welcome the crowds’ and inspire them with the image of what the ‘kingdom of God’ could really be like. The real transformation then, was not of the loaves and fish, but of five thousand selfish hearts. If the story of the feeding of the five thousand can teach us anything, it can teach us that whatever little we may have to offer, if we are each willing to contribute there is usually enough to go around and often more than expected. What miracles God can do in and through each of us!
During my pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2018 our group was fortunate to visit the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha. Among the beautiful mosaics inside the church, is the depiction of the loaves and fish at the foot of the altar. Upon close inspection it is obvious that there are only four loaves in the basket. It was explained that the missing loaf is carried within each of us and is the contribution that we each make to bringing the Kingdom of God to reality. When I reflected on these stories I thought of our school community and the many opportunities we have to share our own personal resources and gifts for the good of the community. Grace is often found in community. It is through our interactions with others that we are moulded, battered, stretched and challenged. Grace enters our lives and assists us to become all that God intends us to be and together we can achieve what may seem impossible.
May we each be more attuned to the ‘moments of grace’ in the week ahead.
Tina Murray
Principal
GRANDPARENTS AND GREAT PEOPLE DAY
We very much look forward to the opportunity to welcome our special visitors to our school community next term.
To assist with the organisation and catering for the morning tea provided for the grandparents by the Parents and Friends Association please indicate the number of grandparents and great people attending this special event via the link below by Friday 22 July 2022.
https://forms.gle/ks3Wkawv9d4PryvY6
P&F TERM 3 GENERAL MEETING
WEDNESDAY 10 AUGUST 2022
Dear Parents / Carers,
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 last school holiday vacation period the settings in compass were 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 may 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.
Indyana A 3 Gold, Yanika C 1 Gold, Isaiah S 6 Gold, Charlee P 6 Blue, Max D 6 Gold, Jaxson H 3 Blue, Robert V 1 Gold, Zara I 4 Green, Jocelyn C 3 Gold and Savaiinaea-Rose I 3 Green
S
This Friday, it will be our Feast of the Sacred Heart Mass. It is with great excitement that we will be presenting one of the students in our school with our very special Sacred Heart Award.
This is awarded to a student who has displayed loving, caring and empathetic qualities towards others and who opens their heart to the needs of others.
Watch this space to see who this special person is….
Holy Communion
Over the past four weeks, we have been preparing some of our students in Year 4 to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time. It was a great privilege for the teachers to have the opportunity to support families during these classes and be part of their ongoing faith journey.
On the weekend, our students participated in the special mass to receive the Eucharist. Upon reflection of the weekend the students of Year 4 shared:
‘..I like how Father explained how the people shared the food with others….’ Ivory
‘... after I received communion, I felt that I was in the presence of God…’ Logan
‘... I was nervous at first, but after I received communion - no words could describe how it felt…’ Kara
Our students are to be applauded for their reverance and respect during the entire Mass.
Mrs Kirsty Simpson
REC Co-ordinator
Congratulations again, and thank you, to all those students who have returned their books on time, sadly we still have 308 students with overdue books! We need to try to return the rest of these books before the end of term please. Look under beds, behind desks and shelves, in secret spaces…. It would be good to have them all back and ready for next term. Library bags can be washed and ready to start again.
Library this week:
Thursday – Kinder
Next week:
Tuesday – Year 6
Wednesday – Year 5
Thursday – Year 3
Friday – Year 2
Premiers' Reading Challenge: We now have quite a few students who have already completed the challenge, and a lot more who have logged in and registered their books read so far. We still have until the end of August to complete the challenge, so see how much you can read during the holidays so we can register them when we return in Term 3. Holidays are a great time to catch up with some extra reading, especially at this time of the year when it’s cold outside. https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html
Remember Kindergarten – Year 2 must read 30 books, and Years 3 - 6 must read 20, with only 5 Personal Choice books allowed. If you are reading books from a series you can only count 2 towards your Challenge, any extra will be counted as Choice books, even if they are on the PRC list.
"If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books."
Happy reading!
Mrs Sue Bryant
Teacher-Librarian
To RSVP via the Google Form please either download the Grandparents Invitation above to click on the link or click on the followng link:
LEMON SALE
Thank you to all of the students and families that supported the sale of Mary Immaculate's Lovely Lemon’s! We sold all of our 219 lemons in just under 20 mins! The funds raised will be used to purchase passionfruit vines and lime trees to increase our fruit growing capabilities! Stay tuned for our next fruit sale later in the year.
WONDER BREAD BAG RECYCLINGA big Thank You to everyone who has deposited their empty bread bags into the recycling box near the front office! We have sent back 1 full box of bread bags with the second due to be sent shortly. Please continue to send them in to school so that we can redeem them for Free Sporting Equipment!
RETURN AND EARN PROGRAM
We are still collecting the 10c Return and Earn items to raise money for environmental projects at our school. Please continue to send in any items you wish to donate. They can be dropped off at the office or sent in with the students to be placed in our Return and Earn boxes that are located around the school.
