Yesterday the children, staff and parents of Mary Immaculate celebrated the Feast Day of St Eugene. St Eugene is very important to our Mary Immaculate Community because he was the founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the order of priests, which Fr Slawek and our new assistant priest, Fr Basti, belong. Eugene wanted to help the poor and he tried new ways to reach out to young people because he wanted them to come to understand the love of Jesus for us and how important it was to practice their Catholic faith. In doing this he began to have a love for missionary work and realised that priests in a parish could help people become dedicated to their faith. Celebrating the feast day allows us to give thanks to the Oblate Priests who have given service to our community of Mary Immaculate and we pray that they continue to minister and give witness to the teachings of Christ for many years to come.

PDHPE SURVEY – request from Catholic Education Office Wollongong.

Dear Parents,

The new PDHPE Syllabus has been released and support materials are currently being developed for teachers within the Wollongong Diocese. The following survey will provide helpful information that will inform the collaborative writing team. Your assistance in completing this short survey is greatly appreciated. We value your input in improving student learning experiences. Please click the link to complete survey.”

https://forms.gle/GxqSb59jf8BvrBns5 

PRINCIPAL CONFERENCE - As communicated last week I will be attending the NSW Association of Catholic School Principals Conference over the next three days. Please direct any matters of urgency to Mrs Del Giudice during my absence.

Have a great week and let Christ be our way and life.

Don Spencer

Principal

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY – Pupil Free Day - A Staff Development Day for the staff at Mary Immaculate will be held on Friday 14 June, 2019 (Friday, Week 7, Term 2). The focus of the day will be related to the teaching of STEM. Children are not required to attend school on this day.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING - At Mary Immaculate the staff has an ongoing commitment to professional learning. The staff benefits from attending inservices, in curriculum areas, that assists them in providing quality learning opportunities for the students in their class. The following staff have or will attend professional learning and hence will be away from school.

PARENTING IDEAS – Michael Grose

HELPING YOUR CHILD KEEP AND MAKE FRIENDS

Children who develop healthy friendships generally have a definite set of social skills that help make them easy to like, easy to relate to and easy to play with. One such skill is the ability to adjust their behaviours to suit the social requirements of a particular situation. Many boys struggle in this area and can be loud, overbearing and bossy when their peers want them to be quiet, cooperative and to follow others. You can coach your child to fit in with the requirements of many of their social groups using this three-pronged approach:

• Remind: Be preemptive with your teaching. Before your child visits their friends provide some relevant pointers about their behaviour. “Remember to say hello quietly and ask them if they’d like to play with you.”
• Rehearse: It’s useful to practise with children how they should act in social situations. “Okay, Jeremy tell me what you will say when you want to enter a game. Let’s practice waiting for a break in the game, approaching someone you know and saying, “Excuse me. Can I play with you guys?”
• Revisit: Give your child feedback after the event but keep it positive and upbeat. “That was great the way you let the other kids lead the way. Your friends love it when you let them be boss.” Boys, in particular, benefit from being told what works well in terms of their friendships behaviours.

Encourage healthy friendships

The wellbeing of many primary school girls is heavily impacted by her relationships with her peers. When relationships are going well she’ll tend to be happy, however when friendships become tricky then she can feel unhappy, even distraught. Help your daughter identify what a healthy friendship looks and feels like – she should feel safe, valued and able to speak up. Unhealthy relationships, such as cliques, are restrictive, one-sided, full of gossip and criticism. To assist them to reflect on the nature of healthy relationships help your child to formulate responses to these questions: “What does a good friend look like? How does a good friend behave? What do good friends do?”

Encourage friendships with both genders

The primary school age is an ideal time for children to form friendships with both girls and boys. This is particularly valid if your child has siblings of their own gender, or don’t have siblings. It’s through these early relationships that we gain the confidence to mix with different genders in the later years. Forming friends across genders helps to break down the mystique that sometimes forms, when a child has little contact with the ‘other’ gender.

Understand the impact of gender on friendships

Research shows that boys’ friendships groups are more inclusive and less changeable than friendships enjoyed by girls, particularly those in the eight to twelve age group. If you have a girl, be ready to support your daughter through the hurt of friendship breakdowns and remind them that new friendships are just around the corner. Many girls take a disagreement with a friend personally as they don’t have the emotional development to deal with conflict constructively. Help her reflect on her own place in a friendship breakdown, and encourage her to be open to restoring a relationship once emotions are in check.

Remember, friends a feather flock together

If you think that your child doesn’t have as many friends as a sibling or other children their own age, don’t be too alarmed. On average, children usually have only two or three significant friendships at any one time. It’s the quality rather than the quantity of friendships that counts. If you are concerned that your child lacks friends at school encourage them to take up a variety of extra-curricular activities. It’s easier to strike up a friendship with someone when you have something in common.

Above all else, encourage your child to be friendly by talking to others, showing an interest in what other children do, offering help when needed, and being willing to enter a game or social situation. Consider teaching your child, if necessary, alternatives to fighting and arguing when there is disagreement and conflict within groups.

Unfortunately no classes earned a Gold Star again last week, let’s hope we can get some this week! Just a reminder again about our Library days for this Term:

Monday –  Year 2

Tuesday – Year 6, Year 5

Wednesday – Year 3, Year 1

Thursday – Year 4, 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 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 K-2, Green for 3-4, and Purple for  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

Today many of the classes will share Alpacas with Maracas written by Matt Cosgrove.

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