The Pharisees tried to trick Jesus into going against civil laws. Jesus famously said to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” For us this means we need to be good citizens and part of the civil world we live in while also being faithful to God and His laws. There can be times when the two don’t agree with each other and we may need guidance about how to navigate that. That’s why we have parishes and our Parish Priest to be able to give us guidance and counsel.

Last Sunday our wonderful choir met our dedicated teachers at the Sydney Town Hall to take part in the Celebration Sing Out concert. It was a tremendous success! The teachers had a lovely day because the students behaved so well. They are a credit to their parents! Thank you to our supportive parents for bringing them in. It is lovely for our school to be on show to the wider community and to conduct themselves with pride.

We also had a wonderful email from Ranger Jaimie Tours about our Year 1 students on their recent excursion. They wrote to commend the students on their excellent ‘behaviour and respectfulness’. We know we teach these things at school but if you do not do it at home as well, we would never succeed. Thank you for all the work you do with your children.  It is so nice that our school has something to be proud of when we go out!

You will probably have noticed the heavy machinery working on our new playground. All is progressing as per scheduling so we should see an almost finished product by the end of term.

We have noticed some parents parking in the Parish Car Park and them coming in to pick up students from classrooms. It is not a School Car Park and we must not use it. The parish needs to have spaces available for their own use. If we have to close gates staff will not be able to park there either and this will mean less street parking for parents. So please DO NOT use the Parish Car Park.

Thank you for your requests regarding your children and classes for 2024. You have kept to the purpose - reminding us about social issues that mean separating your child from another student will enable them to be happier at school – thank you. You may still send these in to me. Teachers are about to finalise classes so we need them by next Friday 3 November.

This coming Friday is our Mufti and Crazy Sock Day for Catholic Missions to ‘sock it to poverty’. Please remember to make sure in wearing mufti that your children have hats, a top / t-shirt that covers children's shoulders – no singlets, and closed in shoes for running around – no slides. It is also World Teacher’s Day this Friday so we’ll have a busy day!

God Bless,

Michelle Rolfe - Acting Principal

Lindsay Burns - Acting Assistant Principal

Religious Education Co-Ordinator

Over the last two years, the Vinnies NSW Christmas Card Competition has seen hundreds of entries from extremely talented students across the state! They pick 5 winning designs from across NSW which are featured on their official Vinnies Members Christmas Cards.

As the Christmas Season approaches and back by popular demand the Vinnies 2023 Christmas Card Competition is now OPEN! We would love our Mary Immaculate students to get involved. 

Using the link below find out all the information you will need, to create, decorate and submit your amazing Christmas card designs. 

 Vinnies 2023 Christmas Card Competition

Mrs Young and Miss Earnshaw 

(On behalf of the Service Team)

20% Discount on Sports & Co-Curricular Group Photos

available until 4 November 2023

Dear Parents,

These school sports and co-curricular groups were photographed on 24 July 2023:

• MISSION LEADERS
• SCHOOL LEADERS
• SCHOOL MISSION LEADERS
• YEAR 6

You can now view and purchase the group images listed above and if you place your order before 4 November 2023 you will get a 20% early order discount. Just click on the link below. Please note the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

Images can also be viewed by visiting www.advancedlife.com.au entering the code: 737 5JZ 8ZH and clicking on “Group Photos”

Important

• Sports and co-curricular group photos can only be purchased online, PLEASE DO NOT return payment to your school
• If your child's group or team is scheduled to be photographed at a later date, you will receive an additional email notification when the images are ready to be ordered
• Photos will be returned to your school for distribution approximately six weeks after the discountedearly order period has closed
• Past years' photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available at your school's advancedorder and your child's advancedyou photo sites

advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to Mary Immaculate Parish Primary School for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money-back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience, please contact us at www.advancedlife.com.au/contact

Through the Diocese of Wollongong Sports Council, students are provided with the opportunity to trial for Wollongong representative teams, which give students the opportunity to access higher levels of sporting pathways, representation and opportunities to progress into state representation. 

Parents of students in Year 4 and Year 5 received the nomination form for the 2024 representative pathway selection trials last Thursday. If you would like to nominate your child please use the link provided in the email by Monday 23 October.  Some of these trials for 2024 teams commence in Term 4 2023, therefore it is important that nominations are completed now.  

Criteria for representative sport pathway nominations: 

In general the representative sport pathway trials are for students who are; 

• Skilled and talented players and will be in Year 5 & 6 in 2024
• Experienced in the given sport and may have some high level representative experience or playing at a high grade
• Competing at a high level, regular experience and a background in this high level of competition, with a strong skill based and understanding of the game 

Nomination Process and Information for parents: 

Please note this process is NOMINATION ONLY, once nominations are received and close on Monday 23 October all individual sports trial nominations will be: 

1. Reviewed and approved by the School Principal and/or delegate 
2. Reviewed by the sports convenor and selection committee based on criteria (students must meet the criteria of the given sport to be eligible)
3. Required in some cases to host a school based trial to determine most suitable athletes to attend the Wollongong representative trials. 
4. After this review, school sport coordinators will be notified of successful nominations, and these students will be provided with a trial information letter by the school and be permitted to attend the 2024 trial date.  

If you have any questions regarding this process please do not hesitate to contact Ms Leah Beckman (Sports Co-ordinator) or Mr Lindsay Burns for further information regarding the representative sport pathway trial and opportunities. 

Leah Beckman

Sports Co-ordinator

To boost education opportunities and narrow the digital divide, the Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, is working with NBN Co to provide up to 30,000 families with no internet at home free NBN for 12 months. 

To be eligible, a family must:

• Have a child living at home that is enrolled in an Australian school
• Have no active broadband service over the NBN network
• Live in a premise where they can access a standard NBN service
• Not have had an active NBN service during the previous 14 day