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Last Sunday’s Gospel…
Last week Jesus preached from a boat to a group of fishermen that hadn’t been able to catch any fish. They were tired and disappointed. Despite this, Jesus told them to go out again into the deeper water. Peter, knowing that the daytime wasn’t good for fishing obeyed Jesus anyway and was astounded that there were so many fish they had to share them between all the boats to stop them sinking. Like Peter, we too must have faith when Jesus sends us out into ‘deep water’ even when we don’t have confidence that something will work. It takes faith and courage.
From the Principal and Assistant Principal…
Welcome back to another wonderful year at Mary Immaculate. For some of you it is the first of our journey together and for others, we hope you enjoy the final year of your time with us. There is a lot to tell you about this week so please take a couple of days to read it all.
Watch for these…
We have been hard at work preparing some documents that will soon be sent to you.
- A Parent and Staff Handbook - containing a summary of everything about the school;
- An Events list including calendar;
The first event has already been advertised through Ms Boehm’s expression of interest for Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday so be sure to fill it in if you are able to help. If not, please don’t worry. There will be plenty of opportunities to come.
- Term and Learning Overviews from each grade.
Morning Tea and Lunch
Following consultation with parents at the parent forums and with the staff, we will be encouraging students to eat their lunch at the first break and their recess at the second break. The canteen will have lunch orders ready at Break 1 and recess orders at Break 2. We are trying this because often lunch food is healthier and contains less sugar and students are hungrier in the mornings. When they are a bit more tired, the extra sugar in a snack can help them get through the afternoon. We will review how it goes. If you have any feedback, please let us know. We will start this coming Monday.
A few reminders…
Parent Teacher Meet and Greet
Bookings are open. Please make sure you book in and fill in the information sheet before you come for a chat if you would like to speak with your child’s teacher.
Kiss and Drive
Kiss and Drive operates in the morning and afternoon along Emerald Dr. There are explicit law enforced rules that apply to this area.
Drivers must remember:
- Always drop off or pick up your child from the designated zone and follow the school’s procedures.
- You have a 2-minute time frame at busy times at the beginning and end of the school day to do so.
- Drivers should remain in their vehicles at all times in the Drop-off and Pick-up zone.
- Make sure children use the Safety Door (the rear footpath side door) to get in and out of the car.
- Ensure the school bag is in the car rather than in the boot.
- Make sure the handbrake is applied when the vehicle is stationary.
- Always park legally.
- Avoid dangerous manoeuvres such as U-turns and three-point turns.
And our extra request, please move to the front of the zone.
Morning Arrival
We have relaxed our usual processes for our Kindergarten students and parents to get used to school. This is our usual procedure that we are now reinforcing...
- Students can enter our school via the Aquamarine gates or the main school gates on Emerald Dr in the mornings.
- Parents are encouraged to say goodbye to their children at the school gates in the mornings. Parents may accompany their children to hang up their school bags in the morning prior to 8.23am and then drop them at the top of the stairs to the playground before leaving the grounds.
- Students move to their playground until the bell rings.
- Parents are not permitted on the school grounds after the first morning bell - 8.23am.
- Please gather to chat if you wish outside the school gates.
- Emerald and Aquamarine Gates are locked at 8.25am because duty teachers must get to class. After 8.25am exit is via the office only.
Afternoon Dismissal
This is working well - thank you, except for the parish car park.
- Parents are not permitted to use the parish car park and if you have visited the office during the day you must exit by 2.15pm.
- There is no entry or exit between 2.30pm and 2.45pm. This applies to all staff too.
It is the busiest time for car pick up line and adds to congestion in the street. It is also the busiest time for parents and children to be walking past to access parked cars along the street. Please keep everyone safe by complying with this expectation.
Uniform
Lowes has a short supply of some items so please feel free to dress your students in either full sport or full school with the correct shoes if you don’t have everything. Please replace the holiday earrings with plain school ones and some of our boys have very long hair on the top. Please have it cut or tie it back. We are reminding the students and explaining uniform to them. No-one has been ‘in trouble’. Please help us get these little things right so we get the big ones right too. And thank you for the general rise in uniform standards!
Sun Safety
Hats!!! Please ensure your children have their hat at school every day. We do allow them to play in the shade if they have forgotten it but many students - nearly half, just don’t bring theirs in. Hats are needed for outdoor learning experiences including sport. If students don’t have a hat it very much restricts the learning choices and opportunities for all the students. So please assist us in reminding your children about hats as a critical part of their uniform. They wouldn’t walk out of the house without shoes so maybe pop their hats on too!
Events…
Bishop Brian Visiting
As previously advised, our parish is fortunate to be having Bishop Brian visit for a number of days around the weekend and he’s spending most of the day with us on Friday. I am looking forward to ‘showing off’ our wonderful students and look forward to seeing you welcome him with me at our assembly on Friday afternoon.
Swimming Carnival
Unfortunately we had to cut our day short because of the storm! Parents in attendance did a great job with assisting in the running of the carnival and our spectators were also very helpful ensuring our dismissal went smoothly before the storm hit. Thank you all for being so supportive. Our competitive 50m and 100m swimmers were all complete but our disappointed 25m and non swimmers will need to wait for the next opportunity. Our House Captains, in their first major event, did a great job leading their teams with cheers!
We look forward to seeing you soon.
God Bless
Michelle Rolfe and Amelia Ahern
Principal and Assistant Principal
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is fast approaching and we are looking for any parents/carers who may be able to assist with cooking pancakes for our students on Tuesday 4 March 2025.
If you are able to assist on this day could you please add your name and details to the Google Form link below by Friday 14 February.
Once numbers have been finalised we will contact you with further details.
A sincere thank you in advance for your willingness to assist!
Opening School Mass
Parents and carers are warmly invited to attend our Opening School Mass. During this very special mass we will be:
- Welcoming our Kindergarten to the school
- Presenting our Year 6 leaders with their badges
- Presenting our Class Leaders with their badges
Details are as follows:
Friday 21 February 2025
Time: 11:00 am
Place: Church
Students across the school will be attending the annual Ash Wednesday liturgy on Wednesday 5 March 2025 at 10:00 am in our Church.
Year 4 Spotlight on Learning
Year 4 have been learning about the qualities of our patron Mary Immaculate in order to be guided by her example. Our students wanted to share some of their work with our school community.
iF YOUR CHILD TAKES REGULAR MEDICATION AT HOME OR HAS A DIAGNOSIS AND REQUIRES MEDICATION AT HOME, PLEASE UPDATE VIA THE GOOGLE FORM LINK:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13pof-GLa0NuRaYEupRp7rE4h46g9kxKmcpRSHhzf2Zk/edit#setti
THE 2ND HAND UNIFORM WILL BE OPEN
EVERY
MONDAY MORNING - 8:00 A.M. TO 8:30 A.M.
AND
THURSDAY AFTERNOON - 2:00 P.M. TO 2:30 P.M.
* Term 1 - Friday 31 January to Friday 11 April 2025
PUPIL FREE DAY - Friday 31 January 2025 and Monday 3 February 2025
(Yrs 1 – 6 begin Tuesday 4 February 2025) Kindergarten begin Wednesday 5 February
Autumn school holidays – Monday 14 April to Thursday 24 April 2025
* Term 2 - Monday 28 April to Friday 4 July 2025
Winter school holidays – Monday 7 July to Friday 18 July 2025
* Term 3 - Monday 21 July to Friday 26 September 2025
Spring school holidays – Monday 29 September to Friday 10 October 2025
* Term 4 - Monday 13 October to Friday 19 December
Summer school holidays - Monday 22 December 2025 to Monday 26 January 2026