Tomorrow, 15 August, our School Community will celebrate the Feast of Mary’s Assumption into heaven. This feast has been an important one in the Church for many years and continues to be a Holy Day of Obligation. But why is it important? This significant feast day recalls the spiritual and physical departure of the Mother of Jesus Christ from the earth, when both her soul and her resurrected body were taken into the presence of God. Too often we speak of Mary as if she was not a living, breathing human being. But the only value Mary can have for us is to see her as being just as human as we are, having to live her human life with all its joys and difficulties and sorrows, yet somehow rising above all the difficulties, because of her awareness of God, and of God's love for her. As she managed to rise above all the difficulties, they become signs of hope that are life giving for others.

May we, this week, strive to be more mindful of the blessings in our own lives as we strive to live both truthfully and with love. Faith and Love caused Mary to respond positively to the invitation given to her to co-operate with God. We, too, have been invited to be one with Christ. The example of Mary's faith and love, hopefully, will encourage us to respond positively in order to share her triumph over death. All parents and friends are invited to celebrate the Assumption Feast Day Mass with the children and staff at 10.00 am in our Parish Church.

YEAR 6 CANBERRA EXCURSION - Last week the Year 6 children, staff members, and parent helpers travelled to our National Capital for a very interesting, fun and educational learning experience. The children visited Parliament House, The Australian Institute of Sport, the Electoral Education Centre, Questacon, the Australian War Memorial and Telstra Tower. The children also visited the snowfields at Smiggins Holes where they had the opportunity to experience first hand the views of a winter environment. I would like to congratulate our children on the way they conducted themselves throughout the three days. Special thanks to Mrs Mortimer, Mrs Booth, Mr Warren, Mrs Bahamondez, Mr Burton and Mr Elsley for accompanying the children on this trip. I sincerely thank them, for not only taking on the responsibility and attending such an excursion, but also for giving of their time spent away from their families. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated and committed Staff and Parent Community at Mary Immaculate. 

PACER SUBSIDY: The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing $20.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs.  The rebate is paid directly to the School upon completion of the excursion.

mBOT CHALLENGE - On behalf of our school community I would like to congratulate our students who participated in the Diocesan mBot challenge final on Monday evening. The team consisting of Baxter B, Liam S, Isabel V and Mia W won first place in the maze challenge and also the dance challenge. They were also awarded the Mary Mackillop award for displaying excellent sportsmanship throughout the challenges. This is a fantastic effort. Our school goal this year was to enter teams into the various Diocesan STEM initiatives. Doing so well in the competition is fantastic. Our stage three teachers led by Miss Price and Mrs Mortimer are to be thanked for the time and effort in working with the children. A great effort.

WESTERN REGION ATHLETICS - I would like to congratulate all children who represented our school at the Wollongong Diocese Western Region Athletics Carnival last Friday. The children performed very well and more importantly represented our school with pride. Congratulations to Mia B, Baxter B, Madison Z Deng D, Aiden R, Aleksandra V, Chaise A, Emily S, Lily K, Anthony P, Calvin B, Adriel F and Maiwen D who have progressed to the Diocesan Selection Trials, which will be held next Tuesday. Thanks to Mrs Booth for supervising the team and Mr Brooks for officiating on behalf of our school. Thanks as well to the many parents who supported the children.

PEER SUPPORT - On Friday afternoon the children will be commencing the Peer Support Program for 2019. Year 6 Peer Support Leaders will facilitate a group of younger students, who work together through a number of structured activities. Each teacher will supervise groups in their classroom. This year we are working on a module called ‘Moving Forward’ that focuses on building resiliance. The experiences in the module help children to identify their qualities and strengths, develop skills, respond with a range of strategies and seek support when faced with challenges. We encourage you to talk to your children about Peer Support each week, as it will help to reinforce the concepts learned in each session.

NEW PRINCIPAL

As communicated to our School Community yesterday, Mrs Christina (Tina) Murray has been appointed to the substantive role of Principal of Mary Immaculate from 2020. I congratulate Tina on her appointment and I am very sure that our School Community will welcome Mrs Murray to this fabulous community and support her as she continues to work with children, staff, parents and parish to make our school the best quality Catholic School it can be.

Due to my retirement Mrs Lillian Del Guidice has been appointed to the role of Acting Principal from Monday 16 September until the end of the 2019 school year. The role of Acting Assistant Principal is currently being finalised.

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

Don Spencer

Principal

NAMES ON CLOTHING - During the cooler weather, it is critical that the children can be reunited with lost clothing. Names on all clothing is essential to ensure lost items can be returned to their owner. Please check your child’s clothing, especially jackets and jumpers, to ensure he or she has their own clothing. Thank you for your co-operation.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

At Mary Immaculate the staff has an ongoing commitment to professional learning. The staff benefit 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.

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

Principal