Dear Parents,

This coming Saturday, children from our School and the Mary Immaculate Parish Community will be confirmed by Bishop Brian. The Sacrament of Confirmation makes firm the gifts of the Spirit we first received at Baptism.  We can’t really see the Spirit, anymore than we can see the air around us. But we can feel the air, the wind blowing, and we can see its effects as it stirs the limbs of trees and moves loose leaves across the ground. So, too, we can feel the Spirit in our lives as we are moved to love God and others, to care for our family, friends and neighbours, to offer forgiveness genuinely and sincerely whether or not forgiveness is sought. On behalf of our School Community I wish the Confirmation candidates a very happy and holy day for what is a most important day in their Catholic faith journey.

 

A Confirmation Prayer

Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy;

 Act in me O Holy Spirit that my works, too, may be holy;

Draw my heart O Holy Spirit that I love but what is holy;

Strengthen me O Holy Spirit to defend all that is holy;

 Guard me then O Holy Spirit that I always may be holy.

  St. Augustine

GRANDPARENTS, GREAT PEOPLE DAY - Thank you to all grandparents, parents and friends who attended our Grandparents / G-Day Mass and celebrations last Friday. Celebrating the mass together was such a lovely way of recognising and thanking the Grandparents and Great People in our lives. This celebration has become one of the main highlights of our school year. I again had many grandparents and parents thank me for the day and more importantly thank the staff for their work and efforts in making our school such a welcoming place and an enjoyable place for the children. I sincerely thank the members of the Parents and Friends for organising the absolutely beautiful morning tea. I thank the staff of Mary Immaculate for their support and I thank the students of our school for their co-operation and responsiveness to the occasion.

BEST OF LUCK - On behalf of our School Community I wish Parker C, Year 5 student, all the best as he represents MacKillop at the NSWPSSA Softball during this week. I know Parker will do himself, our school, our Diocese and Mackillop proud.

UNIFORM - As the days are becoming warmer, children may wear their summer uniform. We ask that either the full summer or full winter uniform be worn, not a combination of both. Tab ties for girls and ties for boys are part of our winter uniform. All children will be expected to wear their summer uniform after the Term 3 pupil vacation.

THANKYOU - As this is my final newsletter as Principal, I take this opportunity to thank all of the Mary Immaculate School and Parish Community for your support and friendship over the past seven and a half years. I am writing this Newsletter having just read the words of children and parents who have given farewell cards to me. The words written are very humbling and it is very difficult to hide the emotion. The enormity of retiring is really starting to sink in. I have been reflecting on my time at Mary Immaculate and my teaching career in general, and I truly cherish every moment of the experience. I feel most privileged to have been part of the Catholic Education System over the past 39 years. I have seen many changes in education and I am very proud of my achievements, but more importantly I am proud of the standing our School, Mary Immaculate, has within the Community. I am not going to thank individuals because there are too many to list and I am worried that I may miss someone. I do, however, thank Father Slawek for his support and friendship over the past five years. As a Principal in a Catholic School it is wonderful to have such positive support of the Parish Priest and for this I am truly grateful. I thank the Leadership Team at Mary Immaculate, especially Mrs Lillian Del Giudice and I thank them for their work and for supporting me in my role. Our school is blessed to have a very committed, friendly and supportive staff, which I appreciate very much. To the parents, I thank you most sincerely for your support and friendship. To the hundreds of children I have taught throughout my career and especially the children of our great school, seeing their smiles and their love and exuberance of life, makes teaching or leading a school, such a rewarding vocation. Finally I would like to thank my wife Geraldine and my children for supporting me and being so understanding, when school life, quite often took precedence in my life. Thank you again for your well wishes and parting gifts. I am looking forward to the next phase of my life journey, however, I am certainly going to miss the wonderful people who have made my teaching career so rewarding.

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

Don Spencer

Principal

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.

PEER SUPPORT - This week in Peer Support the children will be introduced to a 3 step model to encourage resilient responses; Pause, Plan, Proceed. The children take part in an activity to identify their feelings and the immediate effects on their bodies ie butterflies in their stomachs. The normalcy of feelings is acknowledged and the importance of being proactive is stressed. The children learn that pausing when they are emotional is helpful. They can do this by being still, taking a deep breath or counting to ten. Pausing gives children space to see a situation more accurately before planning a response. Ask your child to describe the 3 steps of the model and what is involved in each one.

Whilst he may not have set out to change the world, the impact that he has had on those who have worked with him during his career will last well beyond the goodbyes we say today.

Today, Mr Spencer will finally graduate from primary school and move on to the next great adventure in his life. While we are sure that he will enjoy the renewed opportunity to spend time with his family and much loved paddle boarding, this goodbye is not easy for any of us.  

Mr Spencer has worked in Catholic Education for the last 39 years.  Many schools across both the Sydney and Wollongong dioceses have been blessed with both his teaching and leadership and we know that each school will always hold a special place in his memory.

Over the last seven and a half years, the Mary Immaculate community has been truly fortunate to have Mr Spencer as the Principal of our school. His motto “We are all in this together” has become a well known catch cry for both staff and students. He is truly one of the most humble leaders I have ever met and has never been afraid to roll up his sleeves and get on with the job at hand. Whether it is welcoming children at Kiss and Drop each morning, weeding the gardens or unclogging blocked toilets, Mr Spencer has always led by example.

His open door policy of Leadership for staff, parents and students, always making himself available to listen, support and offer advice from his own professional experience, has been exemplary. Mr Spencer is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in or admit when he has made a mistake, and this is what makes him a wonderful leader and a truly supportive colleague.

Many of the highlights of Mr Spencer’s time at Mary Immaculate centre around his good sense of humour and fun. Every Book Week Parade saw him dressed as a different character, he participated enthusiastically at all of our Sports Carnivals, attended overnight excursions and always found a way to relate to the children at their level.

He has been a wonderful role model of our School Values – Respect, Compassion, Justice, Faith, Celebration and Doing your Best. His leadership during this time at Mary Immaculate, has helped our school continue to grow and prosper. He has truly been an example of someone who makes Christ his Way and Life.

Mr Spencer’s list of achievements are too many to mention, but always at the forefront of everything he did was his care and concern for the needs of the students at our school. The completion of our new classroom and administration buildings are just one example of his dedication and commitment to ensuring that the students at Mary Immaculate have the very best educational environment now and in the future.

Mr Spencer, on behalf of the Mary Immaculate Community and especially the hundreds of students whose lives you have touched and made a difference to, we thank you. This is your legacy not only to Mary Immaculate but also to Catholic Education, to all you have encountered, and especially to the generation of children you have nurtured. You will always be part of the Mary Immaculate family. May Christ always be Your Way and Life.

Mrs Lillian Del Giudice

Assistant Principal

Congratulations to the following children who have won a Morning Tea with the Principal:

• Nicolas O G 1 Green
• Marcus B 1 Gold
• Troy K 2 Gold
• Sophia T 2 Gold
• Rebecca B 6 Gold

Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating a birthday this week:

Angelina M, Madison W, Siupeli A, Lenny D, Lachlan J, Loren L, Liam S, Joumana T, Faustina M, Leon H and Gissenia R

Congratulations to K Blue and 3 Green on earning Gold Stars last week, well done!  We need to remind ourselves to bring our Library bags on the same day we wear our sports uniform! Hopefully this week our memories will be better – we have a large number of new books covered and ready for borrowing!

For the next few weeks we are looking at the work of our Australian illustrators, the talented people who bring the stories to life with the illustrations. Kinder is looking at books Illustrated by Alison Lester, Years 1  and 2 Stephen Michael King, Year 3 and 4 the unique collage style of Jeannie Baker and Years 5 and 6 will be looking at the work of Anne Spudvilas.

Have a look at our Oliver home page for links to information about each of those people: oliver.dow.catholic.edu.au/miev

Scholastic Book Club: Orders for Book Club online will close this Friday 13  September, so there are still a few days for you to get your orders in.  There are some great books available at good prices. Thank you for your support.

"Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him."

Maya Angelou, Poet

Happy reading!

Mrs Sue Bryant

Teacher Librarian

Support children through change

Change is a natural part of life, the ability to help our children cope with change allows them to build resilience and navigate everyday change in a positive and productive way.   Change can look as simple as having something different for breakfast or lunch, due to not having the normal supplies at home. It can be a change in routine, a casual teacher at school, change in school pick up and drop off, and even school holidays. A bigger change in life can include moving schools, starting high school, family situations and friendship groups changing.  No matter what change is occurring our children will deal with in it differently and what may impact one child may not impact another. Change can be scary and can cause anxiety, however, by following these guidelines below we help set our children up for success during times of change:

• Give time to prepare – allowing children time to process changes that will be happening in the future helps them accept change
• Listen to concerns – change brings about many different emotions and by listening to how our children feel we can help them navigate these emotions and accept change
• Safety in Routine – if we can keep as many routines such as bed time, meal time consistent, this helps create a sense of safety and predictability that allow children to adjust to any change that may be happening
• Get them involved – if change is about moving or school change, encourage your children to help in some way in the choices being made – for example if moving ask them what they would like for the first meal in the new home.
• Reflect on previous changes - reflecting on how they have successfully coped with change previously, can help a child understand that they can cope the same with the change they are facing.

Remember change can be scary however it is a natural part of life and helping our child navigate small changes now develops them a solid foundation to adapt to change in the future.

Mrs Rita Maher

School Counsellor

Mary Immaculate (Mon- Wed)

CatholicCARE Wollongong

35a Cordeaux St Campbelltown 2560

A reminder that THIS Friday is DONATION DAY for the Spring Fair, please send in the following donations:

CANS OF DRINKS