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Dear Parents of Mary Immaculate,
The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning “arrival” or “coming” from the word advenire (ad- “to” venire “come”). Advent is a reminder of how the Jewish people waited for the Messiah and how Christians and Messianic Jews wait for the second coming of Christ, today.
The use of the wreath and candles during Advent are a longstanding Catholic tradition that was originally adopted by Christians in the Middle Ages as part of the spiritual preparation for Christmas.
The wreath and candles are full of symbolism tied to the Christmas season. The wreath itself, which is made of various evergreens, signifies continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life we find in Christ.
Even the individual evergreens that make up the wreath have their own meanings that can be adapted to our faith. The laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering. The pine, holly, and yew signify immortality and the cedar signifies strength and healing. The pine cones that decorate the wreath symbolize life and resurrection. The wreath as a whole is meant to remind us of both the immortality of our souls and God’s promise of everlasting life to us through Christ.
The candles also have their own special significance. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent, and one candle is lit each Sunday. Three of the candles are purple because the colour violet is a liturgical colour that signifies a time of prayer, penance, and sacrifice.
The first candle, which is purple, symbolises hope. It is sometimes called the 'Prophecy Candle' in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah.
The second candle, also purple, represents faith. It is called the 'Bethlehem Candle' as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.
The third candle is pink and symbolizes joy. It is called the 'Shepard’s Candle,' and is pink because rose is a liturgical colour for joy. The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday and is meant to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus, as well as the joy that the faithful have reached the midpoint of Advent.
On the fourth week of Advent, we light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of our Saviour. This final candle, the 'Angel’s Candle,' symbolises peace. It reminds us of the message of the angels:
“Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.”
STAFFING CHANGES 2020 - I would like to inform our School Community that Mrs Kylie Booth has accepted a full time temporary teaching position at St Paul’s Catholic Parish Primary School, Camden. I take this opportunity to thank Kylie for her commitment, work and support during her time at Mary Immaculate and wish her all the best for the years ahead.
FEAST OF MARY IMMACULATE - On Sunday 8 December we celebrate the Feast Day of Mary Immaculate. I believe our school and parish name day feast to be a most significant event in the year. Our Mary Immaculate School Community will be celebrating Mass on Friday 6 December at 10.45am. Our Parents and Friends Association will provide a sausage sizzle lunch after mass. After lunch the children will be presenting a Christmas Play. All parents and friends are most welcome to join in this significant school celebration.
SWIMMING PROGRAM - A reminder to Kindergarten, Year 2 and Year 4 parents that the Swimming Program commences next week. The students will walk to and from the pool each day. Students are encouraged to wear their sport uniform to school each day. They will change at school and wear their swimming costume, a t-shirt and thongs to and from the pool. Swimming caps, goggles and towels will be carried to the pool. The students may choose to wear their swimming costume underneath their uniform, however, please be mindful that some classes will be attending swimming later in the day.
WOOLWORTHS EARN AND LEARN - The school purchased three of the outdoor Connect 4 games and some car mats and cars with our Earn and Learn points this year. I thank all Mary Immaculate families for your support with this.
PUNCTUALITY - I understand that the end of the school year is fast approaching and children and parents may be getting a little tired. It is important, however, that the children continue their school routines and learning. There have been recent occasions when up to 30 children have arrived a significant time after the morning assembly. I ask parents to please be mindful of punctuality. The school day commences at 8.25am. Thank you for your support.
Have a great week and let Christ be our way and life.
Mrs Lillian Del Giudice
Acting Principal
Congratulations to the following children who have won Morning Tea with the Principal:
Antonia F K Green, Nyadeng D 1 Green and Anne W 5 Gold
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating a birthday this week:
Talione U, Julius M, Jorah E, Pacey T, Angelina T, Ana D and Harrison V
Feast of the Immaculate Conception Mass - 6 December
Christmas Concert - 6 December
Year 6 Graduation Liturgy - 16 December
End of Year Mass - 18 December
Advent Reflection - This week marks the first week of Advent and the first week of our new Liturgical Year. The colour of Advent is purple. This is the time of year when the Church waits in joyful hope to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the light of the world.
Have you ever wondered about the Advent Wreath? - A special symbol used during Advent is the wreath. The Advent wreath has four candles that represent the four weeks of Advent and one candle is lit each Sunday. This week the first candle was purple and represents hope. Hope felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah.
Do You See What I See? - Year 4 have created a range of well thought out nativity scenes this week. If you look carefully you will see the star, Mary cradling Jesus with Joseph looking lovingly on. The birth has been welcomed by the Magi and the Shepherds who are humbly looking on.
If you have a chance this week, please come and look at the display. We have several in the office and the rest showcased in front of the K-2 block.
This year all the money raised from our Christmas Appeal will be given to the St Vincent de Paul Drought/Bushfire Appeal to help brighten the Christmas of those communities in need throughout Australia.
Please give generously!
Congratulations to 3 Green, the only class who earned a Gold Star last week, their third in a row, well done! Unfortunately borrowing has finished for the year now, as we start to collect all the books to return and repair, ready for next year. We ask that you please search at home for any Library books and Classroom readers which might be hiding on shelves, under beds etc., also keep a lookout for our white and purple Library loan bags, which may be hiding somewhere at home. Thank you.
A request – if you have any spare Library bags, or cotton shopping bags suitable for Library bags, we would be grateful for donations. We like to keep some as Loan bags for students who forget to bring them, and our supplies are sadly depleted. They go out and often don’t come back. Thank you.
Even though we will not be borrowing, it is important for the children to keep reading. All those lovely books at home on the shelves, books for Christmas, and don’t forget the local Library – if you are you not already members of the Campbelltown Library, it is free to join. We have some forms in the Library, or just call in to the Eagle Vale Leisure Centre and ask there.
In lessons we have been talking about Cyber safety, going places safely online, correct internet etiquette etc. Our three school rules – Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful – also apply to our online behaviour. There are some great resources online, take a look at our Oliver home page for the links to the Government Cybersafety site: oliver.dow.catholic.edu.au/miev
As the end of year draws nearer, and our lives become even busier, try to remember how important it is to take at least ten minutes a day to read with your children – they learn from you the importance of reading in their lives. There are so many beautiful Christmas stories which are good to share in the lead-up to Christmas.
"Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read."
Marilyn Jager Adams, Child Development Expert
Happy reading!
Mrs Sue Bryant
Teacher Librarian
The Catholic Education Office and its system of Schools are in the process of a business transformation. Part of this transformation involves a new administration and accounting package being rolled out to Schools. As you would be aware our School has been introducing Compass as our administration system over a period of time. It is now fully functioning together with a new web based accounting system called Technology One.
This will allow for School Fees in 2020 to be invoiced centrally by the Catholic Education Office under advice from Schools. Additionally, families will still be offered the opportunity of paying their school fees by regular payments over the school year as is the existing practice. However, the new system also allows for instalments to be calculated and advised to families with a Schedule of Payments and the date that they are due. This replaces our current process of School Fee Agreements and the necessity for families to calculate their own payments.
With the introduction of the new system, we now have the ability to generate system reminders for late payments. Should you default in your payments, reminders will be issued for each payment missed and they will continue to be issued until your account is brought up to date.
You will also have the opportunity to contact the school, if necessary in these circumstances, to provide explanation and make a further arrangement for payment.
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TERM FOUR |
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Friday 6 December |
Feast Day Mass / Christmas Concert |
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