Dear Parents,

We are now entering the second week of our Lenten Journey. In this coming weekend’s Gospel you will hear Luke’s account of the Transfiguration.

 “He took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. ²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.”

Lk 9 28:36

The word 'transfiguration' comes from the Latin roots trans- (across) and figura (form, shape). It thus signifies a change of form or appearance. This is what happened to Jesus in the event known as the Transfiguration: His appearance changed and became glorious. Luke mentions several details about the event that the other writers do not:

• He notes that this happened while Jesus was praying.
• He mentions that Peter and his companions "were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him."
• He mentions that Peter made his suggestion to put up booths as Moses and Elijah were departing.

The Transfiguration was a special event in which God allowed certain apostles to have a privileged spiritual experience that was meant to strengthen their faith for the challenges they would later endure. But it was only a temporary event. It was not meant to be permanent. Peter, James, and John could not understand everything about Jesus overnight. Having experienced the Transfiguration they began to see more clearly that this man they were following had a very special relationship with God. Maybe they were taking him for granted, or seeing him as a miracle worker, but Jesus wanted them to see him as a man who knew God, a man who was proclaiming the truth about God in his very life. In the same way, at certain times in our present lives, God may give certain members of the faithful, special experiences of his grace that strengthen their faith. We should welcome these experiences for the graces they are.

CONGRATULATIONS - Congratulations are extended to Chaise A who has been chosen to represent the Wollongong Diocese at the MacKillop Under 11 Rugby League trials, which will be held early next Term. Well done Chaise.

VALUES AWARD WINNERS - Congratulations to the the Values Award Winners at Last Friday's Yea 6 Assembly.

MARK TAYLOR SHIELD CRICKET - Last Thursday the Mary Immaculate Cricket Team played St John’s Dapto in their first round match in the Annual Mark Taylor Shield Cricket Competition. Unfortunately the team was defeated by a much more experienced team. The children should be very pleased with their efforts and both teams are to be congratulated on the spirit in which they played the game. Thank you to Mr McInerney for coaching the team, Mrs New for supervising the team on the day and to all the parents who transported the children down to Dapto and supported the team. Special thanks to Mr Morris, Mr McMillan and Mrs Bastoli for officiating on behalf of our school.

SCHOOL PROCESS FOR DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS - From time to time, parents may have an issue with something that occurs in the classroom or within the school community. Initially concerns should be addressed with the child’s class teacher directly, however, if not able to be adequately addressed at this point, it is recommended that the concern be addressed through a member of the School Leadership Team. In the case that a satisfactory outcome is unable to be achieved, a formal process is available for complaints handling. Our school has aligned its approach to complaints handling using the model proposed in the Diocesan Complaints Handling procedure. For details please consult the following website for the policy: http://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/

LATE ARRIVALS & EARLY DEPARTURES - It is important children arrive to school by 8.25am and leave on the dismissal bell at 2:30pm. Late arrivals and early departures are disruptive to the children and to their class. Please avoid interrupting children's learning time and where possible make appointments after school. A child who arrives 10 minutes late for two mornings a week throughout the school year would miss the equivalent of 2.5 days of schooling. Punctuality is a trait we need to model and encourage. Thank you for your support and understanding.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
At Mary Immaculate the staff has an ongoing commitment to professional learning. The staff benefits 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. 

ENROLMENTS FOR KINDERGARTEN 2020 - Application forms are now available for collection from the School Office. Enrolment forms can also be downloaded from our school website.

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

Don Spencer
Principal

The Canteen will be open at the Cross Country for parents only. 

If the Cross Country is postponed due to weather THERE WILL BE NO CANTEEN AT SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN.

If the Cross Country is postponed due to weather there will be a notification sent out on Skoolbag on Friday morning.

Mothering Your Daughter – By Sharon Witt

The bond between mother and daughter is truly unique and has far reaching effects on the development and socialisation of girls throughout their lifetime.

Increasing the emotional connection between mothers and daughters can foster mutual support. Here are some ideas to help you be an effective mother for your daughter.

Know your impact

Mothers are a powerful influence. The way a mother acts in front of her daughter largely influences her daughter’s behaviour. When a mother can model how to feel pride, take pleasure in her accomplishments, feel a sense of competence and hold a positive self-image she is empowering her daughter in infinite ways.

Be okay with saying no

 Saying no benefits both of you. Daughters, like sons, feel safer with boundaries. Boundaries are essential to keeping her safe emotionally and physically. Daughters will often push the boundaries and pester their mothers to give in to them. When you stand firm you teach your daughter that firmness is a strength worth adopting. Your firmness gives her permission to say no when they are put under pressure to conform by peers and in their early relationships.

Tune in

Seize the opportunity to take in the full presence of your daughter when you can. Notice what she is like. Notice her and openly endorse her likes, dislikes and opinions. You do not need to agree with them, but you can validate them, which demonstrates respect and gives her permission to be her own person.

Invite assertion

Do not stop girls from becoming angry but coach them on the skills she needs to work through strong emotions effectively. She must have the opportunity to sit in the experience of those emotions, learn to cope with them and navigate her way through them.

Show her that it’s okay to express a full range of emotions. Emotions are an incredibly powerful tool, and we need to teach daughters that when they feel angry or upset, it’s a signal that something is important and that it should be expressed.

Be confident

Have confidence in your mothering abilities. Your mother’s instinct will tell you how to parent your daughter well and how to raise her so that she becomes herself. This intuition will guide you in setting limits and knowing if, and when, she needs help. Regardless of what girls may tell their mothers, they want them to be central in their lives.

Expand her definition of beauty

Mothers need to be a part of the beauty conversation with daughters. Don’t leave it to the media or popular culture to be educating her on what beauty is. Model and teach her that beauty comes from the inside. It is a quality that glows out. The more you are able to do that for yourself, the greater she is going to be able to do it for herself.

Help her find her passion

Encourage her to try a variety of activities so that she can discover her passions in early to mid adolescence. Some girls take longer than others to find their passions. Think of these girls as hummingbirds – they are driven by curiosity. Once a girl finds her passion, she is able to use that as her motivator to develop her skills.

Fracture the good girl image

Allow your daughter to make mistakes, it is one of the best ways to build her confidence. Avoiding failure only sets up a vicious cycle that says 'you must be perfect'. Give her the permission to struggle so that she can let the hard times make her stronger, and understand that she can get through challenges that occur to her. This is a valuable lesson that kids learn from their same gender parent.

Gender identity is on a continuum – girls grow up to be women and women were once girls. Some argue that adult women struggle with the same things as younger girls, just in a different context. This may afford great empathy or it may be a great interference to problem solving if mothers are still working it out for themselves.

Congratulations to the winners of Morning Tea with the Principal for last week and this week:

Isaac O K Green, Ryan S 1 Green, Lachlan J 6 Blue

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

Tania E, Paula M, Nate G, Petar S, Lawson S, Logan S

Mary Immaculate Parish invites you to an evening get together entitlted Our Many Marriages'

Byron and Francine Pirola will present ideas on –how to stay in love your whole life long.

Date: Friday 5 April

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Parish Hall

Cost: $10 per couple (light supper and drinks provided)

RSVP: Friday 29 March 2019

           Cindy Oliver 0417 490 638

The Kiss and Ride Zone is the area directly out the front of the School Office on Emerald Drive.  It enables you to drop your child off SAFELY and QUICKLY.

 To ensure the effectiveness of this area the following procedures need to be followed: 

• Cars will proceed to the first 3 spaces of the Kiss and Ride Zone, closest to the School Office entrance.
• Only the first 3 cars will drop off children. All other cars will need to line up and wait until they reach this area to drop off their children.
• Adults need to remain in the car at all times. This means that children will need to have their school bags with them in the car, so that they are able to exit the car from the left hand side, onto the footpath.
• Cars will exit the Kiss and Ride Zone in the order that they entered. Do not leave earlier than the car in front and overtake them.
• If the Kiss and Ride Zone is full or you wish to get out of the car, please park in an area away from the Kiss and Ride Zone.
• Do not park or drop off in the Bus Zone.
• Do not double park.
• Do not make u-turns, they are dangerous and put everyone at risk.

The safety of all our children is of the greatest importance at all times, so we ask for your patience and respect of others.  We thank you for your co-operation in this matter.

Mrs Lillian Del Giudice, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

If you are payng your School Fees throughout the year you should have returned your School Fee Agreement by now.  If you have not returned a School Fee Agreement your School Fees were due IN FULL last week.  

All School Fee Agreement arrangements should now be taking place and regular payments being made towards your School Fees.   Just a reminder that the School Fee Agreement IS NOT A DIRECT DEBIT FORM and if you have elected to pay by Direct Debit you should have completed a separate form and taken to the office so that your direct debits can be arranged.  The School Fee Agreement does not have bank details on it so no payment arrangements can be made from this form.

LEARNING THROUGH OUR MISTAKES

Our time at school is full of learning, developing skills in reading and writing and learning about Mathematics, English, Religion, Science, History and Geography. During this time children also learn vital social skills, how to play and interact with each other. They learn to resolve playground and friendship issues which provide solid foundations for adult life. This learning often stems from trial and error. Each mistake we make provides an opportunity to learn and helps build resilience. Yet often children are afraid of making mistakes, they worry that it means they are not able to learn or not good enough, this can lead to reduce self esteem and future stress for a child. As parents we can help our children understand that their mistakes are ok, they teach our children valuable lessons for life:

• Accept who they are: understanding that we are not perfect, we all make mistakes in life and that is ok. Rather than put ourselves down accept and love ourselves and know that we are always learning and growing in life.
• Face our fears: Mistakes can be scary at times and it can be hard for us to admit we don’t know how to do things, however when we put our hand up and ask for help we are able to face our fears and grow.
• Accept responsibility - we may want to shift blame to others, however if we can see our part in a mistake it helps us make different choices in the future.  Apologising for our part in a mistake also teaches us about responsibility.
• Teach us social skills: Mistakes often show us cause and effect, especially on the playground and with friends. They allow us to understand our intentions and how our actions may impact others. When we make a mistake we have the chance to reflect and make different choices moving forward.
• Encourages exploration: Mistakes help us to examine what has happened, it encourages a curious mind that can reflect and ask questions that can help find solutions to move forward.

When helping your child learn from mistakes it is important to focus only on the mistake that has happened not past mistakes. Praise them for taking responsibility and let them know they are loved unconditionally. Allow your children to be an investigator in their world, help them examine what has happened and find solutions to move forward rather than giving them the answers. When you child overcomes set backs encourage them and celebrate small victories. Mistakes are proof that we are learning in life and help us develop resilience and greater self esteem.

Mrs Rita Maher,   

School Counsellor

CatholicCARE Wollongong

35a Cordeaux St, Campbelltown 2560

Phone: 02 4628 0044

Rita.Maher@catholiccare.dow.org.au

www.catholiccare.dow.org.au

Two of our Year 4 students participated in the Wollongong Swimming Selection trials on Monday at Corrimal Pools.  They achieved the following amazing results, Well Done!!!

Leila C - 7th 50m freestyle.

Jack B - 8th 50m Freestyle, 4th 50m Backstroke, 7th 50m Butterfly, 7th 50 Breaststroke, 6th 200m Medley

Thank you for joining our Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) schools across the Illawarra, Macarthur, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands, and Catholic school communities across NSW, in celebrating Catholic Schools Week for 2019. It's been a wonderful week of open days, activities, masses, liturgies and other special events - including the Diocesan Education Mass, which was a significant highlight of CSW. Read more about the Mass and listen to Director of Schools, Peter Turner's speech here.

Catholic Schools Week has showcased some of the fantastic things happening in our schools every day, and has very much highlighted our local Catholic schools - including yours! - as vibrant places of learning, faith, hope and opportunity. Thank you for your involvement.

We'd like to share with you our small Catholic Schools Week video that has been promoted throughout last week. Can you spot the students from your school in this video?