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Dear Parents,
Gandhi, the great leader of the Indian independence movement, is credited with saying, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Gandhi sought a life free from tyranny and violence. He led a movement of non-violent resistance by his own personal example and changed the course of India’s national history. In Matthew’s Gospel last weekend, Jesus used the symbols of salt and light to challenge the people of his time and his followers of the future. The symbol of the humble condiment of salt reminds us that as followers of Christ our existence should preserve and enhance not only our own life, but also the life of those we come into contact with. Salt in Jesus’ time was highly valued, not just for flavouring, as it is today, but most importantly, as a preservative for food. For salt to be effective, however, it must come into contact with the item it is to preserve. This is the challenge laid before us. We must be part of the world, but we are challenged to preserve our own faith, to retain our “saltiness,” but also to enhance the faith of others by our personal example. It’s a constant balancing act we’re called upon to maintain. Salt that has lost its taste is good for nothing. We are challenged by Jesus to be on guard to make sure that our faith remains fresh, so it is able to do its job well.
Today, when we describe a person as being the ‘salt of the earth’ it’s generally interpreted that the person is hard working, straight talking and pretty down to earth. To be salt of the earth means to be the one who puts their hand up and steps forward to speak for, work for and act for those who are the least in this world. We are each called to be the presence that brings out the best in our own corner of the world.
Just as darkness is indiscriminate, so too is light. It has the power to provide clarity, promote courage and confidence and to banish fear and anxiety. Just think of how we feel when the lights come back on after a power blackout. Jesus said our light is not necessarily only in the witness of our words, but more importantly in the witness of our deeds—our 'good works'. Actions we know, speak louder than words and reflect both credibility and integrity. Jesus’ followers are called to “Let their light so shine before men that they may see their good deeds.” The beatitudes have spelled out what are considered the good works of the Kingdom. They help us work for right relations, for merciful actions, and for peace. When we live as people of blessing, we are salt and light— in our homes, in our school, in our workplace, and in our world. Put simply, we should be a life-giving presence wherever we are.
When Jesus encouraged his followers to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, he was urging them above all else to make a difference. He was encouraging them then and us now, to not be apathetic but committed, and at times, countercultural. This is what we strive to promote with our students in the context of our Catholic School Community.
Dear God, please help us be an example to others as we shine our light to them. Let us be the salt of the earth by being kind and loving towards one another. Give us courage and strength to spread the Gospel, by making Christ our Way and Life through both our words and our actions.
OPENING SCHOOL MASS - On Friday, we will have our first opportunity to formally gather as a school family in our parish church for our Opening School Mass at 10am. This Mass is a wonderful chance to join with members from our parish to celebrate a year of new beginnings at Mary Immaculate. During the Mass, our 2020 School Leaders will receive their badges and publicly state their pledge of leadership to all present. All parents are very warmly invited to attend this important school celebration.
PHOTOGRAPHY - Often at school events parents take photos of their children. It is important to respect the fact that not all parents are comfortable with their child being photographed by other people. As such, all parents are asked to ensure that photos are only taken of their own child/ren.
Parents should never post photographs of students, other than their own child, without the express permission of each child’s parent on any web based social media site including Facebook,
Twitter or Instagram. This information supports the protocols documented in the CEDoW Social Media Policy. (https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/about-us/policies/social-media-policy/)
Let Christ be our Way and Life
Tina Murray
Principal
PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE STAFF OR CHURCH CAR PARK BEFORE OR AFTER SCHOOL. THE CAR PARK IS FOR STAFF PARKING ONLY.
Each Morning the School Gates (Front Gate Emerald Drive & Side Gate Aquamarine Drive) will be closed at 8:35 a.m. for the safety of the children. Please ensure that you exit the school each morning promptly.
I have included an excerpt from an article about 10 things to ask your child about their school day. Hopefully it might be a good way of getting your children talking and give you more insight into their day.
Have you been asking your child everyday 'how was school?' and getting the response 'good' or 'can’t remember'?
- What was the best and worst part of your day?
- What did you do in Science today (art, music etc.)?
- What subject did you enjoy the most today? Why?
- Who made you smile today?
- What was the funniest thing that happened today?
- Did you find anything hard today?
- What games did you play at lunch / recess?
- What did you learn today?
- What’s the nicest thing you did for someone today?
- What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
All of these questions are great conversation starters to help give you more information about your child’s day. Don’t ask every question everyday, just pick one or two and make sure you lead by example and get them to ask you questions too.
A cute little way to get the family involved is to place all of the above questions into a box and ask everyone to pick one or two at dinner time, they then get to share the answer with everyone.
MRS LILLIAN DEL GIUDICE
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
PARENT TEACHER MEET AND GREET - On Monday, notes were sent home with each child from Years 1 to 6 in regards to Parent Teacher Meet and Greets. These meetings are of 10 minutes duration and will take place the week beginning Monday, 17 February. These appointments will be booked through COMPASS. A questionnaire was also sent home. Could you please complete this and return it prior to your meeting time. We look forward to meeting with you and learning more about your child.
This Friday we will be celebrating our Opening School Mass! We look forward to welcoming our new families and staff to our Mary Immaculate Community. Additionally, we have some very excited Year 6 students who will be officially commissioned as leaders for the year.
Our children sing like angels!
Yesterday, our choir and Mrs Mae were invited to sing for the Parish morning tea celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Their singing was uplifting, joyous and warmly received. We are truly blessed to have such a beautiful choir.
We are still waiting for the first Gold Star of the year. I am sure it will be soon! Sadly no classes have earned Gold Stars yet; we had quite a few students who forgot to bring their bags! We did lend out many of our Loan Bags so we need to have those returned please. Below is a reminder of Library days when each student needs to bring a Library Bag, and return the books borrowed the previous week:
Tuesday – Year 3, Year 1, 5Gold
Wednesday – Year 4, Kinder, 5 Green
Thursday – Year 6, Year 2
Some times the Library lessons need to be changed because of other events and activities for teachers and / or students. If this is the case, the classes are notified of the change where possible. However, if a student forgets to bring the Library Bag on the day of the lesson, he / she can bring it in the following day and borrow then. The Library Bag is important for transporting the books to and from school because it helps protect them while in the school bag. We regularly have books which have to be disposed because they get wet.
TECHNOLOGY: An important aspect of the Library lesson in today’s information-rich society is the use of technology. We have a pod of laptops and iPads available for use in the Library, and we use them to help the students become information-literate and cyber-aware. We aim to develop effective research skills, where the students identify the need for information, obtain it from the necessary sources, and evaluate its relevance and accuracy. We aim to teach the students, not only what they need to know, but how to find what it is they need to know, and how to develop skills in the use of technology for the presentation of their findings. Information literate people are avid readers, critical and creative thinkers, and organised investigators. We also focus on Cyber Safety, so our students become responsible digital citizens.
Scholastic Book Club: The brochures were sent home last week, ordering is only available online as indicated on the brochures. No orders or money are able to be accepted at School. If you have any problems, please don’t hesitate to contact us in the Library before or after school. Orders close for this issue, Issue One, this Friday 14 February. Thank you.
Daily Reading: It is important to try to read with your children for at least ten minutes a day. Even in our very busy lives the rewards are priceless.
"Reading for pleasure is the most important way to advance literacy attainment in children.”
National Literacy Trust UK, 2006
Happy reading!
Mrs Sue Bryant
Teacher Librarian
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating their birthay this week:
Lincoln T 4 Green, Eric P 4 Gold, Jarred T 5 Gold, Anita A 5 Gold, Maletina U 4 Blue, Hannah G 3 Green, Madison T 2 Green and Nicolas O 2 Gold
2020 PRIMARY SCHOOL FEES
School fees have been invoiced to families and they are available to view in the Compass Parent Portal. We anticipate that school fee statements will be issued by email within the next 10 days. We apologise for the delay in distribution of statements, which was unanticipated and due to system issues. For your information payment requirements are as follows:
- For families who pay annually, payment in full is due on 28 February 2020.
- For families that have submitted a Request to Pay by Instalment or who previously had a School Fee Agreement in place, a schedule of the required payments and the due date will be issued with school fee statements. The first instalment payment will be due on 28 February, 2020. Parents may commence payments earlier if they wish, however, it is important that any existing regular payment is equal to the instalment amount provided on the schedule and that payment is made on or before the due dates on the schedule. Reference should be made to the Request to Pay by Instalments on the school’s website for conditions relating to payment in this manner.
- For families who have a Fee Concession in place, you will be contacted prior to your review date to complete annual documentation and arrange an interview with the Principal. If you have a current payment plan in place, and you are unable to increase your payments to meet your 2020 school fees, you may continue to make these payments until your next review date.
- Parents should be aware that our new accounting system will send automatic reminders for overdue payments.
The following documents are available on the school’s website for the information of families:
- Diocesan School Fee Management Policy
- Diocesan Frequently Asked Questions
- Diocesan Request to Pay by Instalments
- Information regarding school Fees at our School
It is recommended that parents make themselves aware of the contents of these important Diocesan Policy and Procedures.