Dear Parents,

The theme of last week’s Opening School Mass was to “Continue to Live in Christ.”

As the members of a Catholic School Community we acknowledge how important it is to live our faith and follow Jesus’ examples and teachings – to make Christ our Way and Life. Each of us can share the light of Jesus every day. Whether a Kinder student beginning the journey at ‘big school’ or a Year 6 student in their last year at Mary Immaculate, whether a member of staff or a parent, or grandparent, each of us can make a difference within our school family.

Making a contribution is an important element of belonging of any community. When reflecting on what it means to belong, the ideas presented by Edward De Bono in his book Handbook for a Positive Revolution summarize beautifully the importance of contribution. De Bono uses the image of a hand to symbolize the elements he believes are essential for a positive community to thrive.

Effectiveness – Reminds us that as individuals we often band together in a community in order to achieve a task or work toward a compelling vision that cannot be achieved by working alone. There is great strength when we work together.

Constructive – This element points out that our actions, words, behaviour and mindset should be focused on being positive, constructive and solution-focussed. There is great strength when we are positive and focused on continual improvement.

Respect – Reminds us that as humans we each bring to the community our own personal values and experiences, emotions and attitudes. Within a community an agreed upon set of values should always guide how we behave and treat other community members. The benchmark to guide our treatment of others should be how we ourselves would wish to be treated. There is great reassurance when we can expect that we will be treated with respect.

Self-improvement - Every individual within a community has the right and the duty to make themselves better, and in the process, make the community better. There is a sense of achievement when we continue to grow and move closer to our God given potential.

Contribution – Is not about what you expect or what you demand, but rather about what you can contribute. Even small contributions can add up quickly to create big effects. Making a contribution builds self-esteem and self-confidence.

These elements remind us of the importance of simple kindness. When we are kind to each other, using kind actions and words, when we can reach out to others in need, when we seek to stretch and challenge ourselves and allow others to shine we allow the light of Christ that is within us to shine and to illuminate our community.

No matter who we are, we can all work together to make Christ our Way and Life.

Congratulations to all our Primary students for their participation at our Swimming Carnival last Thursday. Despite the unpredictable weather, the day was a great success and a fantastic tribute to the teamwork and hard work of our dedicated staff and the parent helpers who assisted on the day. Thank you especially to the members of staff who were responsible for organising the Swimming Carnival and to Mr Jayden O’Brien for his leadership on the day.  

Many thanks to the parents and friends of our school who were able to attend our Parents & Friends Association Annual General Meeting on Monday night.

It was wonderful to see so many parents and friends in attendance. This is a great example of putting into practice the commitment made during the enrolment process.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the members of the outgoing Committee ~ Tonya Grech, Keira Buxton,Lorraine Brown, Alejandra Zelada, Rebecca Whitburn, Damir Horvat for their energy and tireless efforts in helping to build community spirit and raise funds which has resulted in many benefits for our students.

Congratulations to all the parents who accepted nominations and leadership roles in this vital group within our school community for 2020.

President – Alejandra Zelada

Vice President – Kerry Watson

Secretary – Heather Thomas

Treasurer – still to be filled

Committee Members – Katie Pritchett – Champion, Samantha Sheridan, Lisa Peek

Unfortunately, we were unable to fill the position of Treasurer at the AGM and we are desperately seeking assistance from the wider parent community. If you are interested, please contact the School Office or one of the members of the Executive.

I very much look forward to the opportunity to work with the members of the new    P & F Committee and the wider parent community, as we continue to work together to promote our school and our mission of improving the opportunities for all our students at Mary Immaculate.

ATTENDANCE DATA

Daily attendance data is mandated by the government and this information is uploaded on a daily basis. To ensure your child’s attendance data is accurate it is important that you understand and follow the processes set out below:

• Online rolls are marked by the teachers every day, immediately after morning assembly.
• If a child is not present when the roll is marked, they are entered as ABSENT.
• Late arrivals (after morning assembly) and early departures, MUST BE signed in or out at the front office so that your child’s attendance data can be amended.

Two very good reasons why it is important to follow these processes for your child include;

• Accurate recording of your child’s attendance data.
• In case of emergency evacuation, we need to know all children present in class at all times.

Thank you in advance for ensuring your child is present prior to assembly each morning so their learning opportunities can be optimized. Students entering class late have disrupted learning for themselves, and others.

AFTERNOON DISMISSAL

In an effort to improve the safety and supervision of all students, parents / carers are reminded of the following school procedures for afternoon dismissal.

The school entrance gates (Emerald Dr and Aquamarine Dr) are opened at 2.25pm and all parents and carers are requested to move directly to the shelter near Aquamarine Drive.

Please Note: The Church carpark does not operate as a pick-up point or parent / carer carpark. Students are unable to leave the school grounds or enter the carpark unaccompanied at any time.

Continued abuse of this request, to ensure the safety of students will result in the Church carpark being made unavailable to the school community in the afternoon.

No students are to be collected via the Emerald Drive gates prior to 2.45pm.

2.30pm BELL

• Students who are to be picked up are escorted by grade teachers to the Aquamarine Dr shelter. Teachers on duty are able to monitor student collection.
• Parents / carers are able to drive to the Aquamarine Drive gate and pick up of students under the direction of the duty teacher.
• Staff escort students catching buses and attending after-school services and OOSH to the Hall.
• After school care providers collect students from the hall for transport.
• Students catching buses wait in the hall and are escorted to the bus by the staff members on duty.

2.45pm

Remaining uncollected students in the Aquamarine Drive shelter will be escorted to wait for parent pick up outside the Office.

Parents will be contacted if students are not collected by 2.55pm.

We have worked hard to ensure our afternoon dismissal procedures are focused on maintaining consistency and safety for our students. We request that parents/carers act in the best interest of safety and follow these procedures. In doing so, you are reinforcing consistency and procedures that are intended to maintain the safety of all our students.

We thank you in advance for your support in looking after the most important people in the school, our students.

STUDENT WELLBEING SURVEY - In an attempt to respond to the increasing number of students who require wellbeing support we would like to offer parent workshops around a series of topics. These workshops will be facilitated by our Catholic Care Counsellor, Rita Maher.

We are seeking parent input to enable us to prioritise the topics. Input can be provided via an online survey that can be accessed via the following link - https://forms.gle/TNB91eed6mwtydu99

A copy of the survey has also been attached to this newsletter and hard copies are available from the Office foyer. We thank you in advance for your input.

Let Christ be our Way and Life

Tina Murray

Principal

Over the next few weeks, I would like to share this article with you which explains why reading aloud to children from an early age is so important, and how to make it a motivating and meaningful experience.

There is no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together. Fill your story times with a variety of books. Be consistent, be patient, and watch the magic work.

It's no secret that activities at home are an important supplement to the classroom, but there's more to it than that. There are things that parents can give children at home that the classrooms cannot give.

Start young and stay with it

At just a few months of age, an infant can look at pictures, listen to your voice, and point to objects on cardboard pages. Guide your child by pointing to the pictures, and say the names of the various objects. By drawing attention to pictures and associating the words with both pictures and the real-world objects, your child will learn the importance of language.

Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child's life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.

Even after children learn to read by themselves, it's still important for you to read aloud together. By reading stories that are on their interest level, but beyond their reading level, you can stretch young readers' understanding and motivate them to improve their skills.

It's part of life.

Although the life of a parent is often hectic, you should try to read with your child at least once a day at a regularly scheduled time. But don't be discouraged if you skip a day or don't always keep to your schedule. Just read to your child as often as you possibly can.

If you have more than one child, try to spend some time reading alone with each child, especially if they're more than 2 years apart. However, it's also fine to read to children at different stages and ages at the same time. Most children enjoy listening to many types of stories. When stories are complex, children can still get the idea and can be encouraged to ask questions. When stories are easy or familiar, youngsters enjoy these 'old friends' and may even help in the reading.

Taking the time to read with your children on a regular basis sends an important message: Reading is worthwhile.

LILLIAN DEL GIUDICE
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Opening School Mass - Our opening school mass last week officially welcomed all those new to our Mary Immaculate community. We also commissioned our new Captains for 2020, with our Year 6 cohort officially taking on their role as leaders within the school. Their pledge highlighted the important role all of our Year 6 students take on as they embark upon their final year of primary schooling.

SCHOOL LEADERS PLEDGE

I accept the position of 

school leader 

which has been given to me.

I promise to show responsibility 

in my leadership role at

Mary Immaculate Parish Primary School, Eagle Vale.

I promise to live by our motto

‘Christ Our Way and Life’.

I also promise to model our 

School Values of

Faith, Stewardship, Doing Your Best, Compassion, Justice and Celebration.

I will serve faithfully my God, my school and my fellow students.

Just as they pledge to live by our motto ‘Christ our Way and Life’, we too should be guided by Christ in all we say and do. With Ash Wednesday fast approaching, it is an opportunity for us to reflect on what it means to be a follower of Christ. 

Mrs Kirsty Simpson

Religous Education Co-ordinator

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

Hope S 1 Green, Max B 1 Gold, Sebastian P 5 Green, Ceazar F 1 Green, Donna D K Green, Leon V 6 Gold, William W 1 Green, Samia L K Green, Lyla G 3 Blue, Jasmine S 4 Green, Anthony 4 Blue, Charlotte J K Green.

Sadly still no Gold Stars, we need to try to remember to bring our Library bags for our lessons, which coincide with Sport day.  Kinder classes came close yesterday, well done!

Again a reminder of Library days for each class:

Tuesday – Year 3, Kinder, 5 Gold

Wednesday – Year 4, Year 1, 5 Green

Thursday – Year 6, Year 2

Premiers' Reading Challenge: Don’t forget any students who would like to take part in the PRC are encouraged to start reading, keep a list in the Reading Log in your books or come to the Library and collect a record sheet. All students in Years 3 - 6 will be registered. Parents of students in Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 are asked to please notify us in writing if your children would like to take part. I will keep a record of those who are registered, and login details will be sent home later in the Term.

It is an easy challenge – students in Years 3 - 6 only need to read 20 books from the PRC list, and students in K,1 and 2 are required to read 30. The booklists are found at https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html

Parent Helpers: If there are any parents who are interested in covering books at home, please contact the Library and let us know. We are always grateful for help to get the books ready for the students to use. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. Because our books have to withstand a great deal of handling we are very particular about the way our books are covered, so you will be emailed a video to view before you start to demonstrate our specific procedures. Thank you.

Scholastic Book Club: Orders have now closed for Issue One.  As soon as the orders arrive at school they will be sent home with the children. Thank you for your support.

Daily Reading: Remember to try to read with your children each day, and let them see you reading too – they are good mimics! 

"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

AGE CHAMPIONS

Well done to Mitchell (Yellow House) for winning the 2020 Mary Immaculate Swimming Carnival. While unfavourable weather restricted this year’s carnival to competitors only, it was still a great day. A big thank you goes out to all the parents that helped out on the day. Without those parents the day would have not been as successful as it was.  Each race was highly contested and the atmosphere around the pool was exciting. It was great to see such a high level of sportsmanship and talented swimmers across all age groups. Listed below are the age champions (the Age Champion award is a points based system that takes into consideration the number of events a competitor enters and their placing in those events).

8 - Year Girls: Lillian J

9 - Year Girls: Victoria A

10 - Year Girls: Summer B

11 - Year Girls: Leila C

12 Year Girls: Madison J

9 - Year Boys: Noah G

10 - Year Boys: Petar S

11 - Year Boys: Jack B

12 - Year Boys: Baxter B

Mr Jayden O'Brien

Sports Co-ordinator

OUR SCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Written by Kyce D and Mia R 6 Gold

On Thursday the 13 of February, the competitive swimmers of Mary Immaculate went to Maquarie Fields Leisure Centre for our yearly event. Due to rain, the rest of the students stayed at school this year.

The first race was the 100m. Everybody cheered throughout the two laps, even Mr Mac, who was commentating on the microphone, was cheering on the swimmers.

The next race was the 50m. This was the most popular race, almost everyone participated in this one. The styles they raced were Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly.

The last race was the medley which meant four laps of the pool had to be covered.

At the end of every race, the winners and placegetters were given ribbons.

We all had a great day.

SETTING HEALTHY PRACTICES FOR CHILDREN'S ONLINE SCREEN TIME

As children gain access to smart phones and tablets at younger ages it is important for parents to place healthy boundaries around screen time device usage. While screen time can help develop some important tools for children in todays digital world, balance is the key when it comes to spending time on line. It is important for children to still engage in off line activities like sport and other hobbies and enjoying family time. By setting clear healthy boundaries from a young age children can develop a healthy respect for screen time activities. As children become older you may wish to involve them in developing a balanced plan of offline, and screen time activities. Parental controls are available on all devices and this is good way for you to monitor your child's time and the content they can access when on line.

Online games can be a great way for children to develop skills in problem solving and co-ordination. Often online games involve interaction with other players on-line and while this is also skill children will need to develop it is important that healthy habits are set right away. Monitor how they are managing their emotions when playing and have strategies in place if they are becoming overwhelmed. Gaming is meant to be fun and not cause stress. Ensure that game time is managed and does not become addictive.

When it comes to the use of social media it is important to remember that what your children post become their digital foot print for life. Have open conversations with your child about what information can be shared, what is appropriate content to share or look at. Encourage them to talk to you if they feel something is not right online. Know the sites that your children are accessing and how they work, age limits for accounts and what content is shared. Common sites children like to use for social media include Tik Tok, Instragram, Snap Chat, Discord, House Party, Facebook (Messenger) and Roblox. A more comprehensive list which gives insight into how each app works along with age limits can be found by clicking the link https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/esafety-guide

There are different capabilities in all social media and gaming platforms, some allow for interaction from random people, including chats while playing games, the ability to post comments or reply to messages. At times these comments can be negative and bullying in nature. Online digital safety is important especially for growing children who may not understand the severity of joining different sites or what they post, they may fall victim to peer pressure, sexting and cyberbullying. Setting healthy boundaries at home includes ensuring all devices are used in open common areas of the home, not allow your child to have a personal digital device in their bedroom, setting screen time limits and monitoring what apps your child is using. Talk to them about the risks including not disclosing their locations or personal details and be prepared to say no when required. A good rule to follow when your children are connecting with others online is this – if your child would not invite this person over to play at their home then they don’t need to add them as a friend online.

For further information or where to go for support if required visit

Kidshelpline.com.au                            esafety.gov.au                         headspace.com.au

Rita Maher

School Counsellor

CatholicCARE Wollongong

25-27 Auburn St (PO Box 1174) Wollongong 2500

ritam@catholiccare.dow.org.au

www.catholiccare.dow.org.au

Moses Embi and former Mary Immaculate student Chris Lawrence are two Wests Tigers players from the NRL that came to visit primary students on Tuesday. Their message to students was that rugby isn’t just about winning, it’s about teamwork and respecting one another.

We learned that respecting your teachers and peers doesn’t just mean to do what you are told or be nice, it means we need to cooperate and work together. This also helped us to learn that we need to respect ourselves as much as we respect each other. We need to eat healthily, have good hygiene and get plenty of sleep.

Our Captains Emmanuel and Alexa shook hands with the players and received posters to give to everyone.

By Cody Hartley and Jilliane Castrodes 6 Gold

This April school holidays we are excited to announce that the Learning Labs program will be delivered to THREE University of Wollongong campuses.

Our focus is on Batemans Bay and Southern Sydney campuses, with a smaller program in Wollongong. Our larger July school holiday workshops will be back in Wollongong as per normal.

Learning Labs is an academic and creative arts enrichment holiday program. We are targeting students from Year 1 to 6 during 2020, who are passionate, self-motivated and curious learners. Please see the schedule below and follow links to each region’s webpage:

Dates:                   

Wollongong campus: 14 – 17 April, 2020

Loftus Southern Sydney campus: 15 – 17 April, 2020

Batemans Bay campus: 15 – 16 April, 2020

Venues:               

Wollongong campus: Little & Early Learning Labs

Loftus Southern Sydney campus: Early Learning Labs only

Batemans Bay campus: Little and Early Learning Labs

• Learning Labs Brochure
  

Any Further information please see Mr McInerney, Diverse Learning Coordinator.

THE 2ND HAND UNIFORM POOL WILL BE OPEN EACH MONDAY FROM 8:30 A.M. TO 9:00 A.M.