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Each year the students of Year 6 hold a fundraiser to put money towards a gift for the School.
The purpose of the gift is a gesture made in commemoration of their time at Mary Immaculate.
Year 6 have decided to hold a $1.00 Lolly Bag Day.
The fundraiser will be held in WEEK 7 Friday 27 November at lunch 1.
Images created by Isaac C 6 Gold
Tomorrow we begin the Liturgical season of Lent. This Season in the Church’s year provides us with the opportunity to focus upon reviewing our lives, to look for opportunities to practice compassion and to stretch ourselves as we prepare for the great celebration of Easter.
Each of our students will be marked tomorrow with a cross on their foreheads as part of the Ash Wednesday Liturgy. This custom developed from an ancient tradition of covering oneself with ashes as a sign to the community that you wished to be forgiven for wrongdoing. This simple symbol is now used to mark us as Christian people and to call us into a season of repentance, compassion and growth.
The Season of Lent is a gift from our church and has, as its central focus, the conversion of the heart and spiritual renewal. Throughout the season we are called to expand our lives and be open to acts of service and almsgiving. We are encouraged to deepen our lives of prayer and to offer times of fasting and self-control all with the great hope of deepening our appreciation and gratitude for the blessings we enjoy. In opening our eyes to our own blessings we are also called to look with compassion and reach out in action to alleviate the suffering of others. Throughout the forty days of this Lenten Season our students will regularly engage in deepening their understanding and practice of compassion during the liturgical season. This could be as simple as cheering someone up who may be unhappy, extending an invitation to someone who is left out or seeking forgiveness if responsible for causing someone else to be upset.
In giving to those in need, we actively express love and compassion. During Lent, Project Compassion boxes will be part of each classroom’s sacred space and will be available to assist our students to fulfill the Lenten promise to care for those who are less fortunate. Our Director of Schools, Peter Hill reminded us that although we collect money during Lent our focus should not be on which school collects the most money, but rather it’s about helping those who need it most, by being the face of Christ to others.
I encourage all our students and their families to enter into the spirit of this Lenten period and use prayer, self-denial or helping others as a way to walk in the footsteps of Christ and be messengers of ‘good news’ in our world.
Let Christ be our Way and Life
Tina Murray
Principal
ARRANGEMENTS FOR TRAVELLING HOME / PICK UP - If your child’s arrangements for travelling home change please ensure that this is communicated to the class teacher. This is especially important for our younger students.
DOGS IN SCHOOL GROUNDS - In the interests of safety all parents are reminded that dogs are not allowed on school grounds.
The school recognises that even well-behaved dogs can behave unpredictably when placed in an unfamiliar, busy, noisy and crowded school environment and that this can lead to unexpected behaviour in even the best-behaved pet. Children can also behave unpredictably when in the presence of dogs especially where they are not used to being with them.
The NSW Companion Animals Act 1998 states dogs are prohibited in some public places. Section 14 (e) of the Act specifically refers to schools and states that this applies to dogs whether they are leashed or unleashed.
If you see someone with their dog on the grounds please remind them of this rule, which has been made to ensure the safety of every child.
Congratulations to the following children who have been awarded Morning Tea with the Principal:
Synod A 1 Green, Tyler S 1 Gold, Aiden C 3 Blue, Lachlan C K Blue, Olivia A 5 Gold and Patrick A 6 Gold.
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating their birthday this week:
Hannah J K Green, Riley G, 2 Green, Elaine B K Green, Chiara M 3 Green, Denzel T 3 Blue, Elizabeth L 1 Green, Jaimee M 6 Green, Jessica A 4 Blue and Sienna C 2 Green.
Last week I included the first half of an article, which explains why reading aloud to children from an early age is so important, and how to make it a motivating and meaningful experience.
One more time - You may go through a period when your child favours one book and wants it read night after night. It is not unusual for children to favour a particular story, and this can be boring for parents. Keep in mind, however, that a favourite story may speak to your child's interests or emotional needs. Be patient. Continue to expose your children to a wealth of books and eventually they will be ready for more stories.
Talking about stories - It's often a good idea to talk about a story you are reading, but you need not feel compelled to talk about every story. Good stories will encourage a love for reading, with or without conversation. And sometimes children need time to think about stories they have read. A day or so later, don't be surprised if your child mentions something from a story you've read together.
Remember when you were very young - It will help, however, if we open our eyes to some things adult readers tend to take for granted. It's easier to be patient when we remember how much children do not know. Here are a few concepts we adults know so well we forget sometimes we ever learned them.
- There's a difference between words and pictures. Point to the print as you read aloud.
- Words on a page have meaning, and that is what we learn to read.
- Words go across the page from left to right. Follow with your finger as you read.
- Words on a page are made up of letters and are separated by a space.
- Each letter has at least two forms: one for capital letters and one for small letters.
These are examples of hieroglyphics.
Imagine how you would feel if you were trying to interpret a book full of such symbols. That's how young readers feel. But, a little patience (maybe by turning it into a puzzle you can solve together) is certain to build confidence.
Advertise the joy of reading! - Our goal is to motivate children to want to read so they will practice reading independently and, thus, become fluent readers. That happens when children enjoy reading. We parents can do for reading what fast food chains do for hamburgers? ADVERTISE! And we advertise by reading great stories and poems to children.
We can help our children find the tools they need to succeed in life. Having access to information through the printed word is an absolute necessity. Knowledge is power, and books are full of it. But reading is more than just a practical tool. Through books we can enrich our minds; we can also relax and enjoy some precious leisure moments.
With your help, your children can begin a lifelong relationship with the printed word, so they grow into adults who read easily and frequently whether for business, knowledge, or pleasure.
Adapted from: Helping Your Child Learn to Read. (1996). Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.
LILLIAN DEL GIUDICE
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
- Wednesday 26 February at 10:30 am - Ash Wednesday Liturgy;
- Thursday 12 March at 9:45 am - Year 1 Liturgy.
Lent 2020
This week the Season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the Annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice.
We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box and /or a set of envelopes for their donations or you can donate online via our website at lent.caritas.org.au
Let’s Go Further Together!
Mrs Kirsty Simpson
Religous Education Co-ordinator
We are happy to announce that Kindness is Free is launching for Lent. This proactive whole school initiative has been developed by our School Counsellor to promote positive wellbeing, thinking of others and community spirit.
Each class is taking part by recording their acts of kindness on paper links and placing them in a kindness jar. Every act of kindness will be added to a paper chain and at the end of Lent we can then see how far our kindness has reached across the school.
The school newsletter will feature updates on acts of kindness celebrated in the school along with ideas about how you can support your child and grow kindness at home. To get the ball rolling, we ask you to discuss kindness with your children and share your meaning and understanding of the word. Take some time to discuss with one another some acts of kindness that you have appreciated. All acts of kindness are valued no matter how small: a kind word or smile, helping around the house, sharing with siblings, patting the dog. There are opportunities for kindness everywhere!
We hope that this initiative will take on a life of its own spreading through our school, out the gates and into our community. Your help at home is much appreciated.
In a world where you can be anything, be kind!
Mrs Rita Maher
School Counsellor
CatholicCARE Wollongong
25-27 Auburn St (PO Box 1174) Wollongong 2500
Congratulations to 6 Green, the first class to earn a Gold Star for the year!! Many other classes are close, it is looking better this week! I am again including a reminder of Library days for each class:
Tuesday – Year 3, Kinder, 5Gold
Wednesday – Year 4, Year 1, 5Green
Thursday – Year 6, Year 2
Sometimes the lessons need to be changed, you will be notified of the change for that particular week, then it goes back to the regular day unless you are otherwise notified.
Please remind your children to bring their Library Bags on the day of their lesson. A Library Bag is essential to protect the books while in transit, so they cannot borrow without a bag. We have already had one book damaged because it was returned to school in the school bag without being protected by the Library Bag. Thank you for your support in this matter.
Premiers' Reading Challenge: Even though we can’t register yet for the PRC you can start reading the books. 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://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html
If you would like a record sheet it can be printed from the website, or the students can collect one from the Library at Lunch 2.
You can search our Library catalogue to see all the available books on the list – go to oliver.dow.catholic.edu.au/miev, and type ‘premier’ in the search box. You can then select the required level, either K-2, 3-4, or 5-6
Daily reading: Please remember to try to read with your children for at least ten minutes a day, and encourage your children to read themselves. February 1 was World Read Aloud Day, a day when all around the world people are encouraged to read aloud to each other to focus on the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories. Around the world parents and teachers recognise the value of reading aloud to your children, no matter how old they are. Have a look at the website, http://www.litworld.org/wrad, and even download a book to share with your children.
Read Aloud. Change the World.
Mrs Susan Bryant
Teacher Librarian
On Friday 21 February, Cameron Brown from “Explore, Discover, Act “came to work with Year 6 in the hall on building leadership skills.
He taught us that a LEADER is never perfect because everyone makes mistakes and that is how we learn. We experienced this idea firsthand when Cameron challenged us with lots of hands on activities and problems to solve.
He also taught us that 'Two is better than One'. We realised how true this statement was when we paired up with a classmate to describe what a leader is. When one of us wasn’t sure of an answer we could help each other out, remind each other about previous learning and even add on more ideas to an answer.
The most important message I learned on that day was that a LEADER DOES NOT CONTROL they INFLUENCE. We can influence each other to be the best we can be and to finish what we start.
PATRICK WARNER
6 GOLD
