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Dear Parents/Carers,
As we enter a new and uncertain reality I wish to express my deep gratitude for the ongoing support of every member of our community. Our staff have been working very hard to establish a consistent platform to continue the learning for our students in all grades.
We are currently working on landing page that will house all resources for online learning. This page will be linked to our school webpage for ease of access. We hope to have this page active by the end of the week. The landing page will include an overview of daily learning experiences for each grade, as well as access to resources that would further support parents in establishing a home environment that is conducive to learning.
Today we are emailing via Compass a matrix of learning for each grade from Kindergarten to Year 6. These documents provide additional opportunities to review and revise content that is currently been covered by the students attending school. All parents will receive by the end of the week student login details to access Google classroom.
Our management plan during this time recognises that the best place for learning for all Mary Immaculate students is always the school environment. Our goal is not to try to re-create face-to-face classrooms, as this is impossible to do within the current circumstances.
I want to pay tribute to all our staff who are currently juggling the demands of attending to the needs of the students who are at school and attempting to support parents to continue learning at home, as well as planning for the future that still remains unclear. Currently the focus of the work provided to parents is the revision of concepts covered, but the longer term plan as we move into Term 2 will be to move to the release of daily remote learning including the introduction of new content, within the online environment. This release must be gradual as students, parents and staff need to build their skill levels and confidence in accessing and using this new platform for learning.
I want to thank parents in advance for your patience. It is essential to establish consistent platforms and consistency across the school and we very much acknowledge the need to work together with our parents to make this new reality a positive experience for our students.
As communicated yesterday, it is essential that all parents ensure their contact details including email addresses are current as Compass is the only endorsed form of communication by the school. If you have any issues with accessing remote learning please contact the school so we can try to make adjustments for your family’s circumstances. Our aim is support the continuation of learning.
We are so grateful for your ongoing prayers and although we might not be together in the same place we remain united for the benefit of the most important people in our community ~ our students.
Here is a timely quote from a colleague in New Zealand that helps to provide some perspective given our new current reality.
"...at the end of all of this, your child's mental health will be more important than their academic skills. And how they felt during this time will stay with them long after the memory of what they did during those weeks is long gone.”
With prayers and gratitude
Let Christ be our Way and Life
Tina Murray
Principal
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating their birthday this week:
Samuel D 4 Green, Chelsea D 3 Gold, Emma G 4 Gold, Mia W 6 Gold, Gabrielle C K Green, Mia H 6 Green, Cullen A 1 Green, Harper V 4 Gold and Ella M K Green.
Over the next few weeks I would like to share with you some strategies for assisting your child with Maths at home. Choose two or three of the following strategies and use them throughout the week. They are intended to help increase your child’s understanding of math skills and to develop confidence in learning.
Computation:
- Count orally by twos, fives, or tens
- Complete connect-the-dot pictures
- Have your child make a number book which contains a page for each numeral from one to ten. On each page, have your child glue clippings from newspapers and magazines illustrating that number concept (two dogs, three ducks, or four horses). As your child progresses with number recognition, they can add to the book and add numerical figures used in various ways
- Count and pair objects found around the house and determine whether there’s an odd or even number of items
- Review math facts at home, in the car, waiting in line, or during other downtime
- Provide your child with verbal math problems. “Take the number five; add six; multiply by three; subtract three; divide by five. What’s your answer?” Speak slowly at first until your child gets better at solving these mental problems; then speak more quickly
- Help your child identify ads in signs, newspapers, and magazines that use percentages
- Encourage your child to read nutrition labels. Have them calculate the percent of protein in each item
Geometry:
- Fold a sheet of paper in half and have your child draw a shape along the fold; cut out the shape and unfold the paper to see a symmetrical shape
- Look around the house for different geometric shapes, such as triangles, squares, circles, and rectangles
- Use household items (such as toothpicks, marshmallows, straws, twist-ties, sticks, or paper) to construct shapes
- Help your child recognise and identify real-world examples of right angles (the corner of a book) and parallel lines (railroad tracks)
- While driving together, direct your child to look for objects with the same size and shape
Mrs Lillian Del Giudice
Assistant Principal
During this time of great uncertainty, we need to turn to our faith to guide us. I have attached a link to the Mary Immaculate Parish Face Book page where you can join Father Slawek and Father Basti in prayer.
Mrs Kirsty Simpson
Religious Education Co-Ordinator
Congratulations to 6 Gold for earning a Gold Star last week, their third in a row - well done!! Keep up the good work. Don’t forget to have a look around home for the Library Loan Bags too – there were lots of purple and white cloth bags that have been lent out and not yet returned. Thank you.
Premiers' Reading Challenge: The PRC is now open for students to login and register their books. If students remember their login from last year it is still valid so they can login when ready. Don’t forget to look at the PRC website to make sure the books chosen by the students are on the correct list – if you have too many not on the list they will not be accepted, nor will any more than 2 books from the same series. Years 3 - 6 must read 15 from the lists and may read 5 personal choice; Kinder – Year 2 must read 25 from the lists and may also read 5 personal choice. Have a look at the Premiers Reading Challenge website:
https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html
Our Oliver Library catalogue will let you know what books from the lists are available in our library. Go to: oliver.dow.catholic.edu.au/miev and type ‘premier’ in the search box. Then select the level required and the search results will indicate available titles. Campbelltown and Eagle Vale Libraries have the relevant books marked appropriately too, to make them easy to find.
Overdrive and Sora: While we cannot borrow from the Libraries during the current situation, we can access eBooks and Audiobooks through Overdrive and Sora. The links are on our Oliver Library home page – oliver.dow.catholic.edu.au/miev , or you can click on the following links:
Visit the Overdrive Support site for the latest information:
http://overdrivedow.weebly.com/
Or click here to find out how to get started with the Sora App:
http://overdrivedow.weebly.com/getting-started.html
The students will need to know their school Google login, CEnet credentials, which is their surname, intitial, 01 (or allocated number), and their password, which is Miev and four numbers. For example – Sam Smith could be SmithS01; password Miev1234
Daily Reading: Remember how important it is for your children to see you reading too – they always love to imitate their parents. Try to find the time to sit with them even for ten minutes a day.
"Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him."
Maya Angelou, poet
Mrs Susan Bryant
Teacher Librarian
Acts of Kindness
It is wonderful to see that with all the changes that we are facing, the children at Mary Immaculate are embracing Acts of Kindness this week we collected another 366 acts of kindness. This takes us to over 1000 Acts of Kindness in just a few short weeks.
While many children are now away from the school environment I encourage you all to still keep up with your Acts of Kindness in your homes and community. May you all stay safe and be kind to each other during this time.
Mrs Rita Maher
School Counsellor
CatholicCARE Wollongong
25-27 Auburn St (PO Box 1174) Wollongong 2500
Staying Connected – Children and Adults we are in this together.
During times of uncertainty children and parents can experience a range of emotions. These can include feeling worried, fearful, anxious and being overwhelmed. It is important to note that these are normal feelings to have. These feelings help us, they tell us we are needing something. Most often we need connection, we need to know we are not going through this alone. I have included a Staying Connected information sheet that helps give ideas about how to support your child during this time. It is also important to support yourself. Ensure that you are getting enough sleep, are maintaining healthy eating, exercising regularly, and taking time out 10 -15 minutes for yourself each day to relax. Most of all remember it is important for your feelings to be acknowledged as well, this can be hard to do as we try to support our children. You may be able to reach out to your family and friends, have support between each other, perhaps you belong to a great parent group who can all help each other. There are services you can call and online platforms you can access should you feel you need extra help during this time. They include:
For Parents
Lifeline - Any one can call Lifeline. Lifeline counsellors are available to talk about whatever you need to talk about. You can call them on13 11 14, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Lifelines Online Counselling Service is available at night, 7pm until 4am, 7 days a week. You can access this by visiting: https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/online-services/crisis-chat
Mental Health Access Line - The Mental Health Line offers professional help, advice and referrals to local mental health services. It is staffed by mental health professionals who will ask questions to determine if you, or the person you are concerned about, needs ongoing mental health care and how urgently it is needed. They can put you in contact with the most relevant mental health service for children, teens, adults and older people.
The Mental Health Line is available to everyone in NSW and operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 1800 011 511.
Mensline Australia - Mensline offers free telephone and online counselling to Australian men. Call and talk with a counsellor on 1300 78 99 78 or access online counselling at https://mensline.org.au/phone-and-online-counselling/mensline-australia-online-counselling/
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week across Australia.
Parentline - is a telephone counselling, information and referral service for parents of children ages 0 to 18 who live in New South Wales. Parentline provides advice and support about all aspects of parenting. Their counsellors are available on 1300 1300 52, 9am to 9 pm Monday to Friday, and 4pm to 9pm on weekends.
MyCompass – offered by the Black Dog Institute
For: Adults experiencing stress, anxiety or depression, a free service which can be found at www.mycompass.org.au
Mental Health Online
For: Adults experiencing generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. www.mentalhealthonline.org.au
For Children
Kids Helpline - Kids Helpline is a free 24/7 phone and online counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25. Your child can call them on 1800 55 1800 or connect to a counsellor online via https://kidshelpline.com.au/get-help/webchat-counselling/
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week across Australia.
The Brave Program - For children and teenagers experiencing anxiety (and their parents) which is free to use and can be found brave4you.psy.uq.edu.au
Smiling Minds - For children and adults this app allows you to practice mindfulness which helps reduce worry and fear and can be found here https://www.smilingmind.com.au/
There are also great online apps that can help with working through emotions, balancing sleep and managing health. Reachout lists a range of different apps for use and can be found here https://au.reachout.com/tools-and-apps
Staying connected and being there for each other helps to reduce feelings that can make us feel tired, irritable and anxious. I have also included a 21 Day Well Being Challenge that your whole family can do together to help support mental health wellbeing during this time.
Mrs Rita Maher
School Counsellor
Catholic Care