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Dear Parents and Carers,
After several weeks of change, uncertainty and separation we are now preparing for the return of all students to school on Monday 25 May. I want to extend a huge THANK YOU to each and every student, parent, family and staff member for their commitment during this difficult period.
Commitment to our school can be lived out in many ways. Being flexible and adhering to school requests and procedures are an obvious form of commitment lived out by action. Commitment to our community can also be expressed on a daily basis by our way of being with each other. Since our school was established in 1986, we have often likened our school community to that of a family, and like any family it may not always be smooth sailing. As an individual within a family we may not always agree with what has to happen. We may be put out, we may even become impatient with each other, but at the end of the day, we remain bound together and belong to each other. I want to express my gratitude for the patience, respect and positivity that exists within our community. I am amazed at how smoothly everyone has been able to adjust to and support the several changes we have had to make during the last few weeks to fulfill obligations and prioritise the safety of all.
This will be even more important as we enter into yet another period of change.
Over the last few weeks, the Gospel readings have recounted the movement of the disciples from a band of fearful, nervous individuals, to a group empowered by the appearances of the risen Jesus who became present to them in a new way. Jesus challenged his disciples to keep his new commandment, ‘to love God and to love others.’ Living this commandment is embodied in words, actions and reactions. This commandment excludes no one and is characterised by sacrificial love. A love that is ‘other centred’ and not based on easy, personal preferences. It calls us to love without measure, without limits and to deny ourselves and our own thoughts and wants, so we may be able to live instead with the needs of others as our priority. This message continues to challenge us as disciples of Jesus today, especially in our COVID-19 world. Our lives become the fifth Gospel that calls us, to be a people of good news within our own corner of the world. Through our participation in the life of community we become witnesses, missionaries and living sacraments of the life of God.
Let Christ continue to be our Way and Life in the weeks ahead.
Tina Murray
Principal
PROCEDURES TO SUPPORT OUR RETURN TO SCHOOL
I want to assure you that as a staff, school and system we continue to do all we can and are making every decision based on the information at hand and from a mindset of social responsibility to support the best interests of all concerned. The following adjustments to our daily processes at Mary Immaculate have been made in order to continue to do what is necessary to adhere to the health directives provided to us from the government health agencies and the Catholic Education Office, Wollongong. The following process will be in place within our community as we move to the next phase of our COVID-19 transition.
1. Hygiene and preventative measures
- Students or staff showing signs of being unwell will be isolated and must be sent home ASAP
- Anyone experiencing flu like symptoms must stay home until symptoms have resolved and a medical clearance from a health practitioner is received.
- Good hygiene must be practiced and enforced throughout the school, including regular and enhanced cleaning for high-touch surfaces; washing hands regularly and thoroughly; and sneezing into your elbow or tissue (disposing of the tissue straight away and then washing your hands)
- Continued closure of all communal water fountains and bubblers.
2. Gatherings of students and staff
- School Assemblies continue to be suspended – remote presentations will continue to be made available.
- Whole School Masses and Grade Liturgies continue to be suspended - remote liturgies will continue to be made available.
3. Social Distancing Protocols
- Social distancing requirements of 1.5m for adults within the school site must be maintained at all times.
- Please maintain social distancing by avoiding gathering outside the school gates.
- Face-to-face meetings, including with parents / carers, will be minimised and replaced with video / teleconference options where appropriate.
4. Procedures – Drop Off and Pick Up – please be aware of possible congestion at peak times and ensure you attend to signage regarding Bus, Kiss and Drop and Parking Zones around the school site.
- Parents and carers are able to walk their children to Emerald Drive school gates in the morning while maintaining social distancing – staff will be present to monitor.
- Kiss and Drop Zone is operational in the morning for drop off.
- Afternoon dismissal procedures from Monday 25 May – Aquamarine Drive and Emerald Drive gates will be opened at 2.20pm. Parents must self-monitor and adhere to 1.5m social distancing requirements while waiting in the marked area on the Infants grass playground. In the event of wet weather, parents are required to collect students from classrooms.
- Students catching buses and attending after school providers will be escorted to the hall by staff on the first bell.
- Parents are asked to keep the covered area near the canteen clear to allow for student movement.
- Classes will be brought to the area opposite the parent waiting area and will be dismissed by class teachers on the final bell at 2.30pm
- Parents and students are requested to leave the school site promptly using either of the two exit points available – Aquamarine or Emerald Drive gates.
- Any students who have not been collected will wait in the Aquamarine Shelter area until 2.45pm when staff duties conclude.
- Remaining students will move to the Emerald Drive gates and parents will be called.
5. Attendance requirements - From Monday 25 May 2020, the single mode of learning is face-to-face and remote learning will cease.
- All students are expected to return to school and students not attending will be marked as absent.
- Parents are required by law to notify the school regarding reasons for absence.
- Students with increased health risks may be able to continue to learn at home to suit their individual needs. Parents are required to discuss these arrangements with the school. If your child / ren will be continuing isolation and will not be returning to face-to-face learning at school due to the COVID-19 situation, please complete the form using the link below. Please complete the form separately for each child who will be remaining in isolation.
6. Excursions and school events
- All school excursions continue to be cancelled until further notice
- All external activities, including arts and sports events, including whole-school sporting events and inter-school events continue to be suspended
7. Reporting requirements
- All suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 must be reported immediately to the school and this will be reported to the NSW Health and Catholic Education, Diocese of Wollongong.
HOW CAN PARENTS SUPPORT THESE INITIATIVES?
- All students are expected to return to school on Monday 25 May and should be on site prior to the morning bell at 8.25am. This will support students to move to classrooms and be ready to commence learning immediately. Students arriving after 8.25am will be marked with a partial absence.
- Parents are asked to drop off and pick up students and leave the school site promptly.
- Kiss and Drop staff will assist in directing cars but will try to minimise contact with car doors. Please ensure your child has their bag and is ready to exit the car and close the car door independently.
- If you are picking up in the afternoon try to establish a regular waiting spot so your child / ren know where you will be when they are dismissed by their teacher.
- Ensure your child remains at home if they are unwell.
- Ensure your child comes to school each day with their own equipment – pencils case containing pencil etc to minimise equipment sharing.
- Students are welcome to continue to bring their own supply of sanitiser, tissues etc to use during the day.
- All students are requested to bring a water bottle to school as bubblers will be unavailable.
- Please reinforce safe hygiene procedures and the reasons behind the need to adopt these processes at school.
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating their birthday this week:
I recently read an article by Kasey Edwards from ABC Life about helping kids with the transition back to school that I thought I would share with you.
With school resuming in most states after weeks of lockdown, many kids will be busting to see their friends and get out of the house.
But for some, the thought of returning to the classroom is enough to induce a bout of anxiety. As well as concerns about social distancing and how they will be able to safely interact with their friends, some kids are also concerned about how to reconnect with their friends.
Children's anxiety expert Karen Young says even if your child is eager to go back to class, they may need help with the transition.
"It might still be jarring because they've become settled into a new routine," says Ms Young. "This is not like going back to school after the holidays. They've been disconnected from their friends for such a long time."
Ms Young says parents should be aware their kids may not share their back-to-school worries.
"You might get the 'What ifs' — such as, 'What if I go to school and I get sick? What if I go to school and something else happens?'" says Ms Young.
Other signs could be trouble sleeping, restlessness, bursts of anger over seemingly benign things, withdrawing, or complaints about headaches or feeling sick in the tummy.
We can help our children by encouraging them to express how they feel about going back to school, and validating their concerns.
Ms Young suggests a conversation opener such as: "It's a big thing going back to school and it's OK if you feel a bit worried. That's really understandable and normal."
After validation comes strength: where we tell our kids it might be a bit hard at first but it's going to be OK, and we know they're going to get through this.
"This is very different to saying there's nothing to worry about," says Ms Young.
"They don't buy that anyway, and it also just increases their anxiety because they feel the person they have turned to for support doesn't get it."
If stress levels are running high in your home, you may be tempted to let your child stay a little longer. Georgina Manning, a counsellor and student wellbeing expert, says you might be asking for trouble with this approach.
"The anxiety will be worse if they go back two weeks later than their friends, when the class has all settled back in. It's best to rip the bandaid off quickly and just go," she says.
As for us parents, we can help our children by managing our own emotions.
"If a parent feels anxious about dropping off, the child may pick up on that and may see the situation as anxiety-provoking," says Ms Manning.
"But if a parent is really relaxed, the child will model that."
And remember, our children are often more capable than we think.
"We underestimate how resilient kids are and how easily they can adapt," says Ms Manning. "Once kids are back with their friends and back with the teacher, they'll settle back in."
We look forward to welcoming all of the children back next week and continuing to work with families to support their children during this time of change.
Mrs Lillian Del Giudice
Assistant Principal
6th Week of Easter (Year A)
Prayer Reflection:
Creator of the universe,
you made the world in beauty,
and restore all things in glory
through the victory of Jesus Christ.
We pray that, wherever your image is still disfigured
by poverty, sickness, selfishness, war and greed,
the new creation in Jesus Christ may appear in justice, love, and
peace, to the glory of your name. Amen.
Upcoming Events:
- Feast of St Eugene Prayer/Liturgy 21.5.20
Tomorrow, we celebrate the Feast Day of St Eugene. Each student will be viewing a special prayer via Google Classroom. We invite you to join us in this prayer tomorrow at 9:00 am.
Mrs Kirsty Simpson
Religious Education Co-ordinator
We are now in our last week of remote learning, next week we will all be back at school and learning in our classrooms. Library lessons will resume, so we will all be able to enjoy our wonderful selection of books! All students are reminded to please bring their Library bags, and return those books which have been at home since early last Term! All returned books will be wiped down and put aside for 72 hours to be sure they are virus-free.
This Term in Library lessons we will be looking at how we can use non-fiction texts and the internet to find the information we want. While we have been learning-from-home all students have been using the internet, so we need to make sure we search efficiently for the information we need. Each grade will be studying different topics, related to their class units. Kinder students will be learning that non-fiction books give us information, and we will be learning about animals and where they live.
Don’t forget to take a look at our Oliver Library Home page which has links to many interesting sites and activities. Remember to keep a reading log of all the books you are reading, titles and authors, and we can register these later on for the Premiers' Reading Challenge.
Explore your book further with some of these writing activities. Print out the sheet and colour in the icon when you complete the activity.
Scholastic Book Club: Thank you to those families who supported the online catalogue. The orders should arrive in the next week or so.
Premiers' Reading Challenge: Once we are back at school we can register books which have been read during the past two months. Check the lists at:
https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html
Many of the books on the lists which are in our Library are marked with the sticker to indicate which level – Red for K - 2, Green for 3 - 4, and Purple for 5 - 6.
Daily Reading: Don’t forget to try to take at least ten minutes out of your busy day to read with or to your children.
"I beg you all to read superb books aloud to your children! Begin on the day they are born. I am very serious about this: at least three stories and five nursery rhymes a day, if not more, and not only at bedtime, either!.”
Mem Fox
Happy reading!
Mrs Sue Bryant
Teacher Librarian
YEAR 6 T-SHIRT DESIGN 2020
I created this design because our Year Six motto this year is ‘No Fear, No Limits, No Excuses’.
I first thought about drawing a finish line with a ribbon because when you win or achieve a goal you earn that goal by working hard. Year 6 is an opportunity for all of us to earn and achieve our goals by doing our best and pushing ourselves with support from teachers and peers. I drew poles to add a ‘different’ look, an unexpected look.
They represent our school and teachers directing us on the right path. I added little stars because we travel like stars. As a grade, we have had to really take our motto ‘No Fear, No Limits, No Excuses’ on board more than ever during this Covid-19 crisis. We Can Do It!
Ayen A
6 Green
Thank you to Ni S, Destin H Year 5 for volunteering to run the 2nd Hand Uniform Room each Monday from 8:30 a.m. till 9:00 a.m.
IF YOU CAN SPARE AN HOUR EACH MONDAY MORNING TO HELP RUN THE 2ND HAND UNIFORM ROOM PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE.
A big Thank You to Katie C for volunteering to run the 2nd Hand Uniform Room in Term 1 and good luck in your new endeavours.