Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Today our students had the opportunity to take home gifts for the special men in their lives generously provided by the Parents & Friends Association. We are extremely grateful to the P & F who continue to support community building initiatives during these challenging times.

Fathers' Day can be a useful time for all men to reflect on what it means to be a father or to have a fatherly influence on children. Social commentators often remark that the art of fatherhood has been lost in the modern era. The media continues to present fathers as the less capable and less responsible half of the parenting team. Childcare often becomes the domain of mothers, and fathers have often been reduced to ‘income-providers.’ Personally, this stereotype could not be further from the truth. I see this fact on a daily basis as many Mary Immaculate fathers take a very active role at drop off and pick up.  My own children have benefitted from my husband’s conscious decision to be a ‘hand-on’ father and without this partnership I certainly would not have been able to function in my role as a working mother.

Christian fathers can never accept any reduction in the importance of their role. Guided by their faith, they should wish to take their vocation as a father very seriously. Fatherhood is a gift from God, and with this great gift comes great responsibility. Yet, although being a responsible father requires hard work, there are great rewards to be won.

Let us praise those fathers who, lacking a good model for a father, worked hard to become a good father figure for their own children.

Let us praise those fathers who by their own account were not always there for their children, but who continue to offer those children, now grown, their love and support.

Let us pray for those fathers who have been wounded by the neglect and hostility of their children.

Let us praise those fathers who, despite broken relationships, have remained in their children's lives.

Let us praise those fathers whose children are adopted, and whose love and support has offered healing.

Let us praise those fathers who, as stepfathers, freely choose the obligation of fatherhood and have earned their stepchildren's love and respect.

Let us praise those fathers who have lost a child to death and continue to hold the child in their heart.

Let us praise those men who have no children but who cherish the next generation as if they were their own.

Let us praise those men who have 'fathered' us in their role as mentors and guides.

Let us praise those men who are about to become fathers; may they openly delight in their children.

And let us praise those fathers who have died but live on in our memory and whose love continues to nurture us."

Let us use Fathers' Day to let the special men in our lives know the unique place they have in our lives and the valuable influence they have on us.

Enjoy the week ahead and most especially to all those in our community who hold the title ‘Father’ - Happy Fathers' Day!

Let Christ continue to be our Way and Life.

Tina Murray

Principal

ARRIVAL / DEPARTURE FROM SCHOOL - Parents are requested in the interest of the students’ safety, to ensure that children do not arrive at  school prior to 8:00am as this is when supervision commences. The school is unable to accept responsibility for supervising students outside the school premises prior to gates being opened at approximately 7:50am. If any parent or guardian has difficulty in ensuring that their child does not attend school before 8:00am please contact the school to discuss possible arrangements that may be made.

As a School Community it is our goal to ensure learning can effectively take place for every student. Thank you for the wonderful efforts that have been made to ensure students arrive at school prior to the bell. Teachers have noted that students who are at school are much better placed to commence their learning in a more settled and focused way.

Please ensure your morning / afternoon routine takes into account the busyness and possible congestion at peak times. Please ensure you attend to signage regarding Bus, No Stopping, Kiss and Drop and Parking Zones around the school site and model safe behaviour for your children by always crossing the road at the designated monitored crossing.

Police regularly make random checks of these areas and will impose fines and demerit points for non-compliance. The following link provides information that outlines the restrictions related to the signage around our school site.

https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/safety-rules/road-rules/parking.html

Parents are not permitted to use the Church Carpark OR the turning circle as a drop off point in the morning or afternoon.

Last week I apologised on behalf of our School Community to one of our neighbours who was unable to leave her driveway to collect her own children because a Mary Immaculate parent car was parked across her driveway. Please ensure that in trying to pick up your own children that you remain conscious not to disadvantage someone else. 

When entering the school site in the afternoon parents are requested to please ensure they maintain the required COVID safe practices including observing a minimum 1.5m distance. Both gates on the Aquamarine Drive boundary will be opened to assist in quick departure from the site.

Tina Murray

Principal

Gratitude at Home

Congratulations to 3 Green, the first class to earn a Gold Star this term so far! Well done, let’s hope we see a few more this week, sadly lots of us are becoming very forgetful. It is important to bring our Library bags to transport the books we borrow to and from school safely. 

A REQUEST

If anyone has old Library Bags at home no longer in use, or cloth bags which could be used as Library Bags, we would be grateful for them in the Library. It is handy to have some spares which we can use as Loan bags when students forget their own, and all our Loan bags have gone. Thank you. 

Book Week 2020:  "Curious Creatures, Wild Minds!!" The Children’s Book Council transferred the celebration of Book Week this year from August to 17 - 23 October, Week 2 next Term. We will be having our Book Character Dress-Up Day on Thursday 22 October. Because of the Covid 19 restrictions, we will be unable to have our usual parade with parents and friends invited, but the students are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite book character. It is important that it is not just a dress-up day but an awareness of book characters, the books they come from, and a little bit about who the character is and why we like them. 

Premiers' Reading Challenge 2020: Congratulations to the students who successfully completed the challenge this year.  We had 142 students who managed to read the required number and enter them online. This is an exceptional achievement considering the conditions our learning has endured during the year so far! There were another 155 who started but did not quite reach the target – better luck next year! Even though the Challenge may be finished, it is important that we continue to read each day. 

Scholastic Book Club: Catalogues went home last week for ordering online. Orders will close next Wednesday 9 September. Thank you for your support with this program.

  "So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray,

Go throw your TV set away.

And in its place you can install,

A lovely bookshelf on the wall."

Roald Dahl in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'

Happy reading!

Mrs Sue Bryant

Teacher-Librarian

We will be transitioning into Summer Uniform in Week 9 and 10 of this Term.  For Weeks 9 and 10 students can wear either Summer or Winter Uniform according to the weather. 

PLEASE DO NOT WEAR SUMMER UNIFORM OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH, BEFORE THIS TIME.

All students will be expected to be in Full Summer Uniform the 1st day back of Term 4 which will be Tuesday 13 October 2020.

REMINDER THAT THE STAFF SPIRITUALITY DAY WILL BE MONDAY 7 SEPTEMBER

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY - MONDAY 12 OCTOBER 2020

CHILDREN RETURN TO SCHOOL FOR TERM 4, TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER 2020 IN FULL SUMMER UNIFORM