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Dear Parents and Caregivers,
As a School Community we are preparing to launch into a new cycle in the life of our School Community. This week, despite the many restrictions and challenges of COVID-19 we were able to welcome and meet for the first time, many of our new 2021 Kindergarten students and their parents when they attended the first week of Orientation sessions. These opportunities are designed to guide the parents and children to school life at Mary Immaculate.
Just as Baptism officially welcomes a child of God into a community of faith, our orientation / transition sessions welcome our new members into our educational faith community.
At every enrolment interview the question is asked of prospective parents, “Why did you choose Mary Immaculate as the school for your child?”
Although there are a multitude of responses and every reason for the choice of Mary Immaculate is valid. Ultimately, parents have made this choice because they acknowledge that Mary Immaculate has something to offer their child and their family.
When we enrol a child, in reality we enrol a family. As a school community, despite the experience of faith or background that individual families may originate from we want all parents to be aware that everything that happens at Mary Immaculate is centered and modeled around the person of Jesus.
As parents, you enrol at Mary Immaculate because you want something from us. But like any relationship, this is not a one-sided proposition. We want something from you and your family too. Accepting a place at Mary Immaculate means that you acknowledge and accept everything that this commitment entails for the long term.
Our expectation for all members is that they immerse themselves into this community and find ways to contribute in ways that help to continue to further build the community in the future.
Each and every day the reign of God can break into the ordinariness of our lives. Just like the Jacaranda that is suddenly in full bloom, we can pass through our days without being alert to the smallest signs that God is working around us. Each time we are kind rather than cruel, generous rather than selfish, welcoming rather than dismissive and forgiving rather than judgmental we give life to each other and contribute to a community that can be life giving.
Every member in our School Community matters.
Every member of our School Community leaves a mark.
Each of us stands on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. What is the legacy you and your children are leaving at Mary Immaculate?
NAIDOC CELEBRATIONS - This week four grades had the opportunity to commence our school NAIDOC celebrations. Annual community celebrations are normally held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Due to COVID this annual celebration was delayed until November. Our students in Kinder, Year 1, 2 and 3 will have had the opportunity to participate in a number of cultural awareness activities this week and Years 4, 5 and 6 will participate next week. We are deeply indebted to Mrs Grados for her leadership of this school initiative and to our School Support Officers and our colleagues from the Catholic Education Office for supporting the delivery of the various sessions.
LEADERSHIP PLANNING - During the next three Fridays the School Leadership Team will be engaged in Professional learning and planning to support the school’s transition to 2021. We take the opportunity to welcome Mr John Walsh to Mary Immaculate. John has visited our school on several previous occasions and will be available to support students, parents and staff as Acting Principal.
Tina Murray
PRINCIPAL
SCHOOL BANKING
NEXT
School Banking Day
Wednesday 18 November 2020.
Stem Club – Year 3 and 4
To celebrate the Church’s season of Creation which occurs from 1 September to 4 October, the school held a tomato growing competition to encourage student awareness in caring for creation. Each class was given a tomato plant to name and care for until the end of the season. The children have been engaged in caring for their class plant as well as the vegetable gardens around the school. Some children even felt that it was important to talk to their plants, sing to them, have lunch with them, read them a book and get them a friend to assist their growth.
This Term, Year 3 have been completing a Science Unit of work on Living World. They have been learning about the Life Cycle of living things and the conditions under which living things can survive. The children have created living sculptures out of potatoes, cress seeds and cotton wool and will observe how they grow and change over the next few weeks.
MRS LILLIAN DEL GIUDICE
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating their birthday this week:NAIDOC Week this year was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Australia has the world’s oldest oral stories. The First Peoples engraved the world’s first maps, made the earliest paintings of ceremony and invented unique technologies. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people built and engineered structures - structures on Earth - predating well-known sites such as the Egyptian Pyramids and Stonehenge.
The theme this year Always Was, Always Will Be. acknowledges that hundreds of Nations and our cultures covered this continent. All were managing the land - the biggest estate on earth - to sustainably provide for their future.
At Mary Immaculate this week and next, the students and staff are participating in workshops that showcase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. These include an artifact talk, Indigenous games, Aboriginal art, storytelling, creating animal masks and bead making.
A HUGE thank you to our School Support Officers for their enthusiasm and willingness to undertake this opportunity to support our students by presenting and leading our workshops on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
Thank you for your continued support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
Mrs Danielle Grados
Year 4 Gold Teacher
Sadly no Gold Stars last week but congratulations to all the students who remembered to bring their Library Bags, we cannot borrow without them. Let’s try again this week – we still have over 300 outstanding loans from students. Only one or two more weeks for borrowing before we start to collect all books back for a stocktake of the collection. Please search your rooms, book shelves etc to see where any books are hiding! Please search too for the Library Loan Bags – our supplies are depleted because we have lent out so many!! Thank you.
Chess - Our Chess tournament is moving along, Years 5 and 6 underway and Year 4 hopefully to start next week for 2020. There have already been some outstanding matches, congratulations to all participants.
Scholastic Book Club Issue 8 – The brochures have gone home this week for our final order for 2020. It will be a good opportunity for some Christmas shopping – books are a great gift. Just a reminder that all ordering is to be done ONLINE via the LOOP: Linked Ordering and Online Payment. No orders and money will be accepted at school. We thank you for your support of this program. Orders will close Thursday 26 November. Thank you.
Poetry – Poems are meant to be read aloud and shared, they can be fun, so remember to have a look at home and see if you can find some poetry books to share, even though we have now finished our work on Poetry. Last term Year 3 have had a look at Limericks:
"There was a young schoolboy of Rye,
Who was baked by mistake in a pie.
To his mother’s disgust
He emerged through the crust,
And exclaimed, with a yawn, "Where am I?"
Anonymous
Happy reading!
Mrs Sue Bryant
Teacher-Librarian
Lord, strengthen our hearts, hands, and minds, to work together for peace;
and to see you each day in all those we meet.
Help us to be messengers of peace in our families, our school and our world.
One hundred and two years ago, on 11 November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after four years of continuous warfare. With their armies retreating and close to collapse, German leaders signed an Armistice, bringing to an end the First World War.
Each year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts. During this time our flags are lowered to half mast, as a sign of respect for all those who have given their lives for their country.
Today, as a School Community Year 6 led us in a Remembrance Day Prayer and a minutes silence to remember this significant event.
Mrs Kirsty Simpson
Religious Education Co-Ordinator