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Dear Parents / Caregivers,
On March 19 each year we celebrate the feast day of St Joseph. Everything we know about St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus, comes from the Bible, and mentions of him are underwhelming, to say the least. Despite this fact, the little that is known about him provided the basis for Joseph to be declared the patron of the universal church by Pope Pius IX in 1870. In his Apostolic Letter entitled Patris corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis described Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.
The Letter marks the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To celebrate the anniversary, Pope Francis has proclaimed a special “Year of St Joseph,” beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 2020 and extending to the same feast in 2021.
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, Pope Francis says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble Saint Joseph, “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,” who nonetheless played "an incomparable role in the history of salvation.”
Some of what we know of this great biblical figure includes that he was a carpenter, a working man, who was certainly not wealthy. However, despite his humble work and means, Joseph was also described as coming from royal lineage, since he was descendant of King David, the greatest king of Israel. We know from his actions, especially towards Mary, that Joseph was a compassionate, caring man.
We know he was man of faith, who was obedient to whatever God asked of him even without knowing the outcome. We know Joseph loved Jesus and Mary. His one concern was always for the safety of those entrusted to his care. Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.
Joseph is described in the scriptures as a ‘just’ man. Throughout his life he remained simply, joyfully and wholeheartedly obedient to God—in marrying Mary, in naming Jesus, in shepherding his family to Egypt, in bringing them to Nazareth, in the undetermined number of years he lived a life of quiet faith and courage.
By referring to Joseph as 'just', the Bible is describing him as someone who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God. He did not think of himself but focused instead, on the lives of Mary and Jesus.
St Joseph can be a model for all of us as we too strive to live our own lives ‘of quiet desperation’ attuned to God’s active presence working within and through our lives.
Many blessings for the week ahead!
Tina Murray
Principal
HARMONY DAY 2021 - On Sunday we celebrate Harmony Day. The continuing message of Harmony Day ‘Everyone Belongs’ calls upon each of us to deal with cultural, racial and religious intolerance by promoting respect, fairness and a sense of belonging for everyone.
Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone and recognises the truly multicultural nature of our society.
We thank Mrs. Grados for her leadership in providing resources for this event and the staff for deepening the student’s appreciation for the importance of this day through coverage in classrooms throughout next week.
On Monday 22 our students will celebrate Harmony Day by wearing mufti clothes (comfortable casual clothes and sensible closed in shoes, instead of the school uniform). Students are encouraged to wear clothes that reflect the colours of the flag of their family’s country of origin with a possible splash of orange. The payment for wearing mufti clothes is a gold coin donation. Students will be able to add their coin to the slogan - BE MORE - as they enter the school on Monday morning. All funds collected will be added to the donations made to classroom Project Compassion boxes and will be sent to support the work of Caritas Australia.
SCHOOL PHOTOS AND WINTER CHANGEOVER - Due to the unpredictability of the weather students may return to school after the School Holidays in either Full Summer or Full Winter Uniform, not a mixture of both.
School Photo Day will take place on Thursday May 6.
All students must wear their full Summer Uniform on this day.
The official changeover date for all students to wear their full Winter Uniform is Monday May 10.
SAFETY FIRST - A booklet containing information and important reminders has been included with this newsletter in response to a number of concerning incidents involving road and traffic safety around our school site. This includes a frightening experience when one of our kindergarten students and their parent was nearly hit by a car. Please be mindful of the huge responsibility we hold as parents to model and teach safe pedestrian behaviour.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 2021 - Catholic Schools Week at Mary Immaculate was an extremely special celebration as we had the opportunity to join with Catholic Schools across Australia to commemorate 200 years of Catholic schooling.
We celebrated this event with several liturgies; shared a glimpse into our classrooms with our online clips and set up a display that documented the history of our School.
Parents are invited to journey into our classrooms by viewing the clips uploaded using the following link -
This site will be available for viewing until the end of Week 9.
Thank you to our wonderful P & F Association for funding the new bubblers and water bottle re-fill station installed yesterday.
VALUES AWARDS – WEEK 7
K GREEN
Rachel C – Stewardship - For taking care of our classroom environment
Rielle V – Doing Your Best – For doing your best in all areas of learning
K GOLD
Prince V – Stewardship – For your willingness to care for our classroom environment
Ezra W – Celebration – For celebrating the achievements of your peers
K BLUE
Ivianne M – Compassion - For always offering to help people when they are in need
Ruby T – Faith – For showing reverence and respect during our Kindergarten and Year 5 liturgy
1 GREEN
Jason L – Doing Your Best – For always trying hard to complete all tasks to the best of your ability
Ezaleiah M – Stewardship – For placing litter in appropriate bins and keeping the environment tidy
1 GOLD
Jack G – Compassion - For taking the time to care for and play with a peer who needed a friend
Charbella A – Celebration - For the joyful way in which she celebrates the achievements of her peers
1 BLUE
Aliyah K – Stewardship – For looking after the classroom environment
Leonardo C – Compassion – For being kind to his classmates
2 GREEN
Layla B – Doing Your Best – For presenting a detailed poster on push and pull forces
Ofa D – Faith – For thoughtful answers about how we can all be a sign of God’s love in our world
2 GOLD
Islah E – Compassion – For always being kind and respectful with your peers and teachers
Leon D – Doing Your Best – For his positive attitude towards learning new skills
2 BLUE
Max B – Doing Your Best – For your determination when solving subtraction problems using the Jump Strategy
Antonia F – Doing your Best – For the excellent effort put into completing all homework tasks
Ashton C – Leadership – For reverently leading the class through meditation each day
Home Reading
Should the books be easy or difficult? - The books that children bring home to read, should be at a slightly lower level than what they are reading in the classroom. It is meant to be an enjoyable experience for both parents and their children. Not stressful!
If your child is getting stuck on every second word, then the book is too hard for them. This can get frustrating for both you and your child which is not setting them up for a positive experience.
Make it Routine - Find a quiet, comfortable spot that is the go-to reading spot with your child. If you have other children, this can be tricky, I know! It’s about finding the right time for you and your child. Whether it be just before they go to bed, or first thing in the morning. Do what works for you!
Ease Into The Book - Get your child thinking about what the book might be about by asking some questions before you start reading. Here are some examples of what you could ask:
- What do you think this book is about? Why?
- Do you think this is a story or a fact book? Why?
- Can you read the title? Does this give you some more clues?
- What can you notice about the picture on the front of the book?
Don’t Tell Them, Guide Them - If you tell your child every word they get stuck on, they won’t learn to use the reading strategies they are learning at school and will expect you to tell them every time. This isn’t going to help them to develop and grow as readers.
Here are some basic reading strategies you can use with your child:
- Can you use the picture to help?
- Stretch out the word – so for the word shouted – ‘sh-ou-ted’.
- Can you see chunks in the word, or smaller words in a larger word – so for shouted – ‘shout’, or ‘out’.
- Can you sound out the word?
- Get them to read to the end of the sentence for further clues. What would make sense?
- Get them to work out the first sound of the word and get their mouth ready for the word.
Make it Enjoyable! - Reading is meant to be a fun enjoyable time with your child.
If you are getting frustrated with them, this will rub off on them. If they are finding it hard or they are too tired – read a page each. Get them to follow along with you and make silly mistakes! Your children will love correcting you. Put on some silly glasses and read the book together!
Comprehension is Important - When they have finished reading the book. Ask a few questions to check for comprehension.
Your child’s comprehension is a vital component of them learning to read. Getting into the habit of asking some questions at the end will help your child with their comprehension skills.
They don’t have to be difficult questions, here are a few that you may like to ask:
- What was your favourite part of the book and why?
- How did you feel when you read that story?
- What did you learn from this story?
- What was the problem in the story?
- Which character did you like and why?
If you have any questions about your child’s reading, please speak to the classroom teacher.
Mrs Lillian Del Giudice
Assistant Principal
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating their birthday this week:No Gold Stars this week, let’s see if we can try to remember our Library bags for our next lesson.
Tomorrow, Thursday, is Year One.
Next week:
Tuesday - Year 3
Wednesday ** KINDER - change due to Cross Country for Primary classes
Thursday - Year 2
Friday - Year 4
Because each class only borrows fortnightly, any student who finishes their books and would like to borrow in between lessons is welcome to bring their Library bag and come to the Library at Lunch 2 on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. They can return the books they have finished and choose some new ones!
Scholastic Book Club: Thank you to all those people supporting this program, orders will close this Friday 19th March. Please make sure you choose the correct class for your child – every class is registered. Thank you again for your generous support.
Premiers' Reading Challenge: User names and passwords for login will be sent out next week if you requested it for your child in Kinder or Year One. Remember to look online at oliver.dow.catholic.edu.au/miev for the PRC books in our Library, or in the Eagle Vale or Campbelltown libraries for books with the PRC stickers. If the students are reading books from home, you can check to see if those titles are on the list. If the book is not on the list, each participant is allowed five free-choice books. Check the website https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html
Daily reading: It is important for your children to see you reading too – they always love to imitate their parents. Even ten minutes a day is invaluable.
"I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers. To become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn't be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage."
Roald Dahl
Happy reading!
Mrs Susan Bryant - Teacher Librarian
