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Dear Parents / Caregivers,
Despite the last-minute change of venue, yesterday’s Cross Country was a wonderful example of what is possible when everyone works together for the common good. A huge ‘thank you’ to Mr Astill for his meticulous planning and organisation of this event. Thank you to the staff who epitomised the definition of ‘teamwork’. Thank you to all the members of our community who were able to join us as spectators to cheer on our students. Last but certainly not least, a huge ‘thank you and congratulations’ to our students, with a special mention for our Year 6 leaders, who were cooperative, energetic and supportive of others throughout the day.
Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian calendar. Just as a family will gather round on important occasions and tell and retell family stories, so too the Church keeps its ‘best stories’ for this most significant celebration. These are our family faith stories that shape our identity as Christians: they tell us where we have come from, who we are and where we are going according to God’s saving plan. Through class lessons the students at Mary Immaculate will come to know these stories. On Wednesday and Thursday, our Year 4 students will re-enact the events of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and help us to walk with Jesus on his way to Calvary. Through these reflections we are able in a simple way to share in the emotions experienced by the disciples at the foot washing and the sharing of bread. We can share the mixture of emotions that the disciples experienced when they witnessed the death of their friend. This week, that we call Holy Week, challenges us to enter into the experience of Jesus’ suffering. The theologian Karl Rahner suggested that we do this by bearing the burdens of our life with courage and without pretense. We can share by faith in the passion of Christ precisely by realising that our life, with all its joys and sorrows, is a participation in the same destiny Jesus also experienced. Holy Week is also about the ongoing passion of humankind.
For our Mary Immaculate Community, Easter is much more than just Easter eggs. During this week of passion—passionate suffering, passionate grace, passionate love and passionate forgiving - each of us is called to remember the Christ of Calvary and then to embrace and lighten the burden of the Christ whose passion continues to be experienced by the hungry, the poor, the sick, the homeless, the lonely, the rejected and the outcast. It is a time when the Christian story is an opportunity for us to reflect with hope for a positive future and a new beginning in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We would like to wish you all a safe, happy and meaningful Easter vacation and we look forward to working together in Term 2 as we continue to attempt to live out the Easter messages of faith, hope and love!
Let the messages of the Risen Christ continue to guide our way and our life.
Tina Murray
Principal
CANTEEN ONLINE ORDERING
We are excited to inform parents that an online ordering system for the canteen will be available in Week 2, Term 2.
Information including a Link and Log On will be provided to all families at the commencement of the term with planned implementation in Term 2.
Lunch 1 and Lunch 2 food over the counter will still be available but Lunch Orders will not. All Lunch Orders must be ordered On Line beginning Week 2 next Term.
IF YOU WISH TO HAVE A LOOK AT THE ONLINE ORDERING SITE TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH IT, THE LINK IS BELOW. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LOG IN UNTIL THE LOGIN DETAILS ARE PROVIED TO YOU IN WEEK 2 TERM 2.
PRACTISING LITERACY SKILLS DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
School holidays are all about relaxing, enjoying a well-earned break and having a good time with family and friends. School holidays can also be a great opportunity to practice literacy skills with your child. I have included suggestions for practical and fun activities for practising literacy skills during the holidays.
Oral Language (Talking and Listening)
During and after holiday activities, try some new and different ways that you can support your child’s language development:
- Ask them to recount a day out with details of ‘When’, ‘Who’, ‘Where’ and ‘What’.
- If you’re out and about in the car, or it’s a rainy day, try some of these games:
- Shopping List – ‘I went shopping and bought bread – milk – sugar’ and the child has to remember what has been said before.
- I Spy – modify by giving clues about what the item looks like and what you do with it rather than just saying the sound it starts with.
- Guess Who – make up some clues about a person using personality traits or what they look like and have them guess who it is.
- Celebrity Heads – ask your child to think of one of their favourite characters or celebrities and ask questions to uncover who it is.
- Charades: use actions and body language to describe a person, book, movie or activity.
- Play a ‘Barrier Game’ – place a barrier between you and your child and they must use language to make sure both sides of the barrier are the same. For example, your child draws a simple picture and then tells you how to make the same picture – you could also use block towers or bead patters to describe.
- Play games where your child has to listen to directions or answer questions.
- Try some oral sequencing activities – ask your child to order the steps needed to complete a routine activity such as bath time, getting dressed, a shopping trip, cleaning or cooking.
Reading
Encourage reading by making it fun and interesting for them:
- Pick an interesting book (fact or fiction) and read to your child every day – show by example, a love of reading.
- Read purposeful texts with your child (train timetables, movie guides, holiday brochures, recipes).
- Encourage a short 10-minute reading session every day to sit and read with your child.
- Revise sight words in a fun way – write them on cards and play games with them – memory, fish, snap, bingo, old maid and rummy (you need 2 sets of each word to play!)
- Visit the local Library to help your child find a type of book they enjoy.
Writing
Test out some creative ways for your child to practice their writing:
- Keep a holiday journal once a week (or more if you can manage it) with details of ‘When’, ‘Who’, ‘Where’ and ‘What’. Have your child draft it on scrap paper and then present it in a project book or type it on a computer. If they want, they could add in souvenirs (movie tickets, photos, trinkets).
- Write a joke book with your child – tell jokes to each other and write them down.
- Make a recipe book – cook with your child, talk about the recipes and put them in a book together.
- Write postcards to family and friends.
- For those children with a wild imagination this is the time to write long, glorious stories because there’s no bell for lunch to disrupt the flow of writing.
Spelling
Remember that there are fun games to help children practice their spelling:
- Play board games such as Scrabble (you can purchase modified versions for young children) and Up Words.
- Play Scattergories and Hangman with your child – the whole family can enjoy this too.
Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy spending time with each other.
Mrs Lillian Del Giudice
Assistant Principal
Project Compassion
“Aspire not to have more, but to be more.” – Saint Oscar Romero
We would like to thank you for your support with the Project Compassion Lenten Drive this year. We have currently raised just over $900.00. This money will be used by Caritas Australia to support those in our global community in desperate need of help.
Holy Week
This week we are extremely grateful to our Year 4 classes as they lead our Holy Week reflection.
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating their birthday this week and during the School Holidays:Congratulations to K Gold, 4 Blue and 5 Gold for earning Gold Stars this term - well done!! It’s great to see so many students making an effort to remember their Library bags! Keep up the good work. It is tricky when our lessons are fortnightly, but let’s hope next term we get into the rhythm of lessons and borrowing.
NEXT TERM
Week 1
Tuesday 20 April Year 3
Wednesday 21 April Year 5
Friday 23 April Year 4
Week 2
Monday 26 April Year 2
Tuesday 27 April Year 6
Wednesday 28 April Kinder
Thursday 29 April Year 1
Premiers' Reading Challenge: We have until August to read the required number of books, and holidays are the best time to catch up on our reading. Remember 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. Years 3 - 6 must read at least 15 from the lists and may read up to 5 personal choice books; Kindergarten – 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. The important thing is to keep reading!!
Daily Reading: Share with your children the titles of books you enjoyed as a child – they would love to know what you liked to read. Perhaps even encourage them to find these titles on our Library shelves.
"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
Happy reading!
Mrs Susan Bryant - Teacher Librarian
