Mary Immaculate Primary Newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers and Students,

The support from our community has been tremendous as we work together to focus our collective energies on the welfare of our students and our wider school community. I want to thank everyone for uniting in the face of this significant current challenge. Like you, we are heeding the advice of those with the expertise to guide us in our operations moving forward. Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta has been incredibly supportive of our system of schools.

Our school will continue to be open, subject to any directive updates. Many of our families are choosing to keep their children at home at this time, following the direction from our state government. They are of course asking parents in general to keep their children home. Our teachers have been preparing for the continuation of their students' learning while at home. Much of the continued learning opportunities for older students who remain at home will be available online. Our younger grades will tend to have more hands-on materials. Families of Kindergarten and Year 1 students can today collect their child's learning pack from their child's teacher and then tomorrow from the front office. Skoolbag will be used to update individual grades when the need arises. Students of Years 2 to 6 can log onto their online learning resources using any device and their school Google website as they do in class already. Parents should first refer to their children to be shown how they can already do this. We have trained the students in how to do this so be sure to allow your child to login just as they would at school.

We are providing continued learning opportunities for our students. Parents are to make decisions about how these are best used relative to the needs and abilities of their children. The school mimmac@parra.catholic.edu.au email account should be used if needed for general questions about student learning. We have set up another email account for parents to ask technical questions. MimmacTechHelp@parra.catholic.edu.au will be the email account to use if you require technical assistance. 

With appreciation for your ongoing support, 

Stephen Dowd

Principal

Recently, the students from Year 2 were experimenting with measuring objects using the balance scales. They investigated the need to have uniform units when comparing the weight of different objects. Year 2 discovered that to accurately measure, order and compare the weight of objects it is important to have a formal, consistent unit of measurement.

GoNoodle: Good Energy at Home is a free online resource for parents, caregivers, teachers, and kids. It offers free movement, yoga, and mindfulness videos, downloadable curricular activities, and off-screen home activities. These resources span a variety of abilities, interests, ages, and subjects. For more information and to sign up click on the link https://www.gonoodle.com/good-energy-at-home-kids-games-and-videos/ 

Breakfast

Mornings can be a busy time but starting the day right is important. A healthy breakfast can help your child learn and concentrate better throughout the day, reduce unhealthy snacking and provide nutrients for healthy growth and development.

Try these top tips for encouraging your kids to eat breakfast everyday:

-    wake your child up in plenty of time for school

-    agree to a few healthy brekky options that kids can choose from

-    eat breakfast with your kids

-    get ready for the morning by putting out plates, bowls and cutlery the night before

-    toast, cereal, fruit and yoghurt are quick and easy ideas

Congratulations to the children selected for the 2020 MIPS Maths Olympiad team from years 5 and 6. Last week we had our first training session. It certainly proved to be exciting and challenging!

 A statement from the ‘Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO);

‘Unfortunately with the uncertainty around the evolving COVID-19 situation, and the possibility of individual school closures, the APSMO Board has decided that Maths Olympiad 1 scheduled for Wednesday March 25 will be considered as a preparation paper.  If we are at school, this will still be run as an official test, however results for this contest will not be included in the overall score.’

On March 25th, Mrs Bond will still run this event as an official test as per the statement, however results for this contest will not be included in the overall score.

Families are children's first educators of Mathematics. Children's knowledge and confidence in understanding and using Mathematics can be supported through the rich experiences of everyday life. The ‘Numeracy @ Home’ website is a wonderful resource that has videos, tip sheets, a blog, and a facebook feed. If you are looking for ways to link Mathematics to real life situations at home this site is for you! Encourage,  explore, investigate and best of all, have conversations to promote the explanation of thinking and reasoning.