Mary Immaculate Primary Newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers,

Tomorrow school will be open and we will be keeping the students in all day due to concerns around air quality.

We have postponed the Year 5 camp scheduled for this week and are looking into securing an alternative time for this important experience.

Earlier today we gathered for a very moving Remembrance ceremony. We heard stories of selfless acts and courage of our diggers at war and of the heroics as well of our female service people. 

Our thoughts today are for all those affected by the current bushfires as well as the ongoing drought. At such a time we can easily make the link between their courage and that of the firefighters who generously put themselves in harms way to protect life and property. This morning during the ceremony, I thought of ‘gratitude’. I thought of the need for us as adults to teach and model gratitude. When you gather with your loved ones this evening to share a meal, do so in gratitude for all those who made and continue to make our country, our community a safe and bounteous place. 

We often write about learning in the newsletter. I invite all families to learn about and to learn from the people in our lives and our history to whom we should be forever grateful.

With appreciation of your ongoing support,

Stephen Dowd, Principal

Our Staff Development Day this term is on Friday in week 7. The agenda for this Staff Development Day will be on Religious Education - Learning and Formation. We have progressed significantly over recent years in the implementation of our Inquiry Learning platform. This day will be integral in the culmination of this work and our preparations for 2020 and beyond. Please mark this date in your diaries as this is a pupil free day, there will be no classes. COSHC will be open for the Pupil Free Day on Friday, 29th November from 6:30am - 6:30pm. Forms are available at COSHC, please feel free to contact Courtney on 0417 203 333.

For the beginning of 2020, we will again be having Mathematics Assessment Interviews (MAIs) for Years K to 6 over the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of Week 1, ie. 28th, 29th and 30th January. Kindy ONLY will also be assessed on Friday, 31st January 2020.

This means that Years 1 to 6 will commence classes on Friday, 31st January 2020 and Kindergarten will commence classes on Monday, 3rd February 2020.

All school fees for 2019 should now be complete unless you are on an extended payment plan. If you are not on a payment plan, fees must be finalised by Wednesday, 20th November 2019.

If you have any queries please contact Liz Padlan in the school office on 02 9933 7800 or via email: imac-qkhlfees@parra.catholic.edu.au.

Payments can be made via the internet using your BPay reference code or over the phone.

Thank you to all the families who have finalised their accounts.

Mary Immaculate Primary School

125 Barnier Drive, Quakers Hill

Tenders are called for the School Canteen Licence commencing Term 1, 2020, for a term of one year (option to renew for a further 1 year).  The school is a K-6 co-educational primary school of 650 students and 55 staff.

Please register and download the tender from Tenderlink.

The Tenderlink address is provided below. 

https://www.tenderlink.com/parracatholic/

Tender closing date is Thursday, 21 November 2019 at 3:00pm.

We are fortunate to have a carpark for Mary Immaculate Primary.

Parents are reminded that all cars need to be parked in marked spaces only. This allows for the safe passage of other cars through the car park whilst also maximising the safety of all pedestrians, including all children, at all times. Please respect other members of the community by using the car park in a safe and respectful manner.

ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL

Supervision begins at 8:25am.

Children should not be left at school before this time.

A ‘kiss and drop’ zone operates in the morning if you do not wish to walk your child into school. Adults must stay in the car at all times if using the ‘kiss and drop’ zone. The children’s bags must be in the car with them to ensure they can exit quickly. At no time can a car be left unattended in the ‘kiss and drop’ zone. If you wish to walk your child into school, please drive up the ramp to the car park. Children take their bags to the classroom and then must go straight to the playground for supervision. No one is to remain in the building before school unless they have made a formal appointment with a staff member. If this is the case, you must sign in at the office. Parents who come down onto the playground are asked to stand to the side and allow their child to socialise with the other children on the playground. The perimeter gates are locked each morning. The Barnier Drive main gate entrance remains open during the day.

DEPARTURE FROM SCHOOL

School finishes at 3:20pm and we appreciate your efforts to pick up your child promptly at that time.

Supervision ceases at 3:40pm. The 'kiss and drop' zone does not operate in the afternoon. Parents/caregivers are required to park in the top car park and collect children from the designated point outside the building. Please do not go into the building to collect children from classrooms. Please note, children are not allowed to walk to the car park and meet their parents. They must be collected from the teacher. The perimeter gates are closed after the last bus leaves in the afternoon. If there is an emergency and you are late to collect your child, please contact the school office. Children can become anxious when parents are late or they are unclear about their afternoon arrangements.
Students arriving before 8:25am or remaining at school after 3:30pm are required to be enrolled in COSHC. Students are not to be left outside the school main gate unsupervised. This is a child protection issue of grave concern.

Gymnastics Gala Day, Thurs 14th November, Rooty Hill

Touch Football Gala Day, Tue 10th December, Doyle Park, Parramatta

Swimming Carnival, Wed 11th December, Mount Druitt Pools

School travel application endorsements

It is not uncommon for applicants completing the online form to make mistakes, particularly entering their name or date of birth instead of the students. This may be due to an auto-fill function on a device or just human error. We ask that school administrators pay special attention to the information supplied by applicants which come through in the school portal. If the information supplied does not match your records or the student is not yet enrolled, please do not endorse the application. By selecting ‘no’ the application will be referred back to the applicant to correct and resubmit.

In the event that school administrators endorse in error, it would be appreciated if you could advise our SSTS team as soon as possible so the application can be intercepted before an Opal card or travel pass is issued.

To contact us about an endorsement error, please go to: https://transportnsw.info/contact-us/feedback/passes-concessions-feedback and select feedback about: ‘school student transport scheme’ and then select ‘application updates’.

If school administrators require access to the school portal to endorse student applications, please request an account at https://appln.transport.nsw.gov.au/portal/requests/account/school

If you have staff that have left the school recently and had access to the school portal, please let us know at https://transportnsw.info/contact-us/feedback/passes-concessions-feedback and select ‘school/operator portal’ and then ‘remove existing user access’ so their access can be removed.

Sydney Light Rail update

Enrolment applications are now open for Year 7 2021.

Enrolment applications must be submitted in person to the College office on weekdays between 9am and 3pm no later than Friday, 15th November 2019.

Prior to completing an enrolment application families should first read the enrolment instructions.

Please be aware that submitting an application and attending an interview does not guarantee placement.

If you have any questions please contact the school office on 02 9852 0500.

Catherine McAuley Westmead is now accepting enrolments for Year 7 2021. The closing date for Year 7 2021 applications 1st round offers is Friday, 27th March 2020.

Parents and their daughters have the opportunity to tour the school campus at one of our upcoming school tours specifically for Year 7 2021 applicants, but open to any year group. 

Tuesday 12th November and Thursday 5th December 2019, 9:15am – 11:00am

These mornings will provide parents and students with the opportunity to tour our school on a normal school day. You will be able to view our school grounds and facilities, go into classrooms and meet our students and teachers. Enrolment packs will be available on the day.

Contact our School Reception on 9849 9100 to book a place on a school tour.

Please note that following these tours there will be no other school tours held until our Open Afternoon in early March 2020 (date still to be confirmed).

We are very lucky to have a playgroup right here at Mary Immaculate Primary School! Our playgroup caters for children from 0-6 years of age.

Playgroup is a FUN way for you and your children to meet others, share and learn through play in an ideal environment through spontaneous unstructured play.

Playgroup NSW Community Playgroups are run by families for families, which means that they reflect the needs of the families in the community hence there are no paid workers, allowing the Playgroups to represent the needs and philosophies of the attending families.

Spontaneous unstructured play is a very important part of a child’s development. It allows them to increase their problem solving skills, develop their language and social skills by modelling other children and adults, develop an understanding of size, shape and texture, develop their imagination which is very important for healthy brain development, and master skills that will help develop self-confidence and the ability to recover quickly from setbacks.

If you would like to come for a visit please see our contact details below. 

Information about Mary Immaculate Playgroup