Mary Immaculate Primary Newsletter

Term 3 Week 5: Monday 17th August 2020

Principal's Message

This week we continue to reach out to the people of Beirut. In our own community we are trying to enable people to channel their support. After discussions with our P&F we have set up a space for donated goods collection and distribution. In this newsletter details of a further option are presented for financial support through Maronites on Mission which has the approval of Bishop Vincent. Some families may prefer this method.

Tell Them From Me (TTFM) survey is currently completed by many of our families. This is vital information for our school. Please jump on the survey if you have not already done so. Even if you are completely happy with everything, it is important to have that validation of what is working well to make sure we continue to do the things that make us a great school.

We have a new addition to our uniform choices following on from the huge success of our new wheelie bags. Later this year you will be able to purchase a school jersey for your children. A sample of the jersey is modelled by two of our wonderful school leaders. The pandemic pushed the timing back for this by around six months sadly. More details will follow.

Thank you again for your support of an afternoon especially during dismissal time in maintaining social distancing and our staggered times.

Stephen Dowd

Principal

Religious Education

It has been an amazing few weeks in Religious Education. In Stages 2 (Year 3 and 4) and 3 (Years 5 and 6) we have begun our Learning Cycles for the Draft New Curriculum. We hope to share some of our learning journey in the coming newsletters.

Please have a look at our Mary Immaculate Facebook page for the Mary Mackillop Award Album. Photos of our Mary Mackillop Award recipients have been uploaded. Congratulations to each of these students for “Never seeing a need without doing something about it!”. They truly are the “Head, Heart and Hands” of Christ in our world today!

A huge thank you to Father Oliver who was able to spend some time with our Year 1 students learning about the Sacrament of Baptism. It was a fantastic experience for our Year 1 learners who were able to interact with the symbols and rituals used in Baptism and of course listen to the expertise of Father Oliver. We are so lucky to have such strong ties to our Parish Priest, Church and community.

Congratulations to our Year 3 students who made their First Reconciliation last week! We were able to get a group photo of most of the candidates at the Church today, which unfortunately was not possible on either of the nights. Please see the photo below.

Lastly another thank you goes to our wonderful P & F who have organised how our MIPS community can support the victims of the Lebanon disaster. Please see the SkoolBag App message and flyer below to be an active part of helping our fellow “neighbours” in times of need.

Yours in faith,

Mrs. Helen Moore

Religious Education Coordinator

Learning at MIPS

Peer Support Week 5

This week in the Peer Support session, children will be focusing on the importance of support networks and the role that friends play in each others lives. Children will construct a visual representation of this during the session.

Encourage your child to identify friends they have who can provide support to them if the need arises.

Mrs Kylie Behrens and Miss Rowena Benjamin 

PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE FINISHES AUGUST 28th!

New books have been added to the booklist! Visit the Booklists page to check out the 107 new titles you can add to your reading record as part of the Challenge, and don't forget to enter your reading record by Friday August 28 (Week 6). If you need help with completing your reading record, please see your teacher, or Kylie Behrens on kbehrens@parra.catholic,edu.au. 

A reminder for all K-2 parents- All students will have their reading log updated by their classroom teacher, as books have been read during class time. 

Happy reading!

Mrs Kylie Behrens

2020 Book Week

Each year since 1945, the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week! During this time, our school and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. 

This year, Book Week will be celebrated in Term 4, Week 2, from 17th-23rd October. We are looking forward to celebrating the joy of reading with the students at MIPS!

Mrs Belcastro and Mrs Behrens 

Reading Recovery Graduates

It is with great pleasure that we congratulate the following Year 1 students for their incredible achievements in the Reading Recovery Program. They have worked very hard to graduate from the program.

Congratulations to:

Isaac D, Saabdeep K, Indie C and Ava K.

Happy reading!

Mrs Francis and Mrs Cooper

Upcoming Dates

Thursday, 20th August 2020Cut off for Beirut goods donations
Friday, 4th September 2020P&F Father's Day Stall

Latest News

2020 P&F Father's Day Stall - Friday 4th September

To purchase your gift(s) please click on this link.

https://www.trybooking.com/BKZPS

CEDP SPORT UPDATE

Unfortunately all Primary Gala Days scheduled for Term 3 have been cancelled.

2020 School Fees

You should have received a copy of your 2020 statement by now, if not, please contact the school office.

If you would like to organise a flexible payment plan for 2020 school fees please email Liz Padlan on imac-qkhlfees@parra.catholic.edu.au.

For those that have been financially impacted by COVID-19, please click on the following link for fee relief information: 

CEDP Fee Relief

The fee relief form can be completed online or downloaded as a PDF. If you are completing the paper document, please scan and email to cl@parra.catholic.edu.au (Community Liaison at CEDP). All information will remain strictly confidential.

Uniform Shop

Online orders and emails for exchanges are to be placed on the QKR App by 4:00pm Monday and Thursday.  Uniform orders and exchanges will be delivered to your child's classroom on Tuesday and Friday mornings during the school term. 

When exchanging items purchased from the uniform shop please send an email to elle@ozfashions.com.au prior to leaving the items at the school office in a bag labelled with your child's name and class. 

Please email all exchanges to elle@ozfashions.com.au.

All inquiries please contact Elle on 0421 216 414 or via email, elle@ozfashions.com.au.

School Canteen

Paula's Pantry is open Monday to Friday: before school from 8:25am, lunchtime and recess. 

Lunches can be ordered at the canteen in the morning before school or online via the QKR App. When ordering online please ensure you place your order before 8:30am. 

Due to health and safety regulations canteen staff are unable to heat up any food brought from home. 

Delicious homemade soup, served with a bread roll will be available for $4 on Monday and Tuesday during the chilly winter months. Please order at the canteen in the morning and soup will be ready to collect at lunch time. 

Monday: Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup 

Tuesday: Pumpkin Soup

Fruit Nuggets are currently out of stock. Please do not order online. 


ACARA Collection Student Background Data Notice

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) collects data from schools to determine the Index of Community Socio-educational Advantage (ICSEA). CEDP is currently working to provide relevant details to the Catholic Education Commission of NSW.  Data collected is de-identified of personal information.

Parents and caregivers must advise their school if they don’t want their child's data included in this report by 28 August 2020.

Copies of Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP) Standard Collection Notice and Privacy Policy can be obtained from the school office.

Community News

eSafety Webinars for Parents/Carers

At Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta (CEDP) we see parents and carers as partners in your child's learning journey. In partnership with the eSafety Commissioner, CEDP would like to invite you to join one of the following free webinars for parents and carers:

  • Helping Kids Thrive Online (5-12 yrs) - Thursday 20 August 2020, 12:00 -1.00 pm
  • Tech, teens and time online (secondary schools) - Monday 7 September 2020, 7.00 - 8.00 pm 

These live webinars explore the latest research and they are a great way to learn how you can help your child develop the skills to be safer online. All sessions are delivered by the eSafety Commission’s expert educators.

About the webinars

  • Helping kids thrive online: is a one hour live webinar suitable for parents and carers of young people aged  5-12 years old.
  • Tech, teens and time online: is a one hour live webinar suitable for parents and carers of young people aged 12-18 years old.

Both sessions will cover topics including:

  • ideas to start the chat about harmful content, contact with strangers and online bullying/harassment

  • strategies for addressing common digital parenting challenges

  • skills that young people need to protect themselves online

  • how to get help if things go wrong.

What you need to do

Please register for the course on the secondary site via the following link: 

If you have any further enquiries please email safeguarding@parra.catholic.edu.au.

Community Advertising

"Please understand we are happy to support local businesses and programmes. However, the following notices are supplied for community information.
This by no means surmounts to an endorsement by the school." (Principal, Mr Stephen Dowd)

Download the SkoolBag App

https://moqproducts.com.au/skoolbag/installation-instructions/

At Mary Immaculate we communicate with parents via the free Skoolbag app that is available from both the App Store and Google Play Store. Skoolbag can be installed on any iOS (iPad or iPhone) or Android device. Downloading the app means you immediately receive updates and reminders to your mobile phone or ipad. Remember to subscribe to your child's Year Group so that you will receive messages relevant to their year.  Instructions on how to download the Skoolbag App are available via this link.

Mary Immaculate Primary Quakers Hill