Mary Immaculate Primary Newsletter

Term 3 Week 5: Monday 9th August 2021

Principal's Message

Dear Parents/Carers,

I returned to school onsite today confident that the school had been in tremendous hands over the last four weeks.

I am most appreciative of the great work carried out here by our staff led by Mrs Mizzi and Mr Maguire. How they have progressed learning opportunity for our students and families in this period of remote learning is exemplary. The learning from the previous remote learning period has been built on exponentially. Congratulations to all!

Tonight we are zooming with our parents and I am very much looking forward to that.

The details for the 7:30pm zoom are: https://parracatholic.zoom.us/j/63321582634?pwd=VmE2RkRQRFpmZ2ZjazZoWVlCaWMvdz09

Password: 029565

Meeting ID: 633 2158 2634

It is great to be 'back with everyone' even if it is in this very different way. We will continue to explore how we can make the most of available opportunities for our students and community.

With appreciaton for your ongoing support, 

Stephen Dowd

Principal

Assistant Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope that you have had a safe and relaxing weekend. As we enter the seventh week of lockdown it is important to celebrate the wonderful work that the students of MIPS have been doing over the past four weeks of remote learning.

 We are witnessing our students challenge themselves in a number of areas of the curriculum. The quality of work being produced is a true testament to the wonderful abilities of our learners. The children are constantly displaying their skills in being assessment capable learners fostering their independence and their ability to direct their own learning. We will of course continue to provide meaningful learning opportunities.

 Last week our students participated in dance classes. It was amazing to see a hundred or so students on the Zoom at the one-time showcasing their dance moves! These classes will be run on a weekly basis, we encourage all children to take part. It is important that the students remain active and not just sit at their screens all day.

We look forward to seeing you on the various Zooms and pray that we are able to come together once again on the school site sooner rather than later. 

Thank you for your ongoing support in keeping our community safe.

Sharon Mizzi

Assistant Principal

Learning at MIPS

Premier’s Reading Challenge- extended!

The Premier’s Reading Challenge has been extended for a further two weeks. Students now have up until Friday, 3rd September (Week 8) to have their Reading Logs completed, ready for validation.

New books have been added to the booklist! Visit the Booklists page to check out the new titles you can add to your reading record as part of the Challenge. There are tips for accessing books online from home also!

If you need help with completing your reading record, please see your teacher, or email Mrs Kylie Behrens  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/remote learning time.

Happy reading!

Mrs Kylie Behrens

Literacy Coordinator

Read-a-thon Raffle Tickets

MIPS Winter Holiday Readathon will continue throughout the Home Learning period!

For every hour of reading, 1 ticket may be entered into the lucky draw. Parents/Students are asked to tick a box every time your child reads for 15 minutes.

A box will be placed in each class for students to put their completed raffle tickets into once school resumes full time. The more your child reads, the more chances they have to enter and WIN!

Please download and print if your child needs extra tickets. 

Download

Upcoming Dates

Monday 9th August

 Parent 'check-in' session at 7:30pm

 https://parracatholic.zoom.us/j/63321582634?pwd=VmE2RkRQRFpmZ2ZjazZoWVlCaWMvdz09

Password: 029565

Meeting ID: 633 2158 2634

Community News

Blacktown City Council Council COVID Page

The following link is for the Blacktown City Council COVID page (which contains resources available to community members and groups):

https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/Services/Health-and-safety/Response-to-Coronavirus

 The latest Information can be found at:

 Stay at home https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/rules/what-you-can-do-nsw/affected-area

Get tested  https://www.wslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/covid-19-testing-available-in-western-sydney/covid-19-testing-in-western-sydney

Get vaccinated  https://www.wslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/COVID-19-Vaccination/covid-19-vaccination

Two help lines:

COVID-19 NSW Health hotline: 1800 020 080.

Blacktown Mayoral COVID-19 Helpline – 9839 5151

 Regards

Claire

 Claire Simmonds Community Development Officer (Youth)

0456 245 489Claire.Simmonds@blacktown.nsw.gov.auPO Box 63 Blacktown NSW 2148blacktown.nsw.gov.au

Keeping families and children well – COVID-19 Bulletin Issue 41: Thursday 5th August 2021

Please click here to find the latest COVID-19 bulletin from the western Sydney Munch & Move and Live Life Well @ School teams. 

Kind regards,

The Healthy Children team

Western Sydney Local Health District

Hands up if you’ve heard your child say “I’m hunnnngry...” or “What can I eat?” more than once today? For some, extra time at home can lead to boredom eating and eating outside of the usual meal times. Kids need good nutrition for healthy growth and brain development. Here are some quick and easy healthy snacks for your home pantry: 

  • Baked beans on toast 
  • Hummus and carrot sticks 
  • Banana
  • Boiled egg
  • Plain popcorn 
  • Wholegrain rice crackers & cheese

More ideas here: https://tinyurl.com/smartsnackswaps

Did you know something as simple and fun as ‘play’ provides many health benefits?

Play can relieve stress, boost learning, connect you to others, and also make your work more productive and enjoyable.

Why not build some play into your day, and get the family active at home?

Here’s an easy game to get started:

Do you remember “Stuck in the mud”? You can play this indoors or in your yard.

Nominate a “tagger”, who chases the other players. When a player is “tagged”, they become “stuck in the mud”! They can’t move and must stand with their legs and arms apart.

The only way to be freed from the “mud” is for a non-tagged player to crawl between their legs. And then the chasing continues!

A great way to work up your heart rate and have some family fun.

Discover more ideas to keep the family active at home with fitness classes, active play, yoga and dance here – take a look! 

https://tinyurl.com/familiesactive

Parent Webinars

Mary Immaculate Catholic Parish's Message

CONFIRMATION REGISTRATION 2021

The Sacrament of Confirmation will be administered in Mary Immaculate Parish when it is safe to do so in 2021. 

Children from grade 5 and older who have been Baptized and received the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion are eligible to receive their Confirmation.

You will need to attach a copy of your child’s Baptism and First Holy Communion Certificates to your registration form unless your child received Baptism or First Eucharist from Mary Immaculate Quakers Hill.

Registration for the Sacrament of Confirmation  will close on 16th August 2021. 

Online preparation classes for Confirmation 2021: TBA.

Please visit the Parish website to register for Confirmation.

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.

Please refer to instructions provided by Skoolbag if you have changed your email address, so to ensure you still receive skoolbag notifications.

Mary Immaculate Primary Quakers Hill