Principal's Report

Welcome Back

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the start of another school term. I hope all families were able to spend some time together over the two-week break and stay warm and dry. It was very pleasing to see all children returning to school happy, enthusiastic and revitalised. Let’s hope this attitude continues throughout the term. No doubt, the children were eager to return to school to catch up with friends. Mums and dads were probably just as keen!

As we have just returned from the winter holidays I have been reflecting on the fact that teachers are often ‘teased’ for their numerous holidays. However, as most of you would know, or perhaps even expect, teachers spend a great deal of their down time engaged in their work of preparation, research and learning, either at home or on site.

Teaching is a very complex activity and in recent years this complexity has increased. Schools were established in the Industrial Age to prepare young people for manual labour on farms and in factories. The learning was a ‘one size fits all’ model.

Today we live in a ‘knowledge age’ where technologies link people together in very different ways. Our challenge in the 21st century is to personalise the learning for each student. One size no longer fits everyone. Research indicates that high quality student outcomes result if learning is focused on intellectual work that is challenging, where quality learning environments are provided and when students understand that their learning matters.

The teachers at Infant Jesus School regularly engage in educational conversations and professional learning to enhance their capacity to provide quality learning and teaching. They are to be commended for the time and energy they give to their work and to updating their professional knowledge. Teachers spend a great deal of time outside school hours reflecting on their teaching, undertaking professional learning and reading current educational research literature. The reason these activities are so important is that teachers are committed to enhancing their practice to improve the learning outcomes for each student at our school.

As we begin a new semester, I encourage all students to continue to work hard over the term, consistently applying themselves to their studies and taking pride in ‘their school’ and their endeavours. I believe that education is a partnership and effective communication is important. Research shows, that when schools and parents work closely together children are more likely to be successful. It is important that teachers and parents continue to work together to ensure the best outcomes for the students at our school.

SACRAMENT OF FIRST EUCHARIST

This weekend we commence our Sacrament of First Eucharist program with the various enrolment masses and I thought the following article may be of interest to our school community.

The highlight of the Pope’s visit to any country is the celebration of an open-air Mass. Of the Mass the celebration of the Eucharist, the Pope writes: “In the Eucharist we have Jesus, we have His sacrifice, we have His resurrection, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit and His love of the Father. In the humble signs of bread and wine changed into His Body and Blood, Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey and enables us to become witnesses of hope” .

In modern language, Christ says to us at every Mass: “Here I am, poured out in love for you. Take Me; I’m one with you.” In the year 413, St Augustine wrote that the Mass was about three things: goodness, unity and charity. Augustine taught that if we were not better people working for unity and loving each other once away from the Eucharist, then, the Mass fails to achieve its purpose.

The God who comes to us at every Eucharist as real food, is the same God who asks: “When I was hungry, did you feed me?” Just as God feeds us, so we too, should feed each other. We should link the reception of the bread of life in the Eucharist at Mass with the giving of bread away from the Mass. In other words is the Eucharist for Sundays only or does the Eucharist live through the actions and deeds of our daily lives?

As we prepare to watch our children receive Communion we are thrilled by the beauty and simplicity of their belief in who it is they are receiving. However, as we progress through life, the routine of Mass and the Eucharist can dull our spiritual senses. Mass might have lost its relevance for us and so we might no longer attend. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to guard against such a situation occurring.

For the Mass and the Eucharist to be life-giving for us as Christian people, we need to give them our total attention. Our hearts and minds need to be fully open to Christ living in us, to us assuming the mind of Christ and taking Christ’s values with us into our daily lives. Then the Eucharist can change us into people who are good, unifying and loving; then Christ can walk beside us as our strength and our food for the journey and enable us to become witnesses of hope.

POWER OF ONE

We believe that the staff at Infant Jesus School are not only dedicated, innovative and professional but are also people who like to make a difference. The Power of One initiative is a new opportunity for staff to give voluntarily to integrate the principles of Catholic social teaching into practical experiences of service to others in society by sharing their time, expertise and passions with the community.

Staff have lived out Christian Witness this year by giving of their own time and assisting at the parish, running prayer groups, cooking for those in need, organising before and after school activities, assisting in sacramental program and more.

The initiative will continue in the second semester with staff volunteering in various ways. Through this program we hope that this in turn inspires our children and others in the community to serve others, assist when they see a need and share their gifts and passions with others.

WELCOME

We welcome to the Infant Jesus School Community:

• Mrs Christine Padua who will be Teaching the students in Year

1 White

• Miss Leesa Hermans who will be teaching the students in Year

6 Blue and Year 3 White

PERFORMING ARTS

Tomorrow morning Infant Jesus Parish will host the Opening Mass for the 2017 Catholic Schools Performing Arts Festival. Schools from across Catholic Education will join together to celebrate the Eucharist. Infant Jesus School will be represented by two of our Year Six leaders.

Over the next five weeks students from Infant Jesus School will participate in the Catholic Schools Performing Arts Festival. Children will represent the school in the Choral (School Choir) and in the Liturgical sections of the festival. The festival incorporates students from Catholic schools around the state. It is a time of great excitement for our budding musicians as they will assuredly share their hard work and prowess, through voice or upon dedicated instruments, with the wider community.

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the new Infant Jesus Church. Fr Sunny and the assistant priests, along with the Parish Council and the various active committees within the church are planning for a big celebration to recognise the occasion. Three bishops, including Archbishop Costelloe will be attending the Masses over the weekend of 26 & 27 August.

As you know, Saturday 19 August is an Infant Jesus School Family Mass. There will be a number of opportunities for our community to be involved, particularly as Friday 25 August is IJ Day!

Further information will be shared with the community closer to the event, but at this stage please mark the days in your calendar.

Infant Jesus Family

We pray for the following families who have had bereavements during the holidays:

The Nicoletto Family in the sad loss of their Mother and Grandmother Bernadette who recently passed away. Bernadette was a teacher at Infant Jesus School for many years and also an active member of the Parish. She will be missed by many.

The Hooper Family (Catie 5W) in the sudden loss of their Grandfather Ron Lakey who was often at Infant Jesus School helping out.

The Rozario Family (Ava 2B) in the sad loss of their beloved Grandmother who recently passed away suddenly and will be greatly missed.

The Monastra Family (Christian 5B) in the loss of their Grandfather whose funeral was last week.

The Andre Family (Chloe 3B) in the loss of their Grandfather who recently passed away.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon them may they rest in peace. Amen

CONGRATULATIONS

Blessings and congratulations to the Ferrara Family (Ava and Zak PKB1) as they welcome their little sister Zoe into their family.

SCHOOL PHOTO DAYS 31 July, 1 August

2017 SCHOOL PHOTOS INFORMATION

Our photographers for this year are Masters School Portraits. This year MSP are giving the schools the opportunity to go 100% online. Students will be issued with an online ordering instruction slip and unique student ordering code for parents to follow and place their orders online via the MSP website. To do this you have a "Shootkey" code on your information slip to use. No pre paid envelopes will be issued.

Forms for family portraits are available from the school office.

All children need to be dressed in the full winter uniform for their photo days.