Principal's Report

Dear Parents

The Very First

Christmas Day

His parents had no money, although He was a King -

An angel came to Joseph one night as he dreamed.

“Don’t be afraid to marry her, this child is God’s own Son,”

And with these words from God’s messenger, their journey had begun.

They travelled to the city, their taxes to be paid-

But when Christ was born they found no place for the baby to be laid.

So they wrapped Him up and used a lowly manger for His bed,

With nothing else but straw to place beneath the Christ-child’s head.

The shepherds came to worship Him, the wise men travelled too—Led by a star up in the sky, they found the baby new.

They gave him gifts so wondrous, their incense, myrrh, and gold,

Thus completes the greatest story of a birth ‘twas ever told.

He was just a tiny baby, born in a stable far away—

They had no reservations, and no where else to stay.

But His birth was so majestic, in a simple sort of way,

A baby born in Bethlehem, on the very first Christmas Day.

Christmas has always been a very special time when families gather. We celebrate joyfully in seeing family and friends that we have not seen for a long time. We often travel long distances to be with people who are very special to us. We all have many wonderful memories of Christmas. Children, especially, remember the gifts they have received. Many of our family traditions are linked to what happened so many years ago in a stable in Bethlehem.

I would like to thank everyone - staff, students and parents for their help on Tuesday night. The Christmas Concert was a huge success and the children shone! Thank you once again to Nicole Boddy, and all the staff for coordinating the evening and making it such a huge success.

We wish all staff, students and parents a very safe, happy and holy Christmas. Thank you to one and all for all your efforts and support throughout the year.

To the departing staff members and families, thank you once again for all that you have given to Infant Jesus School and we wish you happiness and prosperity and hope that you will always remember your time at this school and your lives are filled with rewards.

To our Year 6 students, we hope that the faith and values you have been taught at Infant Jesus School will always be part of your daily lives and wish you God’s guidance and happiness. Best of luck in high school.

I hope all families enjoy the time they have together over this Christmas break and pray that each and every member of the community returns safely in 2018.

Merry Christmas and God Bless

YEAR SIX GRADUATION

Tomorrow the Year Six students will celebrate the end of their primary school education with an Assembly and Graduation Mass. The Assembly will commence at 9.00am and all students from Year One to Year Six will be attending. The Graduation & Thanksgiving Mass will commence at 11.00am in the Infant Jesus Parish Church. This is a very significant occasion for the Year Six students and we invite everyone in the school community to keep our Year Six students in their prayers.

Noah Ashton Alex Bao

Alexander Barker Thomas Bettles

Jackson Bogaers Imogen Bowran

Adrian Brown Troy Buckley

Massimo Cecchele-Jones Alessio Colli

Cassidy Doudakis Elizabeth Farnfield

Layla Firns Liam Gaston

Daniel Gianatti Ethan Gonsalves

Akiena Gunawardene Sasha Haigney

Raphael Ho Anthony Huang

Xander Intervencion Amanda Joseph

Ella King Jonathon Le Goueff

Arcangelo Mammone Emily Morgan

Cronan Mulvey Brian Nguyen

Derek Nguyen Mitchell O'Bryan

Jiada Olivieri Katia Panicciari

Lucas Pelle Kasey Pham

Tin Pham Julian Pinneri

Hayley Placzek Claire Prestianni

Isla Reynolds Cristobal Rivera

Jayden Rodrigues Gianni Romeo

Leah Rossi Isaiah Roussety

Declan Ryan James Sammells

Vincent Sciullo Arpita Sharma

Jonas Sim Helena Sparks

Sasha Stepanko Xavier Teo

Sophia Terranova Bayleigh Tonkin

Nyobi Viheriakoski-Barras Jed Williams

Matthew Wilson Alfred Yip

STUDENT REPORTS

Semester Two student reports were distributed to all students yesterday. Parents are reminded that this report is a summary of what has been achieved throughout the second semester of 2017.

Students can be commended for their efforts throughout the semester and we thank the parents who have supported us by ensuring that students are continuing in their learning and development as a whole person.

I encourage parents to take the time to discuss the Semester Two Report with their child/children and, if there are areas of concern, to make an appointment to see the class teacher.

THREE-YEAR OLD PROGRAM 2018

A reminder to our Pre-Kindy parents that there will be a Parent Meeting on Thursday 1 February at 9.30am in the school Library. All parents of all children attending the Three-Year-Old Kindergarten Program in 2018 are encouraged to attend.

BEFORE SCHOOL CARE - OSH CLUB

We have quite a few students who arrive at school extremely early each day, some as early as 7.30am. There is limited supervision of children at this time as staff are only ar

Prayer for the Week

Jesus,

the Light of the World,

as we celebrate your birth . . . .

may we begin to see the world

in the light of the understanding you give us.

As you chose the lowly,

the outcasts,

and the poor to receive the greatest news the world had ever known, so may we worship you in meekness of heart.

May we also remember our brothers and sisters less fortunate than ourselves in this season of giving.

Amen.

A Christmas Reflection

… If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep... you are richer than 75% of this world

… If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace... you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

… If you woke up this morning with good health you are more fortunate than the million who will not survive this week.

… If you have never experienced the danger of battle unfolding all around you, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

… If you can attend a church meeting without fear of persecution, harassment, arrest, torture, or death... you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

… If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Author Unknown

Did You Know?

US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world's presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second.
ALTHOUGH now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
HANGING stockings out comes from the Dutch custom of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas's donkeys. He would leave small gifts in return.
BEFORE turkey, the traditional Christmas meal in England was a pig's head and mustard.
THE first commercial Christmas cards were commissioned by civil servant Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843. Featuring a family drinking wine, one sold for #8,469 last year.

Thought for the Week

"Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness.

To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart.

To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect."

-- Oren Arnold

May the Blessing of Christmas be with you and

your family this Christmas

#ExpectGreatThings