Week 1 Term 1 2023

Dear Families and Friends,

Welcome to the 2023 school year!  I am extremely excited and proud to be Acting Principal of IHM in 2023.  I love the strong sense of community we have created for our students, families and staff. 

It has been a fantastic start to the year with all children and classes being settled, positive and already establishing their routines and expectations for learning.  The children all look well-presented and are so happy!  Thank you to all parents for ensuring your child is here on time, ready to learn and in correct uniform. 

I love the start of a new year because for children parents and teachers the start of the year brings with it a sense of freshness, a sense of hope, optimism, excitement, a desire for improvement and new possibilities.  We are in for a great year at IHM and I look forward to watching everyone grow and flourish in this our Year of Connectedness. 

Parent Information Booklet 2023

Knowing our school expectations, routines and procedures is important to belonging, forming a basis for clear communication and respectful relationships.  Today you will receive the 2023 Parent Information Booklet which outlines who we are, what we do and how we work together.  I encourage you to read through the booklet and keep it handy for reference throughout the year. If you have not received a booklet by the end of Week 1, please ask at the office or you can access it from our website.

New Students and Families

A very special welcome to those of you who are new to our community, we hope you get to know everyone quickly and soon feel like IHM is ‘home’. 

We welcome 24 new students at IHM this year; we have a lovely, curious and creative group of new Receptions taking that very ‘big’ step in their school life.  We also have a number of older students beginning their learning journey at IHM.  We hope that you will experience the vitality, warmth and joy of IHM. 

Hendrix A
Jarrad B
Albert D
Willow D
Maya M
Luka E
Ian J
Ross K
Oliver L
Archer T
Amelia H
Matilda P
Florence P
Jeremy J
Sidney L
Jasper L
Luc P
Angus T
Clara C
Finley G
Aarav J
Clara E
Angus C
Karein D

2023 Staff

We welcome several new staff to join the excellent IHM community in 2023.  We warmly welcome Isaac Landolfi as 5/6 teacher, Lucy Mayne as STEM Teacher, Astrid Powell as PE and Visual Arts Teacher, Tom Pearce and Carla Landolfi as Education Support Officers and Paula Clark as Assistant Principal.

As it is always good to connect the name to the face, for your information, photos of staff members are included in this newsletter.  Our staff are very friendly, dedicated and skilled and they value parent and community relationships highly, so don’t hesitate to say hello or come to speak with us. 

Parent-Teacher Book-a-Chat

In the next few weeks all teachers will be holding ‘Book-a-Chat’ sessions where we invite parents to book a ‘chat time’ with class teachers.  The purpose is to meet and share your expectations and hopes along with your child’s strengths, unique qualities and learning needs.  An invitation notice about this has been sent home this week. 

Also please save the date for our Welcome Wine and Cheese Night and Parent Forum on Wednesday 8^th March. 

More information on all these will come to you as the weeks unfold, so stay tuned!

Annette Diassinas
ACTING PRINCIPAL

Welcome

Welcome back to Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the 2023 school year. I hope you all had an enjoyable break with your families and friends.

My name is Paula Clark, and I am the acting APRIM (Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission) and Inclusive Education Coordinator for this year. I am really excited about joining the IHM School Community and I am looking forward to getting to know all students and their families throughout the year.

I come to IHM having held the position of APRIM and Inclusive Education Teacher at Stella Maris Parish School for the past two years. Prior to this I was APRIM and Reading Recovery Teacher at St Joseph’s School in Clare for 9 years, taught at Caritas College, Port August for a year and at Our Lady of the River, Berri for 7 years.

If you see me out in the yard, please come and introduce yourselves as I would love to get to know you all. 

Heart Spirituality – Connectedness

At IHM, we are inspired by Jesus through the story and charism of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

In 1951, the school began under the leadership of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH). Since then, we have carried the Heart Spirituality as a central part of our Catholic Identity.

Our Charism is that of Heart Spirituality – ‘We are God’s Heart, here on earth’. We have five pillars which help to enliven our Heart Spirituality and which also assist us to make sense of the ‘Jesus Story’ in a contemporary and meaningful way. The pillars are; Love, Hope, Justice, Connectedness and Inclusivity. Each year we focus closely on one of these pillars.   

In 2023 we celebrate our Pillar of Connectedness. Our linked scripture for this pillar calls us to:

“Live in harmony with one another.” (Romans 12:16)

The message is about choosing to live harmoniously with others, through the kindness we show and embracing the different connections that surround us, whether it is from our families, friends or from something that simply inspires us to be better and to want more for ourselves, others and our world. By building and deepening our connections through the love we have in our hearts and the love that surrounds us, this helps us to be the best person we can be. We strive to live in harmony every day at IHM.

In future newsletters I will share with families more information about how this pillar can be lived out both here at school and at home.

Missioning Mass

On Sunday February 12 at 9.00am our school is having our Missioning Mass at Sacred Heart Church, 252 Port Road, Hindmarsh. This mass is being celebrated to commission the work that our Student Leaders, our School Staff and our School Board representatives will undertake this year on behalf of our IHM School Community. It also provides a fantastic opportunity to continue to strengthen our school and Parish relationship.

Our House Leaders, P&F, and Board Members are encouraged to attend.  An invitation is also extended to all families to join us for this important mass.

Sacramental Program

The parent information session for all sacraments will be held on Tuesday February 14, 6.30pm at St Michaels College Primary Gym, 78 East Avenue, Beverley.  The registration period for the Sacramental Program closes on Friday February 24, 2023.  The Sacramental Program begins this term with Reconciliation.

Please feel free to see me or email me at pclark@ihm.catholic.edu.au if you would like your child/children to participate in the program.

Wipe Out Waste – Caring for Our Common Home

At IHM we place the utmost importance on being Stewards of God’s Creation, meaning we must look after the wonderful world in which we live.  We try and do this in many ways here at IHM and always seek the help of our families in supporting to reduce waste in our school and world. 

To help reduce waste in our yard we ask families pack Nude Food where possible. See the image of things to pack and avoid.

In 2022 we were collecting bottle tops to be recycled for Lids4Kids.  Due to the amazing support of our families, we are continuing these efforts in 2023 and your child/children can bring these items to their class for recycling. 

Have a happy fortnight.

God Bless,

Paula Clark
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL – RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND MISSION

COVID-19 continues to affect the community and we all have a part to play in keeping our school community safe and minimizing the disruption to learning that can occur when illness circulates at school. 

Therefore: 

• If your child/children are unwell they should stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms and get tested for COVID-19.  
• If your child/children have COVID-19, please advise our school as soon as possible, and have them stay at home until all acute symptoms (runny nose, sore throat, cough and fever) have cleared. 

Thank you for supporting our school community and keeping each other safe.  

This year Swimming Lessons for students in Reception to Year 5 will take place from Monday 13th – Friday 17th February (Week 3) at The Parks Recreation and Sports Centre. Information and consent forms will be sent home next week and will need to be completed and returned to school by Friday10th February.

Welcome to 2023!

The past few years have seen a decrease in our social events and this year we are planning on recommending some of them.  

• Welcome Dinner for the R/1 community, save the date Friday 17th February 2023 at Plant 4, further details to come.
• Breakfast Club is back every Wednesday, starting 8th February 8:30am - 8:45am children can enjoy some cereal, canned fruit and toast before school starts.
• The P & F committee is always looking for new members, we meet once a term at the school in the evenings.  If you would like some further information please let Julie know and one of the P & F members will be in touch.

Looking forward to a great 2023.

Best wishes,
Belinda and Cindy
P & F CO-CHAIRS

• Our Chess Club will recommence next TUESDAY 7th FEBRUARY.
• It is held after school in the STEM room from 3:10 - 4:00pm.
• Bookings are made online at http://www.chessmates.com.au/schools.
• Students that attended in 2022 will need to re-register for this year.