WELCOME BACK:
It really is great to be back! Our students and staff seem very rested and re-energised after the challenges of Term 1 and there has been a very smooth and calm start to the term. We are looking forward to a term with less COVID disruptions and a little more ‘predictability’. Term 2 is an important term for learning as we continue to ‘up the ante’ with curriculum coverage and assessment of learnt topics. Our teachers know the students well and there has been a great structure and routine set up. We will hit the ground running.
We welcome three new families to Stella this term. Willow (Yr 4), Lucy (Yr 4) and Dariyus (Yr 3) join us from other schools. We hope you and your family have a very positive and rewarding experience at Stella Maris. We also welcome back Ms Caitlin who will be taking on Jenna Coates’ Yr 2 ESO support role for the next 4 weeks while she is on her teaching prac experience at another school. Caitlin will also be back as Playgroup Co-ordinator this term. It is great to see Playgroup back in the Church hall as of tomorrow (Friday).
THE EASTER SEASON:
We are only part way through the “Easter Season”. As we spoke about at our Easter Liturgy on Wednesday, Easter, like Advent and Lent is actually a ‘season’ and not just one day. Easter goes for 50 days and in this time, we are encouraged to live as Easter people. People of joy, hope and love – bringing these qualities to all we encounter.
Year 5HM led us in unpacking the events of Easter Sunday. They told us about the initial disbelief of his disciples regarding Jesus’ resurrection on the 3rd day after his death. After Jesus ‘showed himself’ to them, they realised what he had been saying all along. It was a very joyous liturgy!
CAPABILITIES:
If I asked you what were the key things you wanted for your son or daughter at the end of their time at Stella Maris, what would you say? Would it be – for them to be a good person with a strong moral compass? Perhaps it would be around developing a strong love of learning? Possibly that they have good friends and are happy to come to school? I know these are certainly the things that I want as a parent of primary school aged children. I’m not sure ‘knowledge attainment’ – i.e how many states there are in Australia (although an important fact to know) would be chosen by many!
That is why at Stella Maris, we have a strong focus on the The Stella Person and The Stella Learner.
We want the Stella Person to espouse our school values and be Compassionate, Inclusive, Respectful and Courageous. We want them to live these values daily – in their interactions with others here at school, at home and in the community.
The Stella Learner is a person who builds their capabilities to become successful learners. Over the course of the last 18 months, we have spent time researching, examining, discussing and deliberating what we would identify as the ‘essential capabilities’ we want our students to focus on, develop and improve in during their time at Stella Maris. We have used local (CESA’s Key Capabilities) and National (Australian Curriculum General Capabilities) as well as International documents to help us get to a point where we have settled on ‘The Stella Capabilities’. At Stella Maris we want to develop students who are:
- Inspired by Faith
- Critical and Creative Thinkers
- Collaborative and Self-Aware
- Globally Minded
- Literate and Numerate
- Responsible Digital Citizens
- Ecologically Aware
We are now at the stage where we will be speaking more about these capabilities and the focus on them in our classroom and school. Like our Values, they will be known and lived by your children every day.
Over the next few newsletters, Lou Perry (Capabilities Leader) will be providing you with further information about ‘The Stella Learner’ and the ‘The Stella Capabilities’. Look out for her articles in coming newsletters.
MOTHER’S DAY – THANKS!
I want to extend a sincere Happy Mother’s Day to all of our Stella Mums for Sunday. I do hope that you get spoilt and feel a great sense of appreciation from your families. Certainly our house would not be what it is without ‘mum’.
I also want to send a big thanks and well done to a large band of Parents and Friends helpers who organised a hugely successful Mother’s Day stall this year. Thank you to those who helped prepare the gifts, wrap the gifts and then sell them on Wednesday. A special and particular thanks to Kylie Bowman for her leadership in this – I know she has spent a huge amount of time on it.
And congratulations to Susan Fishpool who won our inaugural Mother’s Day raffle!
EMAIL COMMUNICATION:
One of the key ways I share important information with parents is via email. We are really aware that given the amount of information you may receive from work, social and other schools, keeping communication to the point and limited to ‘as needed’ as much as possible is important.
As such, I only send emails which I deem as important for you to know and read. It is vital as such therefore that a. you are receiving the information and b. that you are reading, noting and actioning (if required) the information within it. If you are not receiving emails from the school or you wish to update your email address, please contact Cathy in the front office.
Yesterday I sent an important email regarding Parent-Teacher Conversations and a COVID update with some important reminders and updates.
I’d ask that you take the short time to read these emails.
SCHOOL PROCEDURES:
As we begin a new term, it is always an opportune time to revisit some important school procedures and requirements. I would ask that you make yourself aware of these school procedures as the new term starts:
Procedure for informing the school that you will be picking your child up early:
If you are picking up your child early for a known appointment, we would ask that you let the class teacher know via a See Saw or email message prior to the day. This will allow the teacher to ensure the child is ready to go on time for you.
Procedure for informing the school that you child will be absent from school:
If you child is absent from school, we ask that you either ring the office (a message can be left on the voice mail) or text our absentee text line on 0408 279 478. While it is respectful to let your child’s class teacher know about the absentee via See Saw or email, the initial and most important part of the process is letting the front office know (as above). Often See Saw or email messages are not seen by teachers until later in the day and so are not appropriate for absentee messages.
Procedure for parents to follow when an external therapist/tutor wants to come into the school to work with children:
We have a large number of Allied Health Specialists visiting our school, including Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, the list goes on. We are very aware of their expertise in this field and see our partnership with them as an essential element of the development of your child. However, with the increase in our student population and the need for these services, also comes a problem with finding space for these services to operate in. There are also many requirements – both from a Child Protection and WHS perspective that are required by our school. As such, we would ask that if you are thinking about using any particular service or allied health professional, in the first instance you contact me here at school so that I can explain and step through the process with you. Obviously, the input and involvement of your child’s class teacher is a vital element of this process as well.
BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL PROCEDURES:
A reminder that our school gates open at 8:15am and we ask that students are NOT left unattended outside school gates prior to this time. We have a before school OSHC service which operates for families if and when required.
Our school day concludes at 3:00pm and students will be dismissed at this time. While students are permitted to play on the playground after school, this can only occur if there is DIRECT and ACTIVE supervision of the child by a parent occurring. We have a bell which rings at around 3:10pm which signifies that our gates will be locked and parents should exit our school area.
I again also remind parents of our Kiss and Drop expectations. We ask that people completing the pick up DO NOT wait in Ramsey Avenue and clog up this road while waiting for a spot on Mulga Street to open up. Please do a lap of the block and come back to Mulga Street when it is clearer.
As always, I thank the vast majority of parents who abide by these procedures and expectations.
I look forward to sharing another great term with you at Stella and as always assure you that my door is always open and I am always up for a chat about any aspect of you, your child or other aspects of your life!
James
Social