22 Term 3 Week 3

'We must teach more by example than by word' – Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop

Monday the 8^th August was the Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Mary is Australia’s first (and only) Saint and provides us, particularly in education, with an amazing role model who started the first Catholic School in Penola and whose vision for education for all is still a calling we hear today. Classes commemorated this day with a class liturgy and various class activities.

MUSIC CONCERT:

The anticipation is building for our first ever music concert tonight - "Stella's Music Extravaganza". We are very much looking forward to sharing an evening showcasing the talents of each and every student at Stella Maris.

We look forward to seeing all families at Westminster College tonight. 

SPORTING SUCCESS
What a week it has been for our year 5/6 sporting teams!

Last Thursday, our Year 5/6 girls' football team won the Statewide SA AFLW Grand Final against The Pines Primary School. They are now the Statewide SA champions for 2022. An outstanding result.

Yesterday, both the boys and girls topped their pools at the Statewide SA Basketball knockout carnival and both progressed to the final game. The boys lost in the final by one point and the girls won their final. The girls' team will now progress to the Statewide SA finals day in term 4. A big thank you to Kym Hill, Helen Minnear and Larry Clarke for coaching the basketball teams.

Our year 5/6 Boys netball team will also play in the Statewide SA Grand Final on August 30th after winning their semi final matches against Grange and Bordertown.

We are extremely proud of our students’ achievements, both on the field/court and in the way they represent our school, by showing respect, teamwork and sportsmanship. We thank Kym Hill for time and effort that goes into making these opportunities possible for our students.

PARENT-TEACHER CONVERSATIONS:

It was wonderful to see so many families attending our parent-teacher conversations last week. These conversations were a great opportunity for teachers and parents to discuss current progress and goals for the remainder of the year. At Stella Maris, we believe that strong school and family partnerships are essential to the overall schooling experience. As such, although parent- teacher conversations are a more formal opportunity, families are welcome and encouraged to contact teachers and/or leadership to discuss your child’s holistic development whenever the need may arise.

SURVEYS:

You recently would have received an invitation to complete our Catholic Education SA “Live, Learn, Lead” Survey. These surveys which all Catholic schools are completing with parents, students and staff will provide us with important information about ‘how we are going’ in the key areas of school improvement and progress. We are encouraging all families to complete the short survey- thank you to those families who have already done so.

To fill the survey in, simply click on the following link:

 https://www.nsipartnerships.com.au/ (click Start questionnaire)

Then enter our school code: LLLPSMP

HOMEWORK CLUB

Homework club, which is run in partnership with Sacred Heart College, started again last week for students in years 4-6. This involves a group of SHC senior students coming to Stella Maris to support students with their homework on a Monday afternoon from 3pm-4pm.

These senior students are a part of the college MSol group, which is a social justice group aimed at supporting those with needs through fundraising, awareness campaigns and/or outreach. MSol was established through ‘Marist Solidarity’, one of the four branches of the Marist Association for St Marcellin Champagnat, whose main focus is on charity and outreach to support local and global communities.

This program will run on Monday afternoons from 3pm-4pm in the Resource Centre, during weeks 3-9 of term 3. Students in year 4-6 are invited to attend. Please contact me if you require further information.

PUPIL FREE DAY

Just a reminder that Friday, 2nd September is a pupil free day as we are holding our annual staff reflection day. This year we are partnering with Cardijn College for a day of formation around the theme of love, with Fr. Richard Leonard, SJ. We are looking forward to the opportunity to engage with such an inspirational religious leader. OSHC will be available for bookings if you require care on this day. 

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

We are very aware that with a number of new parents and families at Stella Maris this term, we need to provide some reminders about some important procedures and requirements here at Stella. I’d ask that the following information is also passed on to any family members or friends who do the pickups or drop offs of your children:

• Our school gates and official duty of care begins at 8:15am. We do have OSHC available before school should you need to drop your child off prior to 8:15am. A teacher will be on duty from 8:15am and students can enter the yard and play during this time. Classrooms are open from 8:40am and it is an expectation that students are in class ready to learn by 8:45am each day.
• The gates are then locked at around 8:50am. If you arrive at school after this time your child will need to go through the front office and Cathy will record this as a late arrival.
• Parking is difficult at Stella Maris. We are very aware of this fact and unfortunately cannot do a whole lot about it! If you are parking and walking your child in or picking them up from the school yard, we would ask that you park in a way that respects our local residents and the council parking rules.
• If picking up from the ‘kiss and drop’ area in the afternoon – please remember that the only time you can stop and wait is if you are in Mulga Street. If this drop zone is full, you will need to do some laps around the school until a spot opens up. Stopping and waiting in Ramsay Avenue is both illegal and dangerous and we ask that you do not at any time stop and wait along the yellow line in Ramsay Avenue.
• The use of our playground after school is only permitted when parents are ‘actively supervising’ their children. When your child uses the playground during school hours, we have staff on duty supervising the play and interactions at all times in this area. Playgrounds can be quite dangerous if not used appropriately and in the manner in which they are designed to be used. As there are no staff members supervising play at this time, parents must be close to and supervising their children. Also, children who are getting picked up in the ‘kiss and drop’ area, should be waiting at the back gate area and not playing on the playground.

As always, thank you for your continued support of our great school.

Kind Regards

Ella Kirkham

Assistant Principal (Learning & Wellbeing)

ella.kirkham@smps.catholic.edu.au

CONFIRMATION AND FIRST COMMUNION PARENT/CHILD MEETING 30 AUGUST, 6.30PM HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH

On Tuesday 30 August, 6.30pm at Holy Spirit Church, we will hold our next meeting for the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion. At this meeting we will be exploring more closely the Sacrament of Confirmation. A reminder to students that your saint poster is due to be handed up at this meeting. This meeting may go for a bit over an hour as we will include a practice in this.

We ask that all children preparing for these Sacraments attend this meeting, with at least one of their parents.

RECEPTION CLASS MASS TUESDAY 23 AUGUST 9.15AM HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH

Parents of our Reception students are invited to join us at our Parish Mass on Tuesday 23 August. Students will be joining in singing at the Mass and learning about the parts of the Mass. The theme for the Mass will be ‘Choices’. This is the theme that the students have also been unpacking in their classes during this term. We look forward to seeing those who can join us at this Mass.

WALK A MILE – HUTT STREET FUNDRAISER – FRIDAY 12 AUGUST

Tomorrow we will hold a ‘Walk a Mile’ fundraiser in support of the Hutt Street Centre for those experiencing homeless.

The Year 3-6 students will begin the day with Community Prayer, followed by a 1 mile (1.6km) walk around the neighbouring streets.

The Reception to Year 2 classes will walk at the park, and then take part in Community Prayer. All children will be asked to reflect upon how their simple act of making a donation and walking alongside those in need will help those experiencing homelessness.

We will provide an update in the coming days on the amount of money we were able to raise on the day.

Families are invited to make their donation either via a gold coin (or more if you would like) or via the QKR App which will remain open until 3pm Tuesday 16 August for you to make your donation.

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: 15 AUGUST 9AM MASS

On Monday, 15 August, Catholics and many other Christians celebrate the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This significant feast day recalls the spiritual and physical departure of the mother of Jesus Christ from the earth, when both her soul and her body were taken into the presence of God.

The feast of the Assumption is always a Holy Day of Obligation for both Roman and Eastern-rite Catholics. On this day they are obliged to attend Mass or a Liturgy.

At Stella Maris we will hold a Whole School Mass in Holy Spirit Church on Monday morning to celebrate this feast. All parents and Parishioners of St Anne’s Parish are invited to attend.

WHY CONFIRM?

As the name implies, the Sacrament of Confirmation confirms or strengthens the new life received at Baptism. Symbolically, the bishop or priest makes the sign of the cross on the persons forehead using an oil called, chrism. As he does so he says, ‘(Child’s Confirmation name)’, be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.’

Although the Holy Spirit is received at baptism, Confirmation focuses on this gift by recalling the promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit.

In the case of youth, Confirmation is often regarded as a sign of maturity in Christ. Having been baptised as a baby and raised in the Christian life, the youth is now called upon to make a more mature commitment to the Gospel. In particular, Confirmation underlines our commissioning to be bold, apostolic witnesses to the Gospel.

The Sacrament of Confirmation is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation in the Catholic Church.

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE THE EUCHARIST?

For Catholics, the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacred meal whereby we break bread and share the one cup, is the most important sign of our unity with and in Christ. It has been described as the source and summit of the Church’s life. When Catholics receive the Eucharist they believe that they receive Jesus in an extraordinary way: they take him into their very beings in the form of food and drink. In doing so, Catholics remember the way Jesus died for us (on Good Friday) and rose again (on Easter Sunday) to lead us into eternal life. The Eucharist not only commemorates past events, it draws us into the mystery of Christ in the here and now and ultimately towards our eternal life with God.

The Sacrament of the Eucharist is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation in the Catholic Church.

SOUTHERN CROSS:

The current edition of the Catholic newspaper put out by the Archdiocese called, ‘The Southern Cross,’ is available at: www.thesoutherncross.org.au

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

“Try at least to excuse what you cannot understand and bear in mind that you have only to answer for your own faults.” Mary MacKillop. May 21, 1877 (Aged 25).

Year 7, 2025 intake

Enrolment applications for our Year 7, 2025 intake are open. Enrolment applications will close at the conclusion of Term 1, 2023.  A reminder that siblings of existing Cabra students are required to submit an enrolment application form.

Year 7, 2024 intake

For families seeking enrolment who have not yet submitted an application, please ask them to contact me directly on 8179 2429.  Late applications are now being placed onto our waitlist which will be monitored regularly until commencement of the school year in 2024.

Principal’s tours

Our next Principal’s tours will be held at the college on Tuesday 16 August at 9.15am. For future tour dates and the registration link please click [2022%20Principal's%20tours]2022 Principal's tours

We have our first Club based Come and Try session for the season coming up on Thursday, August 18^th. It will give you a chance to come and see our club and to re-test the waters again with Baseball at the Bay. It will also give our current playing group the chance to come along and dust the winter cobwebs off.

Other initiatives we have in store for this year include:

• Pre-Season trip to Berri (Sept 9^th to 11^th)
• Rookie Ball (Friday Nights in September at the Bay – 5-10 year old’s) – replacing the Saturday Morning T-Ball program
• The Show – During the regular season we do a Major League experience with a DJ, Sound system, Outfield sprint and lots of baseball games with an amazing Major League Baseball atmosphere
• Tiger Nights (Meals at the club during the regular season with award presentations)
• Tiger Xmas Party with slip n slide

If you have any questions about our 2022/23 program, please let me know, otherwise, here is the link to our great club - http://www.glenelgbaseballclub.com.au/