23 Term 1 Week 5

As a school community, we keep James, Courtney, their children and the whole Quigley family in our thoughts and prayers as they grieve the loss of James’ mother, Cecilia. As well as being deeply loved and cherished by her family, Cecilia was also a long standing and well respected leader within Catholic Education for many years. As I mentioned in the email I sent to families, one of the many great things about the Stella Maris community is the way that we support each other during times like these, and we are greatly appreciative to staff and the wider school community for their support, thoughts and prayers during this time.

Staff News

We wish Nicole Giannoni and her fiancé, Michael all the best as they celebrate their marriage on Friday. We look forward to welcoming Nicole back next Thursday.

Victoria Traegar will also be taking three weeks long service leave, beginning next Thursday. During this time, Lisa Berrigan will be teaching performing arts.

We welcome James Budd who has joined our ESO team and is predominantly working with our year 4-6 classes. 

Building Update

Our building site has been a hive of activity again over the last couple of days, with commencement of civil works. We continue to meet regularly with the site supervisor and architects. The machinery has certainly been a talking point for many of our students this week.

Parent Workshops

We are looking forward to our first parent workshop on Monday 6^th March (see details below)

Maths and Numeracy - the first workshop will focus on how you can support your child with the development of key skills in Numeracy and Maths.               

WHEN:

Reception to Year 2 parents - Monday 6^th March - 2 workshops offered at 9:00am or 6:00pm

Year 3-6 parents - Tuesday 14^th March - 2 workshops offered at 9:00am and 6:00pm

We will also be holding a parent workshop on the ‘Stella Capabilities’, which will outline our approach to capabilities and how this can also be reinforced at home. This workshop will take place on Monday 3^rd April at 6pm.

Over the course of 2023, we look forward to offering other parent workshops focusing on areas such as Literacy, Well-being and Digital Device and Social Media support. If you are interested in other types of workshops, I encourage you to let me know of your suggestions.

Pupil Free day- Friday March 10^th

Please note that we have a Student Free Day on March 10^th to allow for staff professional development. Our focus for this day will be on Wellbeing and Positive Education. Staff will be introduced to our new Whole School Wellbeing program as a part of The Resilience Project School Partnerships Program. We look forward to sharing this program with families also. OSHC will be available on this date- bookings are essential.

ENSURING OUR SCHOOL IS A SAFE PLACE FOR ALL:

As the school year commences I want to assure all parents and carers of our absolute commitment to ensuring that Stella Maris is a safe place for all. Some of our key initiatives include the fact that:

Our staff are committed and trained to protect the children and young people in our care. 

All staff and regular volunteers have current police checks and necessary training.

We teach our children age-appropriate strategies to keep themselves safe through South Australia’s Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum.

Staff complete certification and undertake regular updated training in Responding to Abuse and Neglect in Education and Care Settings.

We also promote strategies to minimise bullying and help students stay safe online. 

Additional information about the broader protection policies of Catholic Education SA can be found on their website. http://www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/our-schools/safe-environments-for-all The website also includes links to online resources for parents and students on a range of topics including anxiety, depression, bullying and how to support your child. 

If you have any questions or concerns about child safety please contact me. 

Week 5 reflection

As we come to an end of week 5, and we say goodbye to Summer (although I’m not sure I’d call it summer for the most part) and hello to Autumn, we can reflect on the beginning of the year so far. This year we have welcomed new staff and many new students and families. We have also adapted to new processes and ways of doing things as we commence our major building project. Although it has been a busy start to the term, our commitment to the learning and overall wellbeing of our students, and partnerships with families remains a part of who we are at Stella Maris. It is a special place to be and we look forward to continuing to work as a community to ensure that Stella Maris continues to be a place where we can all thrive.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support and please contact me if there are any matters that you'd like to discuss.

Kind Regards

Ella Kirkham

Dear families and friends,

Classes attending Parish Masses

Next Tuesday March 7, our Yr 5 and 6 classes will be attending the 9.15am Parish Mass.  We warmly invite you to join us and the regular parishioner attendees. 

Just to give you the ‘heads up’ here is the roster for the remainder of this term.

Plans for Holy Week and Easter are yet to be confirmed, so there will be information with regards to this in the next newsletter.

Lent & Project Compassion

You will shortly be receiving a small Project Compassion box for your family, inviting you to fill it with any spare change that you have.  Student members of the 2023 Social Justice Group will be distributing these to classes, for students to take home to you.   Caritas is a Catholic organization, supporting vulnerable communities in Australia and all over the world with the goal of ending poverty, promoting justice and upholding dignity.  Each year during the Season of Lent, they launch and promote Project Compassion.  You are invited to return your boxes to Stella Maris in the last week of term and on your behalf, we will pass on all donations to Caritas.   

Sacramental Programme

Just a reminder that St Ann’s Catholic Parish is now accepting registrations for the 2023 Sacraments of Initiation Programme.  Children from the age of 8, who you feel are ready to participate, can be enrolled.  There was an information letter from the Parish sent out recently.  If you missed it, please let me know and I am more than happy to send you a copy.  The Sacramental Team is led by Sr Jasmine and includes Fr Joseph and the APRIMS from the two Parish Primary Schools – myself and Matthew Min from St Bernadette’s.  We are gathering for our first planning meeting next week and the programme will commence with Session 1 of Reconciliation Preparation at 7pm on Tuesday March 28^th.

I will leave you with two inspiring quotes for this first week of Lent…

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” Maya Angelou

“I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.” Mother Teresa

Many blessings,

Tanya Stott

Our Year 6 co hort are in the process of applying for Leadership Roles within our school. This requires courage and vulnerability to take a risk in putting themselves out there. I've had feedback from the panel about the high quality of applications, they were impressed with how the students have presented themselves and how they have coped with changes throughout the process which has lasted a number of weeks. 

Week 6 will see the candidates announced, however it's important to acknowledge that all applicants should be recognised for their effort. Let's help them see how they've built their resilience by facing a challenge and to bounce back quickly by sharing how proud we are of them for giving it a go! Their experience will help them with the next thing they decide to go for!

Emily Hughes 

Pastoral Care Support 

Please be advised that the first installment of school fees are due Friday 3 March 2023.

Please contact Kathy Groat, Finance Manager, telephone 8306 4833, if you have any questions.