23 Term 2 Week 7

THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHURCH:

The great feast of Pentecost occurred last Sunday. During this celebration, we are told of the “coming of the Holy Spirit” to the disciples of Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives the disciples courage and new talents to be able to carry out their mission of spreading Jesus’ message and carrying on his vision for a world of peace and unity. I once heard it best described through the use of the analogy of an asthma puffer for the Holy Spirit. The puffer gives it’s ‘patient’ the extra “boost” of air required when they need it – when they feel short of breath or are having difficulty breathing. In the same way the Holy Spirit can give us an extra “boost” when we feel scared or lonely or afraid – as is what happened on the day of Pentecost.

CELEBRATION OF LEARNING:

Last Wednesday we held our first "Celebration of Learning" for a few years. I was disappointed not to have been present, but from what I heard from students, parents and staff it was a great succes. I heard of a great 'buzz' and 'energy' during the morning and afternoon. I heard of great conversation and 'expert tours' of classrooms and learning journeys over the last term and a half. I also heard about a fantastic choir and band performance in the Church. 

Thank you for your attendance. As always, I would love to hear any other feedback - either in person or via email about your experiences. 

WHOLE SCHOOL CONCERT:

Preparations are ramping up for our Whole school concert – Back in My Day. This will take place over two days / nights – with half the school performing on each day. Information has been sent to parents via email and See Saw today regarding logistics and ticket purchasing.

Our Concert will involve both a Matinee (12:00pm) and Evening Performance (6:30pm) on Wednesday the 5^th and Thursday the 6^th of July.

For those who are ‘friends of Stella’ (but don’t have students at the school) and would like to see the concert, you are most welcome to ring Carol about how to purchase a ticket.

BUILDING UPDATE:

Our Building project continues to roll along. The slab is down and we now await the delivery and installation of the Structural Steel. This is likely to occur later this term / early next term. We are meeting with the builders regularly and at our meeting this week, I was still been assured that our building is on track to be complete by mid December of this year, allowing for a Term 1 start in the new space. As always, if this changes at any point, I will let you know.

Over the course of the next few weeks, external works are going to be undertaken, including the installation of indented parking in Syme Avenue and some extra car parking spaces along Syme Avenue. At this point in time, there will not be any disruption to our normal school business or entry or exit point, but again will let you know if this is the case.

REPORTS:

We take our responsibility of ‘reporting’ to parents and families very seriously. Sending home official reports twice a year is one of a number of ways in which we provide you with important information about your child’s progress and learning. Our teachers are currently completing the Progress Reports for this semester. In most cases it takes upwards of 80 or so hours to complete these reports. Teachers put a lot of time, energy, thought and discussion into completing these reports. To ensure that you receive the most accurate information about your child’s progress in the first two terms of the year, we will once again be sending home the reports at the beginning of Term 3. This timeframe allows our teachers an extra few weeks to assess, evaluate and complete thorough and accurate reports. Following the reports, you are encouraged to organise a time to meet with the teacher should you wish to discuss any aspect of the report further.

The reports will be followed up with a parent-teacher conversation in Week 2 of Term 3. Further information about these will be provided in the next week or so. 

HIGH SCHOOL PREPARATION:

I bumped into a parent recently whose child completed Year 6 with us last year and is now at Sacred Heart College. We got talking about how their child was going and how they were tackling the challenges of High School. This parent was glowing in their praise of how well ‘prepared’ their child was for the High School challenges they were encountering – on many different levels. Socially, academically, work ethic wise, and the capabilities they had developed in their time at Stella Maris were clearly making a difference to how this child’s High School journey had begun. Of course, this is very much about a strong partnership between home and school, but it’s always nice to hear this glowing praise for the work we are doing at Stella.

READ ON…

I encourage you to read on through the rest of this week’s newsletter – there are some important updates and information about the goings on in our great school from various people about the many and varied work that is happening across the board.

Thanks as always,

James

Dear families and friends,

On Thursday morning, we welcomed 23 new Reception students and their families to the Stella Maris family, sharing this prayer of welcome with them…

Circle of Stella Maris

We pray together, in the presence of our God and one another.

We join this circle of kindred spirits, of shared hopes and dreams, of love for our children.

With hearts that are open to each other and willing to reflect.

Willing to collaborate and celebrate.

Willing to be in community with each other and journey together.

Willing to be open to the nurturing presence of God.

We pray that God’s blessing be upon us and especially upon the new students who are beginning their Stella journey and the families who entrust them into our care.

We pray they may encounter life to the full, in all its wonderous dimensions.

We ask that they and our whole community are lovingly held in the embrace of our Creator God.

May all feel welcomed and that they absolutely belong.

May their unique gifts and personalities flourish, as they are recognized, appreciated and enriched.

May our Stella community continue to flourish.

Amen.

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

It is so heartwarming to see the donations of warm winter clothing, blankets and long-life food coming in from our compassionate community.  We will continue to collect items on behalf of Vinnie’s until Week 9, so there is still time to contribute if you are able to.  Listening to the radio in the morning, one hears many stories of families and individuals who need to seek support from charities in order that their basic needs can be met – more and more people are struggling as interest rates and cost of living continues to rise.  Your children learn valuable life lessons from you, from the conversations you no doubt have with them in relation to the Vinnie’s appeal.   These conversations bring to life the Stella Values of Compassion and Respect for others.

As we welcome another group of very young people and their families to Stella Maris, this wise quote from Socrates seems very appropriate…

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”

Many blessings,

Tanya Stott