24 Term 2 Week 1

We enjoyed a smooth conclusion to Term 1 and a very positive start to Term 2. We welcomed a number of new students and staff who have begun with us this term. Our classrooms moved quickly back into ‘learning mode’ after a re-energizing break away from the demands of school.

We concluded Term 1 with another very successful ‘Stella Colour Fun Run’ with lots of fun, laughter and heaps of colour! I thank our Parents and Friends committee and Kylie Bowman in particular for their organisation and support in putting the event together. Thank you also to our families and friends who helped raised over $6000 for the event. The money our Parents and Friends are fundraising for will all go towards an upgraded external play space at Stella Maris and every cent raised will go directly back to supporting the students at our school now, and into the future.

As I write this newsletter I am currently enjoying the company of our Year 5 cohort on camp in the Finnish River. We have had beautiful weather and a fantastic few days of adventure and fun.

THE EASTER SEASON:

We are only part way through the “Easter Season”. As we spoke about at our Easter Liturgy last term, 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.

The Easter season concludes with the celebration of Pentecost, which will occur on the 19^th May.

Speaking of Pentecost, each year a procession celebrating 'Mary the mother of Jesus' is held in Adelaide known as the Marian Procession. This year, the Marian Procession falls on Pentecost Sunday and given that one of the Churches in our St Ann's Parish is ‘Holy Spirit Church’ our parish community has been invited to have the honour of leading the procession and holding the 2024 banner. This year we also celebrate 75 years of the Procession which is a big milestone. 

All Stella Maris families and community members are invited to take part in this special procession, walking from Victoria Park to Victoria Square (approx. 1.5km). You are encouraged to wear some white items of clothing and to bring your rosary beads and a water bottle. Please meet Fr Joseph and St Ann's Parishioners at Victoria Park (Wakefield Road) at 1.30pm ready for the Procession to begin at 2pm. The event will conclude in Victoria square around 4pm.

For further information contact St Ann's Parish office on 8298 1044 or the Archdiocesan Events office on 8210 8220 or email events@adelaide.catholic.org.au

UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS:

We look forward to celebrating the ‘Stella Mums’ (and other important females in our students lives) with a Mother’s Day celebration on Monday 13^th May. This will include a morning tea and coffee from our coffee van and an invitation to join a liturgy run by our R-2 classes. Please rsvp to this event by filling in the following form. https://forms.office.com/r/KupWAd0ipX

We have locked in a number of Parent Workshops for parents over the coming few months, including the following:

WORKSHOP TITLE: Supporting your child to develop strong Literacy and Numeracy skills at home

WHEN: Monday May 20th Workshop 1 - 9:00am and Workshop 2 - 6:00pm (please note that both workshops will have the same content presented).

WHAT: During this workshop you will hear from our Literacy Coach (Marney Yeates) and Numeracy Coach (Paul Hegarty) who will provide you with practical and hands on resources and ideas that you can use to support your child's Literacy and Numeracy development at home. 

WHO IS IT FOR: This workshop will be focussed on our families with students in R-2 with another follow up workshop planned for later in the term for families with students in Y3-6.

WHERE: Stella Maris

HOW TO REGISTER: Complete the following form - https://forms.office.com/r/KYxM6DQbdP

WORKSHOP TITLE: Visible Wellbeing - The Strength Switch Parenting Course

WHAT: Developed by Australia's leading Wellbeing and Positive Psychology expert - Professor Lea Waters, and facilitated by the SA Visible Wellbeing Lead - Courtney Quigley, this is a 3 part course designed to support parents in helping your children to thrive by drawing on what's best in them and you.  More information about the course can be found in the attached flyer. Spaces at this course will be limited to 30, so bookings are essential - get in quick. 

WHEN: Time - 6:30 - 8:00pm - Workshop 1 - Wednesday 31st July, Workshop 2 - Wednesday 14th August and Workshop 3 - Wednesday 28th August. Participation and attendance at all 3 nights is highly encouraged.

WHERE: Stella Maris 

WHO IS IT FOR: All parents of Stella Maris students

HOW TO REGISTER: Complete the following form - https://forms.office.com/r/x0uAHbFB4U

WORKSHOP TITLE: Connecting Parenting Webinar

WHAT: As a Resilience Project school, we are pleased to offer parents the opportunity to hear from Lael Stone who will provide a valuable set of tools for parents and carers aiming to raise children through positive connections and communication. 

WHEN: Monday 3^rd June 6:00pm-7:15pm

WHERE: On line Webinar

HOW TO REGISTER: Lael Stone Resilience Project

ALL THE BEST:

This will be the last newsletter I write for the year as I prepare to take on a position as School Performance Leader at the Catholic Education Office. I have been very humbled by the extremely kind messages many of you have provided me about this move. No doubt, there are some mixed emotions about this move. I am sure you are aware how much this fantastic community means to me and how much I will miss the staff, students and families at our school. At the same time, I do see this as a great opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and do something which will be a great professional experience for me.

I am very confident that our school will continue to be the outstanding educational environment it has been for many years under the expert and outstanding leadership of Ella, supported by both Josh (Acting Deputy) and Paula (APRIM).

I wish you all well for the remainder of this year and look forward to returning to Stella Maris in 2025.

Go Well!

James

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Dear Stella Maris Community,

I have been overwhelmed with the kind and warm welcome I have felt from the school community this week as I started as your Acting Deputy Principal for the remainder of the 2024 School Year and I thought it a good time to formally introduce myself now that I have had a week to get my feet under the desk and get settled.

My name is Josh Page, and I am honoured to have the opportunity to be working with you in partnership as together we support your children to thrive and flourish in all that they wish to achieve.

A little about my leadership journey which has brought me to Stella Maris - I have worked at Whitefriars Catholic School (Woodville Park) for the past 13 years (spent 2017 at St Pius X – included one term as Acting APRIM at St Therese at Brighton) and during this time I have been the PE teacher, and for the past six years have been there APRIM. In this time in 2021 I was Acting Assistant to the Principal at St Margaret Mary’s School for Terms 2 – 4, and last year I was Acting Deputy at Whitefriars at different times as needed. I also spent Week 10 and 11 of Term 1 as Acting Principal at St James school in Jamestown. I am also a father of two active boys who keep my wife and I busy with their various sporting and extracurricular activities.

My passion is to provide a school environment that supports the social and emotional wellbeing of students, encourages all to be actively engaged in their learning, fosters positive relationships and a deep connection with one another. In this regard everyone has a right to feel safe, everyone has right to learn and teachers have a right to teach. I am looking forward to working collaboratively with our teachers, students and parent community to continue to build on the strong nurturing and positive learning environment that is ever present here at Stella Maris.

I look forward to meeting you all over my time here at Stella Maris, and please do not hesitate to come and say hello, have a chat, give me a call, send an email and my door is always open.

Kind Regards,

Josh Page

Dear School Community,

Welcome back to an exciting Term 2! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful break. 

I'm very excited to continue our Garden Produce Stall on a Tuesday, straight after school, on the courts in front of the playground. We accept a coin donation, available on QKR also for your convenience. The produce comes from our school and community garden and we also accept produce donations from school families if you have any surplus in your garden. 

We are so grateful for the incredible support we have already recieved and have raised approximately $65 to invest back into our garden. On behalf of all the Year 6 Sustainability students - I would like to thank you!

Emily Hughes

Emily.Hughes@smps.catholic.edu.au

Dear School Families,

Stella Maris Parish School is a place that believes in and fosters the values of Inclusivity, Compassion, Courage and Respect. We can see this in our learning, our classrooms and our school yard. We are always looking for new ways to model and practise these values and have identified an opportunity to offer more diverse play options to our students. 

We are so excited to announce we will be running Indoor Lunch Time Clubs throughout the term on Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, starting in Week 2. They will have a General Theme each day so students can know what type of activity to expect.

Monday - Board Games

Tuesday - Mindfulness Club

Wednesday - Art Club 

Clubs will be held on the ground floor of the new building and will begin after student's eating time. The pack up bell will go 10 minutes before the lunch bell to allow students to pack up and have time to use toilet and have a drink before going back to class. 

Play is an essential part of the school day, and is important for boosting social connection, emotional wellbeing and also for self regulation. Play looks different for all students and we are hoping that the clubs offer a different style of play to that already on offer in the park, the playground and courts. Students will have an inviting space to play in a small group or to still feel connected while playing alongside others, and to follow their interests that benefit from a quieter area. The library has offered a space for students in the past and can now be redefined for a quiet reading space during the lunch times it is open.

Year 6 students will help in the promotion of these clubs to all students, please look out for the posters around school and take the opportunity to talk to your child and hear what they have to say about what play options they enjoy accessing and meets their needs during the school day. 

We are so lucky to have so many options here at Stella that includes;

The Park, Basketball Courts, Playground (Everyday)

Library (Tues - Thursday)

Lunchtime Clubs (Monday - Wednesday) 

School Garden (Monday Recess times).

Thankyou,

Emily Hughes

Pastoral Care Support 

Don't miss out on the chance to win some amazing prizes in our raffle!

First prize is a $1000 Flight Centre voucher donated by the P&F Committee, second prize is a 3 month membership at Fernwood Fitness donated by Fernwood Fitness Parkholme, and third prize is a 1-hour massage donated by The Massage Studio.

All prizes include a bunch of flowers donated by Blooms by Bec, champagne, and chocolate donated by Hackett Electrical.

There are only 150 tickets available at $15 each, so get yours before they sell out! The draw will take place on 13/5/2024 at the Mother's Day morning tea.

Good luck!

Please email kathy.groat@smps.catholic.edu.au if you require information.

UNIFORM SHOP - Belgravia Apparel

Stella Maris is one of the many online schools we cater for at Belgravia Apparel Campbeltown meaning that school stock is held in the back storeroom and not on display.

To avoid long waits and disruptions to other customers who have appointments we ask that you please book for an appointment on the below link.

https://www.belgraviaapparelschools.com/collections/stella-maris-parish-school

Thank you

There are a couple of vacancies for violin lessons at Stella Maris Parish School this term.  Lessons are held at Stella Maris on Wednesday mornings.  The violin is such a beautiful and versatile instrument and as they come in many sizes, are suitable for children of any age to learn.  Jenny McDonald is an experienced violin teacher and has a Bachelor of Music Teaching Degree as well as Suzuki Teacher accreditation.

Please phone Jenny on: 0410 441 974 for more information.