22 Term 2 Week 3

We say 'thank you' to our special staff, we look forward to a day of fun and celebration next Tuesday and we provide some important reminders about our school processes. This is Week 3 of Term 2!

THANK YOU:

There’s a few things to be ‘thankful’ for this week!

Firstly, last week was Catholic Education Week. It had a simple but amazingly important ‘theme’. This year was a chance to say ‘thank you’ to the many staff in Catholic schools who continue to provide an amazing service to the many students who walk through our doors.

I say it often, but we are extremely lucky to have the quality and caliber of staff we do at Stella. There is a clear love for what they do, for where they work and for the students in our school. When these are combined you get invested and dedicated staff who work above and beyond anything we expect of them. I know you will join me in thanking our outstanding staff. I thank Ella and Paula who prepared 3 fantastic ‘Thank You videos’ with beautiful messages from our students to our staff.

Secondly, it is National Volunteers Week – a great opportunity to acknowledge the volunteers in our community who make such a great difference to our school life. The ‘theme’ for this year's Volunteers week is ‘Better Together’. There is no doubt that Stella is a better place thanks to our volunteers. From our School Board and P and F committee, to our library volunteers, sport coaches, reading helpers, book coverers and everything in between, our school is a much richer place thanks to those who volunteer their time.

So thank you – to all those who volunteer their time – for a short, long, ongoing or once off time! We appreciate it!

OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS – STELLA FUN DAY – WINTER WOOLLIES FUNDRAISER:

Next Tuesday is a day to look forward to. In our Catholic Calendar we celebrate the Feast day of Our Lady Help of Christians. ‘Our Lady’ – namely Mary the mother of Jesus – under the title ‘Help of Christians’ is the patron Saint of our school and Australia. As such, it is a day worth celebrating. Using the term ‘Help’ specifically, we are also using this day as an opportunity to “Use Our Own 2 Hands” to help those in our community this winter. We are again taking part in the ‘Winter Woollies’ drive supported by the Calvary group for the Adelaide Day Centre.

On the day please note:

• Students are invited to dress in ‘Winter Woolly’ clothing – comfy but appropriate winter clothes.
• We will provide a small morning tea treat and a sausage sizzle lunch.
• In exchange for this, we are asking families to donate new ‘winter clothing’ which can be donated to those in need. This might be scarfs, socks, jumpers, blankets, beanies etc. If you can’t get to the shop, you are invited to donate money via our QKR app. A group of Yr 6 leaders will then head to Marion to stock up.
• We will also hold a whole school Liturgy in the morning beginning at 9:00am. Parents are welcome to join us for this liturgy.

More details can be found in the flyer below which was emailed to families earlier this week.

COVID UPDATE:

A small but significant lifting of restrictions has allowed us to begin having ‘whole school’ gatherings indoors. We are looking at how this may work in with the Church timetable. We will be in touch about parent attendance at these events.

As mentioned above, parents are welcome to attend our Our Lady Help of Christians Feast day liturgy next Tuesday morning.

FEDERAL ELECTION:

On Saturday we head to the polls for the Federal election. As I said about the recent State election, I hope that part of your decision making process involves some thought about the Educational policy and promises that each party makes for your child. We are once again including an Election summary from the major parties regarding their Education policy and promises in regards to Catholic Education. See this below.

MEET OUR BOARD MEMBERS:

With a newly formed Board now meeting regularly, I have once again asked our Board members to give you a bit of information about ‘who they are’ and why they have joined the Board. This week we introduce Deb Reynolds.

AFTER SCHOOL SPORT:

We have a hugely popular After School Sport program and most weeks we have a team playing here at Stella Maris.

As I have mentioned at regular intervals, whenever your child is ‘on site’ we have a very high duty of care which we extend to those at school. As such, it is vital that students are ‘actively supervised’ at all times. We provide a teacher on duty until 3:20pm each afternoon. However, after this time, students must be under the watchful eye of a parent or friend. This is particularly pertinent for siblings who are present on site when a brother or sister is playing sport.

We appreciate you abiding by this important safety requirement.

 NCCD:

In 2016 the Federal Government implemented the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with a Disability. This is an annual, national collection of data that anonymously counts the number of school students with a disability and the level of educational adjustments they are provided with.

The Disability Discrimination Act and Disability Standards use a very broad and inclusive definition of what constitutes a disability, it does not necessarily require a medical or professional diagnosis.

This can include students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, auditory processing disorder and health conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes and asthma.

The decision as to whether a particular child falls within this definition for this data collection relies on the professional judgment of school staff about each child's additional educational needs. Throughout the year, parents of students who are counted on this list, are consulted with and provided with information about the adjustments occurring for their child. If you have a question regarding whether or not your child will be counted on this list, or you do not wish your child to be included please contact me as soon as possible.

2023 PLANNING:

Believe it or not, we are in planning mode for 2023. Enrolments and enrolment interest at Stella Maris is at an all time high and we have very limited places available throughout the school. As such, I would ask that if you know for any reason you will not be returning to Stella Maris next year you let me know as soon as possible.

As always, please know that my door is open and I am always interested to hear from you about any aspect of your child’s growth and development.

Kind regards,

James

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

It was an exciting night for 15 students from Stella Maris on Tuesday night as they celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the very first time.

Fr Joseph officiated at the liturgy and was assisted by Fr Lancy.

A big thank you is extended to the children and their families for the great work they undertook in preparation for this Sacrament. We thank Deacon Andrew, Fr Joseph, Ana the secretary from St Ann’s Parish and Matthew Min (APRIM at St Bernadette’s School) for the work they undertook in organising and preparing the students for Reconciliation. See above a photo of the students with Fr Joseph Raja.

STELLA CELEBRATION DAY FOR THE FEAST OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS – TUESDAY 24 MAY

This coming Tuesday we will be celebrating the feast of ‘Mary Help of Christians’ with a ‘Stella Celebration Day’.

Students are invited to come to school dressed in their ‘Winter Woollies’. Clothing and footwear worn must be suitable for outdoor play. Children are also encouraged to bring in donations of new beanies, scarves, socks or blankets, or to make a donation via QKR to support the purchase of these goods. All items donated will be given to ‘Calvary Hospital, Adelaide’, who will then forward these items to the ‘Adelaide Day Centre for the Homeless’ to distribute to those most in need this winter.

Our day will begin with a Whole School Liturgy outside in the undercover area by the Community room. Parents are invited to attend.

Students will undertake fun activities throughout the day.

A sausage sizzle lunch will be provided to students for this special celebration (dietary needs will be catered for). Should your child not like sausages or be a bigger eater, please provide a packed lunch for them. We can’t wait to use ‘Our Own Two Hands’ to help others on this day whilst also having some fun!

CONFIRMATION AND FIRST COMMUNION

On Tuesday 7 June, 7pm at Holy Spirit Church, we will hold the first of our gathering meetings for the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion. At this meeting we will determine further dates and times for preparation meetings. We look forward to seeing all those who have enrolled for these Sacraments this year.

YEAR 5 CLASS MASS TUESDAY, 31 MAY 9.15AM HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH

Parents of our Year 5 Students are invited to join us at Mass on Tuesday, 31 May for the feast of ‘The Visitation of the blessed Virgin Mary’. Students will be involved in the Mass and will bring joy to the Parishioners with their singing which will be led by our music teacher, Victoria Traeger.

We look forward to seeing those who are able to join us at this Mass.

Gifted Awareness Week Australia

Gifted Awareness Week Australia (GAW) will be held from 21 to 29 May 2022.  The theme this year is “Like Minds”. 

As part of GAW, Dr Jae Jung will be visiting from Sydney to present parent workshops on behalf of Catholic Education South Australia.  Jae is an Associate Professor in Gifted Education at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), and the Director of the Gifted Education Research, Resources, and Information Centre of UNSW.  Dr Jae will be presenting parent/carer workshops and discussion forums entitled “Gifted 101 - The Parent Version” on 26 May at 9:30am – 11:00am and a repeat session at 7:00pm – 8:30pm at the Catholic Education Office.  Details and RSVP information can be found on the flyer below.

Other events that may be of interest during Gifted and Talented Week include:

Gifted and Talented Children’s Association of South Australia (GTCASA) is holding a strange plants event for gifted children and their families.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gifted-awareness-week-2022-strange-plants-tickets-342609412977

Mensa is holding an Adelaide IQ testing event which is open to children ages 10 and up if supervised by a parent/carer.

https://www.mensa.org.au/events/event/sa-test-2022-may-28

Ella Kirkham

Assistant Principal

Dear School Community,

I heard a great piece of advice last week; Spend good money on the things that connect you to the ground - shoes, chairs, beds. Being connected to the ground is a mindfulness and meditation technique, the idea is that you are anchored to the earth and are living in the present moment. I can see how my day is better with comfortable shoes, a supportive chair and a good night sleep!

Emily Hughes

Pastoral Care Support|ESO

It is with great excitement that I share with you the first component of information pertaining to our “Stella Capabilities.” As James mentioned in our last newsletter, I have the privilege of continuing to work on this project of developing the Stella Capabilities. I wish to share with you now a brief overview of what that means, and where to from here.

At Stella Maris, we deeply believe in focussing on the development of the whole child. As educators, we support The Stella Person by modelling and guiding them in demonstrating our school values of Compassion, Courage, Inclusivity and Respect in their daily lives. Through our quality teaching and learning programs, we support The Stella Learner to build on their knowledge and skills, generally speaking, their overall capabilities to be successful during their school learning journey. These capabilities allow students to reflect on their learning experiences in the classroom and work towards building confidence in applying these skills in an array of areas. This has led to the creation of “The Stella Capabilities” that aim 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

Over the course of this term, I will provide you with a breakdown of what each of these capabilities mean and the skills required to demonstrate an achievement of the capability. This information will be shared in the upcoming newsletters and I sincerely look forward to sharing this work with you.

Kindest regards,

Louise Perry

Capabilities Leader

For more information, plesae email Caitlin Paynter: playgroup@smps.catholic.edu.au