Term 4 Week 1

We are welcomed back to a busy Term 4, we get set for two big school events, we provide our ‘normal’ COVID update and we begin preparations for the 2022 school year. Welcome to Term 4!

WELCOME BACK:

We are excited to be back for another bumper term of action here at Stella Maris. And what a term we have! Concert, Sports Day, Transition, Swimming and Aquatics, End of Year celebrations, Graduations, Masses, Excursions, Welcoming and Farewelling – and everything in between.

We are looking forward to a very busy but productive term of engagement and learning.

LOTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO BUT…PLEASE HELP US OUT:

The excitement of the next few weeks is palpable. We have our major whole school concert which is shaping up to be a great spectacle coming up next week, we have sports day around the corner and many more events and activities planned for the end of the year.

I also acknowledge that you are often inundated with information and constant messages from us here at school. If you are also engaged at other schools with other kids – the amount of information often doubles and triples in nature!

As we navigate the next few weeks however, I would ask that you support us by ensuring you read carefully and are aware of the many pieces of information we will send to you. In most cases this will take place via email. Please ensure you check your email regularly and read and action the items which require it.

This afternoon parents will receive some very important information regarding concert week - to be held on Thursday the 21^st October. Next Monday, you will receive some very important information regarding sports day – to be held on Friday the 29^th of October. Following this you will receive some information regarding swimming and aquatic activities. I am very aware that for some people the ‘school information’ emails will sit in the unread pile of our inbox for some time. I’d really ask that over the coming weeks you support us and your child by being ‘on top of’ the information and details of each activity and event and action items that need actioning quickly.

COVID UPDATE:

While we had hoped to have deleted the word COVID from our vocabulary by now, it doesn’t look like it is going away any time soon.

Most importantly, we continue to listen to the advice of SA Health – and in today’s newsletter I provide you with a letter directly from Professor Nicola Spurrier to all school communities in South Australia. The message is clear – vaccination is vital!

We are still under the same restrictions which began last term including:

• Mandatory mask wearing for parents who enter our school grounds
• No major, mass parent gatherings are permitted
• Parents are asked to drop students off in the yard and not enter school buildings unless it is essential (and a QR check in must occur if this is the case)

As always, we thank you for your continued support of these requirements.

PUPIL FREE DAYS:

I am also aware that we are about to have our 2^nd pupil free day (next Friday 22^nd October – after the concert) in a short time. Having two pupil free days so close to together is not ideal and is and will be a vey rare occurrence. Unfortunately this was unavoidable as our previous pupil free day planned for Term 3 was cancelled due to our COVID interruption and our presenter was only able to reschedule for Monday of this week.

Schools can generally have up to 5 pupil free days a year, which is what we will have this year. It just so happened that 3 of these 5 occur in Term 4 this year – which as I said is quite an unusual occurrence.

OSHC facilities are available for next Friday's pupil free day, bookings are essential.

2022 PREPARATIONS AND CLASS PLACEMENTS:

We are finalising our plans for the 2022 school year and in the coming weeks I look forward to sharing more information and details about the year ahead with you including teaching and ESO appointments.

I can let you know that for next year we will have 2 classes per year level from Reception – Year 6. These will all be single year level classes (as is the case this year). We will also accept a 3^rd separate mid-year intake in Reception in July.

One of the very important aspects of our work in Term 4 is the organisation of classes for the following year. I can tell you from previous experiences, that this is very involved and time consuming work. There are many things which we consider when we place students in particular classes. Educational, behavioural, wellbeing and social needs and a balance between them is vital.

In the first instance I would ask that you trust that our teachers, who know your children in the school environment extremely well will put the time and energy and consideration into placing your child into what they would determine to be a suitable class for the following year. 

If you would like any aspect of your child’s needs in terms of class placements considered when we complete placements, I would ask that you put this in writing to me via email. I would ask that this is completed no later than Wednesday, 27th October. 

Please ensure that your request has a clear ‘educational’ reason behind it and if you need to discuss any further information with me about this, you are welcome to do so in person with me. I would also suggest that requesting specific teachers is generally unhelpful – as often there will be changes to the teaching structures and personnel we have in place from year to year.

2022 INTENTIONS:

Our enrolment interest continues to be very high here at Stella, and there are limited spaces in all year levels, and often interest that exceeds availability. As such, I would ask that if you are intending on not being with us next year that you let me know officially in writing as soon as possible.

As a reminder, part of our enrolment contract states that 1 full terms notice is required if you are planning on leaving – for any reason.

REMINDERS:

UNIFORM;

We are nearing the end of our ‘transition year’ to our new active uniform and I must say it is now very rare to see the ‘old uniform’ anywhere in the yard.

Students are wearing the uniform beautifully, and our online ordering system seems to now be working very smoothly – please let me know if this is not the case for you! One reminder I will make is in regards to shoes. We are seeing a few more ‘black’ or ‘fluoro’ coloured shoes coming to school. Our policy is very clear in terms of shoe colour – they must predominantly navy or white.

PICK UPS AND DROP OFFS:

It wouldn’t be a newsletter without a kiss and drop reminder!

We’d ask that you ensure that you read and pass on these messages to any member of your family who uses our kiss and drop area in the morning or afternoon:

1. Don’t arrive prior to 3:00pm to pick your child up. There is no point, students do not leave classrooms until 3:00pm and you risk a $192 fine for ‘parking’ in a no parking space. Instead, arrive between 3:05 – 3:15pm and this will ensure that you will be waiting for no longer than the 3 minutes allowed. We have staff on duty and supervising students until 3:20pm, so there is no need to rush to get to pick up time.
2. If you arrive and the line in the Kiss and Drop in Mulga Street is full, do a lap of the block and wait until a spot in Mulga St opens up. It is both illegal and very dangerous to ‘line up’ down Ramsey Avenue.
3. Ensure that if you are using the Kiss and Drop to collect your child, they can quickly, easily and without adult support get in the car, do their seatbelt up and allow you to move off from the line straight away. There really should not be a need for you to get out of your car at this time. If there is, we’d ask that you park and walk in to school to collect the students. We will keep reminding students of the need to be ‘ready’ and concentrating on knowing when your car arrives.

As always I thank you for your continued support of our school!

James

WHOLE SCHOOL MASS “CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME”

During term 3 each class at Stella Maris has undertaken learning to better understand how God calls us to look after our common home. The children explored ways that they can take action to look after our environment so that it can be enjoyed by all for years to come.  On Wednesday we celebrated this great work with a celebratory Whole School Mass outdoors. Fr Joseph led us in this Mass where we thanked God for the gift of creation and asked for God’s help to continue to work to look after our environment so that it can be enjoyed by future generations. During the day classes shared with their Buddy classes the good work that they had undetaken.

ADELAIDE DIOCESAN ASSEMBLY

On the weekend of the 17th and 18th of September I was fortunate enough to represent Stella Maris and St Ann’s Parish at the Diocesan Assembly. Over Friday night and Saturday, all those gathered discussed 8 key areas that had been identified as being in need of change, within the Catholic Church. In small discussion groups attendees came up with a number of recommended actions to bring about the suggested changes. On Thursday 23 September the Diocesan organising committee shared with those who attended the assembly, 8 highest ranked priorities suggested for change.

These included;

• Enabling opportunities for women to undertake roles of leadership within the Archdioceses.
• Establishing new models for ministry and service (encouraged by Pope Francis). A church that is outward focused.
• Church needing to reach out to the community and connection, instead of inviting them to come to us.
• Establishing a ‘Justice and Peace’ body/commission or something similar.
• Providing financial support for family-based programs.
• Education of the heart: encourage Catholic Social Teaching.
• Providing opportunities and resources for family faith formation.
• Exploring faith formation programs for adults and young people.

Recommendations were also put forward on the ‘explicit naming of who we want to be as people and as a Church’.

A Diocesan Council is being formed to help lead this work and a date has also been set for October next year, for another Diocesan Assembly to be held to ensure these suggestions are implemented.

More information is available on the diocesan website.

JOURNEY TO EMMAUS

Students in year 6 took part in their final day of the ‘Journey to Emmaus Program’ today. This program enables students from the four surrounding schools (McAuley, St Bernadette’s, Christ the King and St Martin de Porres) to meet one another prior to moving into middle school next year and to discuss and reflect upon how they can follow in the footsteps of Jesus and be the face of God to others in their daily lives.

This final day was held at McAuley Community School, with the final session of the day allowing students to spend time at the beach reflecting on how we can appreciate and care for the environment.

PARISH MASS

During term 4 students will again be able to attend Parish Mass in class cohorts on either Tuesday or Thursday. The students and staff alike are looking forward to the opportunity to join in prayer with parish members and to bringing some music to these Masses.

Welcome back for term 4! I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday break in preparation for a very busy term.

Homework Club

Thank you to our students and families in years 4-6 who participated in Homework Club during term 2 and 3. This was run in partnership with Sacred Heart College, with approximately 30-35 students taking part each week. Due to the busyness of term 4 for us and Sacred Heart, Homework Club will not continue this term. We look forward to working with Sacred Heart in the future, with Homework Club hopefully recommencing in 2022.

Kind Regards

Ella Kirkham

Assistant Principal (Religious Identity & Mission)