Term 4 Week 3

We celebrate the power of music and dance as we bask in the aftermath of a fantastic concert, our school turns Blue, Gold, Green and Red as we gear up towards our Sports Day on Friday and we continue to work hard to ensure excellence in teaching and learning is achieved. This is Week 3 of Term 4!

WHAT A BIG FEW WEEKS:

I have said for a while that Term 4 was going to be a busy one – but WOW what a big couple of weeks we have had here at Stella.

Last Thursday’s concert was the culmination of many months of organisation, hard work, practice and teamwork. The positive affirmations we have received and continue to receive certainly make the hard work worth it – as does the joy that performing on stage brings to many of our students.

I also thank you for supporting this initiative – we had just 2 students (both of whom were sick) not attend the night performance and so I thank you for your support in ensuring all students were present on the night. Performing on stage to a large audience is what the Arts is all about.

There was no rest this week however, as we dove straight into getting ready for Sports Day – which occurs this Friday. I sent some important reminders to all parents via email and See Saw about our expectations for Sports Day (on Tuesday). I’d ask that you are aware of what needs to occur and the plan for the day. We will do so more officially over the coming days, but I think Kym Hill for the very organised manner in which our Sports Day has been planned for over the last few weeks. I think you’ll enjoy a great day.

We are very much looking forward to another fantastic whole school event.

TRANSITION VISITS:

This morning we also welcomed 32 brand new Receptions who have started their Transition to school visits with us. It was a great privilege to welcome the new families to school and see the children engage in their first ‘taste’ of Stella Maris.

Our new students, will join with our current 17 from the mid-year to form our two Reception classes for 2022. Please make these families and parents feel welcome if you see them in the yard over the next few weeks.

COVID UPDATE:

I am pleased to let you know that we have an easing of restrictions. As of next week, parents will not need to wear masks while collecting or dropping off their child provided they socially distance in the yard. However, if you are entering any of our school buildings (office space, classrooms or needing to see teachers) you will need to wear a mask.

You will note that there is a continued push on ensuring our population continues to get vaccinated, and with yesterday’s announcement that our borders will be opening on 23^rd November (for vaccinated people) – this becomes even more important.

Further information regarding vaccinations of primary school aged children will be coming out soon.

PAT TESTING AND DATA COLLECTION:

One of the important elements of our work is collecting data which provides us with information about student progress, development and growth. This is done by our teachers on a regular basis through ongoing assessment collection.

However, we also use a number of assessments which all students sit on a regular basis to determine achievement and growth from year to year. One of these is our PAT testing. PAT – which stands for Progressive Achievement Tests occur for all students in Year 1-6 each year. They are similar in nature to NAPLAN testing (they are online and have a similar format) and are used widely across Australia and internationally.

This week and next, all students will sit tests in Reading and Maths (Yr1-6) and Spelling and Grammar and Punctuation (Yr 3-6). These results will be analysed by Ella and I and our classroom teachers both at an individual student and class and whole school level to keep track on development and identify areas for increased focus and attention.

This data is also used to shape planning for 2022.

PARKING RESTRICTIONS:

Recently we had a visit from Hamid Hashemi, the Traffic Survey Officer at the City of Marion. We are continuing to work with the council regarding parking challenges around pick up time, and they continue to provide us with support and ideas about how and what we might try.

Recently, Hamid reported to us the following had issue had been identified by the council:

“I am writing to advise you that the existing time parking restriction on southwest area of Syme Ave, Seacombe Gardens will be removed and no stopping will be installed which represented by yellow line marking.

As advised, the current road width is not compliant with “Australian Standard – Parking facilities” when cars are parked in 60 degrees angle parking bays. It creates difficulty for vehicles to manoeuvring in and out of angled parking. Also, Parked vehicles are limited the sight distance of students whom use the pedestrian kerb ramp to cross the street”.

Essentially, this means the area which is currently used to park cars on the school side of Syme Avenue will now be a no parking at any time area.

As the term continues to fly along at break neck speed, I again reiterate that my door is always open, my phone is on and my emails are working should you wish to contact me for any reason at all.

Thanks.

James

THE BACKGROUND TO ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS DAYS 1st AND 2nd NOVEMBER

Dear families, next Monday and Tuesday we commemorate the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls Day with a Whole School Mass on Monday morning. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, we are again unable to have parents join us at this Mass. I thought it was important however, to share a little history related to these two special times in the Church calendar.

The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, or All Souls’ Day, began sometime after All Saints’ Day, between 998 and 1030. St. Odilo, the abbot at the Benedictine Monastery in Cluny, France, encouraged all the monks to pray for the souls of those who had died, those awaiting the joys of heaven. He instituted this commemoration on the day after All Saints’ Day, and soon other religious orders and churches began to annually remember all who had died, on this same date. Remembering and praying for the faithful departed is tied directly to the Catholic belief in purgatory.

On All Souls’ Day the universal Church prays for all those in purgatory, people who were much like us. By praying for them, members of the Catholic faith are inspired to lead purer lives. On the 2nd of November, and throughout the entire month, Catholics remember their departed family and friends. They visit their graves, pray for them, give alms, do good works, and ask for Masses to be said in remembrance of them.

Catholics light candles, and in some parishes, members write the names of their deceased family members and friends into a commemorative book and ask others to pray for them.

Prayer for the Faithfully Departed

Merciful Father,
On this day, we are called to remember those who have died,
Particularly those who have died in the past year,
And pray for their joyful reunion with you, their loving creator.
As your son taught us to call the stranger  our neighbor,
Names we will never know,
Voices we have never heard,
In lands we may never visit,
Yet brothers and sisters all.
And so we pray:
For victims of war, caught in the crossfires of
conflicts we could not quell,
for soldiers and civilians,
adults and children, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
For those migrants who have died seeking a
haven where they hoped to find safety
and opportunity for themselves and for their families, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
For victims of hunger, denied their share in the
bounty you have placed before us, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
For victims of infectious diseases,
who died before adequate care could reach them, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
For those refugees seeking asylum from war,
who died in a land that was not their home, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
For victims of emergencies and calamities everywhere,
who died amid chaos and confusion, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
Lord, as you command, we reach out to the fallen.
We call on you on behalf of those we could not reach this year.
You raised your son from the dead
that all may share in his joyful resurrection.
In Jesus' name, we pray …
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord. And may their souls and all the souls of all the faithfully departed, rest in peace.

Amen

CLASS PARISH MASSES

This term all classes will join members of the St Ann’s Parish at Mass on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9.15am. At these Masses the children have the opportunity to participate and to bring joy to the Parishioners with their beautiful singing led by Mrs Traeger.

Parents are welcome to join us at these Masses. COVID protocols of COVID checking in and mask wearing are required. We look forward to seeing you there.

SOUTHERN CROSS

The current edition of the Catholic newspaper put out by the Archdiocese called,’ The Southern Cross,’ is available at; www.thesoutherncross.org.au

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

Our children are like mirrors – they reflect our attitudes in life.

God’s Blessings,

Paula Clark

APRIM

Dyslexia Awareness Month

October is Dyslexia Awareness month, aimed at raising awareness and starting conversations around Dyslexia. In support of Code Read’s ‘Light it Red for Dyslexia’ campaign, students were invited to wear red yesterday, in support and acknowledgement of those who have dyslexia.

Dyslexia a is a neurological disability that affects 1 in 5 people and impacts on the development of literacy skills. It is characterised by problems with spelling, accurate or fluent word recognition, working memory, phonological decoding and weak phonemic awareness. Put more simply, people with dyslexia have difficulty processing/identifying the sounds in written and spoken language, which makes reading/writing/spelling difficult. 

Early identification and intervention is key to helping students with dyslexia. By providing effective classroom practice and intervention where required for students across R-6, all children have the opportunity to succeed. Our early years classes provide a highly structured language approach that incorporates the use of systematic, synthetic phonics that are taught through explicit instruction. Decodable readers are the primary reading materials for developing readers, which match students phonics knowledge and skills. These benefit all early and developing readers, including those with dyslexia.

If you are looking for further information on dyslexia please don’t hesitate to contact me. There are also a number of great online resources available. The Code Read website, https://codereadnetwork.org/ has some great information and resources as does the various Australian SPELD websites.

Ella Kirkham

Assistant Principal (Learning & Wellbeing)