Newsletter Term 1 Week 1

Dear Families,

We hope this newsletter finds you well as we kick off a new school year. We are excited to welcome both returning and new families to our school community.

It has been a different break for my family as our shack is an island, surrounded by water, fortunately it did not reach the bottom of building as it is on stilts.  We lost access to our shack once the water crossed the road, soon after we broke up and have not been able to return since, except for one visit in our row boat!

This is what our property usually looks like.

This is what it looks like this morning!

I have been caravanning between Adelaide and Sydney.  I took a tour of the Murray River from Murray Bridge to Mildura, it was an amazing sight.  Hard to believe that there is so much water though.  I then got off the highway and travelled through all the small country towns, which was well worth doing.

On Monday we welcomed 78 Reception children and their families, many of the children having their first day at school.  We also have several new staff members who have joined us, Kelly Manera (Acting Deputy), Karyn Burlow (Finance Manager), Kirsty Jewell (Music), Sarah Helmore (Reception), Georgia Borlace (Year 1) and Demi Loustos (Year 4).

This year we have started with 518 children in our school.

We also welcome our new Parish Priest Father Manu Kumbidiyamackal. Father Manu joins us from the Para Hills/Modbury Parish where he has been for ten years.  Our School Leadership Team met with Father Manu to discuss how our school and parish work together in partnership.  Our first event will be our whole school Mass to celebrate the beginning of the year.  You can find further information about this in the newsletter.

The staff returned for three days of professional learning last week and in this newsletter, you will find information about what was being worked on that week.

The building works are progressing well and are on-target.  There will be a couple of weeks of inactivity as we gear up for the next stage and we appreciate that this has been well timed for the start of the school year!

You would already have noticed the physical changes that the building brings, such as entry and exits on Military Road and the front office being in the library.  Parents can still access the school during school hours using the Military Road gate (use pool fence gate to gain access).

Less obvious is the change to the school day, where we are really running two schools on the one site this year.  We have done this to maximise the play space at recess and lunch for our students, with the loss of green courts to the building project.

So, this year we have adjusted our bell times to the following:

RETIREMENTS

Helen Kolaczkos and Margaret Kluzek, our fantastic team in the library, have announced that they will be retiring this term.  Both have been involved in our school for many years, Margaret always in the library but Helen having spent many years as a classroom teacher, before moving into the library.  We wish both ladies all the best in their retirement.

As usual, schools are very busy places!   Please take note of the School Calendar for this term as it has a number of School activities, some of them approaching quite quickly.

We look forward to a successful and productive school year and are eager to work together to provide the best education for our students. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Regards
Damian Weeks

A warm welcome to you all as we commence our new school year! I trust you had an enjoyable holiday break spending time with your family and friends. I was fortunate enough to spend some quality time with my three children and husband up in Queensland enjoying sunshine, activities and indoor skydiving…. which I highly recommend for any thrill seekers. Funnily enough my ‘highly spirited’ three-year-old took centre stage and went into the wind tunnel twice much to the delight of all the onlookers outside.

It is wonderful to be back and part of the Star of the Sea School community. There has been a few changes during my three-year absence, primarily the new building works, however as I reflect on my return, I am reminded of the strong sense of community, teaching and learning rigour and inclusive values that continue to remain front and centre – all of which are integral to my educational and leadership ideals.

I look forward to the term ahead, especially getting to know the students and families I have not yet met and reconnecting with the familiar faces. Please come up and say hello if you see me around the school grounds.

This week our learners have been eased into the school year with a focus in all classrooms centring around relationships and wellbeing. This school wide focus aims to create positive and safe learning environments for all our students and strengthen relationships with peers and the teachers. Additionally, students and teachers co-construct expectations and desired behaviours for the year ahead and unpack our school values and motto. Our intention is that this two-week focus builds the foundation for a successful year of learning and belonging here at Star of the Sea School for 2023.

Wishing you a wonderful term ahead!

Go well

Kelly Manera
Acting Deputy Principal

Our Teachers returned to school for three days of professional learning last week.  We were able to focus on several areas.

SEQTA

SEQTA is a student management system which has primarily been used in many High Schools. If you have a child in High School, you may be familiar with some of the features and benefits of using this platform. Catholic Primary Schools in SA have now begun using SEQTA and will begin to use this platform to report student progress to parents. Here at Star of the Sea, our teachers have spent the past year exploring how to use SEQTA to plan and program lessons and units of work. At the beginning of this year our teachers engaged in many hours of professional development to ensure they are proficient in using this management system. This year, all end of semester reports will be generated via SEQTA. This means our reporting format and process will look different to how it has been in the past. We are currently working with CESA on this process and hopefully we will have more information on how our reports will look as the semester progresses.

CLARITY 

One of the main foci for the week was on the Clarity Framework, our system wide initiative and one its  main components - Student Agency. This means providing opportunities for students to be active participants in their education and the tools necessary to reflect on their own learning.  They are involved in decision making, self assessment, self reflection and goal setting, 

As part of our work in Week 0, the staff explored different ways in which each year level will incorporate goal setting into their learning space to help their students become active participants in their own learning. The aim for this term is that:

each child will set their own personal, Literacy and Numeracy goals.  
goals to be recorded and visible to students
time will be given for students to reflect on their goals before setting new ones

How each year level establishes and records their goals will be different but we are very much looking froward to watching our students become more independent, self reflective, enthusiastic learners.

AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM

The Australian Curriculum is a comprehensive national curriculum framework that outlines the learning and development outcomes for students in primary and secondary schools across Australia. The curriculum covers subjects including English, mathematics, science, history, geography, and the arts, as well as personal and social development, health and physical education, and design and technology. The curriculum is designed to be inclusive and responsive to the needs and interests of all students, and it is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure its relevance and effectiveness.  Last year version 9 was published and we spent time looking at the changes and the effect that this will have on what we are teaching this year.

VOICE CARE FOR TEACHERS

We were very fortunate to have a session run by Speech Therapist Elizabeth Sarris (a parent in our school) on Practical strategies for minimising voice strain.  It goes without saying that Teachers use their voice “a lot” and it was good to have a professional in the area share their knowledge with us.  Thanks Liz!