Newsletter Term 1 Week 7

Dear Families

Last week we held our first assembly of the year for the whole school for the year.  It was great to see so many people under one roof.  Congratulations to the many students who received their badges on the day, these students are all playing a part in leading in our school.  We will hold another whole school assembly in the middle of next term.

Next term, there will be Year level assemblies in the Stella Maris Room, that families will be invited to.  These assemblies will be where the Year level will celebrate the work that is happening across their cohort.

STAFFING
Sam Carpenter is going on parenting leave next term.  Sarah Merrett will be replacing her until the end of year.  Sarah is a very experienced teacher, she has moved here with her family and has children in our school.

Ella Borlase will teach one of the two Mid-Year Reception classes.  Ella has been working as our Permanent relief teacher since last year.

Olivia Watts has been working as an ESO for a number of years in our school. Olivia will graduate at the end of term 2 and we will employ her in terms 3 & 4 as our Permanent relief teacher.

NUMERACY – WHOLE SCHOOL FOCUS FOR 2024
Throughout this year, our teaching staff will participate in intensive professional learning in the area of Numeracy.  Working in conjunction with our coaches from the Catholic Education Office, our School Leadership team and Leaders of Learning will spend every other Wednesday working on our strategy.  The following Tuesday we will present professional learning to our staff.  This whole school focus has a six-point plan.

1. Develop a whole school Numeracy agreement.

2. Use of our student data to inform the planning of Numeracy improvement strategies, including the identification of key areas to address.

3. Planning for High Quality Teaching and Learning of Mathematics using Curriculum Mapping aligned to version 9 of the Australian Curriculum

4. Unpacking the key teaching approaches and practices for teaching Mathematics effectively

5. Developing the Assessment practices we are using in Mathematics

6. Planning for Case Management; including Identification of students requiring support and extension

PUPIL FREE DAYS (PFD)
A tradition in our school is to hold these valuable professional learning days at the start of terms 2, 3 & 4. Term 2, Monday April 29th will be a PFD and will focus on Numeracy.

NCCD
Currently teachers are putting in a lot of work, in the background, collecting information for the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD).  In our school nearly 100 students are included in this process.

The NCCD is a collection that counts:

• the number of school students receiving an adjustment or ‘help’ due to disability
• the level of adjustment they are receiving to access education on the same basis as other students.

Students are counted in the NCCD if they receive ongoing adjustments at school due to disability. This ‘help’ allows them to access education on the same basis as a child without disability. The NCCD uses the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

Funding from the Australian Government for students with disability is based on the NCCD through the student with disability loading.

Students who are counted in the top three levels of the NCCD (extensive, substantial and supplementary) attract the loading. Funding is based on a per-student amount at each of the three levels of additional support. The amount of the loading reflects the level of support students with disability need to participate fully in school, with higher funding for those who need higher levels of support.

An adjustment is an action to help a student with disability take part in education on the same basis as other students.

The school assesses the needs of each student with disability. The school provides adjustments in consultation with the student and/or their parents, guardians and carers.

Schools must make reasonable adjustments if needed. The Disability Standards for Education 2005 define ‘reasonable adjustment’ as an adjustment that balances the interests of all parties affected.

Schools identify which students will be counted in the NCCD. They base their decisions on the following:

• adjustments provided for the student (after consultation with the student and/or their parents, guardians and carers)

• the school team’s observations and professional judgements

• any medical or other professional diagnoses

• other relevant information.

School Principals must ensure that information for the NCCD is accurate.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS
Just a reminder that the next formal opportunity to meet with teachers will be early next term (weeks 2 & 3), when we hold our Parent Teacher Interviews.  If your child has a PPL this will be emailed to you beforehand and the meeting will be a discussion around the adjustments for this year. 

SEMESTER 1 REPORTS
As you would recall Catholic Schools in SA have moved to a Learning Management system called SEQTA and this has led to a change in our School reports.  This year we are going to begin our work on SEQTA Engage, the platform for Parent interaction with our Learning Management system.  This will be a slow transition, with the first step simply being access to your child’s semester 1 report through this system.  At the beginning of next term, we will walk everyone through the steps on how to do this.

BUILDING
We are in the final stages of the program.  The renovation of classroom spaces, in preparation for our final Year 1 class move to level 1, is almost complete.  The basketball courts have been uncovered and new asphalt laid around the previously dug up areas.  The new asphalt will need a couple of weeks to settle and then the entire area will be repainted.  All landscaping has been completed.  It won’t be long now!

HOLY THURSDAY
There is a full day of school on this day and children will be dismissed at the usual time (3:05pm).

Regards
Damian Weeks

Dear Families,

I trust the long weekend was a recharge for you all as we near the end of Week 7. This week our Year 3 and Year 5 students are undertaking the NAPLAN assessments. We encourage families with children engaging in NAPLAN to continue to support them by speaking in a positive manner about the assessments, letting class teachers know if your child is experiencing any anxiety, ensuring a smooth and calm start to the school day and like all the staff here, offer encouragement and positive dialogue for them to just try their best!

EVENTS
Our hardworking P&F are organising our Easter Raffle.  Thank you to those families who have already donated Easter chocolates, gifts or crafts to support the raffle.  Donations can be made up until the Thursday 28 March. The raffle will be drawn on the Tuesday 2 April after our Easter Liturgy. 

Our committee are also hosting a Ladies Night on Friday 22 March at OAR at 7:30pm for all ladies and their friends (You do not have to be Star parents). A great way to connect with other people from our school community!  Tickets can be purchased via Qkr!

We are fortunate to have so many opportunities across the year to build connection and community at Star of the Sea School!

THE IMPORTANCE ROUTINES
I came across an article discussing how beneficial routines are for both our children but also ourselves as parents. It really made me reflect on my own household and ensuring I have routines for not only my children but myself. 

Predictable, repetitive routines have been proven to be calming and help reduce stress and anxiety. This is partly because they give you a sense of control over your day, and that then expands out into feeling in control of your life. There is also a sense of relief in achieving everything you need to do, which in turn reduces anxiety and stress.  It can be challenging at times getting into a routine, but as we know once the routine is established, it makes things easier for everyone involved. 

TIPS ON HOW TO GET INTO A ROUTINE 

1. Decide what needs to be in your routine. Do you want to get more exercise or more alone time?

2. Set small goals. Break each large goal into smaller goals - work your way up to something you want to accomplish.

 3. Layout a plan - add in what you want to accomplish with your routine. Want to get more exercise? Start a new hobby?

4. Be consistent with time - time is important for your routine, keep track of the time so you know what is coming up next.

5. Make it fun! Have fun with your routine don’t add in something you’re not going to enjoy.

6. Track your progress - are you sticking to the routine? If so, then well done and keep it up. If not, then look for where you can improve.

7. Reward yourself.

Have a safe and happy fortnight. 

Annette Diassinas
Deputy Principal

Sacrament of Reconciliation
Last Thursday evening 50 of our Year 4 students celebrated their Sacrament of Reconciliation. Reconciliation (sometimes called the Sacrament of Penance, and also known as Confession) is one of the seven Sacraments and is a Sacrament of Healing.  Reconciliation is an opportunity to ask for forgiveness for the times we have sinned and turned away from God.

After the students have been given an absolution by the priest, they are invited to spend some time in quiet prayer to reflect on the sacredness of this Sacrament. This is a special time between the child and Jesus.

During Lent, we are all called to pray, repent, and examine how we can be more like Jesus. We are reminded to ask ourselves; “What can I do to be more like Jesus today?”

Harmony Day
Next week we celebrate Harmony Day. This is a time to recognise and celebrate our differences and all the things that make us unique.

We will be celebrating Harmony Day on Wednesday 20^th March here at Star of the Sea.

• All students are invited to wear something orange or to wear a multicultural costume that represents their cultural heritage.
• We will have a whole school gathering on the oval at 9:15am to celebrate. Everyone welcome!
• Students are encouraged to pack a lunch for themselves that represents their culture.
• We will read stories with our buddies and engage in some fun and creative activities throughout the week.

In the words of Roald Dahl, “We’re all different, but there is something kind of fantastic about that, isn’t there?”

Star Outreach
We have a wonderful group of parents here at Star of the Sea, called the Star Outreach committee. This passionate and dedicated group of parents focus on ways that we can come together as a community to support each other. One of the ways the Star Outreach group supports our community is through the Community Kitchen. They cook and prepare meals which are stored in the freezer in the tuckshop area. Parents in our school are welcome to access these meals to help support working families and to support anyone who is experiencing challenges in their lives. If you or if you know of anyone who would benefit from the support of our community kitchen, please feel free to contact me at dlaurendi@star.catholic.edu.au so I can assist them with accessing this wonderful service.

With Gratitude
Domenique Laurendi

Dear Families,

Welcome to Week 7!

Kids who do chores are more successful in adult life…….

I have seen a lot of buzz this week on social media around research that indicates children who regularly help around the home doing chores develop into more successful adults and that getting our kids to do chores is one of the most significant predictors of developing work ethic as adults. This research isn’t that new, in fact, a Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the world’s longest studies of adult life running since 1938 has identified two key things that enable adults to be happy and successful in life. The first being love and the second, work ethic.

As a parent, we accept what this research is telling us, but truth be told it can be tougher than it seems and sometimes (and we have all been there), it often doesn’t wind up being less work for you as the parent. So here is the catch, it isn’t about the chore or task being done perfectly. It is actually the ‘roll up your sleeves and pitch in mindset’. In life, there is unpleasant work and menial tasks that need to be complete, and somebody has to do it so we may as well all pitch in and get it done. Can you see already how that could translate later in life as a positive, particularly in the workplace? Children can learn that by doing chores, they are part of a larger eco-system, in turn becoming more selfless and hopefully even having a better sense of self-worth. If done right within the family dynamic, it can even strengthen family bonds and instil the work ethic previously mentioned in the 80+ year study.

So here are some helpful tips for getting kids onboard (taken from the Connected Parenting website).

• Connect with your child first – they are not trying to be difficult so recognise that a child’s brain may not multitask like yours, so choose an appropriate time to initiate the chore and the conversation around it……not in the middle of a Roblox game!
• Commentate on what you see – children don’t always see what you see (liked the freshly ironed clothes draped over my teenage son’s chair from the previous week). So, break it down and narrate the actions you are suggesting. For example, ‘I see paper on the ground and textas with caps off. It would be hard to play with the Lego with this all still around, how about you put on all the texta lids and I will work on the scraps of paper’ before we get out the next activity.
• Help them and be kind. This is what our educators would also do, that is, meet kids where they are at. Consider their age and the chore. If they don’t complete the chore how we would like, carefully consider how you deliver that feedback and how you can support them in improving for next time.
• Create visual cues and clues – things can be helpful, particularly for younger children. You would be surprised how much kids like ticking things off!
• Try to have fun. Easier said than done I know! How about rephrasing the chore to make it sound like a game. For example, “today we are going to war against the weeds in the garden, I really need your help” or “let’s set a timer challenge and see how much we can do before the buzzer sounds off”.

Has this given you something to think about for your household? There are plenty of TED talks unpacking this further if you have the time to watch.

Enjoy the weekend ahead……. Spotless home and all!

Go well,
Kelly Manera

Assistant Principal Learning and Wellbeing