Newsletter Term 3 Week 8

Dear Families

How quickly the weather changes!  As I write this newsletter, we have sent off our Year 5’s to camp on a wet day, while yesterday was such a sunny day.  We hope that it is not too wet down at Wellington!

Congratulations to all the students who have made their Confirmation and First Communion at the Sacramental Masses on the weekend.  We welcome them into full participation in our Catholic Faith.

RETIREMENTS

If you were at a weekend Sacramental Mass you may have already heard the news, Stella Foley is retiring at the end of the year!  Stella has worked for Catholic Education for 43 years.  In her time here at Star of the Sea she has kept us up to date with everything in the Religious Dimensions and involved in so many areas of our school.  Stella, thank you for your professionalism, leadership and dedication to our school, its students and families.

Marian Izzo has been on leave this year and has decided to retire.  Marian has been a member of our school staff for many, many, years and has taught many students and families that have been connected to our school.  Thank you, Marian for sharing your expertise and passions with our school community.

Karen Linter is resigning her position at our school.  Karen has also been on leave this year.  Previously Karen had been working part-time and her last position was in Year 3.

TRAFFIC ISSUES

Our teachers work hard, after school, to make sure that students leave in a safe manner.  The focus for staff is on our students.

We would like to think that adults driving cars would also be highly concerned about the safety of all children.  With so many cars around our school at drop off and pick up, the “kiss and drop zones” have signs and road markings to assist in achieving safety for everyone.

One of the issues for the “wider community” is traffic coming down Military Road and our families sitting in the left-hand lane not moving (due to cars parked legally further down the road).  This creates a hazard for other road uses.  At times our neighbours have reported this to the police who issue fines to those drivers.

UNIFORM

We have two issues that seem to be growing amongst our students.  The first is “chiselled patterns” cut into hairstyles.  The second is the wearing on “leggings.” Could I please remind parents that these are not in line with our school uniform policy.

WATER BOTTLES

We had a distressing incident where a student was accidentally hit with a water bottle.  Unfortunately, the water bottle was made of metal and had a plastic coating, this made the bottle quite heavy and added to the problem.  I understand these bottles provide some insulation to keep water cold, but a better option may be to stick with the plastic bottles, especially for younger children.

IMPORTANT DATES

A National Day of Mourning will be observed for the passing of Her Majesty, The Queen, a National public holiday will be recognised on Thursday 22 September 2022.  All schools, services and offices will be closed on this day.

A Pupil Free Day is scheduled for Monday 17 October and we will welcome students back to school on Tuesday 18 October 

School Photos will be held on Monday 24 October.

Sports Day will be held on Thursday 3 November at the Henley oval.

On a personal note, I will be on Long Service Leave in the last week of term.  I will be attending the World Championships of Basketball, being held in Sydney.  Narelle Sandercock will be in charge of the school during my absence.

Regards
Damian Weeks.

We will soon begin the organisation of classes for next year.  We invite parents to share any educational factors regarding the placement of their child.  The type of information you may like to share could fall into a number of needs that your child has, social/emotional, learning, physical and behavioural (please note that this does not include selecting a particular teacher). 

Students also get input into their class placements and they will soon be asked to choose some friends that they would like to be with next year.

It is always possible to take into consideration requests received by the due date.  This is not the case once this date passes because moving one student will affect the placement of many other students and the balance of the class.

If you would like to share any educational factors regarding the placement of your child please email me by Friday 21 October dweeks@star.catholic.edu.au

Regards
Damian Weeks

It is important that students have a range of teachers, so they can experience different styles and develop different strengths over the years.  We discourage parents requesting specific teachers.  Also, each year teachers have the opportunities to change the year levels that they teach.  There is no need to requests friends for your child as every student has the opportunity to do this as part of the process.

It is always possible to take into consideration requests received by this time.  However, this is not the case once this date passes, for several reasons.

Our teaching staff will spend a considerable amount of time placing children into classes.  We will aim to make “balanced” classes, looking at the following issues:

• A balance of sexes
• Children who are progressing at the rate expected at their year level
• Children who are progressing beyond the expected rate
• Children who have needs (social/emotional, learning, physical, behavioural)
• Relationships
• Other factors

Once the process is finished, it is extremely difficult to entertain further input from parents because the movement of one child will more than likely effect other children in the class and the balance that we work hard to achieve.

In previous years, if you have put something in writing, you must do this again this year. Do not take it for granted that a request from a previous year will still be applied.

The points above can be used as a guide when putting a request in writing.

Remember the cut-off date for requests is Friday 19 October.

Didn’t our candidates look beautiful last weekend? Children from our Parish and School community celebrated the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion at three separate ceremonies. I’m sure they will have cherished memories of this day.

We were blessed to have Fr Dean Marin, Vicar General, preside at our masses, who, with his gentle manner, warm encouragement and words of wisdom from the Lion King, made quite an impact with our young people.

Special thanks must go to the Year 4 teachers, Domenique Laurendi, Eva Lake, Adam Francis and Caterina Ferragamo, who have supported the children across these past months, preparing them to become fully initiated members of the Catholic Church. Thanks also to Laurie Sammut, Barb Conlan and Jhovana Fenu for assisting with the Retreat Day.

Thank you, families and sponsors, for supporting your children and celebrating with us.

May our young people be blessed with peace, joy, hope and love.

Stella
APRIM

It is a wonderful privilege to be Star of the Sea’s inaugural APRIM (Assistant Principal – Religious Identity and Mission). Time has flown and, each and every day, with a smile, I look forward to coming to work. Thank you for allowing me to contribute to the education of your stunning children. Thank you to our hard working and inspiring staff. Special thanks to you, our fabulous families, who welcomed me with ‘Open Hearts and Open Minds’, so much so, that my family moved from the east and had a sea change.

During these marvellous years four very important little boys have been born into the Foley family, the youngest just three months old, and so, it is time for me to give them more of my loving attention. Therefore, at the end of the year, I shall be retiring. This is not goodbye, but a fond au revoir.

Stella

Year 4 – Saint Francis of Xavier Cathedral and Central Markets Day Trip

Learning Intention:

To participate in Eucharist, applying the fundamentals of ‘Faith in Action’ within our wider community; and
To tender money in the central markets

Success Criteria:

Experience the reverence of Mass in the cathedral
Articulate the message of the ‘Homily’ in conversation with peers
Purchase food and beverage items with cash and be able to calculate the change

Year 5 – El Shaddai Camp Experience

Learning Intention:

• To experiment with and utilize a variety of strategies for Personal Growth and Development whilst on camp.

Success Criteria:

• Engage in experiences that provide opportunities for being ‘out of our comfort zone’
• Notice our feelings and response to being in these situations
• Apply a range of strategies for managing these feelings
• Grow in relationship with ourselves (independence and intrapersonal communication)
• Deeper connections with others (interpersonal communication and social/emotional intelligence)
• Have fun!

Insert four camp photos that narelle sent through.

Student quotes from camp:

“The bravest thing I’ve done is being away from home” – Zara Cavallo

“The hardest part was saying goodbye for the first time” – Sophie Luey

“You try, try and try…….and then you will succeed” – Ava Cloy

“Don’t overthink it!” – Frankie Pedler

“Put your mind to it and you will achieve anything!” – Aster Kempster

“The hardest thing I’ve done today was the Giant Swing, but I told myself ‘you got this’ and it was fine!” – Avaya Keating

“You can go higher (on the giant swing) than you think” – Sean O’Reilly

“Face your fears and believe in yourself!” – Izzy Hunter, Charla Gordon and Zoe Chrisakis

“There are so many great opportunities to learn” – Jasmine Cross

“I am loving the food here!” – Emilio

“I learnt to just do it’ (when the camp activity seemed hard) – Anthony

“The coolest thing was the scaley snake wrapping around my neck!” Sean O’Reilly

“Seeing my friend go to the top of the giant swing was great!” – Alex Jones

“Try it. You might never get another chance.” – Lexie, Zoe, Amelie, Sabrina, Consilia and Saoirse

“I’m proud of myself” (for being on this camp) – Lexie, Zoe, Amelie, Sabrina, Consilia and Saoirse

“New day, new mindset” – Bridget Buss

“Push yourself out of your comfort zone” – Ella, Jacinta and Monita

Upper Primary “Visible Learning”

Year 6 – Literacy Program

Learning Intention:

• To improve reading fluency, adding correct phrasing and expression.

Success Criteria:

• Read aloud a passage of text to a partner.
• Receive and apply peer feedback for improving fluency, phrasing and expression
• Set new reading goals

Insert images from Louise Santillo

The Year 6 classes have enjoyed another eventful, fun-filled Term 3. With a continued learning focus on Phonology and Morphology, students can identify, discuss and apply the different spelling rules and patterns to help them correctly spell words.

The Year 6 Educators attended two professional learning days in Week 6 of this term, to observe the teaching practices of the Year 6 teachers at Salisbury Primary School; a ‘study tour’ as such in Phonology and Morphology. The days were jam packed, with the highlight being the Q&A panel and opportunities for shared understanding of pedagogical practices in Synthetic Phonics Literacy Programs. It was truly a unique and valuable experience which has helped build upon all the work Star of the Sea School educators have engaged for the past 2 years. 

Something new we have begun to experiment with since our tour, is Fluency Pairs (see images and Learning Intentions above). The children are given a text for the week and in partners, they read the text aloud, each day focusing on their fluency, phrasing and expression. At the end of the session, the pairs give each other feedback and help one another set their next reading goal. It has been amazing to see the class so engaged and enthusiastic! 

Last week I had the privilege to attend the 2022 National Catholic Education Conference in Melbourne. Below are some provocations that I was invited to consider and will continue to consider as an educator.

• How do we truly listen to our students, with an open heart, soul and presence? Then how do we action their thinking or let them know that they matter and their voices have been heard?
• How can we visibly care and model caring for our creation to our students? How do we ‘live’ the  Laudato Si by Pope Francis and practice prayer for Creation?
• Quote: ‘Every School is a Sacrament of Hope’ ‘Hope is not the same as joy-but the ability to work at something that is good. Where there is hope there is life’ Fr Anthony Gittins

Keynote Speakers who I found truly inspiring

Madeline Forde: Australian Representative, International Youth Advisory Body, Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life: https://mediablog.catholic.org.au/new-australian-delegate-for-vatican-youth-advisory-body/

Dr Peter Ellerton: Director-Curriculum and Pedagogy, Critical Thinking Project, University of Queensland and Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Critical and Creative Thinking: https://critical-thinking.project.uq.edu.au/profile/24/peter-ellerton

Dr Simon Breakspear, Research Fellow, Gonski Institute for Education, UNSW: https://simonbreakspear.com/

Beth Riolo, Catholic Education Diocese of Wollong, NSW : Professional Officer (Environment-Advocacy-Outreach) 

https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/catholic-education/wen/

Professor Donna Cross OAM, Winthrop Professor, The University of Western Australia and Senior Research Fellow and Strategic Advisor, Telethon Kids Institute: 

https://www.telethonkids.org.au/contact-us/our-people/c/donna-cross/

Dr Jordan Nguyen, Futurist: https://www.drjordannguyen.com/

If you follow Facebook, you can ‘like’ National Catholic Education Commission to view Photos of the conference. Website: https://www.ncec.catholic.edu.au/

Jhovana Fenu
REC Co ordinator