Newsletter Term 4 Week 3

Every 12 years Principals qualify for renewal leave and last term I took half of my eligible leave, to do three things:

• Visit the birthplace of the Sisters of Mercy, in Dublin
• Intensive study at the Leuven University
• Walk some of the Camino trail

The second leg of my trip took me Leuven, a small city of 100, 000 people, located in Beligum.  Here I was to attended KU Leuven, one of the oldest universities in the world, to participate in a two week long intensive course on Catholic Identity.  Leuven has been a university town since 1425 and students come from all over Belgium and the world to study here.

Attending the course were 14 educators from Adelaide, joined by more than a dozen other educators from the Eastern seaboard and one participant from Croatia.

Unlike Australia, where our Universities are located more often in one area, KU Leuven had faculties all over the town.  Each day we attended lectures in a different faculty, which had us walking all over town!  The day started with prayer, which was also held in a different chapel or church across the town.

The intensive course had us on the road at 8am finding the day’s prayer venue, followed by lectures till about 5pm.  In the second week there were some excursions to visit schools, which was quite nice and broke up the lectures.

The study intensive was all about the Catholic Identity of schools and how to enhance this in the modern-day world.  The university has been researching this for some time and have been working in a number of States across Australia.  The Second Vatican Council had quite a lot to say about the mission of Catholic Education and the course is built on this.  The course highlights the context in which Catholic Education takes place, always determined by its history and in dialogue with the culture.  In this way we can look at the strengths, opportunities and challenges.  The course invited us to recontextualise our Catholic School identity in dialogue with our context, and the development of our belief system and that of the students we teach.

Dear Star of the Sea Families

Year 6 Students

As we will soon approach the middle of this final term of 2023, I am conscious of the positive contribution our Year 6s make to the school community.

Just yesterday some of our wonderful student leaders assisted by welcoming prospective families to our school, and each day they ensure the safety of families entering and leaving the school at each of the school crossings.

Thank you Year 6 students for the caring, respectful and friendly manner in which you support others in our school.

OSHC Survey

All early childhood services including OSHC and Vacation Care are required by the Education and Care National Law and Regulations to provide a quality service that caters for children and their families. 

The National Quality Standard outlines 7 Quality Areas that services are expected to know, understand and cater for on a daily basis.

At Star of the Sea OSHC we are committed to providing the best possible environment for all students who attend. Families whose children currently attend OSHC should have received a link to complete the survey. If you have not received the email about the survey, please contact Donna Marshall to update your email address and have the survey link sent to you. The survey closes next Tuesday 7 November 2023.

We look forward to hearing from families about our successes as well as opportunities for growth. All of the data received will be utilised to establish goals for the service, and form part of our annual Quality Improvement Plan.

Please feel welcome to approach our OSHC Director, Donna Marshall or myself if you have any questions about the survey.

Gemma D'Angelo
Acting Deputy Principal

This Year we are celebrating Mission Week next week, Monday 6^th November to Friday 10^th November.

The Theme this year is ‘Reaching Out with Love’.

Each day, the students will be participating in a variety of activities to help them understand the importance of reaching out to others and how we can be missionaries of God’s work.

Here is a schedule of what we will focus on each day during the week.

Monday: What does it mean to choose love

Tuesday: Love Yourself

Wednesday: Reaching out to others by donating clothes to Vinnies

Thursday: Reaching out to others by donating items for Vinnies food bunker

Friday: Mission Day Market Stalls

On Wednesday, we are asking families to donate any clothes items that are no longer needed. Please bring these along and we will organise to have them delivered to Vinnies.

On Thursday we are asking families to donate an item for the Vinnies food bunker which is located over at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church.

Here is a list of the items that they desperately need:

• Jars of vegemite
• Cereal (Weetbix and Cornflakes)
• Pasta Sauce
• Cans of sweet corn
• Cans of peas and carrots
• Cans of tuna
• Cans of soup
• Packets of pasta / spaghetti

Mission Market Day is on Friday Week 4, the 10th of November at 1:30pm – 2:30pm. Each class from Years 3 to 6 will oversee two stalls, one that sells goods and one that is activity based. Each class teacher will send out more information regarding what is needed for your class stalls.

This is a casual clothes day, please wear a splash of red.

This is a cashless event, and our Mission Day Donation Cards are now available to purchase on QKR. Please go to School Fundraising / Charity Collections / 2023 Mission Day Market and choose from a $2.00, $5.00 or $10.00 donation card. Please ensure you purchase a card for each individual child. Sales close on Wednesday 8^th November. Cards will be given to the children on the day. Goods, raffles and activities range from 50c to several dollars. Cards are stamped as students visit the stalls. Completed cards are recycled to enter the ‘Grand Prize Raffle’ which will be drawn after lunch. As cards are considered a donation, no money will be refunded. 

All money donated will go towards assisting Vinnies with the amazing work they do in supporting families in our local community.

As always, thank you for your generosity and continued support.

With Gratitude,
Dominique Laurendi