Newsletter Term 4 Week 5

Dear Families

I hope you have survived last weekend’s storm without too much damage or power-outages.  We have had some problems here that have affected the operations of our school with damage to our computer server causing havoc with anything ICT related.  Our shade sails on the green courts have also been damaged and will have to be replaced.

At this time of the year, teachers are working very hard on your child’s semester 2 report.  As part of the process, we also complete screening tests in literacy and numeracy for all children in our school.  We closely monitor literacy and numeracy development due to its importance to all areas of learning.

The testing we do here at school has also been reflected in our NAPLAN results.  In this newsletter I am sharing the results from NAPLAN in relation to our results in the top two bands.  Students achieving these results are often working beyond their year level and the results show just how well we are extended students at Star of the Sea school. See results below.

RETIREMENTS
Today I would like to share with you the staff who are retiring at the end of the year:
Stella Foley – APRIM
Marian Izzo – Class Teacher
Jane Leonard – Finance Manager

Stella has worked in Catholic Education for 26 years and 7 years at our school.  In her time 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 years and has taught in Catholic Education for 43 years. She has been connected to many students and families that have been part of our school.  Thank you, Marian for sharing your expertise and passions with our school community.

Jane has worked as the Finance Manager at our school for over 15 years and in Catholic Education for 22.  Jane’s career has involved working in a number of Catholic Schools as well as in the Head Office.  Jane and her husband have started an adventure buying a block of land on the Yorke Peninsula and building a house. Jane, thank you for all your hard work and dedication.

PERMANENT TEACHER APPOINTMENTS
Today I would also like to share the exciting news that three of our contract staff have won permanent positions on our staff:
Maria Trimarchi
Kopano Shepheard
Anthony Pigliacelli

SCHOOL STATIONERY
We are changing our supplier in this area, due to a $13 delivery fee being applied to student book orders by our current supplier.  There is no action required by parents at this stage.  We will be moving to OFFICEWORKS, who will deliver orders for free.  All the information regarding what, when and how to order will be shared with you in the coming weeks.

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
At our November meeting we were delighted to meet the builders of our new building, Partek, represented at the meeting by Peter Sarakinis and Garth Hall.  Garth is also a parent in our school!  Plans were shared about the demolition process, which will happen in January and their plans for keeping everyone safe during the building process.

We will have another newsletter in week 7 to explain what to expect when the building work begins.

FUTURE EVENTS

110 YEARS MASS
Tomorrow in the Church, 11:45am – everyone is welcome to join in.

CAROLS

• Friday December 9 on the oval/grandstand (as usual), starting at 5:45pm
• Families may bring 5 people (excluding any students enrolled in our school as they will be with their class teacher)
• Reception to Year 5 classes will perform
• Inclement weather plan – the event will be cancelled

END OF YEAR LITURGY/FARWELLS

• This is our whole school celebration for the end of year
• Wednesday December 14
• Whole school attends
• Parents are invited to attend

Regards
Damian Weeks

Uniform Sale
2023 Yr 3 Families (current Year 2’s) are invited to purchase smaller sized formal summer and winter uniforms that will fit children now and into the 2023 year. As we have large amounts of stock in the smaller sizes, we are encouraging families to consider purchasing these uniform items at a discounted price, rather than have families purchase the larger sized uniforms for students to ‘grow into’. Please click on the following link for all shop location and times.

2022 Report Information
Our educators are busy finalizing various assessments for the year, reflecting on each child’s learning journey progress. It is a very rewarding time in our profession, but it is also very busy, and timelines are tight! Not only are we wrapping up the 2022 year, we are also busy planning and preparing for the 2023 year.

As you receive your child’s report this year, please keep in mind that this is a ‘snapshot’ in time; just like a photograph that you might take of your child. The report is an indicator of progress made at a certain point in time, (which happens to be our assessment and reporting deadline). Reports are quite simply a reflection of achievements in the past, shared formally with families by teachers. Our educators are aware of the learning continuum and acknowledge that learning continues for all children, even after the report deadline passes. 

Reporting occurs both formally and informally throughout a school year. The informal reporting involves the day-to-day discussions, meetings, emails, See-Saw posts and sharing of learning folders. The formal reporting is the academic report. As this is a formal text, it is important to remember that:

It is written to the family, not the child.
It affirms a child’s strength’s
It acknowledges areas of future potential
It includes evidence of academic progress
The student, and their learning, is the focus of every sentence!

Inclusivity and The Common Good

Families are encouraged to actively support and promote the growth and development of other children in their child’s class and school, as well as their own. In doing so, this directly benefits your own child. This is what Jesus explains to us about seeking the common good. Doing what is right for the whole community, is a far superior way of achieving the common good, then seeking out what is right for just one child; that being our own. Because families love their children so completely, they can often be ‘blinkered’ by the reality of the classroom or school yard situation. Children at Star of the Sea School genuinely have a blast in their day, both within and outside of the classroom. Yes, there are problems. There are always problems in relationships, but none too big that we cannot solve them. Supporting children to grow and develop healthy relationships with each other and to be social problem-solvers in respectful ways is to future proof them for life as an adult.

God never promised that life would be all sunshine and rainbows. God did promise though, that through persistence and faith, we could grow and learn to live fulfilling lives, despite the difficulties and challenges we encounter. Not every person we meet is going to like what we like, not every person we meet is going to agree with us, but learning to encounter this now, in primary school, in a nurturing, kind and inclusive way is excellent preparation for the world beyond the school walls. Imagine only ever having ‘like children’, with ‘like abilities’ and ‘like strengths’ within a classroom. Children would never be presented with opportunities for developing emotional intelligence. With classrooms like these, children have less opportunity to understand and appreciate cultural diversity, intellectual diversity and inclusivity. We take great pride in our provision of the highest quality educational service within our Catholic co-educational setting. Educators are professionals with Bachelor or Master’s level degrees. Trying to imagine what it would be like to be a parent, when you are not one, is like trying to imagine what it would be like to be a teacher, when you are not one.  Until one is immersed in the day to day of having that professional, moral, and ethical responsibility for multiple diverse little people, one cannot really know what the learning climate is like within the classroom. One thing is for sure, our educators at Star of the Sea School are excellent pedagogical practitioners who love and care for your children! Let’s always be grateful for that.

Narelle Sandercock
Acting Deputy Principal

Canteen Gratitude
The canteen is a wonderful service that Star of the Sea School provides for the learning community. The convenience of having such a service is often taken for granted. There are some schools so small or so large that a personalized food and beverage service, such as the one Dee Taggart provides for our hungry and thirsty learners, is not feasible. Her snack and lunch options are lovingly prepared from scratch each and every day. It is no surprise that her products are sought after. It is important to remember, how grateful we are of such a service and not take it for granted. This is something that Jesus teaches us through the gospel stories.  “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”

Correct Orders
Please use the QKR app to place your lunch order by 9.15am. Lunch orders can be placed up to two weeks in advance, just ensure you select the right date for your order!

If your child is unwell or won’t be at school on the day of a previously scheduled lunch order, these can be cancelled on the morning of the lunch order. The cut-off time for cancellations is 9.15am and this will result in a credit for future use.

Please ensure you proceed to the checkout to finalise your order, as this is the common missed step which results in lunch orders not being processed.

NEW PROCESS FOR STUDENTS ARRIVING TO SCHOOL WITHOUT LUNCH
Sometimes packing lunch for children can be missed, forgotten or misplaced in the busyness of our mornings. Mistakes are a part of life. We know that! That’s ok.

No longer will children have an ‘unlimited choice of food and snack options’, when they arrive to school without lunch, as this is not catered for, and this does not promote greater accountability. Children will need to see their teacher to receive an ‘I forgot my lunch’ yellow slip, before they can attend the canteen to receive lunch. Children without these slips will not be served lunch. Dee will provide children with a plain sandwich (think buttered bread or vegemite, or plain cheese sandwich) and a muffin. That’s it.

Unfortunately, some children have been opportunistic and have been taking advantage of the canteen service. To ensure Dee has every opportunity to successfully order and prepare the right quantities of food, with minimal waste, we need families to follow the correct process for ordering lunch for their children and for children to follow the new ‘forgotten lunch process’. Promoting a minimal waste approach is consciously Catholic because Pope Francis encourages this of us in his encyclical “Laudato Si”.

NEW PROCESS FOR STUDENTS ARRIVING TO SCHOOL WITHOUT A DRINK BOTTLE
Students will no longer receive bottled water as an IOU in the instance of them losing or forgetting to pack their own personal drink bottles. Children will be redirected to get a drink from one of the school water fountains if they have lost or misplaced their drink bottles. This will encourage greater responsibility for personal belongings but also promote sustainability practices. FUN FACT: Humans use about 1.2 million plastic bottles per minute in total! This is not good for the environment or for our precious planet Earth!

So, in short, please pack water bottles and encourage children to be responsible for these because bottled water will not be given as an IOU from the school canteen when children forget theirs.

Please also ensure your child arrives to school with sufficient food that they like to eat and encourage them to only visit the canteen if they come to school with spending money or have a yellow slip for a ‘forgotten lunch’.

Reminding children about the importance of lining up correctly, exercising patience, showing respect and using their manners when visiting the canteen is also strongly encouraged!

Narelle Sandercock
Acting Deputy Principal

CONGRATULATIONS to all Star Of The Sea Students and Staff. We were selected as one of the 55 high achieving schools in the state.

We received an invitation to attend the 2022 Premier’s Reading Challenge Reception last Tuesday, 8 November at the Sanctuary, Adelaide Zoo.

It was my absolute pleasure to take along two students to this event to represent our school. Innes Wilkie, Year 6KS and Isabella Garreffa, Year 5T.

At the Reception students were presented to the Education Minister, the Hon. Mr Blair Boyer who gave them a selection of books and certificate to further encourage schools and students to engage and enjoy reading.

Matt Cowdry, Member Of Colton was in attendance. He congratulated both students and Star Of The Sea School on the achievement.

Later we enjoyed some light refreshments and both Innes and Isabella were able to chat with authors Phil Cummins and Adam Cece. They also met Sue Harris, a well-known puppeteer who is also a PRC Ambassador. She gives her time to visit schools and spread the message of the importance of reading and libraries in our schools.

It was a wonderful day all round. Innes and Isabella were very proud, beautifully behaved and fine examples of Star of the Sea students.

As a treat we spent some time at the Zoo, admiring the many amazing animals and gardens.

I would like to sincerely THANK the parents of both students, Joe & Pina Garreffa and Jennifer Wilkie-Bryne for their amazing support. This visit would not have been possible without their willingness to transport their children to the event. I am most grateful for their assistance.

Matt Cowdry Member Of Colton

Isabella & Innes with The Hon Blair Boyer, Minister Of Education

Author Phil Cummins having a chat with our students

Sue Harris, Puppeteer 

Author Adam Cece