Thank you to our Volunteers

Dear Parents and Friends,

The end of another full year at Star of the Sea is looming and we are well and truly into Dizzy December, and with less than three weeks of the term to go, things are hotting up and it’s not just the weather. School life continues to be busy with a great deal happening in and out of the classrooms. Last night I sat in the heat for thirty minutes in a queue for discounted petrol only to realise I had saved myself $3.40. Then again it was good to just sit and be still and to savour the moment.

There are a number of big events looming on the school calendar in the coming weeks and I urge all families to make an effort to support them. The Carol’s Night on the school oval on Friday 6 December is almost upon us and the children have been putting hours of practice into their songs and dancing. I remind parents that it is an expectation that students from Reception to Year 5 attend. I look forward to catching up with families that evening before we head off for the holidays.

Carol's Night this year is an alcohol free event and I ask parents to respect this change to the program. I assure you that the change is not a reaction to past behaviour but a realisation that times have changed and we need to be aware of risk management in work places and community events. I know parents will understand the big picture message. I have it on good authority that Father Christmas and his elf helper will be visiting again this year at the end of the carols. This of course will only happen if we have all been good!

End of Year Mass

I also hope all families have the End of Year Mass marked on the family calendar. The End of Year Mass is a very special celebration in the life of the school. Traditionally it is a celebration of thanksgiving for the wonderful year we have enjoyed together and it is also a time to farewell our Year 6 leaders and those families who are leaving Star of the Sea. It is also an opportunity to farewell staff who won’t be at Star of the Sea next year. The End of Year Mass will be celebrated in the Church on Monday 9 December at 11.15am. It would be wonderful to have as many parents and friends as possible for this end of year celebration.

Dear Parents and Friends,

Today I visited the new building site and took some photos. I also looked at the plans of the new building.

I made two announcements over the loud speaker to tell the children to stay inside at recess time and gave out the premier’s reading challenge awards after that I wrote an email to the Business Manager about the boy’s toilets.

I also got a name tag to keep then we ordered lunch from the canteen.

I had a meeting about the school timetable.

I had a really good time.

Thank you

Miss Cavallo
Acting Principal

The School Board held the final meeting of the Board for 2019 on Monday 11 November. The various sub committees of the School Board tabled their end of year reports and all were accepted as tabled. Justin Gargula reported that the school’s finances remain in a good state and that the building project is progressing with the school yet to draw down on the loan for the new building at this stage.

Justin also reported that the Marine Discovery Centre and the OSHC accounts are on track financially without concerns. The Canteen continues to operate at a loss, but the Board accepted that the new Canteen Manager be given time to implement new measures in order to reduce the deficit.

Deanne Stephanos presented the proposed changes to the uniform policy and tabled the feedback and survey results from parents. The Board voted unanimously in favour of transitioning Reception children into the formal school uniform. The School Uniform Policy will be changed to allow Reception children to wear the Sports Uniform as the everyday uniform in 2020. In 2021 Reception and Year 1 students will wear the Sports Uniform as everyday wear and in 2022 Reception to Year 2 will be able to wear the Sports Uniform as everyday wear. Devon Clothing and the Pre Loved Uniform Shop will provide credit notes or exchanges for families who have purchased the formal uniform.

Last week I sent out via email the link to the Parents Satisfaction Survey. Under the Education Act schools are required to report annually on parent, student and staff satisfaction. This is your opportunity to provide feedback to the school in a range of areas relating to the way the school operates. It is a short survey on Survey Monkey and I invite your participation. Please follow the link 

Thank you
Joe De Tullio

Hi, my name is Dee and I have just started this term at Star of the Sea School as Canteen Manager. I’m very excited to bring some new ideas to the Canteen and hope to make it a exciting place for the children to come visit. I’m also looking for some volunteers to help me with these changes as we start the new year. If you have been a volunteer in the past and are still interested could you please email me your details and the days and times you prefer so I can get the new year sorted. Also, if you are interested in getting onboard and haven’t before, then that would be great I would love to hear from you or please pop in to the Canteen and say hi and we can chat or email me at dtaggert@star.catholic.edu.au

Cheers, Dee

Henley Parish Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) Mission Action Group are selling decorated gingerbread houses to raise money for 6500 locals of the Gia Hoa Parish in Vietnam to build a cement water tank and filtration system so they can have clean water. Currently, water is taken from wells and rivers which are contaminated and so contribute to high levels of illness amongst the community. 

A gingerbread house is on display in the front office of Star of the Sea school for you to see as you pass by. They make a lovely gift OR centerpiece for your table during the Christmas Season, they are delicious to eat, and the money raised will make a world of difference to the local  people of the Gia Hoa Parish in Vietnam.

Cost: $30 each - Pay by QKR

or Cash to Barb Conlon

Order: By Monday 2 December

Collect: School Board Room – Monday 9 December (at pick up)

Pick up from Star of the Sea School Board Room On: Monday 9 December 2019

Thanks for your support

Friday 29 November 9.30am

@ Coffee Journey Grange Rd, Henley Beach.

Be a great to see you there.

Congratulations to Ava Spencer and Kristian Wilbik on achieving an excellent result in their AMEB (Australian Music Examination Board) piano exams.  Alyssa Harris and Carla Fontanelli, past Star of the Sea students, also received great results in their higher grade exams.   Thanks for all the hard work you put into your music studies this year.

I am so pleased with your efforts.
Helen Wedding 

Term 4
Monday 14 October - Wednesday 11 December

Friday 22 November
Footsteps R-4

Tuesday 26 November
New Reception Information Night 7pm

Wednesday 27 November
Little Stars Graduation 9am

Thursday 28 November
Little Stars Graduation 9am

Friday 29 November
New Reception Orientation Morning 9-11am

Monday 2 December
Year 7 Orientation Day St Michaels College

Wednesday 4 December
Graduation Assembly 1.15pm

Thursday 5 December
Meet the Teacher

Join our Community on Facebook for a 'behind the scenes' look at what happens at Star of the Sea School.

Hello Friends

I hope that you have enjoyed the blast of summer weather we have had recently. On my drive to and from work I am lucky enough to drive almost entirely along the esplanade. The beaches were packed yesterday and the ice cream shops were doing a roaring trade. I still wonder at the weather when it can be 40 degrees one day and 20 degrees the next.

Carols Night

Carols Night will be celebrated on 6 December and this year our ‘pre-Carols Night’ entertainment will begin at 5.45pm. Our classes are working diligently on their carols to show you on the night. Please order your Carols Night food via the QKR App. There are many tasty options available. Tickets for the Reserved Seating Raffle are also available on the QKR App. I respectfully remind community members to lay blankets and set up chairs in the applicable sections after 3.00pm

Hello, my name is Patrick and I was the Deputy Principal of Star of the Sea School on Wednesday 20 November.

My day was very busy. In the morning I visited the building site and I saw the buildings being built. Chris, who is the boss of the building site, showed us the plans and we walked through the new buildings. I was one of the first children to EVER walk through the new building at school. When I got back to school I worked on the design and plans for the building and I have drawn a picture of what the new buildings in the school will look like.

I got to choose the recess and lunch that I wanted from the canteen and I ate my recess and lunch in the staff room with the teachers, which was fun.

I visited the classrooms and gave out some certificates to the children at school. At lunch play time I had to make a special announcement to say that we needed to stay inside because of the hot weather. I had a great day.

Thanks
Patrick

You’re never too young or too old to change the world.

This is Bob, from our local St Vinnies Chapter, and the food bank which lives under the church. On this occasion Eliza had baked cookies to be given out with the daily bread run. Our students never fail to amaze me with the myriad of ideas and initiatives they come up with and many of these are realised with little fuss or fanfare, but always with a sense of joy and generosity. We would call this Social Justice, but for our children it is all about following their passions and using their gifts and talents. As I reflect on the year I can only name a few of these but here goes: delicious food stalls, craft stalls, throw a wet sponge at Mrs Foley, (that was fun), Pokemon cards, cut my hair, plant trees, buy soccer balls, make a rock garden, pick up litter, (in my day that certainly wasn’t considered an enjoyable lunchtime pastime), Star - You’ve Got Talent, as well as passionate support of school and parish based appeals. Do this right now:  order your Gingerbread House on QKR - don’t forget.

There is already a folder that has applications for stalls, and even some completed merchandise, for our 2020 Caritas lent appeal. Some Year Twos can’t wait to become stall holders as Year Threes. It looks like you, as parents and great supporters of your children, will be busy with the Kitchen Aids and Loom Bands once again. They learn so much from these undertakings and often must overcome obstacles they hadn’t anticipated. Sometimes it is as simple as working as a team when you have competing ideas, to perseverance when you have taken on a long-term project, or stepping right outside your comfort zone, but staff and students alike are always there to help them realise their dreams.

God Bless,
Stella

After putting on a high vis vest and hard hat I was the first student to enter the new building site. Mr Perry, Mrs Foley, Zara, Patrick and I had a tour. The building is going to be really amazing because even before it’s finished it is amazing.

Also today I helped bring the Colour Run prizes to each class. The Tesla Lamp USB Plasma Ball was a very popular choice. Every class I visited, when I told them these were their prizes, they jumped up and said YES!!!

I set up the brand new Christmas Tree and put tinsel around it. I called the SRC to come down and put the baubles up so that every class is represented on the tree.

In conclusion it was a very busy, hard day.  Mrs Foley and I are super tired.

Micah Reaiche.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the Jews.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Lk 23:35-43 

Pay via QKR(live tomorrow) no later than Friday 6 December.

Come and celebrate the birth of Christ at a special, outdoor Mass.

Tuesday 24 December 2019 at 6.00pm

on the Star Of The Sea School Oval. Please bring a chair or picnic rug.

Children are encouraged to come dressed as a nativity character.

Anyone who would like to be part of the children’s choir please come along to practice the songs:

Sunday 24 November and Sunday 1 December during Children’s Liturgy Of the Word at 9.30am Mass.

Children who would like to read, welcome families or have a special job during the mass, please add your name to the sign up sheet at the back of the Church from Sunday 24 November 2019.

To view the Tuck Shop roster and price list click on the link below.

To view the  this term's Road Monitors Roster click on the link below.

School Holiday Dates 2020:
Monday 20 January 9-4pm and Tuesday 21 January 9am-12pm

Devon clothing uniform shop are pleased to announce that Star of the sea customers can now purchase uniform from:

84 daws Road, Edwardstown Ph: 83731776

Email: dcus@devonclothing.com.au

What does this mean for you?

You can now purchase your uniform Mon – Fri 9am-5pm and Sat 9am-12pm during the school holidays* and school term, as well as during the usual opening times a the School Shop.
Your Online Orders will now be processed as we receive them, at Edwardstown, and you can still opt to have your order put in your child’s classroom box or have it sent to your Business or Home address or you can collect it from the school uniform shop on Tuesdays or anytime during regular trading hours at Edwardstown