Newsletter Term 1 Week 9

Dear Families

Harmony Day was a lovely celebration last week with a sea of orange across our school.  Just as exciting this week is the repair and painting of the basketball courts.

Building Update
Everything is on track for the project to be completed by the end of term.  In term 2 we will be able to return to one timetable for the whole school. Year 1 MF will move to their new class in the last week of term.  Look out for our Facebook video next week about the use of the Military Road gates for entry and exit.

AGM
This is “Save the Date” information!
The School Board holding our Annual General Meeting on Monday 20 May – 7pm in the Stella Maris Room.

There will be more information next term including nomination forms for the School Board.

Pupil Free Day
Just a reminder that the first day of terms 2, 3 & 4 are pupil free days to allow valuable time for professional learning for our staff.

Holy Week
As we approach the end of the season and celebrate the pinnacle of the Church’s year, Easter, our students have been involved in a number of liturgical celebrations.  This week began with Palm Sunday and all classes will be visiting the chapel to experience the Stations of the Cross.  Next week we will celebrate Easter Sunday.

Star of the Sea Allergy Aware School
Star of the Sea School is concerned about the safety and well-being of all our students. Our school does its best to be an allergy aware school.  Recently we became aware of a few students who developed a rash after playing with our Fig tree, especially when they opened up a fig and came in contact with the sap.  While the fig tree and our other plants are not meant to be played with maybe a gentle to your child/ren about this would be good.

Long Service Leave
A number of staff will be taking a variety of amounts of this leave throughout the year.  Allison Sammut and Katrina Frangiosa will take the long service leave for the last two weeks of this term and Kylie Casey and I will take the last week of term off (Annette Diassinas will be in charge in my absence).

Car Parking
With approximately 300 cars, morning and afternoon converging on our school, it requires everyone to co-operate with the road rules to keep our children safe. Saving a few minutes and breaking the rules will not compare to a person being hurt through our lack of patience! 

We have asked the council for support in our endeavour to make car parking/movement as safe as possible.  Parking inspectors and the Police have visited our school this term and will continue to do so.  Fines range from $100-$300 depending on whether you park on a yellow line, compared to parking/standing over a signed pedestrian crossing.

You may not know but there are carparks available along the beach front which may often be available now the weather is cooling.

Finally, I would like to thank the 95% of families for whom this communication is irrelevant because they always do the right thing.

Just a reminder the last day of term is a casual clothes day!

Have a great Easter
Damian Weeks

Dear Parents and Friends,

As we near the end of Term 1, I'm excited to look back on the amazing journey our students and families have had so far. Seeing our school change and grow during the final stages of our building project has been incredible. I can't wait to see our students enjoying all the new spaces that have been created for them.

I also want to extend warm Easter wishes to all our families. May your four-day break be filled with joy and relaxation. We eagerly await the return of our students for the last two weeks of school.

Updating Policies
The Education Committee and I have dedicated time to reviewing our school policies recently. It has become evident that certain policies need revision and updating to better reflect our Star of the Sea community in 2024. In the upcoming months, you will observe these policies being refreshed on our school website following review by the School Board. I extend my gratitude to Elizabeth Sarris and Kirsty McCulloch for their diligent efforts in this endeavour.

Uniform Update and Changes
As part of our Policy updates, one necessary change was to our Uniform Policy regarding when hats were required. 

The updated information in our Uniform policy is below.

“The school hat is to be worn at recess, lunch and for all outdoor activities during Terms 1, 3, 4 and in Term 2 when the UV is above 3 as recommended by the Cancer Council South Australia. This includes matches and training for School Sporting teams. This requires hats to be at school for all 4 school terms”. 

This decision requires students to have their hats at school all year round.  In Term 2, an announcement will be made via loudspeaker only when the UV is above 3 and students will be required to wear their hats on these days.  If students do not have a hat on the days the UV is above 3, the will be required to stay in the designated areas during playtime.

The reason for the change is based on the Cancer Council SA guidelines for a SunSmart Program at school.

“Sun protection is recommended during the daily sun protection times.  These are the times of day when the UV index is forecast to be 3 and above”.  During these times, a combination of sun protection measures such as a hat, sunscreen, sun protective clothing are recommended when outdoors”. 

We thank families in advance for their support to ensure we keep all our students safe and protected from the suns ultraviolent (UV) radiation. 

Another minor change to the uniform policy is to reflect that students in Reception to Year 2 are able to wear Regulation Brown Sandals with a standard heel (No socks with sandals) but sandals are not to be worn on days where the child is attending PE.

You can read the Updated Uniform Policy below.

ANZAC Day Dawn Service

We received some communication from the Henley and Grange RSL inviting our families to the Henley and Grange RSL Anzac Day Dawn Service for 2024 in the year of their 100 Year anniversary. The information is below:

This year the service will be held at:

Place: Soldier’s Memorial at the Henley Town Hall
Address: Corner of North Street and Seaview Road Henley Beach
Date: Thursday 25 April 2024
Time: The Dawn Service will commence at 6.30 am, however music will be played from 6.15 am.

With kindness
Annette Diassinas

Harmony Day

Last week we came together as a whole school community to celebrate Harmony Day. 

This was a day where we recognised our cultural differences and spread joy and love to everyone around us. 

We prayed that the colours of our different cultures, beliefs, thoughts, and understandings bring about harmony through respect, inclusion and belonging. 

A huge thank you to Karno, from our MDC, who entertained us with some music and played the ‘Yidaki’ (Didgeridoo) for us. 

Project Compassion
Now that the season of Lent is over, we ask that you return your Project Compassion donation boxes. If you would like to make an electronic donation to Caritas Australia, you can head to QKR to make your donation.

The last day of this term will be a casual day for a gold coin donation. All donations will also go towards Caritas Australia. You may wish to make a family donation via QKR.

Holy Week

Palm Sunday
This week we began our Holy Week celebrations with a number of Palm Sunday liturgies.

Our Receptions led us in a gorgeous prayer and re enactment of Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem.

A huge thank you to our Year 2 students who performed a beautiful Palm Sunday play for our whole school to come and participate in.

The Last Supper
On Wednesday morning our students engaged in a prayer liturgy in their classrooms where they shared the bread and wine (juice) and remembered the important words that Jesus said during the Last Supper, “Do this in memory of me.”

The Stations of the Cross
On Wednesday and Thursday, every class will have visited the school chapel to engage in a prayerful, guided journey through the stations of the cross. Together we will walk the way of the cross with Jesus and are reminded of the sacrifice he made for us.

Easter Liturgy – He is risen!
On Tuesday morning, our school will gather in front of the crosses on the oval to give thanks for God and to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish Easter Mass times

28 March - Holy Thursday
 - 07:30 pm : Mass of the Lord’s Supper

(There will be no Morning Mass on Holy Thursday)

29 March - Good Friday
 - 10:30 am : Stations of the Cross (Enactment)

- 03:00 pm : Celebration of the passion of the Lord

30 March - Easter Saturday
 - 07:30 pm : Easter Vigil
(There will be no Morning Mass on Easter Saturday)

31 March - Easter Sunday
 - 08:00 am : Morning Mass
- 09:30 am : Morning Mass
(There will be no Evening Mass on Easter Sunday)

Wishing all our community a blessed and restful Easter break as you spend some quality time with your families. See you all back next Tuesday.

With Gratitude,
Dominque Laurendi