Dear Families,
Welcome to term 2. I trust you have had a lovely break from the school routine and maybe your family has had a chance to perhaps have a holiday too!
I had a great three weeks, hooking up my caravan and caravanning in Queensland for most of the holidays.
How great does our school look. The builders have left the site and all areas are operational. The children have especially been enjoying the return of the basketball courts and they have been very popular at recess and lunch.
Now that we have all areas in the school available, we are back to one set of bells, lessons and play periods. There are a few changes to routines which everyone is getting used to. I will be sending you a summary of these changes, hopefully tomorrow.
PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS
As you would know these are to be held next week. This information was sent to families via email last term.
If your child has a Personalised Plan for Learning this will be the focus of the meeting.
The interviews will be followed by our Semester 1 reports that will come out at the end of term.
PERSONALISED PLAN FOR LEARNING (PPL)
A PPL is a working and evolving document constructed in conjunction with teachers, parents and the leadership team. It is simply a record of the ways in which we are working to best support your child in the classroom, based on our observations over the last term and possibly last year.
The “Functional Impact On Learning” section of the PPL identifies any underlying characteristics that ‘get in the way’ of your child’s access, participation and learning at school. This information then directly informs us as teachers as to how we can best support your child.
The “Personalised Adjustment For Access, Participation and Learning” section is then a list of the strategies, supports and interventions that we are implementing in the classroom to address the functional impact and needs of your child.
AGM
In this newsletter you will find information about our AGM to be held on Monday May 20th.
NEWSLETTERS THIS TERM
This term we will publish newsletters in weeks 1, 3, 5, 7 & 9.
PARKING AROUND THE SCHOOL
Please be considerate of others, especially our neighbours and the rules for parking around our school. In particular we are very mindful of parking in and around the church. Last term we released quite a bit of information about this which can be reviewed by visiting our school website.
Regards,
Damian Weeks
Recent News
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
This year, with the easing of Covid restrictions, the School Board is hoping to run a traditional Annual General Meeting on…
Monday 20 May 2024 – 7pm in the Stella Maris Room
The format for the evening will be:
- Welcome
- Prayer
- Presentation of reports
- Elections of Board Members
- Thank you from the School Board Chair
Nominations – Included in this newsletter is a Nomination Form. Please consider if you would like to take up this most important role. Below is a description of the role of a School Board member. If you wish to nominate, return the signed form after having someone in the community (ie another adult) sign to second your nomination. Nominations close on Wednesday 10 May 2024. School Board appointment are for two years. Many School Board members renominate for another period of two years, while some choice not to. Every year 50% of the positions become vacant for which community members can nominate.
What do School Board Members Do?
The faith community has a responsibility for the maintenance and development of its Catholic school. A practical way of accepting its responsibility is to appoint some of its members to use their gifts in working with the Principal and staff in School Board ministry.
There are 5 elements of community responsibility that the School Board undertakes:
- Policy Direction – to guide the school
- Financial Management – to account for and administer all income
- Planning & Development – for the present & future
- Pastoral Care – is care for people (students, parents & staff)
- Evaluation – of the effect of policy decisions
The School Board meets monthly during the four school terms (on the Monday of weeks 4 & 8 at 7pm). Meetings run for no longer than two hours, at which discussion is based around reports from the P&F, Principal, Parish, Staff, Treasurer/Bursar and other key groups.
If you require any further information, please feel free to contact me.
Damian Weeks
Principal
Dear Families,
Welcome back! I hope you have enjoyed the break from routines and the chance to share some relaxed times with your children. It is great to be back and see all the children ready to learn and the excitement for the term ahead. Next week, we will have the opportunity to discuss in detail your child’s learning progress and wellbeing. These conversations are integral to ensure our educators are working in partnership with you to best support your child(ren). Just a reminder that this Friday night is the cut-off date for you to book a time for the Parent Teacher Interviews.
PARENT SURVEY – PARENT WORKSHOP
In collaboration with the P&F, Star of the Sea school is looking for feedback from families about areas they would like to learn more about with our school running parent/caregiver workshops to meet the needs of our families. There is a quick less than 2-minute form to fill out via the link below.
https://forms.office.com/r/atfUJNNLE6
You can also access the form via the QR Code below.
ANZAC DAY SERVICE
Thank you to the students and families who attended the Dawn Service On ANZAC Day representing Star of the Sea School. We paid tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the ANZACs, carrying the torch of remembrance forward. Thank you to Lily and Summer for laying the wreath. They did a wonderful job being the youngest students to lay the wreath for what was a wet but beautiful service.
MOTHERS DAY STALL NEXT WEEK
Our wonderful P&F committee will be running a stall next Wednesday for our students to purchase gifts for the special ‘women’ in their lives - mothers, grandmothers or caregivers. There will be a catch-up day on Friday, for any children absent on the Wednesday. We thank the committee for all the work behind the scenes to help make Mother’s Day a special one for our community.
UNIFORM UPDATE AND CHANGES
A reminder that there have been some changes to our uniform policy. “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. Throughout this term, an announcement will be made daily 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, they will be required to stay in the designated areas during playtime.
We thank families in advance for their support to ensure we keep all our students safe and protected from the suns ultraviolent (UV) radiation.
AUSTRALIAN EARLY DEVELOPMENT CENSUS (AEDC)
From May 2024, our school, along with thousands of others across the country, will participate in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The AEDC is a teacher-completed census (similar to a questionnaire) which provides a comprehensive picture of how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school (Reception Children). The AEDC is an Australian Government Initiative and is completed nationally every three years.
Children don’t miss any class time while the AEDC is completed, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information. The data collected through the AEDC is used by schools, communities and governments to better understand children and families’ needs, and identify the services, resources and support they need. AEDC results for individual children are not reported and the AEDC is not used as an individual diagnostic tool.
Participation in the AEDC is voluntary, however the AEDC relies on all schools with children in their first year of full-time school participating in the collection. Families don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.If this is the case, please let your child’s teacher know by Friday 17 May. To find out more about the AEDC and how it is being used to help children and families visit: www.aedc.gov.au
With kindness
Annette Diassinas
Important Dates
P&F Meeting
Mother's Day Stall
Mother's Day Liturgy SMB
SAPSASA Year 5/6 Mountain Bike Championships
SAPSASA District Cross Country
Catholic Education Week
School Tour 9.30pm and 4.30pm
Year 6 Assembly 2.30pm
Whole School Mass 11.45pm
Term 2 Preloved Uniform Shop
Term 2 Pre Loved Uniform Shop hours:
Open Monday & Fridays 8:20am - 8:50am
Term 2 Calendar
Read More
WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY
On Friday May is National Walk Safely to School Day. This event is about raising awareness of the health, road safety, transport, and environmental benefits that regular walking, or alternative active transport (especially to and from school) can provide for the long-term well-being of our children. The best exercise for all Australians is walking regularly and children need at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day.
Star of the Sea will be participating in this event and more information will be sent out via Audiri and our socials over the coming week.
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