Newsletter Term 3 Week 2

Dear Families

It has been great to see all the children back at school yesterday, the excitement was very evident with the buzz of conversation going on in the yard at drop off.  This continued for some time in the classrooms too.  It just shows the joy of community and learning with a group.

Thank you to our teachers who have spent many hours preparing the remote learning activities.  I and the teachers have received many emails of thanks from parents.  I am sure everyone is relieved to be back face to face.

Thank you to the parent community for your understanding at this difficult time.  You would not read about it… coming back for one day and then into a 7-day lockdown.

COVID RESTRICTIONS
I am not sure if everyone is aware but as the Principal of Star of the Sea, I have to follow the broad COVID restrictions outlined by the SA Government.  Often these are shared at the 11 am press conferences by the Premier and Professor Spurrier.  At the press conferences schools are rarely specifically mentioned but what happens after these conferences is that the Heads of the schooling systems (Dept Education, Independent Schools and Catholic Ed) link up with SA Health.  The aim is that all schools in SA will implement very similar restrictions.  Information then comes to our school in, sometimes daily, COVID-19 Principal update.  We reached 100 of these updates yesterday.  These updates outline the restrictions that we need to apply as a school.

The current restrictions will continue until next Wednesday, but we all appreciate this is the best way forward to avoid lockdowns.  We are all hoping that they will ease next week.

We have a little wriggle room with these restrictions, within our school.  For example, for the safety of the younger children we have adjusted our drop off and pick-up points.

Things change again when we leave our school site because we have to apply the restrictions of that sites COVID plan.  For example, it is difficult for us to hold events in the church, currently, they are down to about 100 people that can be in that space.  But you may hear of other Catholic Schools being able to do such things because they are much smaller than us.

OPENING AND BLESSING OF THE NEW BUILDING
We finally have a date for this to occur, Tuesday, September 7th, 1:30 pm.  This is a rather formal affair held in the church, presided over by the Archbishop, with dignitaries from CESA and the local community.  Normally the whole school would attend with anyone from our community who would like to come along.  The difficulty is what the restrictions will look like at this time.  I will keep you informed!

2022-2024 STRATEGIC PLAN
Star of the Sea School is about to launch into the process of developing a new strategic plan to guide our school’s development through 2022-2024.

Community involvement is the key to developing a successful plan and we need your help!

We will be holding several community involvement meetings to ask for input into the plan:

• What is going well in our school that we need to keep?
• What is ready for change?
• What are your dreams for the future?

The School Board and P&F will hold a combined meeting on Monday, August 16th to begin the process.

I am keen to hold a parent forum on the morning of Monday, August 23rd and repeat the process that evening.  This will give the community two opportunities to contribute their ideas.  We may need some more sessions depending on how many people we can gather together so we will be flexible and agile with these opportunities.

PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS
The lockdown and restrictions mean that we have had to adjust our plans in this area.  We are proposing to do this over the phone during week 4, beginning August 9th, for those families that would like a check-in.  This is quite different from the last opportunity where we like to touch base with every family.  If you have recently been in touch with your child's teacher or are happy with your child's progress do not feel that you must check-in.  You will be emailed information regarding how to book a phone appointment.

CHANGES IN THE YARD
Since joining the school I have been monitoring the yard to get an understanding of the morning and afternoon situation and play at recess and lunch.  Next week we are going to trial several changes:

In the morning, before school
We will be opening two spaces for most of the school.  The green basketball courts by Military Rd as usual.  The Nature play and MDC courts is the new space that we are going to add.  For the Mid-Year Reception students only, the playground.  There will be a yard duty teacher in each of these spaces.

After School
Students will generally move towards the exit gates where they are being picked up from.  If a parent is with their child they can take their child to the playground or oval area for a short play.  After school, a Leadership Team member will be monitoring this daily.  All students waiting for "Kiss and Drop" pick up will be either at the Military or Seaview Road gates.

Lunch Time
We will be offering "Clubs" at lunchtime.  There will be an Early Years Club (R-2) in the atrium area.  There will be a Year 3-6 Club in the Stella Maris Room.  The Clubs will be supervised by a teacher and numbers will be limited depending on the activities.  The range of activities is currently being developed but will include lego, dress ups, chess and dance so far.

NEWSLETTERS THIS TERM
The lockdown has thrown a spanner into our system of newsletters!  So this term we will be publishing newsletters this week (Week 2) and next week (Week 3) then again in week 6 & 9.

Regards,
Damian Weeks

Hello Friends

A warm welcome back to school and Term 3. What an amazing and whirlwind start to Semester 2.

It is great to be back at Star of the Sea School. I had a fantastic experience during my time in Clare and enjoyed a positive learning curve. I was fortunate to be part of a great school and community during my time away. It was clear though, that I need to increase my culinary skills and was thankful for the prepared meals from home (thanks Mrs Perry) and ‘takeaway’ meals. The only disappointing thing was that the wardrobe at the home where I was staying has shrunk all my clothes!!

I thank our school community in advance for their flexibility and understanding over the coming weeks and months as we adjust to what restrictions mean for school life. We know that this will mean some school activities will continue, some will look different and some may not be able to go ahead.

I also say thanks to our wonderful staff and teachers who went above and beyond to maintain the learning and connections for students during this ‘lockdown period’. A huge thanks to our parents and caregivers who were so supportive of the routines and structures that this lockdown brought about. Stay safe. Staff will be on hand at the beginning and the end of each day to help children enter and exit school.  Road crossing monitors have been suspended for the time being, so please be aware of pedestrians on the crossings and around the school.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Epicurus

Thanks and Blessings
Matt Perry

School Fees 2021

School fee statements were sent home earlier this week via your child/ren. If you are making regular payments from either a bank account or credit card, please ensure your payments are sufficient to cover any additional fees. Otherwise, you will need to make additional payments to cover these fees via Bpay, QKR or payment to the School Office as they become due. This will ensure your school fee account is cleared by the end of the year.

Just a reminder: Parents/Caregivers who contribute at least $300 to the Planned Giving Programme of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Henley Beach for the 2021 calendar year may apply for a full rebate of the School Capital Levy. Application forms are available from the School Office. You will need to take the form to the Parish Office for approval.

If at any time you are having difficulty with the payment of your school fees, or have any queries, please contact me to confidentially discuss the matter.

Jane Leonard
Finance Manager

A BRONZE medal was scored by Star of the Sea student Oliver Martin  in the South Australian and South West NSW Regional Championships in the July school holidays.

Oliver competed in the event run by South Australian Snowsports Association Inc and Snow Australia in the July school holidays. 

In the first interschools snowsports competition since the coronavirus pandemic began, the event drew 141 entries from students representing 26 South Australian schools.

Oliver claimed third place in the division 5 male alpine giant slalom event.

SA interschools president and St Peters PE teacher David de Lacy said SA Interschools encourages participation of school students of all ski and snowboard ability levels as the emphasis of our event is fun and participation. Our 141 competitors in 2021 ranged from reception to year 12 students.