Dear Families,
It has been great to see some sunnier days and warmer weather over the past couple of weeks as we now enter the season of Spring.
NAPLAN 2024
We would like to share this year’s NAPLAN results with you which highlight our students' progress in literacy and numeracy. Both our Year 3 and Year 5 students achieved a strong proficiency across all domains, reflecting the hard work of our students, dedication of our teachers, and support of our school community. In celebrating these successes, we also remain focused on areas for growth to help every student reach their full potential. When compared to data from other Catholic schools in the West, Catholic Education overall, and the state and national averages, our students excelled, further underscoring their achievements. These results truly speak for themselves.
At Star of the Sea, we pride ourselves on using data-informed practices to guide our educational decisions. NAPLAN data provides us with invaluable insights, helping us to identify both strengths and areas for growth. This allows us to tailor our teaching and implement targeted interventions, ensuring that every student is on the path to success.
Our teachers have been diligently analysing and reflecting on these results, celebrating our successes while also pinpointing key areas for further development. Strong performance across all NAPLAN domains this year serves as both a confirmation of our current strategies and a catalyst for refining them further.
Throughout the year, we engage in continuous monitoring, using a variety of data sources to track student progress and make informed decisions. This proactive approach ensures that we remain at the forefront of your child's education, consistently refining our methods and incorporating the latest evidence-based practices.
At the heart of everything we do is the success of our students. By combining data-driven practices with reflective teaching and consistent monitoring, we create an environment where every student can thrive. We are committed to working closely with parents and the community to support our students on their learning journeys and to ensure their continued success.
CLASS PLACEMENTS FOR 2025
As we begin planning for the 2025 school year, we will soon be working on class structures and student placements. If you have specific requests regarding your child’s placement for 2025, we kindly ask that you submit the form found on our website by Friday 18 October (Friday, Week 1). These requests may relate to your child’s specific learning, social, or emotional needs.
In addition to parent input, students will also have the opportunity to contribute by selecting a few friends they would like to be with next year.
Please note that while we will do our best to accommodate requests received by the due date, it becomes increasingly challenging to make adjustments once this date has passed. The placement of one student can impact the entire class dynamic, making late changes difficult to manage.
We want to emphasise that requests for specific teachers or teacher gender will not be considered. Our teachers invest significant time and professional judgment into the class placement process, relying on their knowledge of each student's unique needs. Once placements are finalized, changes will not be possible. It is important to recognize the complexity of placing 500 students into groups that best support their learning and social development.
Please email any requests to vandrews@star.catholic.edu.au
Rest assured, these will be shared with the teachers to assist in the placement process.
BEFORE SCHOOL EARLY ATTENDANCE
We have noticed an increase in the number of students arriving at school before 8:20 am, with some being dropped off as early as 8.00 am. Please be aware that there is no supervision in the yard before 8.20 am, which raises safety concerns for these early arrivals.
To ensure the safety of all students, any child who arrives at school before 8:20 am will be taken to our OSHC (Out of School Hours Care) service, which will incur a charge to the family.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in helping us keep all students safe.
LIVING LEARNING LEADING SCHOOL SURVEY WINNERS
Thank you to everyone who participated in our feedback survey. We greatly appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts and insights. Your feedback is invaluable in guiding our future direction at Star of the Sea.
Congratulations to Rachel Cooke, Marnie Wade, Marina D'Cruz, and Belinda Bird, who each won a $50 gift voucher for completing our LLL Parent Survey.
Have a safe and happy fortnight.
Annette Diassinas
Acting Principal
Recent News
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome to Week 7. I must say I am enjoying the brighter mornings and sunnier days! As always Star of the Sea continues to be a hive of activity. I have been most impressed with our learner’s engagement in classroom and extra-curricular activities over the past few weeks, with Book Week, sport carnivals and camp being significant highlights!
As we head into Week 8 and 9, we look forward to our Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 students taking part in our 4-day swimming program. The team at iSwim at Immanuel College consistently provide an outstanding program for our young people. A big thank you to Ms Victory and teachers for facilitating this opportunity.
On Wednesday, next week, our Year 5 students will head to El Shaddai camp at Wellington for their much-awaited camp. The students will take part in a variety of activities throughout the 2-night, 3-day camp. I acknowledge and thank our committed staff who leave their families to supervise and enjoy this experience with the students. Annette and I are looking forward to spending some time with our campers too, hopefully we can have a go at canoeing and be inspired by our Aussie Olympic and Para-Olympians.
ICT User Agreement Reminders
Students and families are reminded of our ICT User Agreement. The devices that children use for learning are provided by Star of the Sea School and therefore belong to the school. Students are reminded that these are to be used as a learning tool only and must be taken care of. In the instance of damage, devices must be repaired or replaced. This becomes a costly exercise, when students are not taking due care of their iPad or Laptop. The ICT User Agreement, states that families will share the cost of device repairs and that devices will be removed for a negotiated time if children are using these for activities other than learning. Many thanks for your continued support of our school policies and practices.
In addition, I have included some information about some Apps parents should be aware of. Please refer to the image below for more information.
Year 1 Phonics Screening Check
Last week our Year 1 students undertook a phonics screening check (PSC) which is mandatory in all CESA Diocesan Schools. The screener is an additional tool that helps inform our teachers and system on how our learners are progressing in phonics. It is undertaken with children 1:1 by the classroom teacher. This assessment, in addition to our DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills) assessments undertaken twice per year continue to support the teaching, learning and intervention of literacy at our school.
Enjoy the weekend ahead with your families…….and I hope to be playing the Port Power song first thing Friday morning!
Go well,
Kelly Manera
Acting Deputy Principal
Season of Creation
Welcome to Spring and the Season of Creation.
The Season of Creation is an annual Christian celebration to pray and respond together to the cry of Creation.
It unites our Christian family around the world to listen and care for our common home.
The Season of Creation begins on September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and concludes on October 4, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology.
This year’s theme is ‘To Hope and Act with Creation’ with the symbol ‘the first fruits of hope’, inspired by Romans 8:19-25.
During this Season of Creation, we are called to work together for a future of hope and action to make our world a better place.
What does this action look like?
We can all do our part to look after our earth and to take time to experience God’s love through creation.
Some simple ideas are:
- Take a beach walk and spend some time praying and giving thanks for the gift of creation that God has given us.
- Switch to a bamboo toothbrush
- Plant something
- Refrain from using single use plastics
- Go vegan or vegetarian for a day
Please click here to access the official guide https://seasonofcreation.org/
Prayer for Creation
Loving God, Creator of all,
we thank you for the beauty of Creation;
show us, how to respect
the fragile balance of life.
Guide us to care for the environment,
so the earth will be preserved for future generations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
On Friday, the students who are preparing to receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion had a retreat day to deepen their understanding of the Sacraments and how they enhance their relationship with God.
The students from the parish and our school began the day by attending mass and then had a practice in the church. Some of the activities they participated in were meditation, mandalas and acting out the scene of the last supper. A big thank you to the Year 4 teachers, Cathy Clarke and Laurie Sammut for preparing and leading the activities. It was a great day.
Important Dates
P&F Meeting 7pm
Year 4 RELAT Assessment
Board Meeting 6.30pm
Swimming Reception-Year 1
Sacrament of Confirmation 7pm
Year 5 Camp
Sacrament of Confirmation 7pm
SAPSASA Metro Athletics Carnival
Year 6 Assembly 2.30pm SMB
Canteen Assistant
Are you looking for work-life balance, school-friendly hours, to be home at night, to keep weekends free and to enjoy a break with family in the school holidays?
We are looking for a Canteen Assistant to undertake a range of activities, including food preparation, cooking, serving students, food receival and storage, maintaining and assuring the canteen areas are clean, sanitised and ready for the next day's activities.
40 weeks per year, days negotiable.
As part of a Canteen team, you will support the development of solid relationships within a school community, particularly with the students, parents, teachers, and other school personnel.
Child Protection Week
This year National Child Protection Week will continue to champion the message ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’.
This message captures the essence of National Child Protection Week which aims to promote a safe and supported life for every child, now and into the future.
In 2024, the message that ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’ will be complemented with the theme ‘Every conversation matters’.
Conversations are powerful tools to keep children and young people safe and well. Therefore, this year we are calling all Australians to start a new conversation.
For more information visit the following website
The South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools (SACCS) requires its schools to implement child safety policies and practices, including child safety education. Please see the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum information for parents and carers
For further information, please visit Safe Environments for All on the Catholic Education South Australia website.
THRIVE WITH 5
Why Talking with Babies is Super Important!
Talking with babies helps them learn to understand and use words, which is key for their brain growth and future learning. Here’s how you can make it fun and helpful:
- Talk About Everything: Describe what you're doing, even if it's boring. For example, say, "I'm washing dishes now."
- Repeat Their Sounds: If they say "mama," you can say, "Yes, mama loves you!"
- Show Interest: Look into their eyes and smile when they babble or talk.
- Talk About What They Like: If they play with a toy train, say, "Toot, toot!"
- Read Together: Look at picture books and name what you see. Point to a cat and say, "Look, a cat! Can you say cat?"
- Praise Them: If they point to a dog and say "dog," you can say, "Well done for pointing out the dog!"
- Ask Questions: Even though they can't answer, asking questions helps them learn about conversations. For example, ask, "Do you want your teddy bear?" and then give it to them.
Doing these fun activities helps babies learn to talk and gets their brains ready for learning more as they grow!
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