Newsletter Term 3 Week 9

"On Wednesday the 9th of September the Year 5 students departed from Star of the Sea to El Shaddai Camping Centre at Wellington. This was our first school camping experience and we were so excited. When we arrived, we were welcomed by a lovely staff member named Chloe and given a short tour. El Shaddai was a beautiful place with a lot of facilities like a flying fox, trampoline and a beautiful oval. Each day we were divided into groups for all the activities.  We participated in fun activities like canoeing, laser skirmish and rock climbing. The food was great too. Every evening we participated in different activities. On the first night we had a quiz night, and everyone had a lot of fun. On the second night we had a campfire and we got to roast some marshmallows followed by a movie night. On the third day we had our last 3 activities and then we headed back to Star of the Sea. Even though we were all sad to leave El Shaddai as we had so much fun, we were happy we got back to see our families."

By Chloe Davies and Charli Fanto.    

Dear Families,

It has been the second week of busy Sacramental Masses, I think we have now had about 8!  Many families were concerned about how different these celebrations were going to be compared to pre-CV19 times.  A number of parents have emailed, after their children’s Confirmation and commented how wonderful the experience was.  I too, found the Celebrations to be very child focussed and that the small groups made it a far more intimate experience.  Many thanks to Fathers Paul & Tan for leading all the celebrations and to Barb and Stella and the Parish for planning and running the celebrations.  Many of the school staff also attended to support the children in our school and I would like to thank them for making the time to do this.

YEAR 5 CAMP
The Year 5 students and teachers had a great time at their Wellington campsite.  The weather was fantastic and the activities even better.  I went up to camp on the Thursday and particularly enjoyed the laser-skirmish.  Quite a few staff left their families, to attend the camp and make the whole adventure possible. I would like to thank them for their dedication.

SWIMMING
School swimming seems to be going quite well and teachers are very happy with the venue, organisation and expertise of the staff.  The Year 2 classes were very tired after their first session so they must have been working very hard!  Thank you to the parents for their understanding around the CV19 restrictions too.

TERM DATES
Just a reminder that we conclude school next Thursday, September 24th at 3pm.  Next term will begin on Monday, October 12th (ie there is no pupil free day).  The school year will conclude on Wednesday December 9th.  2021 will begin on a Wednesday, January 27th, due to Australia Day.

MEETINGS
In the past fortnight I have attended meetings for the School Board, Parish Pastoral Council, Catholic Education Primary Principals and the Western Region Cluster of Principals.  There is much happening in Catholic Education at the moment at all levels!

SPORTS DAY
This event is next Thursday, but as you know, we are not able to have parents attend.  This year, Sports Day will be focussed on having a fun day rather than the usual athletics.

NEXT TERM’S EVENTS
The following term 4 events are on the calendar.  These will be reviewed next term and we will be flexible and agile around the CV19 requirements that apply at that time!

Week 2 – Book Week
Week 8 – Graduation Assembly
Week 8 – Carols Night
Week 9 – Graduation Dinner

Regards,
Damian Weeks

As you would be aware, Catholic Education SA (CESA) is decreasing fees in all of its Catholic schools.  The School Board discussed the different options that CESA presented for Star of the Sea School.  We are currently modelling the impact on the 2021 budgets before finalising a decision.

Grounds and Maintenance
Thank you to all the parents who completed the survey.  This has helped to prioritise work moving forward.  The committee is currently pursuing the re-surfacing of the oval and are now gathering quotes on the replacement of the watering system and grass.

OSHC
A decision was made to apply for an increase in the maximum number of children who can attend the service.  This will take a number of months before we hear back but we are on the journey.

Road Crossing
The School Board discussed the increasing number of incidents at our crossings.  Sadly, this has mainly involved cars belonging to school families.  We recognise that families have busy schedules but impatience at the crossing puts the children crossing the road in danger, the monitors in danger, as well as other cars.  Please consider the safety of others as you drive around these areas.

Imagine not seeing a real ball your whole childhood? It was 2018 and Theresa Brown wanted to make a change. She worked at a local council and noticed countless families, specifically refugee families asking if the government offered financial assistance for the tuition fees of the various sporting clubs in the area. Some of these children were 12 or 13 years old and had only ever played soccer or cricket with home -made balls made from discarded odds and ends. So, Theresa founded ‘Play It On’, a company to provide sport funding for families. Teresa worked hard as the only employee until the start of this year when she also purchased a building located in Gilles Plains where she sorts and cleans the products donated. Over the years people have donated over 5,500 products to Play It On, and in the past few weeks Star of The Sea has raised $500 for Play It On through many raffles. Students also donated their quality used sport equipment to help Play It On make an even bigger difference.

We will continue to show our solidarity with children around the world through ‘Let’s kick goals together’ in Mission Week next term.

Henry Scibberas, Hayley Thomas, Mrs Foley