Newsletter Term 1 Week 11

Dear Families,

Here we are already at the end of Term One – what a wonderful and event filled eleven weeks we have had! I wish to thank you for your connection to our school and for the commitment and hard work you show every day in supporting your children to be ready for learning. It has been such a positive experience joining the Star of the Sea community as Deputy Principal and I have appreciated the warm welcome, growth mindset and community mindedness of this amazing school. 

We end a fantastic term with some significant accomplishments including our Reception students beginning their schooling and settling into their learning spaces with their peers and new teachers, and all student groups beginning their learning with rigour and intent. 

I wish you all a safe, restful and enjoyable school holiday period. May your home and family be blessed with good health and joy and that you have the chance to take the time to embrace opportunities and activities that energise and fulfill you.

Sports Day
A reminder our Sports Day is tomorrow at Henley Oval, entry off Cudmore Terrace or White Street.   Please familiarise yourself with the program sent out on Audiri.

If your child is sick on Sports Day, please email absent@star.catholic.edu.au

If your child is late to Sports Day, they need to see Lisa at the First Aid tent to be signed in.  We appreciate your support with this.

Bell Times
As we transition back to a unified timetable for all our students, please find below the structure of the school day. 

ANZAC Day
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. If Star of the Sea students attend, we ask they wear their school uniform to represent our beautiful school and place a tribute wreath as part of the service.

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. 

Staffing News
In staffing news, we farewell Sam Carpenter who will be going on Maternity Leave at the end of this week.  We wish Sam all the best as she embarks on the wonderful journey of Motherhood, and we know she is going to be a sensational parent.  Replacing Sam is Sarah Merrett, we welcome Sarah to our community.  We are also delighted to welcome three new Education Support Officers to support our learners during Term 2 while several of our current ESO’s go on placement or take long service leave.  Joining our dedicated team include Tarnee Morey, Skye Van der Flies, Leah-Mangan Jones and Miffy Young.   We wish the following staff members well on their leave including Jordan D’Angelo, Olivia Watts, Leanne Stokes, Sarah Balboa, Kim Martin, Carla De Virgilio, Julia Downie and Sally Thompson. 

Little Stars
Our ‘Little Stars’ transition program recommences next term in readiness for our Term 3 Reception intake. We warmly welcome our Little Stars and their educators, Tania Condelli and Kylie Casey.

Pupil Free Day Term 2
Just a reminder that Term 2 commences on Tuesday 30 April as our staff will be engaging in Numeracy Professional Development on the Monday with Carla Thomas from the Catholic Education Office.

Vacation care is available for families requiring this service.

Parent Teaching Interviews 
Parent-Teacher interviews will be held for years Reception to 6 during Week 2 of Term 2 Monday 6 May- Wednesday 8 May 2024. We encourage you to take this opportunity to come along and discuss your child’s academic and social development. Further information regarding bookings will be sent out via Audiri. 

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.  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.

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

Canteen News
There will be some ongoing changes to ice blocks from Term 2.  As we are moving back to one timetable due to our building project being finished, R-6 Recess and Lunch will be at the same time.  Any ice blocks that are ordered via the Qkr app, will be provided to students at lunch time. Ice blocks will also only be sold in the canteen at lunch time.  Thanks for your ongoing support of our canteen.

With kindness
Annette Diassinas

Dear Families,

Here we are at the end of Term 1 – what a productive and connected 11 weeks we have experienced. We thank all our Star of the Sea educators and support staff who are so committed to the academic and social/emotional wellbeing of all our students and their families. We are so blessed to have such wonderful school community.

Play space options at Recess and Lunch
The completion of the new build is very exciting indeed and with that comes changes to our playtime spaces and supervision. Next term during recess and lunch our outdoor play spaces will include the freshly painted courts, ‘green’ oval, JP and MP assigned playground, nature play, sandpit, lower undercover courtyard and imaginative play space. In addition, students will also have more options at lunchtime to visit either the Early Years club in the Atrium or the Primary Years club in the Stella Maris room. Our Library will also be open and supervised at lunch time for those students wanting a quieter space. We hope all these options will provide a variety of experiences for our learners across the week and reduce congestion on various play areas around the school.

We intend to replenish our nature play, sandpit, and imaginative play spaces with items to encourage creative play. If you have any pots, pans, cups, wooden utensils, buckets, plastic spades, plastic trucks/diggers, or items that are no longer being used at home, we would appreciate any donations. Please feel free to drop off any items to the school office.

CESA Pulse Check In: Follow up
As most would be aware, all Catholic schools conduct a ‘pulse check’ each term. Students are asked seven questions to check on how they are going in areas such as learning, belonging, safety and support. The Leadership team and Leaders of Learning review these results and follow up with any students that flagged ‘at risk’ response in the survey. Across the school, we conducted mini chats with these children to ascertain if further follow up is required or whether the issue or concern flagged in Week 5 has been resolved. These discussions are then shared with the class teacher for monitoring.

Action for Happiness: Active April
This month’s focus on the action for happiness website is ‘Active April’ which is perfect as we head into Sports Day and the school holiday break. There are some great suggestions that you may like to set as a challenge for your family. For more information, please visit:

https://actionforhappiness.org

Wishing everyone a safe holiday break!

Go well,
Kelly Manera

Assistant Principal Learning and Wellbeing

Easter – He is Risen!
Last week we came together as a school community to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. Our dedicated Justice Leaders led our school in a beautiful liturgy and reflection. We all sang ‘Alleluia, He is risen’ and adorned the cross with flowers, as a symbol of new life.

As we head into the final week of school and prepare ourselves for a much-needed break, we look back and reflect with love and gratitude in our hearts for the 11 weeks we have journeyed together. This term has been jammed packed, full of new learning, new friendships, new spaces, and new opportunities to connect with the love of God.

I wish our staff, students, and community a fabulous break and look forward to seeing everyone back next term. May God bless you and keep you safe these holidays.

With Gratitude,
Dominque Laurendi

Please find attached maps and information for  Sports Day on Thursday 11 April.