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Dear Parents and Carers,
At Stella Maris, we highly value and encourage open communication with parents and carers. Building strong partnerships with you is essential for our students' success. However, it is equally important to maintain respectful boundaries to support the wellbeing of our staff and community.
Recently, there has been some parent communication across platforms and across grades that was brought to the school's attention by multiple concerned parents. The communication was raising concerns and discussing and naming staff. This is highly inappropriate and does not support the dignity of the human person, which as a Catholic school is critical to who we are.
The CEDoW Parent, School Partnership Framework outlines clearly that parents must model positive messaging about the school, parish, and members of the school community and adhere to the standards of the CEDoW Social Media Statement. Social media is inclusive of, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
I anticipate that any further communication will return to its intended purpose of celebrating positive experiences, asking questions about upcoming events, or seeking further clarification. A reminder that any formal communication should be via email to the school office, including if you wish to raise concerns, in a polite and respectful way.
I appreciate your understanding and support in fostering a respectful and considerate communication environment for everyone at Stella Maris.
God Bless
Belinda Hughes
Principal
Let us pray for the children receiving First Holy Communion, their families, and their guests on Sunday 24 November 11 am at All Saints Parish.
Let us pray that the children will be deeply nourished by receiving this precious Sacrament for the first time and come to know the love and closeness of Jesus more and more deeply throughout their lives through frequent reception of Holy Communion.
God Bless
Alicia Sanchez-Levine
Religious Education Coordinator
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Catholic vocabulary term of the week: Gospel — From the Old English (god spel) translation of the Greek ‘eu angelion’ meaning good news. In a very real sense Jesus Christ himself is the Good News. It is also what we know about both Jesus himself as the crucified and risen Lord and about Jesus’ teaching of the Kingdom of God coming into the world. All of Jesus’ followers, from the time of the apostles have been called to announce the gospel. The word is also applied specifically to the four different accounts of Jesus’s mission, death and resurrection placed at the start of the New Testament. They are attributed to authors called Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. |
Grade Masses at Stella Maris
The Stella Maris Church is currently closed for maintenance. However, Fr Hung has agreed to resume grade Masses in our Library for our children. Due to size constraints, the Masses will only be attended by students. We thank you for your understanding.
Remembrance Day 11/11
On Monday 11 November, we gathered together in prayer for Remembrance Day. We paused for one minute of silence to remember in faith the service and sacrifice of all who gave their lives in wars, conflicts, and peace operations, and those who continue serving in our armed forces today. We also prayed for healing and peace; that one day, all people will lay down their arms and embrace one another as brothers and sisters in one human family.
End of the School Year Mass under the COLA
Mass at Stella Maris
It’s back! We will be having our END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WHOLE SCHOOL MASS under the COLA on Tuesday 10 Dec 11 am! Please come and join us as we celebrate the end of our year, and farewell those who have served us with their faith, hope, and love over the years.
All Saints Catholic Parish NEWS
All Saints Church Mass Times: 19 College Ave, Shellharbour City
Saturday 5.00 pm Vigil
Sunday 9.00 am & 5.00 pm
Special Masses at All Saints this Term
Please come and join us as we celebrate Mass together on the following da
ys:
Wed 11 Dec 5 pm Year 6 Graduation Mass & Celebration
Sat 14 Dec, 5 - 7:30 pm Outdoor Mass & Christmas Carols on the Nazareth Playground, presented by each school - Christmas attire/colours to be worn.
Programme for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion (Year 3 Students)
|
Vigil/Sunday |
Programme |
|
Sun 24 Nov |
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION MASS 11 AM |
|
Thu 28 Nov |
Post Holy Communion Mass 10 am at All Saints for those children who have celebrated the Sacrament. A bus will transport the students from school. The rest of Year 3 will remain at school. Parents are more than welcome to attend but it is not compulsory. Thank you. |
If there are any questions related to any of the Sacraments, please contact the parish office via email shellharbourcity@dow.org.au
The upcoming Parish Christmas Carols is fast approaching. The children are enjoying learning carols to perform on the night. There will be further information coming with details and a Compass event to RSVP to. We look forward to celebrating the festive season with you.
Date: Saturday 14 December
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Nazareth Playground
Details: Outdoor mass followed by carols performed by both primary schools and the Parish choir.
Students K-6 will receive Semester 2 reports at the end of this term. These will be available on Compass Monday 16th December.
These reports will contain a General Comment, as well as Learning Gains and Areas for Growth in English and Mathematics, and Learning Gains in Religious Education. All other subject areas will have an achievement level for each component of the subject, and an overall grade. These overall grades take into account the levels of achievement in each component, as well as the importance of each component. That is, they do not all have equal weighting.
Please remember the common grade scale uses descriptors to explain what a student at each level has demonstrated through a wide range of assessment experiences, including teacher observations and interactions with students, class work, contributions to class work, as well as more formalised assessments.
What is ‘sound’?
Students who are awarded the grade ‘sound’ are achieving the stage outcomes at the expected level of competency for their particular year of learning.
What if my child receives the same grade as last semester? Or even last year?
This means your child has continued to learn and improve because each term students undertake new learning with new outcomes, and/or the expected level of competency increases throughout the year. That is, what is expected at the end of Term 4, is more challenging than what was expected at the end of Term 2.
Also, in most subject areas, content changes throughout the year, meaning student reports are often reporting on completely different outcomes. A student may not achieve both sets of outcomes with the same competency.
Library News
Please note that the last day of borrowing for students will be Tuesday 26 November. In order to organise the Library for 2025 all library books are due Tuesday 3 Dec.
Thank you
Mrs Love & Ms Morand
Uniting has launched all-day Info Hubs in its Illawarra and Shoalhaven offices to ensure community members can easily access information about the NDIS and other resources. No bookings required! Potential NDIS participants will:
- Learn more about the NDIS and how to apply
- Understand your options if you do not meet NDIS eligibility criteria
- Discover how to use your NDIS plan to its full potential
- Speak with an industry expert about your NDIS or Disability-related questions
Here’s when and where to find the Info Hubs in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven:
- Where? 1/1 Burra Place, Shellharbour City Centre
- When? Every first Tuesday of the month
- What time? From 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
- Where? 35 Kenny Street, Wollongong
- When? Every third Wednesday of the month
- What time? From 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
- Where? Level 2b, 57 Graham Street, Nowra
- When? Every second Tuesday of the month
- What time? From 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
Uniting has also produced a number of very practical Resources on its Uniting LAC Website.
Key Sport Dates:
Week 6
- Tuesday 19th November - Diocesan Sport Basketball Selection Trials - Beaton Park Snakepit
Week 7
- Friday 29th November - Nominations open for 2025 Swimming Carnival events
Week 8
- Friday 13th December - Nominations close for 2025 Swimming Carnival events
Representative Sport 2025 Pathway:
Basketball
On Tuesday of this week, six students from Stella Maris trialed for the Wollongong Diocesan Basketball team. Congratulations to Kai, Oliver, Sonny, Elijah, Lillian, and Emily on their efforts on the day. We hope you had a great experience and learned a lot.
Carnivals
2024 Swimming Carnival
The annual Stella Maris Catholic School Swimming Carnival was held on Thursday in Week 5 at the Oak Flats Swimming Pool, and it was a day filled with excitement, energy, and plenty of aquatic fun! Students took part in a variety of events and activities, making it a memorable occasion for all involved.
The carnival featured a range of exciting events, including competitive 50m pool races, fun-filled pool novelty activities facilitated by Mr Holgate and Miss O’Sullivan, and energetic land-based novelty events facilitated by Mrs Thompson and Ms Gruber that had everyone cheering.
While the older students were having some fun at the pool, the younger students participated in a variety of challenging water-based activities at school facilitated by Miss Daphne.
A special shout-out goes to Smyth House, who took out the War Cries at the start of the day, setting an energetic tone for the rest of the carnival. Their spirit and enthusiasm were infectious, creating an atmosphere of friendly competition and school pride.
Congratulations to Reid Coelho and Alivia Jarvis, who were crowned the Year 6 Champions for their outstanding performance throughout the day. Their dedication and sportsmanship were truly commendable!
A big thank you to Miss Daphne, who did a wonderful job coordinating the water-based activities for the younger students. Her efforts helped ensure that the younger students had a fantastic time and were able to participate fully in the carnival’s events. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to Mrs Gallinar for her hard work and dedication in the lead-up to, during, and after the event. Her efforts helped to make the swimming carnival a smooth and successful day for all. Lastly, a big thanks to our parent helpers, Mr Skarkey, Mrs Paillas, and Mrs Atley for their assistance on the day.
After a day of thrilling competition, Aikenhead House emerged as the overall winners of the 2024 Swimming Carnival. Their dedication, teamwork, and impressive performances in the pool and at school earned them the title of champions.
Just a reminder that there is a quick turnaround for our 2025 carnival. The carnival is scheduled for the 6th of February, again held at Oak Flats Pool. With the change to the carnival being held in the calendar year, the carnival will be compulsory for students in years 3-6 and open to COMPETENT SWIMMERS ONLY IN YEAR 2.
2025 Swimming Carnival
Given that the carnival is scheduled for Week 2 of school, student event nominations will go live next Friday the 29th of November. They will remain open for 2 WEEKS ONLY to ensure that all entries can be placed in the system before the school holidays. Please discuss with your children the events your child wishes to participate in and bear in mind that it is much easier to remove a child from an event, then to add them.
CSNSW SPORT AQUATHLON – 19 December
It's on again!! Holiday fun time. The 2024 CSNSW Sport Aquathlon is open to students in Catholic schools in NSW. Polding & MacKillop affiliated students register through csnsw.sport portal as per usual sport registration.
(>>> SPORT REGISTRATION HELP <<<). Non-affiliated Catholic schools register through the portal – select CSNSW Sport as your school.
- Thursday, 19 December 2024
- Heats from 8:30 am Finals from11:30am
- Amour Park & Max Parker Aquatic Centre, Revesby
- 8 – 11 yrs 100m swim, 1km run
12 – 19 yrs 200m swim, 1.8km run - Entries close 6 December $40. Late entries $55 up to 13 December
CEDoW Website
CEODoW has released a new website. You can access this new website via the following link. To navigate to the sport section please follow the below process:
- Go to the CEODoW website: https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/
- Click on the three lines in the yellow box at the top right-hand side of the page
- Click on ‘Student Experience’
- Click on ‘Sport’
- Click on ‘Primary Sport’ - https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/student-experience/sport/primary-sport
- Navigate through the options
CEDOW Instagram
Don’t forget, the Sports Council at the CEO DOW has set up an Instagram account to help spread the news about sport in our Diocese. Please follow @cedow.sport to keep up to date with all the latest news and information.
More information https://csnsw.sport/sports/csnsw-sport-programmes/aquathlon
Casey Sablowski
Sports Coordinator
Uniform shop
Please remember to donate any old uniforms to the school for the uniform shop. Donations can be made to the office at any time.
Christmas Market
Friday 6 December
Please see the attached flyer, but below is some key information.
Time - 4:30-8:30 pm
Carols Performance - 5:30 pm
Tickets for the raffle are available to purchase and are to be drawn on the night.
BUY TICKETS HERE - https://www.raffletix.com.au?
We have several stalls being manned by students from Years 4, 5, and 6 on the night. Please follow the link sent out via Compass to each year group to volunteer.
Year 4 - A second-hand bookstall
Year 5 - A temporary tattoo and glow stick stall
Year 6 - Manning of Santa Photos
We hope this is a great event for all of the school as well as the extended community!
Thank you
P&F Association
The canteen is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The canteen menu is on our website.
Online orders can be made via the My School Connect app - www.myschoolconnect.com.au/stellamarisps and click on Create account.
