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Dear Parents and Carers,
This time of year is enrolment season across the Diocese. Recently I read an article that highlighted the benefits of attending a Catholic school. It is always wonderful to see research affirm what we at Stella Maris already know—that a Catholic education provides lifelong benefits for our students. The article from Victoria highlights the positive impact Catholic schooling has on academic achievement, personal development, and community engagement. This is a great affirmation of the values we uphold every day: faith, excellence, and service.
At Stella Maris, we are committed to nurturing the whole child—spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally—ensuring our students are well-prepared for their future with strong moral foundations and a sense of purpose. As we continue our enrolment process for 2026, we encourage families to share the gift of a Catholic education with friends and loved ones. If you or someone you know is considering enrolling their child, now is the perfect time to experience the welcoming and enriching environment of Stella Maris.
We look forward to welcoming new families into our community!
Last week I had the pleasure of attending Year 6 camp at Berry. A sincere thank you to the staff who gave time away from their own families and to all the Year 6 parents who supported the camp. Camp is an opportunity to push past our comfort zone, experience being away from home for a short period of time and of course have plenty of fun! The children were exceptional and had a fabulous time learning and experiencing new things.
God Bless
Belinda Hughes
Principal
Holy Week is just around the corner but before we celebrate engaging in our Church’s most important events, let us join together in solidarity to celebrate Australia’s cultural diversity.
Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Stella will celebrate Harmony Day on the 21 March where students can come to school on this day wearing traditional cultural costumes, showcasing the many countries we belong to. They may also bring their national flag to share in the celebration. Alternatively, students may wear orange as it signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and the encouragement of mutual respect.
Students are asked on this day to bring in a gold coin donation for Project Compassion to ‘Unite Against Poverty’, supporting our vision to ‘Reverence the Story of All People’. On this day, students will share their cultural diversity in the classroom and participate in activities that celebrate inclusivity and diversity. Let’s come together to celebrate Harmony Day 2025 and continue building a school where everyone truly belongs.
God Bless,
Alicia Sanchez-Levine
Religious Education Coordinator
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Catholic vocabulary term of the week: Lent – the period of forty days in the Liturgical Year that leads us to the glorious celebrations of Easter. Through prayer, fasting and good works, the community of the Church enters a time of soul-searching, and deep reflection on the meaning of discipleship and the Christian life. Source: Catholic Australia. |
Project Compassion
Click on the link to donate - Donate Now
Let’s bring forth our vision, to ‘Reverence the Story of All People’, by considering others, breaking down barriers, and supporting those who are on the margins.
Project Compassion is Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal. Stella Maris’ mission as ‘a faith-filled, respectful community of learners’ engages us in our vision to ‘Reverence the Story of All People’ and as such lead us this year to begin raising funds to support those who are on the Margins. Our Year 6 Leaders of Vision & Mission will lead this year's Project Compassion campaign for the school. Students will be getting involved in classes by watching the stories of Project Compassion and helping with fundraising.
Your generous support can help change lives today by ‘Uniting Against Poverty.’.
Each child at school has now brought a box home to assist with fundraising. Please encourage family members to give generously. Once your box is full, bring it back to school and we will add the funds to the on-going total. Together, we can make a difference!
Mass with the Bishop Years 3-6 March 28 at 11 am
The Bishop will be celebrating Mass with Stella and Nazareth students in Years 3-6, as well as Corpus students in Year 8 and their leaders. Parents, grandparents and carers are invited to join us at All Saints for this special celebration.
Holy Week & Easter Liturgies 9 & 10 April at 2pm
We would like to invite parents, grandparents and carers to our Holy Week and Easter Re-enactments under the COLA. The liturgies will be presented by the Leaders of Vision and Mission and each grade. On 9 
April we have Kindergarten, Year 1 and 2 performing with Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 on 10 April.
Anzac Day Liturgy 2 May 2 pm
Due to the holiday break, parents, grandparents, and friends are warmly invited to attend a special Anzac Day Liturgy presented by Year 5 on the 2 May at 2 pm.
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
Programme for the Sacrament of Penance (Year 3 Students)
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Vigil/Sunday |
Programme |
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March |
Workshops continue at Stella and Nazareth. |
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29/30 March |
Parents advised of ceremonies for First Reconciliation. |
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Sat 5 April |
Celebration of Reconciliation 11 am Mementos for First Penance distributed to the children at 5 pm Vigil Mass and 9 am Sunday Mass |
If there are any questions related to any of the Sacraments, please contact the parish office via email shellharbourcity@dow.org.au
Hope for the Illawarra Inter-Church Evangelisation Event 2025
‘I invite Catholics in the Diocese of Wollongong, especially those in the Illawarra Region, to attend this Ecumenical Event, inviting others so as to hear the Gospel proclaimed anew. In embracing our Jubilee Year of Hope, consider attending Hope for the Illawarra on March 28-29 in Wollongong.’ Bishop Brian Mascord
Main Events:
Friday 28 March - An Evening for Youth (7 pm)
Saturday 29 March - A Morning Event for Children (11 am)
Saturday 29 March - A Celebration with Dr Michael Youssef (7 pm)
For more information go to https://www.hopefortheillawarra.com.au/
Enrolment News 2026
Click on the link to ENROL NOW
School Readiness Information Session
Reading Worksop
We are excited to invite you to a special Reading Workshop for Kindergarten parents and Year 1 parents if you would like a refresh. This session is designed to support you in fostering a love of reading in your child and to provide practical strategies for early literacy development.
Date: Friday 28th March 2025
Time: 8:30 am
Location: Library, Stella Maris
RSVP: Please RSVP to your child's classroom teacher via ClassDojo.
At this workshop, we will explore:
✅ Fun and engaging ways to develop early reading skills
✅ The importance of phonics and comprehension
✅ Tips for making home reading enjoyable and effective
✅ Stella Maris' approach to teaching reading
✅ Strategies to build reading confidence and independence
There will also be an opportunity to observe examples and ask questions. We look forward to working together to support your child’s reading success!
Recently I received some feedback from CEO on the inappropriate conduct and behaviour of some of our parent community at external events. It is timely to provide a gentle reminder that at these events it is our responsibility to approach all decisions or questions to officials in a respectful and appropriate manner.
Thank you to the parents who advocate for their children in a respectful and compassionate way, fostering open dialogue and a sense of gratitude no matter the outcome.
Representative Sport
Swimming
The Wollongong Diocesan Swimming Trials were held at Corrimal Swimming Pool on Friday of Week 6. We had some fantastic individual and team performances with many students continuing to improve on their times from the South Coast Championships. Congratulations to the Senior Girls (2nd place) and Junior Boys (1st place) Relay team who gained automatic qualification and will now compete at the Mackillop Swimming Trials in Sydney on the 2nd of April. A further congratulations goes to the Senior Boys Relay team and Mahli Creighton who were successfully granted wild card entries and will also be competing as part of the Wollongong team at the Mackillop trials. We wish these students the best of luck.
Girls AFL
Congratulations to Alani Waters who has gained selection into the South Coast Girls AFL team. This is one of six NSW All Schools teams that will compete at a final championship in Sydney on 02 and 03 June 2025. We wish Alani and her team all the best.
Football (Soccer) & Rugby League
Trials for all the above sports will be taking place over the next couple of weeks. We wish all the students trialling the best of luck.
Gala Days
Preferences for 2025 Year 3 - 6 Gala Days will go out at the end of the term.
Catholic Legends Gala Day
The Catholic Legends Gala Day for Year 3-6 students is coming up on Thursday of Week 11. Once the Cross Country Carnival is complete, Mrs Gallinar, Mrs Sablowski and Mrs Young will be working through the process for nominations. Please continue to be patient as it has been an incredibly busy first term, particularly in sport. As soon as we have more information we will pass it on.
Sporting Schools AFL
Our Year 3 - Year 6 students will be participating in the Sporting Schools AFL program in sport time over the next few weeks. This has been a successful program run at the school for the past couple of years, delivered by qualified and experienced AFL coaches. We look forward to welcoming the coaches back to Stella Maris and look forward to improving the students' knowledge and skills.
SPORT PATHWAY FOR MULTICLASS STUDENTS
Please view the following website for further information on Multiclass sporting opportunities.
https://csnsw.sport/students-with-disability/student-with-disabilities-links/multi-class
The Multiclass Pathway is for students with a physical or intellectual disability. Athletics, Swimming, and Cross Country provide Multiclass events and provide a pathway for students in the school system. Students will need to have a classification in order to progress through the sports pathway as a multiclass athlete. This can take some time to organise so if you are considering this option for your child please act as soon as possible. If you have any questions please see Mrs Sablowski.
* NEW CEODoW 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’
- 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.
The canteen has had a great start to the year, with lunch tubs full each day with orders. There is a lot more variety available to our students and a significant amount of home made healthy options.
After some feedback, you may have noticed that the app has been updated to show all home made products and their ingredients listed. This should assist with managing dietary requirements. Also all options for ice blocks have also been added to the lunch order menu, please note however that an alternative may need to be offered as stock can not be predicted with over the counter sales.
The canteen is now open Monday to Friday.
The canteen menu is also on our website.
Online orders can be made via the My School Connect app - www.myschoolconnect.com.au/stellamarisps
Click on Create account.
Take A Break Tuckshop advertises canteen news, specials and updates via their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/takeabreaktuckshop
Just one thing
Please see the link below to participate in the 'Just One Thing' initiative and make 2025 a great year for the children of Stella Maris.
Easter Raffle & Welcome BBQ - Friday 4 April
The Easter raffle is always a favourite with the children, our Easter Raffle will be held during assembly time commencing a little earlier from 1:30 pm. We invite all parents to come along to the event as it really is an exciting one to watch and the children love it.
We will be calling for donations of Easter baskets and bags shortly, so keep your eyes out for more information.
Welcome Evening is another event held on the same day straight after our Easter Raffle at school from 3 - 5 pm.
More information to come on a separate compass notification.
ACT Championships - BMX
Recently, Indi Cohen, Ace Cohen, and Joel Thompson competed at the ACT Championships. Indie Cohen finished 3rd in the 20-inch category and 1st in Cruiser, completing 8 races in total throughout the day. Ace Cohen secured 3rd place in three races and 1st in another. Joel Thompson placed 7th in the 20-inch category and 2nd in Cruiser, racing a total of 9 times during the event. Well done to Luke Thompson, who also rode well all day in the 7 boys.
2025 UCI BMX Challenge World Championships
Congratulations to Joel Thompson who has been selected to compete at the 2025 UCI BMX World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. We wish you all the best as you embark on this exciting journey in racing!
