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Dear Parents and Carers,
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, a day which begins the season of Lent, a period of forty days before Easter. On Ash Wednesday, we come together like the people of the Old Testament to remind ourselves that we don’t always follow God’s ways and need to ask God for His mercy and forgiveness. Like God’s people in the time of the prophets, we wear ashes to show that we want to turn away from whatever keeps us from God, and to have a change of heart, so that we can live in right relationship with God and each other. Ashes were sprinkled on our heads and we were asked to:
Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel
For Catholics, Ash Wednesday is also a day of fasting and abstaining from meat. Fasting reminds us that food alone cannot make us happy. We must also be fed with prayer, with God’s Word and by meeting Jesus in the Sacraments, especially Reconciliation (Confession) and Eucharist (the Mass). The small sacrifices we make during Lent make room in our hearts to welcome the risen Jesus at Easter.
ASH WEDNESDAY MASS
Thank you to Father Joe for celebrating Ash Wednesday Mass with us yesterday. It was great for our Year 3-6 students to come together with the Nazareth students at All Saints Parish Church. Our younger children were able to participate in an Ash Wednesday liturgy, which will prepare them for the Lenten season.
PENANCE WORKSHOPS
In preparation for the Sacrament of Penance, Year Three students and those who have enrolled in the sacrament, commenced workshops this week at school, led by teachers. These workshops will continue for the next three weeks.
PROJECT COMPASSION VIRTUAL LAUNCH
On Tuesday, Year 5 and 6 students participated in the virtual launch of Project Compassion 2021, “Be More.” This fundraising project is organised by Caritas and encourages us to donate to help various groups around the world who experience great poverty. It is good to encourage your children to put some of their pocket money into the Project Compassion boxes, located in classrooms.
SWIMMING CARNIVAL
The Annual Stella Maris Swimming Carnival was held at Oak Flats Pool today. Thank you to Mrs Downing and her team for the great organisation, as well as the parents who offered to assist at the pool. We will publish results in the next newsletter. A team will now be selected to represent the school at the Regional Swimming Carnival at Corrimal Pool on Tuesday 2 March.
CROSS COUNTRY
The Annual Stella Maris Cross Country Carnival for all students K-6 will be held at Keith Hockey Oval on Friday 12 March. An information note will be sent out next Monday and it will include a link to a Google form asking for parent helpers. At this stage it is unknown whether parents are able to attend as spectators. A Diocesan decision will be made in early March so we will communicate this as soon as we know.
YEAR 6 LEADERSHIP LITURGY
Congratulations to our Year 6 students who received their leadership badges at a special liturgy on Tuesday morning. It was great to have their parents in attendance and we know that they will do an amazing job in their various roles.
P & F AGM
The Parents and Friends Annual General Meeting was held in the school library on Monday and was attended by about twenty parents. Congratulations to the new executive:
President- Sarah Roche
Vice- Presidents- Amy Jennett & Sammi Badger
Secretary- Trisha Thomas
Assistant Secretary- Jayne Creighton
Treasurer- Nicole Fosteris
Uniform Coordinator- Kimberly Nowakowski
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
This Sunday’s Gospel
After forty days in the desert, Jesus proclaims the reign of God.
All Saints Catholic Parish Shellharbour
Mass times: All Saints Church
19 College Ave, Shellharbour City
Saturday 5.00pm Vigil
Sunday 9.00am
5.00pm
Mass at Stella Maris
Years 5 & 6 Mass TBC
Years 3 & 4 Mass TBC
Years 1 & 2 Mass TBC
Beginning of the Year & Leaders Liturgy
On Tuesday, we celebrated the opening of our school year and our Year 6 leaders for 2021. May we open our eyes to the new challenges and exciting opportunities that this new school year brings. Let us open our heart and mind to new friends and teachers. God, give us the courage to accept new opportunities and responsibilities. We ask God’s blessing on our school and our schoolwork, our students and teachers, our parents and friends, our sports and activities, and on everything that is part of our school, family and community.
Reconciliation Workshops
This week we began our Reconciliation Workshops in the Stella Maris Library and the Grealy Centre. Unfortunately, the student workbooks are still in transit but we will notify everyone once they become available. Thank you to the teachers who have volunteered their time to lead these important sessions.
Ash Wednesday
Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2, gathered together for a simple liturgy in our Church to receive the ashes. It was a lovely ceremony led by our devoted teachers.
Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 travelled by bus to All Saints to attend an Ash Wednesday Mass with Nazareth. Once again, due to current circumstances, families were unable to join us.
Project Compassion
The Virtual Project Compassion Launch was held on Tuesday. Year 5 and 6 students were able to join the launch from their own classrooms. It was a beautiful Liturgy leading us - to be more!
Project Compassion is Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal. Millions of Australians come together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.
Mrs Alicia Sanchez-Levine REC
Canteen News
We are a school run canteen and rely on volunteers to operate.
Canteen is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to make and prepare lunch orders and serve the children over the counter.
Online orders can be made via the My School Connect app - www.myschoolconnect.com.au/stellamarisps click on create account.
What is The Big Vegie Crunch?
Did you know that only around 6% of Australian children eat enough
vegetables? To help our community do their bit to improve this number, our
school will be taking part in The Big Vegie Crunch (part of Vegetable Week) at
10am on Thursday 18 March.
Primary schools across NSW will be joining together to break the record for
the most students crunching vegetables:
- 50,260 students crunching simultaneously (2018 record)
- 14,991 students crunching at other times over Vegetable Week (2019
record)
What can you do to help?
Pack a container of vegetables (not fruit this time) for your child to eat
on Thursday 18 March
Remember to keep serving up the vegetables at home and in your
children’s lunchboxes. Check out the UP THE VEG at Home resource
for ideas
Mrs Kim Downing
Little Learning Labs
The University of Wollongong invites applications for LITTLE and EARLY LEARNING LABS, an academic and creative arts enrichment holiday program. They are targeting students from Year 1 to 6 who are passionate, self-motivated and curious learners.
Dates: Little Learning Labs (Years 1 and 2): 17th-18th April 2021
Early Learning Labs (Years 3 to 6): 10th-11th April 2021
Venue: University of Wollongong (Wollongong campus only)
Applications close: Wednesday 3rd March 2021
APPLICATION PROCESS
Parents/Guardians can visit the University website and read the full list of workshops available by scrolling to the “April workshops overview” section.Application forms are available online.
This is an academic and creative arts enrichment program designed for students who are motivated and passionate learners and performing excellently in their area of interest. First-time applicants are required to demonstrate their suitability for the program. One piece of supporting documentation is required (see 'Supporting Documentation' section on website). Please note that the Teacher Nomination Letter can be used as a supporting document.
Learning Labs is registered as COVID-Safe and follows the guidelines set out by the NSW Government here.