Filter Content
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
In a way when we pray to a particular saint we ask them to “put in a good word” for us with God in Heaven. They are not the focus of our worship, God is.
As people of faith we can relate to the saints because they too had their weaknesses and struggles just as we do. They are however, our models of witness to God as they also had a tremendous devotion to their faith. They became canonised (that is to say, officially recognised) as Catholic Saints after their deaths. This was usually done after a lengthy review of both the holiness of their lives and miracles associated with them.
What is comforting is that with the saints we have so many members of our Church in heaven to look out for us. On some days we need all the help we can get. We can ask one of many patron saints for their assistance. They’ve been “put in charge” of various causes, occupations and even countries, through popular traditions or by the Church. These saints are considered our protectors as well as our intercessors.
As we celebrate All Saints Day it is good to know that they are looking after our school community and taking our struggles, successes and thanks to God on our behalf. It is wonderful to come together with Nazareth to attend Mass on All Saints Day with our Years 3-6 students.
STUDENT SAFETY
Once again there is an increasing trend of parents not using the crossing in Wentworth Street to enter the school grounds to collect their children after school. This is sending the wrong message to the students and compromising the safety of all. Could I please ask that all parents comply with this request.
STUDENT BEHAVIOUR
Each term we track behavioural data to ensure that we continue to operate as a safe, respectful environment. We are currently looking at a record year in terms of the least minor and major recordings (a reduction of 46% in the last five years!) This is a tremendous achievement and a real credit to staff, students and parents.
CONNECTING STAGE 3 to STAGE 4
We are currently involved in a program with teachers from St Joseph’s Albion Park and Corpus Christi to look at teaching methods from Years 5-8 and how we can better assist students in making a successful transition from Primary to High School. This involves reciprocal visits and lesson observations.
SOCKTOBER
I would like to extend a huge thank you to our families for supporting the Socktober Fundraiser for Catholic Missions. To raise over $3000 was a tremendous effort and our community’s generosity always amazes me. The children had so much fun scoring goals past their teachers last Friday. Thank you to our Religious Education Coordinator Mrs Sanchez Levine for coordinating the event and to Mr Price for organising the portable goals.
EARLY PICK-UP
An increasing amount of children are being collected from school early. Could I please ask that you only pick up your child early from school if this is absolutely necessary. It does affect their attendance record.
If you do need to pick your child up early, there is no need to call the office first, just come into the office and the office staff will call your child down from their classroom when you arrive.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
This Sunday’s Gospel
The Sadducees try to put Jesus in conflict with Moses
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
Grade Masses take place at our Stella Maris church on Tuesdays at 9:30am. Parents, grandparents and carers are most welcome to attend. Please find below a schedule of the Masses for this Term.
Week 1 - Yr 3 - 11 October
Week 2 - Yr 5 - 18 October
Week 3 - Kinder - 25 October
Week 5 - Yr 1 - 8 November
Week 6 - Yr 2 - 15 November
Week 7 - Yr 4 - 22 November
Week 8 - Yr 6 - 29 November
Join us for a Cuppa!
Additionally, we would like to invite parents, grandparents and carers to please join us for a cup of tea or coffee after Mass in the school staffroom. Simply follow the students and Mrs Sanchez-Levine through the gates after Mass to join her, Mr Sykes, Fr Joe and Sr Kerry for a 30 minute informal gathering.
The Sacraments
Communion - Year 3 or Older
Following Masses on the 5/6 November, there will be instruction for candidates on how to receive Holy Communion. On the weekend of the 19/20 November, there will be rehearsals and seating allocation.
After Saturday Vigil for 11am Communion Mass
After 9am Mass for 2pm Communion Mass
First Holy Communion Masses will be held on Sunday at 11am and 2pm.
If there are any questions related to any of the Sacraments, please contact the parish office via email shellharbourcity@dow.org.a
Socktober World Mission Month Fundraiser
A huge thank you to our wonderful Stella Maris Community and friends. We were able to raise $3,613 for World Mission Month. The students have learned all about the children in Ethiopia and participated enthusiastically in the school Socktober shootout with the sockballs they made throughout the Socktober Challenge.
The fundraising page will shortly close so if you haven't had the opportunity to donate, please head to : https://www.socktober.org.au/fundraisers/stellamariscatholicprimaryschool
Thank you once again for supporting our school in Socktober !
Remembrance Day 11 November 11am
Remembrance Day is a nationally recognised day of commemoration held each year on the 11 November, when we pause for one minute of silence at 11am 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. We also pray 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.
In unity, on this day, Stella Maris will join together in prayer and listen to the Last Post. This will be followed by a minute's silence, the Rouse and our National Anthem. The students will then listen in silence to the hymn- “Prayer for peace”.
All Saints Day 1 November (Reflection by Greg Sunter)
Saints are sometimes regarded as ‘Catholic superheroes’. Stories of miraculous and remarkable deeds abound, though more in the vein of conversions and cures than speeding bullets and tall buildings. But to get caught up on the Saints of the stained glass windows is to overlook the vast majority of saints. You see, a saint is anybody whose soul is in heaven. The Church celebrates a certain number of Saints whose lives provide a glimpse of God for the rest of the Church. But there are many, many more saints whose glimpse of God was only ever experienced by their family, friends and those with whom they worked. The feast of ALL Saints is an opportunity to remember and reflect on the lives of those saints who’ve been known and loved by just a few and whose sphere of influence was such that they will never be recognised as Saints by the universal Church.
What is the difference between All Saints & All Souls day?
The feasts of All Saints (Nov 1) and All Souls (Nov 2) can be seen as something of a twin feast that celebrates all those who have died. With the feast of All Saints we celebrate all those who have died and have entered into direct and immediate communion with God in heaven. With the feast of All Souls we celebrate and pray for those who have died but have not yet entered into that direct communion with God. These two different states revolve around the Church teaching on purgatory – a state or process of purification before entering into heaven.
God Bless You
Alecia Sanchez-Levine
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Please ensure that outstanding school fee balances are paid in full by early December 2022.
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.
We would like to start by thanking our amazing, dedicated and hardworking teachers for all they do for our children. The hours of work put in both at school and outside of school hours is greatly appreciated by the parents and carers at Stella Maris. We were able to show our appreciation with providing morning tea for the teachers on World Teachers day on Friday, October 28.
Our trivia night which was held a couple of weeks ago was a big success and a huge thank you to those in our community who came to support the P&F in their fundraising efforts. So much fun was had by all and $3,886 was raised which will go directly to improving our school playground. The night wouldn’t have been so successful if it wasn’t for our major sponsors - Adriana Fernandez Styling, Shique Floral Design, Jumbo Pets, Andaman Thai Restaurant, Relish Restaurant, Gravity Gym Warrawong, My First Gym Shellharbour, Ray White Shellharbour, Links Shellharbour, Athlete’s Foot Shellharbour, Loan Market Shellharbour City and Jamberoo Action Park, as well as many other businesses who were very generous in providing donations for the night.
We are so excited to announce that we will be holding a colour explosion fun run for the students of Stella Maris on Thursday December 1 this year. A note with important information regarding the day as well as the fundraising form was sent home last week. Our fundraising goal this year is $15,000 which will go directly towards our school playground upgrade. If there are any parents/carers/grandparents willing to assist on this day (roughly between 10:3:30pm), please email the P&F (email address below).
The P&F are hosting a supper following Mr Sykes’ retirement Mass on Wednesday, November 16 directly after mass at 5pm. If you are able to assist with setting up, serving or cleaning up, please email us (email address below).
Stella Maris have been given an amazing opportunity to raise additional funds with the Return and Earn bottle collection scheme. We have three Return and Earn collection points available:
- 211 Lake Entrance Rd, Shellharbour City Centre.
- Shellharbour Stockland Retail Park, 5 Range Rd, Shellharbour City.
- PCYC Lake Illawarra, 156 Reddall Parade, Lake Illawarra.
Stella Maris will collect 10c from every bottle collected in these locations when the Stella Maris logo is chosen until 23 April 2023. We really appreciate your support and look forward to using the profits towards upgrading the playground for the students.
Sharon Harrison, our canteen manager at Stella Maris is seeking a donation of a deep freezer for our canteen. If anyone has one or knows of a business who would be willing to donate one to our school, please get in contact with us (email address below).
Our next P&F meeting will be held on Monday, November 14 at 6:30pm in the school library. We will be discussing upcoming events as well as projections for money to be spent this year and would love to see you there.
Thank you for your continued support,
The P&F Committee
Contact email - parents@smsdow.catholic.edu.au
