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I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the community of Stella Maris for your warm welcome and open arms. I truly feel like I have settled in and I am beginning to learn more students’ names and know more families in our community.
The Cross Country last week was a great way to have our community come together and celebrate the school spirit as one. I was so proud of the students and their sporting spirit as they supported each other and encouraged everyone to do their best. Thank you to Mr Chris Price and his team of helpers who pulled together a very successful carnival.
One of my aims as the new Principal of Stella Maris is to have opportunities to listen to the parent voice in our community. On Monday 20 March we will be holding our next P&F meeting. I would like to invite you to this meeting as I will be holding some feedback workshops on various aspects of school life. I hope you are able to join us to contribute to the discussion.
God Bless
Belinda Hughes
Principal
NAPLAN News - Changes to Student Reports
From this year, parents and carers will get earlier, simpler and clearer information about their child’s NAPLAN achievement based on new, more rigorous national standards.
The numerical NAPLAN bands and the national minimum standard will be replaced by the following 4 levels of achievement:
- Exceeding
- Strong
- Developing
- Needs additional support
The descriptors for each category will make it clear to parents what their child’s literacy and numeracy skills are at the time of NAPLAN testing, and are designed to support discussions with their school on their child’s progress.
Winter Uniform Update
The winter uniform will be worn from the beginning of Term 2 until the end of Term 3. Please ensure that your child has the correct Stella Maris winter uniform. A changeover period from 24 April to 5 May will be in place where, if the weather is warm, summer uniform may be worn. Winter uniform MUST be worn from 8 May.
Sharing the LTW 2023+
Sport News
2023 Cross Country Carnival:
Last Friday 10 March, Stella Maris participated in our annual Cross Country carnival at Keith Hockey Oval. All students participated with enthusiasm and showed wonderful carnival spirit by cheering on all competitors. Despite the warm weather, all students tried their best and should be very proud of their efforts. A big thank you goes out to Corpus Christi for assisting us with the running of the carnival. Your generosity and assistance was greatly appreciated.
A special congratulations goes out to all students in Weatherall, who were awarded Cross Country House Champions. The Sports captains of Weatherall proudly received the ‘Danny Sykes’ Cross Country Trophy for the very first time.
A Stella Maris Cross Country train-on squad for the Diocesan carnival will be announced in the coming days.
As we paint the town green on the 17 March, let us remember how Saint Patrick devoted his entire life to bring the message of love and compassion of our Lord to the world. Kidnapped and enslaved in Ireland at the age of 16, Saint Patrick escaped only later to return, bringing Christianity to the nation. On St Patrick’s day, we reverence his story.
Please join us on the 17 March at assembly 1:50 pm for some special Irish dancing with Mrs Emma Steele and her fabulous dancers.
God Bless
Alicia Sanchez-Levine
Religious Education Coordinator
This Sunday’s Gospel
On the Sabbath, Jesus cures a man who was blind from birth.
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 Term 1, 2023.
Yr 1 Week 8, 14 March
Kinder Week 9, 21 March
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 us for a 30 minute informal gathering.
The Sacraments
The Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation) 5 April at 7pm - Year 3 Students
This week we conclude the Reconciliation Workshops at Stella Maris and the Grealy Centre. Thank you to the teachers who volunteered their time to lead these important sessions and the parents who continue to support their children in faith development.
The ceremony for First Reconciliation will occur on 5 April at 7pm. Let us pray for the children and their families at this special time:
Loving God, help us to teach our children that you love us totally and unconditionally. Help us to encourage our children to grow in love and to learn how to say sorry, knowing that you always forgive. Give us the courage to pray with our children and to share our faith with them as we journey together. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
After weekend Masses on the corresponding dates, the following events will occur:
19/20 March: Families will be advised of the day and time of their ceremony.
26/27 March: Mementos for First Reconciliation distributed.
The Sacrament of Confirmation - Year 6 Students
An information session will be held on Thursday 30 March 7-8pm for information and name recording at the All Saints Parish Hall.
After weekend Masses on the corresponding dates, the following events will occur…
22/23 April: Information forms will be distributed and names recorded
29/30 April: Distribution of Enrolment forms and names recorded
6/7 May: Commitment Mass for Parents and Candidates
Enrolment forms will be collected with the $25 program cost
Preferences collected for workshop groups
If there are any questions related to any of the Sacraments, please contact the parish office via email shellharbourcity@dow.org.au
Project Compassion
Project Compassion is Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal. Stella Maris’ vision as ‘a faith-filled, respectful community of learners’ engages us in our mission to ‘reverence the story of all people’ and as such lead us this year to begin raising funds to support all future generations. Students are getting involved in classes by watching the stories of Project Compassion and helping with fundraising.
Your generous support can help change lives today - and For All Future Generations.
Each child at school should now have 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!
Please help our school raise funds for those less fortunate than ourselves. Help us to ‘Reverence the Story of all People’.
Donate now at:
https://fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/t/stella-maris-catholic-primary-school-shellharbour
Mini Vinnies ‘Cakes for the Quake’ Cake Stall Thursday 23 March
The Mini Vinnies group are proud to present their first fundraising project for 2023, the Cakes for the Quake cake Stall.
On the 6 February 2023 a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake and a series of strong tremors and aftershocks devastated southeast Turkey and northwest Syria. The death toll has passed 41,000 and continues to rise. Tens of thousands are injured and hundreds of thousands displaced across a region already beset by turmoil from the nearly 12-year conflict in Syria and the ongoing refugee crisis. After working desperately for nearly two weeks to locate additional survivors, search and rescue teams from around the world are largely shifting to recovery efforts. Reports indicate that there are over 87,000 injuries and 47,000 buildings have been destroyed or damaged.
We encourage all our school families to make or buy a cake for selling on the day. All food items prepared must be accompanied by a list of ingredients used,
Please drop food items off at the school office on the morning of the cake stall. All cake, slice, and biscuit items will cost just a gold coin donation.
Harmony Day 21 March 2pm
Harmony Week celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity.
It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. We will celebrate Harmony Day on the 21 March at 2pm with a liturgy organised by Year 4. Please join us!
Holy Week Remembrance 3 April & 26 April at 2pm
We would like to invite parents, grandparents and friends to a Holy Week Remembrance under the COLA. The liturgies will be presented by the Leaders of Liturgy and each grade. On 3 April we have Kindergarten, Year 1 and 2 performing with Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 on 26 April.
Anzac Day Liturgy 2 May 2pm
Due to our Holy Week Remembrance in Week 1 of Term 2, parents, grandparents and friends are warmly invited to attend a special Anzac Day Liturgy presented by Year 5 on the 2 May at 2pm.
Life to the Full Inclusive Texts
Life to the Full is a document informing you of the shared and consistent approach for CEDoW Schools in reference to inclusive resource and text collections. This term, we will be adding inclusive texts to our library collection. These texts are stories of hope, integrity, justice and compassion. These texts have been approved by Bishop Brian Mascord. It is important to understand that any text selected for the library collection undergoes a process (below) before a final decision is made.
Guiding Principles for resource selection
Collections that reflect the universal acceptance of all - Made in the image of God
School library collections should be balanced with print and digital resources that are diverse and informed by learning and teaching requirements. Leaders and educators should use the following guiding principles when deciding on individual texts and/or resources to be included in their collections:
Resource: CEDoW Libraries - Resource Selection
Premier's Reading Challenge 2023
The NSW Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is an initiative of the NSW State government. It aims to encourage in students a love of reading for leisure and pleasure and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student - to read, to read more and to read more widely.
In order to complete the Challenge, students must read the following number of books based on their Challenge Level:
|
Challenge Level |
Number of books you must read |
Minimum number of PRC books |
Maximum number of Personal Choice books |
PRC booklists you can read from |
|
K-2 |
30 |
20 |
10 |
K-2, 3-4, 5-6 |
|
3-4 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
3-4, 5-6, 7-9 |
|
5-6 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
5-6, 7-9 |
Students in Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 will have a selection of PRC books read to them during their Library sessions by the Teacher Librarian.
Year 3-6 are responsible for recording their own books to their PRC Student Reading Log via the PRC website. Students have been shown how to login to the PRC website, they have been provided with their username and password and have been shown how to add books to their Personal Reading Log.
The Premier’s Reading Challenge for 2023 closes on Friday, 18 August 2023
Some helpful links:
Premier’s Reading Challenge Website: https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html
PRC Book Lists: https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html
On Friday 3 March, our Stella Maris students joined many across the Diocese as they participated in Clean Up Australia Day. This important environmental initiative inspires and empowers communities to clean up, fix up and conserve the environment.
The students learnt about different forms of waste challenging society today and the repercussions of disposing of waste irresponsibly. Students also had the opportunity to write their own pledges on how they intend to make a conscious effort to care for their common home. It was a successful day as the students removed bags full of both recyclable and non-recyclable litter from both our school and around the local environment. Due to their collective involvement in this hands-on experience, the students understood the importance of cleaning up and conserving their local environment. They too felt passionate about making positive, lasting changes.
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.
