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This week I wanted to acknowledge the amazing experience of our Grandparents liturgy. I spent the morning talking to many grandparents and parents, learning their story and reminiscing about the old school days and how things have changed.
The overwhelming feeling of love on the day was a tangible experience. I am so very proud of our Kindergarten students who led us in a beautiful celebration of the special people in our lives. The way they sang, read and shared stories was inspiring.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who assisted with the serving of morning tea in the gorgeous sun kissed grass area. The scones and coffee was a spectacular success.
Celebrating our grandparents is a timely reminder to treasure those moments and to focus on the importance of the memories. As I mentioned on the day, please tell your grandchildren your story so that they can carry on your legacy and:
May God be in your Mind
May God be in your Heart and
May God be always looking over your shoulder.
God Bless
Principal
Belinda Hughes
School News
On Wednesday 26 July we celebrated the gift grandparents are in our lives with a heart warming liturgy presented by Kindergarten, followed by open classrooms and a wonderful morning tea prepared by our parents and friends committee. It was a truly magnificent event with over 200 grandparents, parents and carers attending the celebration. A huge thank you to all the teachers and support staff who played a part in preparing the students and to our amazing community engagement.
God Bless
Alicia Sanchez-Levine
Religious Education Coordinator
Mass at Stella Maris
Grade Masses also 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 in Term 3.
Yr 2 Week 6, 22 August
Yr 5 Week 7, 29 August
Yr 3 Week 8, 5 September
Yr 1 Week 9, 12 September
Kinder Week 10, 19 September
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, Mrs Sanchez-Levine or Mrs Hughes through the gates after Mass to join us for a 30 minute informal gathering.
Refugee Camp in My Neighbourhood
On Monday 31 July, as part of the Mini Vinnies program, students in the group followed the footsteps of refugees and people seeking asylum in a simulated experience. They encountered the journey of a refugee and gained a deeper understanding of the challenges they face as they arrive in Australia. It was an amazing experience that Mr Dodds, Mrs Hughes and the students will always remember. We are grateful to have such a dedicated chaplain at the school who engages our students in such valuable encounters. Thank you Mr Dodds!
Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop
Tuesday 8 August marks the Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia’s first saint who was born in Australia to poor Scottish immigrants. When she was 14, MacKillop began working, and she was often her family’s main source of support. In 1860, she moved to the small rural town of Penola to serve as governess for the children of her aunt and uncle. There MacKillop provided her cousins with a basic education and soon extended this to the poor children of the town.
A young priest, Father Julian Tenison Woods, encouraged her to continue this work, assuring her that educating the poor would be an ideal way to serve God. In 1866, MacKillop and Woods founded Australia’s first order of nuns, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, and also established St. Joseph’s School in a converted stable in Penola, providing free education to children from the area. In 1867, MacKillop took vows and became the first mother superior of the sisters. The following year, the sisters opened schools in other Australian cities, as well as an orphanage and a refuge for women.
Let us pray to Saint Mary of the Cross,
Ever generous God,
You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop
To live her life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and constant in
bringing hope and encouragement
to those who were disheartened, lonely or needy.
With confidence in your generous providence and through the
intercession of Saint Mary MacKillop
We ask that you grant our request to keep safe at these times.
We ask that our faith and hope be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit so
that we too, like Mary MacKillop, may live with courage, trust and openness.
Ever generous God hear our prayer.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Mary MacKillop
Amen.
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
On the 9 August each year we celebrate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. We give thanks for the sacredness of the traditions and cultures of our Indigenous sisters and brothers, who through their example have enlightened our way to walk gently upon this earth which our Creator has gifted us.
As we go forth with grateful hearts thanking God for the blessings we enjoy we pray together…
Religious Literacy Assessment
This week, our Year 4 students completed the Religious Literacy Assessment. This assessment provides a systematic Diocesan approach to the documentation and reporting of students’ learning in the Key Learning Area of Religious Education across the diocese and in particular, aspects of religious literacy. It is a means of celebrating and sharing the good news about students’ learning in Religious Education and enables the story to be told on a continuing basis.
Stella Maris’ Feast Day - The Assumption 15 August
Parish News
This Sunday’s Gospel
The Transfiguration.
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 All Saints
Please come and join us as we celebrate Mass together on the following weekend dates:
Kindergarten (ES1) Saturday 2 September 5pm …Father’s Day
Year 5 & 6 (Stage 3) Saturday 9 September 5pm
Year 3 & 4 (Stage 2) Sunday 12 November 9am
The Sacraments
If there are any questions related to any of the Sacraments, please contact the parish office via email shellharbourcity@dow.org.au
SPORT:
Soccer Gala Day:
On Friday 28 July, students in years 3 - 6 participated in the annual Diocesan Soccer Gala Day. The day was full of fun and excitement with the students being spread over three venues (Nowra, Warrawong & Albion Park). All students represented the school with pride and created wonderful memories on the day. It was great to see the students outside and being active as these opportunities have been limited over the last few years due to COVID-19. A big thankyou to all of the parent volunteers who assisted on the day, your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Australia Hockey Carnival
This week, Maya Huetter is representing the NSWPSSA team at the School Sports Australia Hockey Carnival in Tasmania. Her team so far has performed exceptionally well with Maya receiving the prestigious ‘Player Of The Match’ award in the game against Tasmania. We wish Maya all the best for the remainder of the tournament and look forward to hearing about her achievements when she returns to school.
NSWPSSA Primary Cross Country Championships
A big congratulations to Reid Coelho who represented Mackillop at the NSWPSSA Primary Cross Country Championships at Eastern Creek. Reid placed a commendable 51st place overall against very tough opposition. Making it to this level is a huge achievement and every one at Stella Maris is proud of your efforts.
Well done Reid.
Naidoc Week
On Tuesday 18 July, Stella Maris celebrated NAIDOC Week with a whole school liturgy.
The theme for this year is For Our Elders! Across every generation, Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in our communities and families. They are cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and our loved ones. Naidoc Week is a time to celebrate the many Indigenous men and women who have fought for and led change in communities around Australia. The students led the school community in a touching liturgy which allowed our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to proudly represent their culture through song and dance. A big thank you to Mr Mongta, Aunty Jo and Uncle Kevin Butler for your guidance, passion and wealth of knowledge that you share with our students on a weekly basi
Education Week this year holds special significance as we commemorate "175 years of education in NSW." In honour of this milestone, Stockland Shellharbour has organised a collaborative artistic initiative that showcases the rich history and future aspirations of our local schools. Each local school had the task of creating a 'masterpiece' on a surfboard, sharing the unique story of their school. The Stella Maris surfboard artwork was designed by one of our wonderful parents, Courtney, in collaboration with Uncle Kev and Mr Mongta, and painted by our Year 6 students.
In the design, our school colours of green and yellow are strong. The whale, our local Aboriginal totem, is the ‘cross’ representing our connection to our Catholic faith as well as celebrating our local Aboriginal communities' rich culture and connection to Country. The star at the top of the board connects to our name, Stella Maris, meaning ’Star of the Sea’, a traditional name for the Blessed Virgin Mary. The blue waters at the bottom represent our beautiful location and the privilege that it is to live and learn by the coast.
The surfboard will be showcased in Stockland Shellharbour from the 7– 20 August. We encourage families to visit the display during those weeks to view our surfboard artwork, as well as all the other remarkable artworks created by students from local schools.
By Carter Constable
I loved the Chess Competition because my team played 7 rounds for each person which was a lot but I still had a lot of fun. I also loved that it was at Corpus Christi and I was so grateful that I could represent my school.
In Week 10 this term we will be celebrating Book Week, with this year’s theme being ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’. As part of our Book Week celebrations we will be having our annual Stella Maris Book Competition. The competition invites students from any year level to plan, write and publish a book. Books may be in the form of a digital (submitted via the form) or hard-copy (handed into Mrs Mahar at school). There will be prizes for the best books for each stage as well as the opportunity for students to have their work published in the school library. To enter the competition, please fill in the following form and submit the book by the 11th September 2023: https://shorturl.at/adyBR
We know we have some amazing authors in our school and look forward to reading the interesting and creative books the students create!
Reminder to our families when visiting Stella Maris, either before or after school and during assembly, to please stay off the play equipment in accordance with our school policies.
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.
Just a reminder that the second-hand uniform shop is open every Monday morning from approximately 8.15am until all customers are served.
We thank our volunteer for manning the shop at this time.
