Dear Parents and Carers

This week is Catholic Education Week celebrated  from Sunday 12 March to Sunday 19 March.

Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne to celebrate their Catholic identity, the pivotal role they play within their local community and the strength of the sector.

Theme: Forming lives of faith, hope and love in the light of Christ

Forming lives – Catholic education seeks to provide the young with the best kind of education possible, one that fosters a formation of the whole person that is deeply and enduringly humanising.

Faith, hope and love – Catholic education forms individuals with more than just skills, but with the virtues to live life as transformative agents in our communities. By cultivating a maturing of faith and the intellectual life through the modelling of good relationships, Catholic students are prepared for living fruitfully in the world.

In the light of Jesus Christ – Christ is our inspiration, the very life of our purpose as Catholic educators. Everything we do is illuminated by this.

Events during Catholic Education Week will include a Mass for St Patrick at St Patrick’s Cathedral Melbourne which will be attended by some of our Term 1 Year 6 Leaders.

Families are encouraged this week to pray together and continue to find ways of being Beacons of Hope to others.

Beacons of Hope Project : Solar Buddy 

Our Year 5 and Year 6 students are taking part in the Solar Buddy Initiative. Solar Buddy is an Australian impact organisation uniting a global community to illuminate the futures of children living in energy poverty. The Solar Buddy Program inspires and empowers school students to become global citizens through an immersive learning experience, dedicated to educating and empowering future leaders skilled in sustainable technologies and versed in equity issues.

Students have worked with a partner to make a JuniorBuddy light. 

Each and every JuniorBuddy light:

• Allows the child receiving the light to study 78% longer, improving their educational outcomes
• Reduces exposure to toxic and dangerous fumes from kerosene lamps which has the potential to increase overall health of women and children by up to 60%, preventing deadly diseases and health problems caused by indoor air pollution like pneumonia, lung cancer, heart diseases, severe burns and tuberculosis.
• Reduces a family’s average weekly expenditure on kerosene by 80%, improving the family’s financial security and safety
• Offsets 1.28 tonnes of CO2 over 10 years, the equivalent to growing 21.3 tree seedlings over the same period
• Just one JuniorBuddy light positively impacts the health of a family of 5!

Students in Year5 and 6 will also be writing letters to accompany their JuniorBuddy light. We are very proud of their efforts in becoming global citizens and humanitarians! 

Mental Health in Schools Program (MHISP): 

Our school is included in the 2023 phase of the state wide roll out of the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHIPS) program.  The Victorian Department of Education (DE) is funding all government and low-fee non-government primary schools to employ a mental health and wellbeing leader (MHWL) as part of the MHIPS program. The role of the MHWL is to build the capacity of the whole school to support student mental health and wellbeing.  The program is being delivered by Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE) at the University of Melbourne in partnership with DE.  Marnie Hallam is the teacher we have employed and brings much expertise to this role. We are very grateful to have further support in this Mental health and Wellbeing space which continuesto be a strength and priority at Our Lady Star of the Sea.

Wellbeing Library

Please find a link to our current library of books related to wellbeing and parenting topics that you may be interested in borrowing from the school. There is a link for each book that provides you with some more information if required. If you would like to borrow one of the books, please email Marnie Hallam at mhallam@staroceangrove.catholic.edu.au with your name, the book you would like to borrow and your child's grade. It will then be sent home with your child if it is available. More titles will be listed as they become available.

NAPLAN 

This year Naplan begins on Wednesday March 15th for Year 3 and Year 5 and is spaced over the fortnight. 

All Year 3 and Year 5 students will require:

• the ipad that they use at school - fully charged
• headphones / earphones 

Please refer to your child’s Hub news for the Naplan timetable.

Please also see the attached document for further information. Naplan Information Sheet

Crazy Hair Day: 

What a wonderful fundraising event we held for crazy hair day. Your generosity of spirit is greatly appreciated. The money raised totalled $1760 in cash donations and $3268 to Shave for a Cure.  Many thanks to Mr Zac, Daniel and Remy for ensuring the day was a success and we hope the funds raised go forward in some small way to supporting Willow and her family through this challenging time. Willow continues to be in our thoughts and prayers as she bravely undergoes continued treatment. 

2023 Action Plan: Our professional learning continues. Recently , Michael Minus followed up the great learning he brought to our staff last year in the Mathematics area. He  has been in our school working with all teachers as they build their capacity in the area of Mathematics supporting differentiation and success for all. Your children benefited from Michael by modelling lessons and then facilitating each team’s  planning in the Mathematics space. It is wonderful to be able to continue to work through our strategic plan and fulfil another action to support our Dialogue goal: To build staff knowledge and capacity in the area of Mathematics.

School Arrival Time: A gentle reminder that arrival for students at school is from 8.30 am. On the rare occasion a student arrives at school between the times of 8:15 and 8:30 they should proceed directly to the library via the front entry for supervision. After 8:30 there is supervision on the yard and students may enter their classrooms to drop off their school bags. 

If your child needs to be at school earlier than 8:15, we have a wonderful before school care program Kelly Club  available. Please contact the office if you need help connecting with them.

Wishing you all a hope filled fortnight ahead.

Kerryn