Dear Parents and Carers,

Yesterday our staff engaged in a wonderful staff professional learning day for Religious Education via a retreat day in Melbourne. The day stemmed from our theme this year “Beacons of Hope” and we cannot think of a greater person in Catholic Education history and Australia’s only “saint” Mary MacKillop. Saint Mary MacKillop's commitment to Catholic education, care for the poor, devotion to faith, courage in the face of adversity and dedication to justice and equality, serve as guiding examples, for all of us as Catholic educators.

We learnt of Mary’s compassion for the poor and the importance of education in promoting self belief, social acceptance, knowledge, relationships and success for all. We heard a lot about her work for the poor. It was important to reflect upon who are the poor we may be working with in our context and the social context of 2023.

Through knowing her story, we further gained a greater understanding of our responsibility to ensure all students have the right to learn and  a nurturing and inclusive environment to learn in. As members of society, we also have an obligation to work for justice and equality for all. We feel privileged  that we can bring this care, nurture and opportunity for action to your children and family.

Curriculum resource materials to better support our teachers and learning

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) are pleased to advise that they are shortly commencing work with schools to develop high-quality, comprehensive curriculum resource materials to better support our teachers to deliver the F–6 Victorian Curriculum.

This follows overwhelming endorsement of this approach by teachers across the Catholic sector in a survey conducted last year. Research also shows that high-quality curriculum resources will create more sustainable workloads for our teachers and allow them to focus more on teaching and student engagement, where their time and energy counts the most.

In addition, this approach will promote equity and excellence across MACS schools, ensuring all students have access to evidence-based, quality-assured, sequenced learning materials that will help lift their outcomes over time.

MACS anticipate the rollout of the F–6 resource materials will be a three-year project. The initial phase will focus on F–2 Mathematics. These materials will be made available to us in Term 4 this year for review and planning purposes, with implementation in Term 1, 2024.

Importantly, our teachers will retain autonomy to tailor curriculum implementation to meet the individual and local needs of our students. Teachers will also have opportunities to participate in the development and quality assurance of the materials.

This is an exciting development for our school community and clearly demonstrates the commitment all Catholic schools share to supporting every student to fully flourish in their learning.

We will keep you informed as this important work continues.

Naplan: The Naplan results for Year 3 and Year 5 have come in and we are able to send them home in your child's bag. If you would prefer to collect them from school please email your child's teacher and collect by Friday 4 August. They will also be available electronically via PAM in coming weeks. Please ensure you read the pamphlet guide attached to your child’s results as there is new language describing the achievements.

Schools, parents, and carers may find the following video on reading the Individual Student Report useful to understand student-level reporting and the new proficiency standards.

Jump Rope For Heart: Our Lady Star of the Sea is participating in Jump Rope for Heart this year. Jump Rope for Heart is the Heart Foundation’s primary school skipping challenge that helps kids move more, have fun and raise funds for lifesaving research and programs. 

Fundraising is OPTIONAL and all children will take part in the program at school where they will learn new skills, increase their physical activity and learn about heart health. The program will end in the last week of Term 3 where the children can share their new skills within their hub. 

If you would like to participate and help raise funds, register your child online at jumprope.org.au/parents 

School vehicle traffic: Driving in the neighbouring streets close to school can at times be stressful.  Parents can sometimes be running a little late or desperately looking for a car park close to the gate so they can drop the kids off and get to work. Often in this rush to collect children, parents will put their child or others at risk by double parking in John Dory Drive or by completing an illegal u-turn at the front of the school.  We all play our role in ensuring the safety of our community. Please take care, slow down, and if you witness anything dangerous, please don’t hesitate in contacting the police. Please also remember that our Crossing Supervisors are working to help keep your children safe.  Please remember to be respectful and courteous to the supervisors. Hopefully our school community can continue to be a beacon of safety, kindness and respect, especially when it comes to navigating the busyness of school drop off or pick up.

Baby News: Congratulations to Sam, Miki and Eddie Scott on the safe arrival of their adorable twins: Myles David Scott, 3.03kg, born at 2:14pm and Frankie Joy Scott, 2.84kg, born at 2:17pm. All are doing well.

If you know you are not returning in 2024, we request that you please let us know so we can confirm enrolment numbers for 2024.

Wishing you all a hope filled fortnight ahead.

Kerryn