Dear Parents and Carers

We've had a great start to the term, now entering week 5. Last week as a school we celebrated, via a liturgy in hubs,  Mary MacKillop’s feast day on 8 August. Mary MacKillop is Australia’s only Saint and her selfless work and legacy still remains strong today in all catholic communities. Her main message is simple, “where you see a need do something about it” and her vocation to education and ensuring all had an opportunity remains a contemporary message today. Much of her work, with the marginalised resonates still now with the challenges in society.  

Over the past four weeks, respect, nurture, and engagement, all values which Mary Mackillop lived daily,  have been evident in various learning experiences and extracurricular activities. These include a school camp, a Kinect dance incursion for the whole school, the celebration of 100 days of Prep, Prep Prayers in Pyjamas, Indonesian Speaking Competition, Green and Gold Day celebrating the Olympics and raising funds for Opening Doors for our First Nations people and their education, staff professional learning day  “On Country". During this time of the Olympics. The Olympics is as an excellent opportunity to educate our students on celebrating diversity in the classroom and more globally. The stories from the Olympics highlight respect, nurture, and engagement in action. Through Olympic education at school and home, we emphasise that we are all one people, no nation greater than another. Celebrating all victories shows our shared hopes and dreams, with sport uniting us in a unique way. We now look forward to celebrating the paralympics and the incredible achievements and stories which will come from these games.

Many thanks to you all for your generosity as we raised $967 for Opening Doors foundations on our Green and Gold Walkathon Day. Special mention to our Fire Carriers Ambassadors who helped plan the day. Gold medals were given out to Year 2 JR whose class raised the most money.  The Junior class with the Most Laps of  111 laps  was Year 1 CM. Year 3 and 4 most laps was 3 NM with 201 laps and Year 5 and 6 class with the most laps was 211 laps was Year 6 BC.

PFA Trivia Night: With a grateful heart to Tara Piazza and her PFA subcommittee for providing an incredible night for our parent community at the recent Trivia Night. $5,530 raised will go towards a new playground being installed in the passive play area on October 9 this year. Many thanks again for also bringing together the community in such a positive way.

IMPORTANT: Home Learning consultation via a google form:  This term we have two extra opportunities for you to use your voice and provide feedback. In this newsletter, we are seeking feedback via this simple google form which should only take a few minutes. We are consulting, in regards to our current  home learning (homework) expectations at Our Lady Star of the Sea. Our plan is not to do away with any sort of home learning but to review and consult with all stakeholders as to how we move forward. We have already surveyed students and teaching staff for their thoughts. Now we are asking our parent and carers group to fill out this very short Google Form. Please read below what some of the research is saying and what our homework across the school currently looks like. Your voice is very important to us as part of the consulattion period and any possible adjustments moving forward.

Australian research on the effects of homework on primary school children presents a mixed picture, with some studies highlighting potential benefits while others point out drawbacks. Here are some key findings from Australian sources:

Benefits:

• According to a study by John Hattie (University of Melbourne), homework can have a positive effect on student achievement, but the effect is small for primary school students. Hattie states, "The effects are highest, whatever the subject when homework involves rote learning, practice, or rehearsal of subject matter" (Visible Learning, 2009).
• The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) suggests that homework can help develop good study habits. Dr. Erica Frydenberg from ACER notes, "Homework provides opportunities for students to learn to organise and manage their time" (ACER, 2014).

Potential Damage or Drawbacks:

• Research by Dr. Richard Walker (University of Sydney) found that homework can negatively impact family life. He states, "Homework can be a source of stress and conflict in many families" (Reforming Homework, 2012).

• A study by Dr. Justin Coulson (University of Wollongong) suggests that homework does not significantly improve academic performance for primary school children. He argues, "There is no evidence that homework lifts academic performance for primary school students" (The Conversation, 2016).

• Professor Mike Horsley (Central Queensland University) and Dr. Richard Walker found that homework can increase the achievement gap between high and low socioeconomic status students. They state, "Homework can disadvantage students without access to resources or support at home" (Reforming Homework, 2012).

• A report by the NSW Government's Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (2014) concluded, "There is little evidence that homework as currently practiced across the board in Australia is improving student learning."

These diverse findings suggest that the impact of homework on primary school children in Australia is complex and may depend on various factors such as the type of homework, the age of the students, and the home environment. It's important to note that the research generally indicates that any positive effects of homework are more pronounced in secondary school than in primary school. 

Our current Homework Guidelines for staff at Our Lady Star of the Sea:

Homework can be presented via: hand out, electronically or SeeSaw parent alert

Teacher Responsibility:

In Year Prep-2, teachers set homework on a Monday with the expectation that all children will complete the tasks by Friday. Teachers report to parents about homework via the Semester One and Semester Two written report.

In Year 3-6 teachers set homework on a Friday with the expectation that all children will complete the tasks by the following Friday. Teachers report to parents about homework via the Semester One and Semester Two written report.

Thank you for taking the time to fill in this Google Form which should take no longer than 5 minutes.

Indonesian Speaking Competition:On Saturday 27 July, 13 students took part in the state finals of the annual Sayembara Lisan Indonesian speaking competition at Melbourne High School. After the regional round was hosted at OLSOS, these talented students were selected to represent our school and region at a state level. With almost 700 entrants from across Victoria, getting to the finals was a huge feat. A big ‘selamat’ to Jack Harrington (1 MG), Evie Roberts (1 ZS), Imogen Mullen (1 ZS),Isabella Swain (2 BS), Indi Wheeler (2 BS), Mackenzie Hirsch (2 BS), Maya Fairway (3 CL), Mackenzie Worland (3 CL), Sylvie Hardwick (3 NM), Alfie Ward (4 AM), Scarlett Tyers (4 ME), Winni Ward (6 CT),Noah Jennings (6 LG).

Capital Grant application: Unfortunately we were unsuccessful with our application for another state grant. As a School Advisory Council, we have had discussions and will proactively move forward with liaising with MACS on how we can best continue to cater for our students, staff and families in the upgrade of our facilities whilst also revisiting our Masterplan.

Isla Briggs Vic Footy: Congratulations to Isla Briggs who participated and represented Victoria in Geelong last week for the State Football. They successfully had a week of really solid wins and took out the title. We are all so proud of you Isla.