Dear Parents and Carers

I'm thrilled to be back after a truly wonderful and enriching trip to Italy, a journey filled with discovery, learning and unforgettable memories with close members of my family.  This experience broadened my perspectives, reinforced the value of cultural immersion and highlighted the importance of global understanding. I'm energised and eager to resume our collective journey of learning and achievement this term. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who ensured everything ran smoothly in my absence.

MACS has released its new Vision for Engagement, which will sit alongside the Vision for Instruction. This new vision aims to "know young people deeply and to support excellent learning outcomes."

We're pleased that this new vision aligns well with our existing practices at Our Lady Star of the Sea, adding valuable resources to our efforts. We've always prioritised the well-being and engagement of our students, focusing on the positive relationships that are so crucial for a child's success.

To support this, our Student Wellbeing Team includes:

• Paul Anderson, our Student Wellbeing Leader

• Bree Jones, our Mental Health in Schools Leader

• Natalie Skahill, our Learning Diversity Leader

• Learning Support Teachers from each year level and myself.

Our Learning Support Officers also play a vital role and we highly value the relationships they build with all students, especially those needing extra support. The team-around-the-child approach, with the student at the centre, remains a core focus.

In other news, we are saying goodbye for 6 months at this stage, to Kristen Leonard, our Learning Diversity Leader, who has accepted a new position with MACS. Other schools will certainly benefit from the endless knowledge and skills Kristen brings and she will be missed. We wish her all the best and thank Natalie Skahill for extending her Learning Diversity Leader role and Amanda Durbridge, a current LSO, will now take on the Year 1 and Year 2 intervention groups.

Over the coming months, we'll be exploring the Vision for Engagement more deeply. It consists of six key practices that are intrinsically connected:

1. Teaching respectful behavior

2. Fostering belonging

3. Focusing on attendance

4. Promoting mental health and wellbeing

5. Enabling motivation

6. Targeting individual learning needs

You can learn more by CLICKING HERE on the attached poster which has a succinct visual. We look forward to auditing our current practices against this new framework and continuing to ensure the well-being and flourishing of every child.

The upcoming professional learning we have for teachers and parents is an example of one of our Engagement practices. A reminder that Monday 11 August is a school closure day.  It will be an opportunity for our staff to participate in professional learning around staff well-being and Managing  Anxiety at  School for our students. Parents also have the opportunity that night from 6.30 pm - 8 pm to attend a parent  session  in Purple Hub ,  Strengthening Against Anxiety in our Young People with Karen Young from Hey Sigmund. Please look out for the Operoo today to indicate your interest in attending the event.

This term has had a busy start where we have already seen quite a few extracurricular activities. These include tree planting day, 100 days of prep, Inquiry Immersion in Year 1 and Year 2 and excursions in other year levels. We look forward to many more engaging learning experiences for our students this term and we ask you to keep an eye on the parent calendar and the newsletter to keep up to date with what is happening for your child.

Tree planting: We had another successful tree planting day this term. This annual event is such a beautiful  time to see how Year 6 and Year Prep buddies come together as stewards of creation and make a positive difference to our environment. Many thanks to Kellie Clark and the team of teachers and parents for all their efforts. 

This year we saw 160 students involved and 10 staff. A huge thank you to the prep parent volunteers: Katie, Tahlia, Amanda, Christie and Bridget. 130 indigenous plants were added to the front of the school. 

A MASSIVE thank you and acknowledgement  to Barwon Water for donating all of the plants this year and the GenU nursery for growing such healthy indigenous trees, shrubs and grasses for us. Also Bellarine Catchment Network for supporting us with tools and our 2024 Jnr Landcare grant provided funds for garden supplies. 

Patrick & Liam, two of our media leaders, recounted the positive rewarding experience and reflected: ‘we dug up a hole, placed the tree in the hole and put some kind of like crystals that suck in water so the roots of the plant can drink..’  ‘overall both of the activities were really good and it was a great opportunity to do something with our buddies and everyone I think enjoyed it.’

During the holidays, many of you may have noticed, we were also able to give our “forest” area an uplift and solve the flooding issue at our Shell Road gate.

     

It is also wonderful to see our mural completed. Many thanks again to Rachael Thomas, Mural Nomad and all our Year 3-6 students for sharing their visual ideas. It looks great and brightens up the canteen area space beautifully for us all to appreciate.

Wishing you a joy filled fortnight ahead.

Kerryn