Dear Parents and Carers

The three major contexts in which children learn are the family, the school and the community. Being a community minded school and “outward facing” is something that we consciously endeavour to ensure we do, to maximise student learning and the building of positive relationships. Pope Francis, who I greatly appreciate for his wonderful connection with the people and wise, empathetic messages he shares, refers to the family being a community of love where each of us learns to relate to others and to the world around us. He also challenges us in regard to community by asking Do we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, so as to be an active part of our communities, or do we close in on ourselves, saying 'I have so many things to do, that's not my job'?

This also causes me to reflect as a Principal and my role of service to all in our learning community and beyond. As a Principal of a Catholic School Archbishop Peter Comensoli’s recent homily at a Principal Mass was inspiring and thought-provoking, as he reminded us that ‘a principal is someone who nourishes, in the image of the original Nourisher, for the sake of the lives of those for whom they are responsible. I value deeply the pleasure and privilege I have been given, to serve all of you.

At Our Lady Star of the Sea, we like to ensure our students learn about the value and importance of community and looking out for each other, learning from each other. Our family week casual clothes day of action saw us raise $745 for refugee families and asylum seekers. We thank all our families for your contribution.

Staff Professional Learning:

Our staff, on our recent closure day, also engaged in great  learning in and about the community. As a  staff we were taken through the process of Inquiry Learning and we began the day with an amazing race around Ocean Grove before having the privilege of engaging with a traditional owner, Melinda Watson,  in Kingston Park with a smoking ceremony and sharing of knowledge that we can bring to our students. With the theme “Ignite the Spark” we reflected on what can we do to build flourishing, curious, inquisitive students, ensuring learning is authentic, meaningful and purposeful.

We also reflected on our vision and two of the key words- Respect and Engaging. Alongside this our School Improvement Plan Goal to provide learning opportunities that challenge, engage and empower all to be confident and successful learners in all environments.

This term already we have managed to engage and plan for our students excursions to the You Yangs, Barwon Coast, Barwon Heads, Kingston Park, Ocean Grove Beach, Begola Wetlands, Werribee park, Science Works and more. All these extra curricula opportunities link nicely with our Inquiry learning on Community and Geography.

Confirmation: Congratulations to our recently confirmed candidates last Thursday night and the remainder to be confirmed this coming Thursday night. Our newsletter Prayer this week reflects the importance of the Holy Spirit in all our lives. We thank Fr Darien and the teachers for preparing the students and enabling them to know the of gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and how to use these in their daily lives, recognising and understanding the importance of the faith/ life connection. May our students see the importance of receiving the Holy Spirit and ensuring they use these gifts to be positively active with each other and in their communities.

Eliza Ashton, Maggie Ashton,  Eva Azzopardi, Zara Bellingham, Raimend Bernazzoli, Baxter Briggs, Alyssa Coghlan, Hamish Connell, Christian Cruz, Izabella Curtain, Maci Dean, Xavier Dean, Toby Duckett, Madeleine Gibbon, Isabelle Hachem, Finn Hughes, Isla James, Xavier Kiddle, Tessa Leen, Lincoln McCall, Xavier Monahan, Lillian O’Brien, Rhys O’Neil, Charlie Prout, Alice Sampson, Miller Wellard, Tess Wolfe, Spencer Wood, Izaak Peace, Noah Brooks, Bede Clarke, Harvey Connolly, Leon Connolly, Mitchell Cook, Natalia Eyck, Harry Farrell, Amelia Geracitano, Joshua Geracitano, Zavier Godfrey, Augie Graham, William Liston, Melissa McDonald , Mason McKnight, Blayke Mifsud, Emily Neicho, Christopher Nutt, Charlie Rae, Grace Van Maasdyk, Frankie Wilkins, Stella Williams

Our Year 6 students created a video around their understanding of Pentecost and you can click here to view. VIDEO Link

New Building:

It is with great excitement we opened our new building yesterday. We are very grateful to many for these wonderful facilities. Firstly the Victorian State Government for their 2 million dollar grant, MACS and particularly Mardi Butcher for overseeing this project and her great support, Morton Dunn architects, Tim and Nicole, for their amazing design and support with managing the project, Magellan Builders particularly Spencer Ryan and James for their incredible work ethic and achieving the completion in the set time frame. Finally our School Advisory Council, past and present, from the initial discussions and hard work with grant applications and planning that has been a number of years in the making. Rhonda Boyd, Michael Sheridan, Briony Darcy and Andrew Flanders and all on our council to name a few. It has been a real team effort and a truly amazing achievement where many years of benefit to our student’s learning will be enjoyed. 

We are thrilled with the result but nothing warms our heart more than seeing our wonderful students benefiting from the facilities. 

What do the children think of our new facilities?

The new Orange Hub is now finished being built and is very cool. To be honest, seeing the hub in first person and adapting to the classroom is quite fun and exciting to experience at this age. The new gymnasium is just breathtaking, although it is not available to play in at recess just yet. You can play basketball, volleyball, tennis and a lot more as teachers are able to book for their class to practice sports skills in the new space. Most specialist classes will be taught in the gymnasium and it will be extremely helpful on rainy days and such. We can’t wait to be all moved in and settled finally.

Frankie W, Xavier K, Alyssa C and Leon C 

Naming  of the  Hall: We have received some great responses on the Google Form. Many thanks to those who have taken the time to offer suggestions. At present, we are seeking permission from Wathaurong to approve the possibility of naming the hall using a Wathaurong name. We will communicate with you when we have this permission. 

Thank you - Mother’s Night: What a great success. Thank you to everyone for your extra commitment with this. The mums were truly grateful for the opportunity to come back to the school and we were delighted to hear you appreciated your gifts and cards which were made with great love and care by your children. Well done also to our teachers for enabling this.