Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you are all well. 

As a school community, we recognise Mary on September 8, and this year you will notice it in the Prayer slides for all students. This is the date that is regarded in Church history as her birthday. In other years some students would be attending mass and all students would celebrate this day through prayer. "Our Lady Star of the Sea” is another name to describe Mary and is an ancient title for Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris. The title was used to emphasise Mary's role as a sign of hope and as a guiding star for Christians. Our Vision Statement places Jesus as our guide and refers to Mary as the one who inspires us. Our school motto “Setting the Right Course” also derives from this title. What is it about the story of Mary that we can be inspired by? Is it her acceptance of what God asked of her when the angel Gabriel asked her to be the mother of God? Is it the way she supported and celebrated with her cousin Elizabeth? Is it her care of her son Jesus? Is it the way she prayed at the foot of the cross, at the crucifixion of Jesus? Is it her life which is an expression of hope? 

Praying the Rosary on the birthday of Mary can draw us closer to her and her Son and make them both very happy.  Mother Teresa said that praying the Rosary was just like holding Mary’s hand – and what better way to show Mary we love her than by praying the Rosary and holding her hand on her birthday.

May we, during these challenging times of a global pandemic, take time to pray to Mary, who is a sign of hope to us all.  

NAPLAN RESULTS 2021: The 2021 results of NAPLAN for Year 3 and Year 5 have come in. It was pleasing to note from our initial brief analysis that generally our students did make good progress, despite the challenges of last year. This is a credit to our entire learning community, working in partnersip with each other to support the students learning particularly during these uncertain times. I also wish to acknowledge the efforts of teaching staff and their brilliant planning for remote learning and support when students returned to onsite learning.

Staff will take time to further analyse our strengths and opportunities to herlp inform further directions for learning and teaching. Parents can now access these results by please clicking the link here: http://pam.staroceangrove.catholic.edu.au . This will take you to the Parent Access Module (PAM) login page. Your username is the email address you have provided to school. Once logged in, to access your child’s NAPLAN results, click on the ‘NAPLAN’ tab on the left hand side and this will present your child's 2021 NAPLAN results summary page.  For new families please sign up now by clicking the link here: http://pam.staroceangrove.catholic.edu.au  This will take you to the PAM login page. Click on the 'Forgot Password?' link and follow the prompts. You are also welcome to pick up the hard copy from next term as this is signed for upon collection.

R U OK? Day is celebrated on Thursday 9 September. The message this year is 'Are they really OK? Ask them today.'  Life's ups and downs happen to all of us. So chances are someone you know might be struggling. Your genuine support can make a difference whatever they are facing, big or small.  So, don’t wait until someone’s visibly distressed or in crisis. Make a moment meaningful and ask them how they’re really going. 

On Friday, your children will be participating in some wonderful activities to mark this important day for everyone’s mental health and wellbeing.

First Aid: All staff have been able to complete their CPR and Level 2 training over the last fortnight. We thank staff for their extra commitment to ensure the care, safety and wellbeing of all our children is a priority.

COVID reflection: In these times when we might be struggling at different times, this reflection helps to give another perspective and also give yourself a pat on the back for all you are doing for your children, supporting them to learn in different ways and valuing your time together.

Wishing you a lovely, Spring fortnight ahead and may it bring good news with some easing of restrictions in our area.

Stay well.

Kerryn