Dear Parents and Carers

We welcome you with anticipation and excitement to our 2023 school year. The students have settled in extremely well today and we thank you for preparing them so well for the first day back. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season with family and friends. As a catholic community, we also celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, who brought light and hope to the world. The Christmas message from Archbishop Peter Comensoli was ‘Let us welcome God’s love in the Christ Child, and let us commit ourselves to making our world a more human and worthy place for our children today and tomorrow.’

This year, Our Lady Star of the Sea’s theme is “Beacons of Hope. ” Hope is what will help us to see the world that we want – a kinder, healthier, happier, more resilient world. Hope keeps us resilient; if we want to create a resilient world, we should aim to inject as much hope into society as possible. Hope also is dependable and can help you through even the toughest, most challenging experiences. Hope is the belief that, together, we can make the world better. 

This aligns beautifully with the Archbishop's  message as we strive, in all we do, to bring hope and make good things happen including making a positive difference in the world.  Research shows that more hopeful individuals are more likely to find success and achieve higher. As a staff, for our students, we commit to high expectations as we endeavour to provide optimum learning opportunities for the whole child- academically, psychologically, physically, spiritually and  socially and emotionally. We look forward as a learning community,  throughout 2023, to shine our lights outward and create positive opportunities for all in our community and beyond as we embrace and enact our theme, Beacons of Hope. 

MACS 2030: Forming Lives to Enrich the World: Ironically our theme also aligns incredibly well with the new MACS vision and strategy. This new strategy was launched in August 2022, and  outlines MACS’ purpose: Forming lives of faith, hope and love in the light of Jesus Christ. MACS seek to honour the great legacy of those who have gone before us and build towards the bright future inherent in their strategy and purpose. Collectively this purpose and vision of our Catholic education system will be brought  to life.  MACS is incredibly proud of the new brand, and what it symbolises and our mission. To find out more about the new brand, please visit the MACS website www.macs.vic.edu.au/rebrand.

Year 6 Graduates 2022: What a wonderful final graduation ceremony we held. We are so very proud of our Year 6 graduates and sent them on their way with every blessing. We also thank the Buddies from 2016 who returned to wish them well in high numbers. Congratulations to the following students on the scholarships and the organisations who provided them. 

Lions Award (John Claringbold): Sonni Andrews, Ivy Winchester 

Cosmopolitan Lodge (Richard Clarke): Eilidh Sheridan Cooper Levis

Corangamite Award (Libby Coker):  Lilly Clark

Knights of the Southern Cross (Dan): Kai Russell, Annie Leonard 

Rotary Award (Tony Haines): Memphis Allen, Lonni Kerr, Safira Talaue, Jude De Jong

Leadership Bellarine MP Office (Alison Marchant): Khai Trinh 

Prep 2023: We welcomed all our Prep students today and they were absolutely awesome. Welcome to Layla Allbutt, Rafael Bampfield, Cleo Bapaume, Darcy Bennett,  Charlie Bennett, Rory Beshara, Willow Bonde, Sidney Bruce, Lottie Butcher, Kiara Campbell, Poppy Carter, Leonardo Coffetti, Elka Collins, Mila Cook, Goldie Crapp, Harriet Cross, Winter Cunningham, Edward Dalton, Maggie Daniher, Lyla Daniher, Zeb Darburn, Nash Darburn, Byron Davis, Cody Dunn, Oliver Edwards, Walter Evans, Jackson Finemore, Anastasia Fletcher, Sonny Ford, Billy Garland, Eva Grant, Easton-Reid Grant, Cooper Hachem, Isaac Hamm, Jack Harrington, Arlo Harry, Isabella Hedditch, Arlo Hernan, Willow Hill, Emma Jacimovic, Jesse Jamieson, Royston Kelly, Arlo Kelsall-Ralph, Evie Kerr, Emma Kerr, Alice Kerr, Jesse Kilkenny, Stella Knights, William Ladner, Alfie Laidler, Evie Lester, George Lucas, Elijah  Macumber, Harry Maloney, Noah  McCluskey, Jack McDonald, Taigh McKerracher, Ella McQuitty, Penelope Moody, Imogen Mullen, Arlo Osment, Jack Palmer, Tahj Pascoe, Lottie Pemberton, Andy Place, Ryder Reid, Oakey Reid, Edward Reynolds, Bodhi Reynolds, Evie Roberts, Arlo Rogowski, Sunny Rollins, Noah Rundell, Harry Said, Sophia Scholte, Wyatt Schomacker, Zoe Sherlock, Livinia Sinnott, Lenny Spencer, Darcy Stafford, Ted Stevens, Julia Waleed, Elsie Walter, Sophia Wettenhall, Oscar Wheeler, Tyler Wood, Sophia Zivic.

New Families: A warm welcome also to our new families: Oliver Taylor, Scarlett Palmer, Max Johnson, Ashton Ramsay, Oliver Parton, Jacinta Parton, Esma Tek, Claire Bennett, Albie Hanna, Isabella White, Xavier White, Ellie Murphy.

Welcome back to: Maya Mackay

We trust you appreciate the staff photos below and email addresses. This will support the importance of working together in partnership and we welcome communication as required, as together we shine our lights outwards to each other.

Staff Mass and Indigenous Perspectives Professional Learning: On Friday we really valued joining with our other Holy Trinity Parish school St Aloysius' staff to engage in a welcome to country and smoking ceremony and Mass based on the theme Beacons of Hope. The welcome ceremony led by Danae Coots was a perfect opportunity to start the year. A chance to engage in welcome, hospitality and reflection whilst paying our  respects to our First Nations people. The smoking ceremony enabled us to call on  renewal and healing as we begin the school year.  We were also called to care for this wonderful land and environment we are so privileged and blessed to live on- our country. Yesterday we also benefited from some great learning with Ahsleigh Skinner from Waddawarung. As part of our annual action plan we are building teacher capacity in their knowledge and confidence in bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learning opportunities  to our students. Further to this we embrace more sustainable actions and care for the land we live on.

Working Bee: Many thanks to the following  families who were able to come along and enjoy working alongside each other in a general tidy up of our grounds. It was a great turn out and what was achieved is greatly appreciated. Your generosity of spirit is truly valued. 

Milly Dickinson, Freddy Dickinson, George Dickinson, Albie Dickinson, Rachel Larmour, Airlie learey, Seb Learey, Clint Miller, Jack Miller, Emma Hamm, Ella Hamm, Liam Hamm, Isaac Hamm, Leonie Cole, Lenny Cole, Max Cole, Leah Cole, Isaac Geerings, Jemma Geerings, Ebony Knights, Jarrod Knights, Zara Knights, Stella Knights, Levi Knights,  Ivy Williams, Laura Grantham, Max Grantham, Louis Grantham, Penny Freemanb, Zach Zarro, louise Bryan, Olive Bryan, Tristian Cross, Catherine Cross, Harriet Cross, Kevin Mitchell, Ivy Mitchell, Josh Wheeler, Indi Wheeler, Oscar Wheeler, Kylie Morgan, Matilda Morgan, Josh Salter, Harvey Salter, Mary Spencer, Tex Spencer, Lenny Spencer, Trent Spencer, Lenny Spencer, Cam Ward, Bec Ward, Winni Ward, Alfie Ward. 

Sports Uniform Days for all Year Levels: The following Days are when your child will wear their sports uniform.

Bike Safety: Please have a chat with your children about riding safely and the importance of helmets on properly and worn at all times. We will be reinfiorcing this at school. 

Some of our spaces ready for learning:

Wishing you all a hope filled fortnight ahead.

Kerryn