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- Year 6 2025 Jumper/Polo - Bellarine Uniforms Order Form
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- Upcoming Important Dates on the Parent Calendar
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God of love you gifted Mary MacKillop with vision and courage.
In her we see one who was not afraid to speak fearlessly your gospel of love.
We pray for the sensitivity and imagination to read the signs of our times, and to articulate new possibilities for our own day.
Like Mary, may we learn to confront all that is oppressive and unjust, and empower others towards true freedom and integrity.
Spirit of wisdom, be with us as we face new horizons.
Amen
Dear Parents and Carers,
Yesterday our staff engaged in a wonderful staff professional learning day for Religious Education via a retreat day in Melbourne. The day stemmed from our theme this year “Beacons of Hope” and we cannot think of a greater person in Catholic Education history and Australia’s only “saint” Mary MacKillop. Saint Mary MacKillop's commitment to Catholic education, care for the poor, devotion to faith, courage in the face of adversity and dedication to justice and equality, serve as guiding examples, for all of us as Catholic educators.
We learnt of Mary’s compassion for the poor and the importance of education in promoting self belief, social acceptance, knowledge, relationships and success for all. We heard a lot about her work for the poor. It was important to reflect upon who are the poor we may be working with in our context and the social context of 2023.
Through knowing her story, we further gained a greater understanding of our responsibility to ensure all students have the right to learn and a nurturing and inclusive environment to learn in. As members of society, we also have an obligation to work for justice and equality for all. We feel privileged that we can bring this care, nurture and opportunity for action to your children and family.
Curriculum resource materials to better support our teachers and learning
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) are pleased to advise that they are shortly commencing work with schools to develop high-quality, comprehensive curriculum resource materials to better support our teachers to deliver the F–6 Victorian Curriculum.
This follows overwhelming endorsement of this approach by teachers across the Catholic sector in a survey conducted last year. Research also shows that high-quality curriculum resources will create more sustainable workloads for our teachers and allow them to focus more on teaching and student engagement, where their time and energy counts the most.
In addition, this approach will promote equity and excellence across MACS schools, ensuring all students have access to evidence-based, quality-assured, sequenced learning materials that will help lift their outcomes over time.
MACS anticipate the rollout of the F–6 resource materials will be a three-year project. The initial phase will focus on F–2 Mathematics. These materials will be made available to us in Term 4 this year for review and planning purposes, with implementation in Term 1, 2024.
Importantly, our teachers will retain autonomy to tailor curriculum implementation to meet the individual and local needs of our students. Teachers will also have opportunities to participate in the development and quality assurance of the materials.
This is an exciting development for our school community and clearly demonstrates the commitment all Catholic schools share to supporting every student to fully flourish in their learning.
We will keep you informed as this important work continues.
Naplan: The Naplan results for Year 3 and Year 5 have come in and we are able to send them home in your child's bag. If you would prefer to collect them from school please email your child's teacher and collect by Friday 4 August. They will also be available electronically via PAM in coming weeks. Please ensure you read the pamphlet guide attached to your child’s results as there is new language describing the achievements.
Schools, parents, and carers may find the following video on reading the Individual Student Report useful to understand student-level reporting and the new proficiency standards.
Jump Rope For Heart: Our Lady Star of the Sea is participating in Jump Rope for Heart this year. Jump Rope for Heart is the Heart Foundation’s primary school skipping challenge that helps kids move more, have fun and raise funds for lifesaving research and programs.
Fundraising is OPTIONAL and all children will take part in the program at school where they will learn new skills, increase their physical activity and learn about heart health. The program will end in the last week of Term 3 where the children can share their new skills within their hub.
If you would like to participate and help raise funds, register your child online at jumprope.org.au/parents
School vehicle traffic: Driving in the neighbouring streets close to school can at times be stressful. Parents can sometimes be running a little late or desperately looking for a car park close to the gate so they can drop the kids off and get to work. Often in this rush to collect children, parents will put their child or others at risk by double parking in John Dory Drive or by completing an illegal u-turn at the front of the school. We all play our role in ensuring the safety of our community. Please take care, slow down, and if you witness anything dangerous, please don’t hesitate in contacting the police. Please also remember that our Crossing Supervisors are working to help keep your children safe. Please remember to be respectful and courteous to the supervisors. Hopefully our school community can continue to be a beacon of safety, kindness and respect, especially when it comes to navigating the busyness of school drop off or pick up.
Baby News: Congratulations to Sam, Miki and Eddie Scott on the safe arrival of their adorable twins: Myles David Scott, 3.03kg, born at 2:14pm and Frankie Joy Scott, 2.84kg, born at 2:17pm. All are doing well.
If you know you are not returning in 2024, we request that you please let us know so we can confirm enrolment numbers for 2024.
Wishing you all a hope filled fortnight ahead.
Kerryn
Click here to find an event -LINK
PRESERVING THE BELLARINE
At the end of last term our Year 5 and 6 Sustainability Leaders participated in our first mentoring day with Naomi from the Bellarine Catchment Network. A grant for our participation was provided by Earthwatch, to support our Distinctive Areas nd Landscapes Action plan. This plan includes building on our knowledge of this very special area, factors contributing to damage in this environment and how we can be active in reducing this damage. We visited the Begola Wetlands Ocean Grove foreshore and dune areas to learn about the RAMSAR wetlands, local animals, indigenous plants and culture and biodiversity. Development, litter, water pollution and dune damage are major contributing factors to the breaking down of this environment. We will be creating videos for students to support local biodiversity, planting over 200 trees in our school garden as well as our Year 5's planting at Begola Wetlands. Our Sustainability leaders will lead these activities.
To kickstart this introduction, we are offering a limited number at a special price of $18, pre-purchased through the TryBooking site https://www.trybooking.com/CJSNX. Once the initial beanie pre-order is complete, all future beanies will need to be purchased directly from Bellarine Uniforms at the standard retail price of $25.
The beanies have arrived and will be distributed to students who have pre-purchased them.
Please label your child's beanie with their name or initials.
Hand, Foot and Mouth virus and Slapcheek
A case of Hand, Foot and Mouth virus and a case of Slapcheek has been reported in Purple Hub. Please be aware of symptoms your child may present and treat accordingly if they have a confirmed case.
Symptoms of Hand, Foot and Mouth may include high temperature, sore throat and small blister like lesions that may occur inside the mouth, sides of the tongue, palms of the hands, fingers, soles of the feet. They usually develop 3-5 days after infection. Students are exempt from school whilst unwell, or until blisters are dry.
For further information https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/hand_foot_and_mouth_disease/
Symptoms of Slapcheek may include fever, headache, stomach upsets, aches and pains.
- After a few days of being unwell, a bright red rash may appear on the cheeks.
- Your child may also have a different rash on their chest, back, arms and legs, which looks like a pink lace pattern on the skin.
- The rashes can come and go for several weeks, or even months, especially if the skin is exposed to sunlight or after exercise.
When your child is well they can return to school.
For further information https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Slapped_cheek_fifth_disease/
Alternatively, parents have the option to come to the school and administer the medication to their child if necessary.
Year 6 2025 jumpers and polo tops are now available for ordering at Bellarine Uniforms.
To place an order, please click the following link:
https://www.noone.com.au/school/lady-star-sea/shop Filter by Year/Category/ Click on Grade 6 2025
Please note that all orders must be submitted to Bellarine Uniforms no later than Friday 13 September 2024.
Report a student absence using the Parent Access Module (PAM).
Access the PAM login page by clicking on the following link: http://pam.staroceangrove.catholic.edu.au. Your username is the email address you have provided to school.
Click on Parent Notified Absences button
Click on + Add Future Absence
Add Absence details, enter the following information: student, reason, absence period, absence date, notes if required.
For new families please sign up to PAM (Parent Access Module) 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 will be asked to enter your email address, then you will need to access the link sent to your email address. You can then create a password and this, along with your email address will be your login to PAM.
Term 4 2024
Thursday 21 November: Yr 5 Parish Mass/Year 1 MOPA Excursion
Friday 22 November: Yr 5BC assembly
Thursday 28 November: Yr 3 Parish Mass
Friday 29 November: Staff Professional Learning Day - Student Free Day
Staff Planning Day for 2025
Tuesday 3 December: School Concert 5:30pm-7:30pm
Wednesday 4 December: Prep orientation
Thursday 5 December: Prep orientation
Tuesday 10 December: Whole school orientation/Prep orientation
Wednesday 11 December: Future leaders days 2025
Friday 6 December: Diversity Day 2pm assembly
Tuesday 10 December: Whole school orientation day 9.15am - 11am
Wednesday 12 December: Yr 6 end of year excursion
Friday 13 December: Yr 6EB assembly/End of year Mass
Monday 16 December: Whole school Beach Day (students are welcome to bring plastic shovels and buckets. Ensure they remember to bring sunscreen and hats).
Wednesday 18 December: Yr 6 Graduation Assembly/Last day of school Students finish at 1pm
Term1 2025
Tuesday 28 January: Staff return
Wednesday 29 January: Staff professional Learning day
Thursday 30 January: Students return
Please note: Please refer to the Parent Calendar for all dates
Calling all STEM professionals…. our school community needs you!
Are you interested in helping to bring STEM to life in innovative ways and engage our students?
Have your contribution counted through the CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools program, Australia’s leading volunteer science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education program. It creates and supports partnerships between teachers and STEM professionals to bring real-world STEM experience into the classroom.
The program currently has more than 1200 partnerships around Australia, assisting teachers and STEM professionals to inspire the next generation of problem solvers and innovators.
If you are interested in becoming part of the program, they’d love to hear from you and our teachers would love to have you involved in their classroom! More information, including how to apply is available at STEM Professionals in Schools - CSIRO or by contacting one of the CSIRO team at STEMProfessionalsinSchools@
Iona College - SAVE THE DATE
Our Year 7 2024 Orientation Day for Iona College will be held on Tuesday 12 December 2023.
Saint Ignatius College - Anastasia Production
