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Prayer for the Trinity
We belong to Holy Trinity Parish and we pray remembering that we celebrate a God who is all things to us, a God whose love for us is deep and abiding, a God who is ever-present in our lives, a God who is generous and understanding.
Let us give God glory and praise.
Gracious and loving God, You are wisdom, love and peace.
May we listen to your invitation to enter into a more loving relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Dear Parents,
We are busily moving through the term and find ourselves already at the beginning of Week 5. I trust the fortnightly newsletter is working well for you all. It certainly has been a positive step for us as a staff and we are very grateful for your positive feedback in moving forward. Here is the updated version of our Newsletter Policy
I would also like to respectfully reinforce that should you have a concern for your child that has happened at school, please follow the steps in the Complaints Policy Please note the steps of working through the school with your child’s classroom teacher being your first point of contact, depending on your concern.
WORKING BEE
You will notice we have begun some works at the front of the school with the new amenities block and yesterday’s Working Bee. As mentioned earlier this term, the Grounds Masterplan is completed and we are moving ahead with projects. I cannot thank enough the following families, including children, who gave their time on a glorious day yesterday. Led by Mark Monahan and Kellie Clark we thank the following families: Monahans, Wayne Tunks, Mark Hardwick, Chris Bryan, Leah Cole, Jay and Sue Azzopardi, Mary Spencer, Mark and Nicole Wood, Trish Bakacs, Brent Dean, Medlen and Brewster Hipik, Briony Darcy, Michael Sheridan, Paraska,Wynn and all the children of these families that helped out. It was heartwarming to see these families and their children working so positively for our school.A special thankyou to Danly Ocean Grove for donating the mulch free of charge, Kerrs hire for donating the rotary hoe free of charge and Bellarine Landcare Group for plans and planting for our LandCare project.
The sacrifice of your time not only adds value to our school physically but also in the following ways. Building more positive relationships, sending a clear message to your children that education is important and volunteering or giving to others is very important in our lives as well as having a sense of belonging to this community.
There are opportunities ongoing for those interested to assist with small projects to enhance our school grounds and more play opportunities for our students. Please email Kellie Clark if you are able to assist kclark@staroceangrove.catholic.edu.au .
NAPLAN
Our students have almost completed their NAPLAN testing with only Numeracy left this week. Despite many of the media reports about the stresses of NAPLAN, our students have engaged positively, calmly and endeavoured to do ”better than their best.” We participated in all the tests online except for Year 3 pencil and paper. NAPLAN provides a snapshot of student learning at a point in time. It is one data/evidence source along with many others that inform schools and teachers about the learning of our students. I warmly thank Andrew Rayson and the teaching staff in Year 3 and 5 for ensuring this process was as seamless as possible.
SUSTAINABILITY
Earlier in the term I had the privilege of attending a Principal’s conference titled “Leading a Sustainable Learning Community” with a guest speaker who works for the United Nations named Robert Steele. Compass Education is a framework he has developed and we are excited to continue to explore this as a Principal group in Geelong. We also learnt more about the SDG’s, United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goals to transform our world. Working alongside the leadership team, the sustainability core team, Sustainability and Green Thumb Leaders and staff at Our Lady Star of the Sea, we will bring some of this learning through to our whole school approach to sustainability and our Inquiry Learning for our students.
CONFIRMATION
We wish all the Year 6 children who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday 2 June at 11.30am a beautiful celebration as they receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These being wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Bishop Mark Edwards visited Friday and our teachers have been working well with the Year 6 students to prepare them for the sacrament.
Best wishes for the fortnight ahead.
Our Year 3 and 5 students continue their NAPLAN testing this week. The testing over the past week has seen the stress and anxiety levels in some of our students and their families increase. Performing in this exam like environment is quite different to the nurturing and supportive classrooms that our children usually experience.
These NAPLAN tests provide a snapshot of your child’s literacy and numeracy skills that are developed over time through the school curriculum. The snapshot they show will depend on several factors, including how your child handled the Naplan structure and layout, their use of time, the amount of sleep they had the night before and their level of focus at the given time.
Regardless of your child’s results, it is important that we remember that NAPLAN only tests Literacy and Numeracy skills and does not define them as a person. Whilst both Literacy and Numeracy provide crucial foundations for their learning, there are many other skills and strengths to celebrate. Therefore, if your child has come home a little deflated after sitting their NAPLAN test in recent days, there are a few ways you can offer support.
- Resilience - Remind them that in life we do have ups and downs. Some days are harder than others and that sometimes we have to do things we don’t like or enjoy. Help remind your child of the good things in their lives and channel their energy into something they enjoy.
- Empathy - If students are feeling a little disappointed with their own performance then doing something for others is a great way of helping them move on. Helping others is a great way of feeling like you are part of something bigger than yourself and that your actions really matter can lead to a deep sense of fulfillment and long-term happiness.
- Focus on your child’s other strengths - Explain that there is more to us as humans than literacy and numeracy. We all have our own strengths and talents. Character strengths like courage, creativity, curiosity or kindness have a positive impact on our lives.
- Gratitude - Help your child understand that they are very fortunate to live in a safe country like Australia that values education for all.
Finally, fearful or anxious behaviour in children is common – especially as they come across new situations and experiences. Most children learn to cope with different fears and worries. If you would like more information regarding anxiety in children, the Beyond Blue - Anxiety is worth reading.
'There's more to life than literacy and numeracy' - Today (Channel Nine 13th May 2019)
Kind regards
Paul Anderson
Deputy Principal & Student Wellbeing Leader
We seem to be seeing a bit more rubbish around the schoolyard lately. We appreciate that everyone is very busy but please try to adhere to our NUDE FOOD Policy as much as possible. Please remove packaging so it doesn’t come to school.
Try keeping all of your soft plastic packaging and take it to the collection points at Coles and Woolies - ask if you can’t see them- this is one simple way we can all help our environment.
IDEAS FOR NUDE FOOD LUNCH BOXES:
Looking after the earth for those who inherit from us.
The Sustainability Team
This year in October our school is participating in Walktober. We will be promoting travelling to school actively by walking, riding and scooting. Each day we will record how many students have travelled to and from school in an active way. Each class will have their own chart and we compete with other schools in our area for prizes. If it is not practical to travel actively all the way from home, you can still be involved by getting dropped a safe distance from school and walking from there. We hope everyone gets involved!
Thanks, Travelsmart group.
Office staff are happy to pass on messages to students, however we ask for your cooperation by ensuring you call the office before 3pm where possible. Messages will be passed on at 3.15pm.
A case of Shingles has been reported to the school.
In accordance with direction from the Victorian Department of Health, children with shingles (which occurs only rarely) can attend school if the lesions can be covered adequately; however, exclusion from swimming and contact sports should be advised for seven days after the rash appears.
Further information is available here.
Recycled Uniforms will be for sale Friday 24 May 9am - 9.30am near the staffroom.
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
Every Victorian child should have access to the world of learning opportunities that exist beyond the classroom. The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) helps ensure that no student will miss out on the opportunity to join their classmates for important, educational and fun activities. It is part of making Victoria the Education State and the Government’s commitment to breaking the link between a student’s background and their outcomes.
School camps provide children with inspiring experiences in the great outdoors. Excursions encourage a deeper understanding of how the world works while sports teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. All are a part of a healthy curriculum.
CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.
If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.
The annual CSEF amount per student is:
- $150 for primary school students
HOW TO APPLY
New applicants should Click here for CSEF Application Form or contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form.
If you applied for CSEF last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred:
- new student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools this year.
- changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing this year.
MORE INFORMATION
For more information about CSEF visit:
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/csef.aspx
Hot Dog Days
Hot dog and fruit box drink - $5
Wednesday 14 Dec - Prep & Grade 1
Thursday 15 Dec - Grade 4, 5 & 6.
$5.00 hot dog & juice box or $3.00 hot dog no drink.
Order online via schools24
Term 4 2020
Friday 16 October: Respectful Relationships "Gratitude Day"
Monday 19 October: Book Week Dress Up Day
Thursday 22 October: Footy colours casual clothes day and Gold Coin donation for Cherished Pets Ocean Grove.
Friday 23 October: AFL Grand Final Public Holiday, school closed
Sunday 25 October: School working bee 10am - 12pm - Purple Hub TBC
Tuesday 3 November: Melbourne Cup Public Holiday, school Closed
Friday 6 November: Mission Fete Day
Monday 9 November: School Photo Day Individual and Class Photos
Tuesday 10 November: School Photo Day Family Portraits
Monday 23 November - Tuesday 24 November: Year 6 Camp Wyuna
Tuesday 24 November: Prep 2021 Parent Information Session 6 - 7pm TBC
Thursday 26 November: Prep 2021 Parent Information Session 6 - 7pm TBC
Friday 27 November: Staff 2021 Planning Day, student free day
Monday 30 November: Year 3 Camp Wyuna
Tuesday 1 December: Year 4 Camp Wyuna
Wednesday 2 December: Year 5 Camp Wyuna
Wednesday 2 December: Prep 2021 Orientation Day 9.30am - 11am TBC
Tuesday 8 December: Prep 2021 Orientation Day 9.30am - 11am TBC
Thursday 17 December: End of Term 4
Please note: Please refer to the Parent Calendar for all dates
