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God of all creation, as we journey together in this Great Southern Land,
We pray for healing, forgiveness, and unity,
Creating a path of goodwill, with justice and compassion.
Jesus, through the power of your love,
You have given us the courage, wisdom, and strength
To share our gifts and talents in humility.
In peace and understanding we reconcile with each other.
Creator Spirit, we come together in prayer and thanksgiving
For the many blessings we have received.
Allow your Spirit to wash over us and give us strength to walk together as one.
(Aboriginal Elders and Reconciliation Church staff members 2014)
Dear Parents and Carers
I trust your holidays went well and you were able to share some special time together as a family.
Today’s reflection is on the back of last week’s celebration of NAIDOC week. NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. In educating our students, we are invited to consider the theme 'Heal Country!', which calls for stronger measures to recognise, protect, and maintain all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage. Your children will learn more about this week as we continue to educate our students throughout the curriculum, at every opportunity, about our First Nations people, their story, language and culture. This is extremely important to us at Our Lady Star of the Sea where, as a catholic community and acknowledging Horizons of Hope, we embrace difference and diversity and continue to make a difference in our world.
Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 Camps this week: We are beginning this Term with our school camps. Camps and excursions are an important part of the learning experiences of students at Our Lady Star of the Sea. They can support quality curriculum delivery and can provide important social and emotional development opportunities for students that are not often available in the classroom. These might include teamwork, resilience and confidence-building through challenge, problem-solving, connecting with nature, creative and imaginative play and coordination and strength. Yesterday we sent our Year 5 and 6 students off to a two night camp at Lady Northcote near Bacchus Marsh.
Year 4 and Year 3 will have their one night camp at Camp Wilkin in Anglesea on Wednesday and Thursday night respectively.
We wish all the campers a wonderful and happy learning experience.
Multi Purpose Hall Name: We are pleased to announce the naming of our hall. Djila Tjarri which means play. Pronounced ‘jilla jarri’. Thank you all for your suggestions. The winning family is the Hall family. Congratulations to Lauren, Flynn (1 MF) and Ned (P NM). We will have a special presentation on Friday at assembly.
Special thankyou: We had a wonderful opportunity at our final assembly last term to formally thank Douglas and Eleanor Bishop (grandfather and mother to Vincent Hambleton Year 5 and Lois Hambleton Year 7) for their kind donation of 36 Indonesian Angklung instruments last year. Many thanks to Year 2BE for their brilliant performance and playing the instruments so well at assembly.
School Disco new date: It is with great excitement we can announce the new date for our school disco Friday 30 July. As previously advertised Prep-2 will be from 4.30-6 pm and Year 3-6 6.15 pm - 7.45 pm.
Southern Ocean Environmental Link (SOEL) Sustainable School Competition Winners: We are delighted to announce that we have won this award for social engagement in sustainability where we highlightied all the steps we are taking to become more sustainable.
The prize is a hands on Recycling Plastic Education Workshop Day for up to 100 students. Two of our teachers will also attend a 60 minute recycling plastic workshop.
Principal for the Day:
Congratulations to Cruz Pascoe for his amazing job as Principal for the day. So warm, friendly and confident in his work.
MACS Updated Policies:
Assessment and Reporting Policy
Our Lady Star of the Sea Child Safety Code of Conduct
Our Lady Star of the Sea School Fees and Charges Policy
Warmest wishes for the fortnight ahead
Kerryn
Welcome back to Term 3. I hope families were able to get some quality time together during the recent holidays. I’m sure many of you were impacted with travel restrictions and once again had to be flexible and make changes to your holiday plans. The past holidays remind us how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful location, with many wonderful natural areas to explore whilst staying close to home.
As we start the new term, I would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of safe travel to and from school. It is wonderful to see how many of our students engage in active travel (walk, ride or scoot) options to get to and from school on a regular basis. Even now, in the middle of winter, many families take advantage of active travel as a way of contributing towards the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Some parents tell me that they enjoy this time walking with their child (and usually the family dog too) as it is a great time for conversation and can be a lot less stressful than driving. The high number of active travellers definitely benefits our school community, with less traffic around our school.
As children grow, and with supervised experiences, they gradually become more independent in their ability to get around by themselves. One of the most important aspects of being a parent is teaching your children to become independent. But sometimes it’s easier said than done, especially when you have such a strong instinct to protect them.
For tips on preparing your child to get around on their own, please read VicHealth’s Steps for helping children become more independent.
With so many children walking, riding and scooting to and from school, it is important that everybody takes responsibility for ensuring that our students are safe.
For students, this means they need to be aware of their surroundings and have clear strategies to keep themselves safe. For example, looking carefully when crossing roads, following laws for pedestrians and riding safely.
For the adults in our community, taking responsibility for ensuring that our students are safe involves:
- Ensuring that your child/ren are ready for traveling independently in a safe manner
- Driving safely, aware of the unpredictability of some children who are developing their independence in getting about by themselves. This includes limiting your speed, especially in the streets close to schools.
eSafety Webinars
The eSafety Commissioner provides opportunities for parents to be more engaged in their children's safety online through a series of webinars on specific topics that are challenging for parents to monitor and manage. This term they are offering the following webinars:
- eSafety’s Guide to Online Sexual Harassment and Image-based Abuse (designed for parents and carers of young people aged 13 - 18)
Several dates available
- eSafety’s Parent Guide to Popular Apps (designed for parents and carers of young people aged 8 - 13)
Dates: Monday 16 August 12.30 to 1.30 pm
Tuesday 31 August 7.30 to 8.30 pm
Parents can also access more eSafety Information, including the video and information sheet summarising the eSafety’s previous webinar: Cyberbullying and Online Drama by visiting the eSafety’s Parent Resource page.
Paul Anderson
Student Wellbeing Leader
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.
City of Greater Geelong are currently recruiting for School Crossing Supervisors
Our School Crossing Supervisors hold a much-valued role in our community, helping students and parents cross the road safely during peak school times. It is a great way to stay active, connect with and be a part of the Geelong community.
As a Children’s Crossing Supervisor, you will be required to operate one of the 173 crossings within the City of Greater Geelong. The crossings operate Monday to Friday between the hours of 8.00am and 9.00am; and 3.00pm and 4.00pm. You will be required to work 2 x 45-minute shifts per day during school term with an hour rate of $28.78 + super.
About you
To be successful for this position,
- You can interact and communicate clearly with a friendly approach to all members of the public.
- You will need to be reliable to work and able to supervise the crossing during the morning and afternoon shift Monday - Friday on designated school days.
- Pass a pre-employment medical assessment
- Hold a Valid Working with Children’s Check
- Clear a National Police Check
- Hold a current Victorian driver’s licence
Applications and Enquiries
For further queries, please contact Aleisha Haworth on AHaworth@geelongcity.vic.gov.au
Applications Close: 18 July 2021 5pm.