The earth and all life on it are part of God’s creation. We are called to respect this gift. We are called  to care for the world we live in and share all the wonders and resources the Earth gives us. 

A Prayer of Gratitude for Creation

God of the universe,

We thank You for Your many good gifts -

For the beauty of Creation and its rich and varied fruits,

For clean water and fresh air, for food and shelter, animals and plants.

Forgive us for the times we have taken the earth’s resources for granted

And wasted what You have given us,

Transform our hearts and minds

So that we learn to care and share, 

To touch the earth with gentleness and love,

Respecting all living things.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord,

Amen

Dear Parents and Carers

This is the final newsletter for Term 1 and what a wonderful term it has been. We have all worked together in a respectful and nurturing way which has enabled us to have a term full of learning opportunities for the students both onsite and offsite. Together we truly are flourishing.

We have seen our community reengaging in various ways together including incursions, excursions, helping in the classroom, canteen, working bees and various sporting events. Friday’s Cross Country was a wonderful whole school event. Please refer to your Hub News for some great photos of the day. A huge thank you to Lisa Grigg, our Sports Leader, who always does an amazing job of organising such a successful event, with the support of all staff. We are truly grateful for your care and terrific work Lisa. 

Friday was also Ride to School Safely and here is a photo just of some of the bikes and scooters. A great effort by everyone and thank you to Matt Eales who leads the Travel Smart initiatives at Star of the Sea. 

This coming Friday is our epic Earth Fest event. There is much excitement amongst the students, parents and staff. Please come along as we gather to inspire, educate, share, listen, talk, walk, feel a joint sense of community and responsibility, to care and volunteer to make our Earth, and ourselves, healthier and more sustainable.  Everything we are, and care about most, depends on it.

Opening and Blessing of Stage One of the Masterplan: 

Yesterday we finally had our official opening of the Djila Tjarri and Orange Hub. There were many people thanked for their support in bringing this to fruition. The Victorian Government represented by Member for Bellarine Lisa Neville MP, who granted us $2 million dollars towards the project, attended as did Bishop Martin Ashe who blessed the building. Bishop Ashe also spoke about some Iraq students who had arrived at a school he attended recently and how grateful they were just to have the opportunity for an education. This was very profound in our setting where we are so grateful for what we have and show enormous empathy for those who don’t. We were able to show our appreciation through a wonderful ceremony where the students showed the utmost respect and sang the school song and National Anthem beautifully and with pride. We also thanked MACS staff and in particular our School Advisory Council, past and present, for their inspiration,collaboration, contribution and support in creating these wonderful learning facilities. The end result is truly remarkable and a dream which came to fruition. One which our students have embraced positively and are greatly benefiting from. Most of all thank you to all our families, as it is through your generosity via the Capital Levy, that we are able to have facilities to this quality and we truly value this contribution.

A special mention to our school leaders who read the acknowledgement of country and school prayer beautifully and also welcomed our distinguished guests so warmly and with pride: Abbey Walsh, Allister Hill, Lani Turner and Emma Robinson.

Special mention also to Kellie and Keith Clark for the beautiful Djilla Tjarri sign, seen in this photo.

Year 6 2021 Parting Gift: 

The Year 5 and 6 students worked together last year to produce this amazing art piece under the guidance of Rachael Thomas, our brilliant Year 5/ 6 Art teacher.

With great thanks and pride we have hung it in the front office area. 

BUNJIL 

Wedge Tail Eagle

Oil pastel, paper on Plywood

This collaborative artwork depicts Bunjil, a creator, deity, cultural hero and ancestral being. Bunjil is lovingly watching over, protecting and in relationship with his creation. It beckons our response to be in relationship with him as we live in connection with each other and the land.

Australian Catholics Subscription: We now have a digital link to Australian Catholics which have a large amount of religious education resources for both teachers, students and parents. The Australian Catholic magazine is now digital as well. Here is the access login for parents. 

Access for parents

parents@staroceangrove.catholic.edu.au

Password: acparents

Minor Capital Works: We have continued to see more upgrades in the yard with the new sandpit, path and mud kitchens. Thank you to the Ocean Grove and District Mens Shed for providing us with 2 mud kitchens within a week to replace the other two that were damaged. 

Project Compassion: A reminder that all classes have a project compassion box and money raised will go to Caritas with a portion going towards the Ukranian refugees. Children are invited to bring coins any day to add to the box on their prayer table and we will have a crazy sock day on the last day with a gold coin donation. 

RAT testing: We will distribute another box of RAT tests this week to each student and ask that you test again also before the first day back as you should have left overs. We still have no future direction as to what will happen in Term 2 but we will let you know when we know.

ANZAC day March: We have been invited by Ocean Grove Barwon Heads RSL to take part in the ANZAC Day March at Ocean Grove Cenotaph in the Ocean Grove Park.  Students from across the school will be invited to take part in the march and the Wreath Laying Ceremony. We ask that you assemble at Coles in the main street in full summer uniform. The march commences at 9:45am and the wreath laying at 10:05am on Monday 25th April.

Wishing you all a safe and peaceful holiday and the great joy that Easter brings.

Kerryn

Gratitude - acknowledging the goodness in our lives.

As we come to the end of our first term and prepare for Easter with our families, it is important that we take  time out of the busy schedule to reflect on the aspects of our lives that we are grateful for.  After weeks of devastating floods in Queensland and New South Wales , plus the violence in Ukraine, being thankful for the small moments, that sometimes can be seen as mundane, is such an important practice to hold onto in this fast-paced, sometimes negative focused, world we live in.

Most of us associate gratitude with saying “thank you” to someone who has helped us or given us a gift. From a scientific perspective, gratitude is not just an action. Gratitude is a positive emotion, which is really important because it  helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals – whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.

Research shows that when children exhibit gratitude, it's the behavior that most closely correlates with life satisfaction and happiness for that child. It's also linked to less stress and depression and more optimism.  Gratitude is also a powerful tool for strengthening interpersonal relationships. 

In order to practice gratitude, the first step is to pay attention - noticing and becoming aware of blessings that we normally take for granted.

Here are some tips to further develop gratitude in your children.

1. Role model gratitude and teach your kids to think gratefully.

Express gratitude often--by speaking it, writing it, gifting it.

2. Be present and empathetic with your child.

Spending time with your children is, of course, good. Spending time when you're fully present, enjoying each moment, and ready to express empathy and understanding is priceless.

3. Nurture their strengths.

Doing so builds confidence. Confidence builds self-appreciation, which makes it easier to see and appreciate things around you (as you're not busy combating feelings of inadequacy). You can even encourage your children to directly use strengths (like writing, speaking well, being kind-hearted) to show gratitude.

4. Encourage them to accumulate growth, not gadgets.

When you encourage a child to focus on developing deeper connections with people or the community and on pursuing experiences that excite their interest and help them achieve growth, it's much more likely to foster gratitude.

5. Give them a hand in lending helping hands.

Encourage your child to look for opportunities to help others, again role modeling it yourself as a closely held value. This is one of the most direct routes possible towards encouraging gratitude.

6. Help them find what matters to them.

When kids find something that's important to them, something bigger than themselves, (like a social issue, cause, or form of service), they realise they're a player in something more important. Gratitude comes from an appreciation of that larger picture and what they can do to affect it.

Paul Anderson

Student Wellbeing Leader

Term 1 Week 9 - Red Hub News (Prep)

Term 1 Week 9 - Green Hub News (Year 1)

Term 1 Week 9 - Blue Hub News (Year 2)

Term 1 Week 9 - Yellow Hub News (Year 3)

Term 1 Week 9 - Purple Hub News (Year 4)

Term 1 Week 9 - Purple Hub News (Year 5)

Term 1 Week 9 - Orange Hub News (Year 6)

Kami akan berbagi semua hal tentang Indonesia.

Fokus kata pada Term 1, adalah beberapa kata dan frasa yang sering kita gunakan dalam percakapan sehari-hari di sekolah.

1. PERMISI

Kapan kita menggunakan kata PERMISI?

• Ketika minta jalan. 

• Ketika mengunjungi ruangan kelas lain.
• Ketika interupsi 

2. Boleh saya….? atau Bolehkah saya…?

Kami juga belajar tentang bagaimana meminta izin kepada guru atau meminta bantuan kepada teman dengan kalimat sopan. 

• Bolehkah saya ke kamar kecil?
• Boleh saya pinjam pensil kamu?
• Boleh saya duduk di sini?
• Boleh saya bermain bola basket di sana?
• Bolehkah saya ambil minum?

Sampai jumpa….

Hello, my name is Memphis and I’m Elisa. We are the Language Leaders for 2022.

We will tell you all about Indonesian. Our focus this week is: permisi. This means excuse me. 

When do we use the word permisi? 

• when we ask to go somewhere

• when we visit another classroom

• when we interrupt.

We have also been learning about how to ask for permission from teachers or ask for help from our friends with sentences like:

• Can I please go to the toilet?

• Can I please borrow your pencil?

• Can I please sit here?

• Can I please play basketball over there?

• Can I please get a drink?

See you later.

Annual school photos have been taken by Arthur Reed Photos.

To view the images of your child and order photos, you will need to first register online.

1. Go to https://order.arphotos.com.au and enter the 2022 image code for your child (from their personalized flyer)
2. Tap on ‘Add another child’ to enter the image codes of any siblings
3. Fill in your email and mobile details and then review all details before confirming your registration

That’s it! When 2022 photos are ready, you will be notified by email and SMS.

Even if you registered last year, it’s important that you do it again each year using your child’s new image code to link their photos for the current year with your contact details.

To ensure you are ordering school photos for the current year, please wait for notifications that 2022 images are online before placing orders.

In the web shop you can view photos and customize your photo package; Choose ANY layout, ANY image and purchase multiple digital image downloads.

All photo orders will be sent directly to the address you provide when ordering.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW to be notified when 2022 school photos can be viewed and ordered.

For the first two weeks of Term 2 children can choose to continue to wear their summer uniform, or, if more appropriate, their winter uniform. By Week 3, students wear their winter uniform.

School hats must be worn in Term 2, until 30 April.

Please ensure that all items of clothing are labelled with your child's name so that if items are lost they can be returned promptly.

If have purchased uniform second hand could you please remove the old name and update it to your family name. 

Thanks to everyone who participated in Ride2School day last Friday. We gave out over 300 stickers to active travellers and had a participation rate throughout the school of 74%. Well done to everyone who made an effort to travel actively. It is great for your body and great for the environment. Thanks

The winner of this week's Golden Sneaker is 5TM.

Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser

Hot Cross Bun orders will be dropped off at school on Tuesday 4 April.
They will need to be collected from our Staffroom from 2:30pm or by students at the end of the day.

Thank you for your support with our Term 1 fundraising.

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

If you have a child due to start school in 2025 we ask that Applications for Enrolment are lodged before the end of Term 1. As applications are received by the school, you will be contacted to make a time for you and your Prep 2025 child to meet with Kerryn. To access forms and further information click here.

Open Time and School Tours

The school will be open for student led tours on Tuesday 26 March between 9.15am and 10.30am. Parents and children welcome. No bookings are required. 

Information Session for Parents

Parents are invited to an information session on Tuesday 26 March at 6.30pm – 7.30pm. 

REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR GRUBBERS NETSETGO

WHEN: MONDAY NIGHTS

PLACE:OCEAN GROVE NETBALL COURTS, SHELL ROAD

TIME:4-5PM

DATE: 2MAY – 20JUNE  (8 WEEKS)

COST: $98.00

AGE: SET. 7-8YRS.   GO. 9-10YRS

CONTACT KERRY.  0404011635 FOR ENQUIRIES

 LINK TO REGISTER;

https://netball-registration.worldsportaction.com/userRegistration?organisationId=b56e5031-19eb-4a2f-92d5-59f2408f55f7&competitionId=c9631508-44e3-4508-ab9a-51836540a3d8