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PRAYER FOR CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES:
Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch the hearts of all people,
so that they may believe in You and in Jesus whom You sent.
Look kindly on all Confirmation candidates as they listen to
Your voice. Open their hearts to Your Spirit and bring to
fulfilment the good work that You have begun in them.
May these children for Confirmation,
make each of us an instrument of Your love.
Teach us to appreciate what is holy in others,
and to be patient with what we do not understand.
Deepen our faith in the Gospel and help us to pass it
on by our example.
We pray that You will continue to guide us and sustain us.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Dear Parents and Carers
We have had our final dialogue and engagement session to report back from our Review. I thank all involved in the Review process. We have lots to celebrate. We are very pleased with our work pre-review as Sheridan Coverdale, the reviewer, was able to independently agree with our findings. Our feedback is that we are a high performing school. We have much to celebrate and then make plans for ‘even better’ as we continue to cater for a high number and diversity of students. This result can only be from the entire learning community working together in a respectful, nurturing and engaging way.
Sheridan Coverdale, the reviewer, stated that in her time reviewing our documented evidence and spending time in the school with focus groups across the entire learning community she learnt:
- The school has engaged respectfully in the School Review process
- Our Lady Star of the Sea School is open to offering and receiving feedback
- It is a dialogue School, engaging professionally, passionately, knowledgeable and competently, while supporting the growth and development of their students with a holistic and supportive approach to their learning
- Partnering with school and home is fundamental with improved communication to support families, especially during COVID-19 lockdowns
- Staff are proud, hard working, collaborative and supportive and offer many programs beyond the eight key learning areas to support the needs of their students
- Leaders, teachers, learning support teachers and learning support officers are integral to the success in applying a differentiated curriculum at this school
- The school has a strong focus on wellbeing
- Students are proud of their school, the programs offered and the leadership opportunities provided, especially to the Year 6 students
- There are numerous signs of Catholic identity
- There is a strong sense of community, and an equally strong appreciation for their environment and the wider community.
The overall strengths identified were:
- The school has a strong Catholic culture and identity, where all members are proud to belong and contribute to faith based community.
- The school’s organisational structure provides for collective and collaborative teacher planning teams that focus on offering a differentiated curriculum.
- There is a clear focus on the collection and collation of data, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy.
- There is a schoolwide approach to wellbeing with a continuous emphasis on supporting students through an embedded culture of positive education. This is reflected in the suite of wellbeing programs.
- There exists a strong sense of community with improved channels of communication, technological assistance, electronic devices and student support throughout remote learning.
We are grateful for the opportunity every 4 years to deeply reflect and be reviewed. From here we take the 4 broad recommendations on board, for continued improvement and begin to work on a School Improvement Plan for 2023-2026 based on the recommendations put forward. We will communicate this plan with you in time.
Confirmation: Congratulations to the following candidates who celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday, which was a truly reverent and wonderful occasion. Thank you to Bishop Martin, Fr Darien, Rebecca Nancarrow, Lisa Grigg, Brendan Casey, Corey Gallagher, Emily Bissell-Barahona, Bree Zivic and Robyn Walton. Bishop Martin Ashe reminded us of the great work the Saints have done over time, coming from a place of love. Where we see love in action, God is present. He called on our candidates and all in attendance, to ensure we recognise the Holy Spirit is with us in all we do, as we live our lives in witness to Jesus and make a difference in the world by our example and for the common good of all.
Tully Reynolds, Mason Poirer, Jude de Jong, Alana Atkinson, Georgia McDonough, Ebony Binion, Angus Carr, Matilda Dooling, Allister Hill, Jaxon Garrard, Jasper Day, Lani Turner, Elisa Macpherson, Patrick McMaffrey, Caitlin Maud, Kai Russell, Lily Tunks, Sonni Andrews, Eva Briggs, Ruby Brooks, Lola Brydges, Ted Cass, Mercedes Collier, Frankie Cunningham, Adelaide Hammond, Xander Hateley, Archie Heenan, Lonni Kerr, Ivy King, Sibella Lehman, Teddy McCartney, Ruby McLean, Darcy Moran, Albie Reid, Hugh Rolfs, Ava Seddon, Eilidh Sheridan, Luke Snowden, Willem Van Uijtert, Finn Wallace, Reed Wardley, Ivy Winchester, Spencer Finch, Joshua Grant, Vincent Hambleton, Reilly Pope, Georgia Perkins, Miller Reilly, Matilda Wood, Rommy Stefankowski, Cooper Levis, Nash Pascoe, Abbey Walsh, Will Wakefield, Finn McCormack, Annabelle Hipik, Ava Stonehouse, August Wood, Skye Patridge, Leonard Reid, Nate Donovan, Lily Mckay, Amelia Leonidou, Billi Janezic, Charli Janezic, Lewis Modola, Emma Robinson, Safira Talaue, Zac Buhagiar.
COVID Important Messages: a reminder to wear masks and notify school if you have a COVID case at home. Volunteer work of any kind at school with children needs to ensure that the volunteer has a triple vaccination status. As of May 23, you are only required to RAT test should you be symptomatic and returning to school with someone in the home having COVID. You must RAT test daily in this scenario. RAT tests will continue to be supplied until the end of term. We also have ample supply of masks for you to access should you be wishing to do so.
Working Bee Thank you: Many thanks to the following families who attended the Working Bee on Sunday, cleared the area around the bridge, general tidy up and enjoyed a sausage at the end along with a House point each for your team. We really appreciate the time spent together and the improvements of the school grounds. Olga and Georgiana D’Arcy, Nick Burchell, Mark Monahan, Karen, Julian, Ella and Zoe Toscano, Tara, John and Reuben Piazza, Tom, Maya and Ava Fairway, Sam Rae, Melissa and Bailey Kissane, Fausta Zanotti and Rose and Robyn Wilkin. Teneille, Miller, Innes, Elka Pasque.
Student voice in action: Congratulations and thank you to Mackenzie Fraser who saw a need and took action. Mackenzie wrote a letter with a detailed diagram to Barwon Water requesting funding for an automatic sprinkler system for the gardens. Fernando Garcia replied and visited last week with a grant for $500-$800 for a new Sprinkler system. Many thanks to Mackenzie for the care and initiative she has shown.
In Recognition of Rhonda Boyd 1997-2018: It was wonderful to finally present Rhonda with a plaque which was added to the outdoor learning centre on Friday. Rhonda had a passion for creation and the outdoors and therefore we see this outdoor learning centre, classroom and barbecue enclosure, a fitting place to recognise her time at Our Lady Star of the Sea. The Year 6 children interviewed Rhonda and shared some memories finishing with a prayer and a school song. Rhonda thoroughly enjoyed the gesture and we also thank the PFA for their contributions.
Wishing you good health and happiness over the coming fortnight.
Kerryn
Friendships & Conflict
Over the past few weeks I have been working with our Year 5 team, who have been leading students through the explicit social and emotional learning with Mpower Girls and a modified Revved Up Program. This learning aims to help children explore their emotions and related behaviours. It equips them with the skills to navigate their thoughts, emotions and behaviours in challenging situations. MPower Girls focuses on changing the culture of how children interact by exploring the themes of being a good friend, communication, empathy and conflict resolution. It has been wonderful to see the students working together and engaged in discussions around how they can be a better friend, work cooperatively with other and develop skills for when they experience conflict.
During primary school children go through many stages of making friends and along the way will experience conflict at some stage. It is very normal for children to experience conflict from time to time as this is a way of children discovering what works with friends and what doesn’t – put simply children are developing their social and emotional skills.
Some children may get confused when they have a disagreement or conflict with another person and may call this bullying. There is a great difference between conflict and bullying and here is a simple way to differentiate between them:
Misunderstanding – usually problems around communication.
Disagreement – do not agree on something and both want their own way.
Conflict – people usually want to solve the problem. Can be over a period of time if not sorted properly.
Bullying – threatening, repetitive, targeted, deliberating wanting to harm, abusive, no attempt to resolve issue.
If your child does experience conflict, this is a wonderful teaching moment to guide them and help them learn about how to get along with others. Sometimes children can resolve conflict themselves, particularly as they grow into the upper years of primary, but when they are young they may need guidance, and most importantly emotional support.
The best way to give emotional support is to use ‘reflective listening’. When we practice this type of listening, we listen to the content of what your child is saying and listen for the emotion and then we reflect back what they are saying e.g. “it sounds as though that really frustrated you when you did not get to play your game”. We can then try to help them problem solve the situation by giving them lots of opportunities to brain storm a solution without stepping in too early to solve it for them.
Conflict teaches kids:
- How to give and take
- How to come to an agreement
- How to compromise
- How to solve problems
- To build empathy
- To understand others and their needs
- How to get along in a group
- How to develop successful, loving and healthy relationships as adults.
Paul Anderson
Student Wellbeing Leader
Important info:
* Each table is made up of 10 players only
* Select your team name from the tables available
* The sooner you book the more options you have
* Book the babysitter, this night is for parents
* Don't forget to dress to impress in your best Christmas themed attire
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