Welcome to Term 3 Week 7 2023

Principals Report

SUNDAY CONNECTION

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Gospel Reading
Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus teaches his disciples how to settle disputes in the Church.

Family Connection

Conflict and disagreements are a natural part of family life. Yet, within our family, we have an important opportunity to learn how to resolve disagreements fairly by treating people with love and respect.

As you gather as a family this week, discuss the procedures for resolving disputes in your family. What kinds of things produce disagreements in your family? Do children frequently request the assistance of the adults when a disagreement arises? How do the adults respond? In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples the way in which they are to handle conflict within the Christian community of the Church. Read together this Gospel, Matthew 18:15-20. Invite family members to summarise the steps that Jesus proposes for resolving conflict. How might Sunday’s Gospel inform your family’s handling of disagreements? If you have time, your family might choose to role-play how Jesus’ teaching about conflict resolution might be applied to a disagreement that sometimes occurs in your household.

In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus also promises that he will help those who pray to him with their needs. Pray together that each member of your family will learn to handle conflict in a Christian manner. Pray together the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis.

While often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, the Peace Prayer wasn’t written by the saint. However, it remains a popular traditional prayer.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

SYMPATHY & PRAYERS

We extend our deepest sympathy and prayers to the family of a Year 10 student from Marist Regional College Community who passed away yesterday. We hold her family and the Marist Regional College community close to our hearts as they grieve. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.

Uniform Shop

Opening Hours

Each Tuesday, 8.30am - 12.30pm.

Orders placed via Qkr after 10.00am on a Tuesday and before 10.00am cutoff the following Tuesday will be processed when the shop is open and sent home with children on the day.

Alternatively, orders can be collected after 11.00am on Tuesday during opening times if preferred.

Update

An update on the future direction of the school uniform will be provided to the school community prior to the end of Term 3, 2023. 

Stella Stars

Sessions: 9.15am - 10.45am & 12.00pm - 1.30pm

Bookings through Facebook: Stella Stars Early Years Learning

Kindergarten 2024 Enrolments

Dear Families,

This is a last reminder to our current families that if you have children who will be ready for kindergarten in 2024, please make contact with our office this week.

Thank you

School Photos

Our school photo day for 2023 will be held on the first day back at school for students in Term 4, Tuesday, the 17th of October. Please ensure your child is wearing their full uniform for the day. Family photos will be taken between 8.30am and 9.00am, and bookings are not required.

Kinder - Grade 2 sports uniform

Grade 3 - 6 summer uniform.

Parent Engagement Group

Assembly Awards

Congratulations to our latest award recipients who have been working hard and inspiring us through actively living the school values in their work and actions towards their peers and staff. 

SunSmart Safety

At Stella Maris, we are a SunSmart school accredited by the Cancer Council. As per our SunSmart policy, students must wear their hats and sun protection (e.g. sunscreen) from tomorrow, September 1st, until the end of the school year.

Please ensure your child/ren has their school hat for September 1st. The school also provides sunscreen in all classrooms. If your child has sensitivities to particular brands, please ensure that your child has their own supply of sunscreen.  Thank you for your support.

Farewell Raelene Leaver

Last week we farwelled Mrs Raelene Leaver, one of our fabulous Grade 3 teachers, and wished her every success for her new adventures at Marist Regional College. Mrs Leaver has worked at Stella Maris Catholic School for over 1o years and she will be sorely missed. 

Book Week Parade and Celebrations

Happy Book Week 2023

Congratulations on another successful Book Week and on another year of great costumes. We would like to acknowledge and thank you for all your behind-the-scenes efforts.

We welcomed 200+ adults to the school and managed, despite the weather, to enjoy the parade as a school community. We also welcomed and enjoyed a handful of Book Week readers. Thank you for being proud and reading aloud!

Overwhelmingly, the kids look back on the week with fondness, even the reluctant ones (especially the reluctant ones)!

Seeing your teacher dressed unashamedly as a brightly oversized book character, or watching the outlandish upper primary kids parade with pride, or having your costume recognised, or dressing up the same as another: connects us and encourages us to talk about books.

 The ability to read is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children, and if each loving, silly act we do around books gives them a positive connection to reading, then let’s keep doing it. 

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Kinder Blue and Grade 3/10 Buddy Walk

Our Kinder Blue students and their Grade 3 buddies had a fun walk down to the Burnie Park last Thursday. Thank you to the parents and carers who came along to enjoy the morning with us. 

Fathers Day Celebrations

Father's Day - Lunchtime Games

Last Friday, we celebrated the parents and carers of our students by hosting a breakfast and, later in the day, inviting these very special people along to enjoy some games and reading with their child/ren. The event was an amazing success, with approximately 90 parents coming along and enjoying spending time with their loved ones. Thank you to Mrs Bakes for organising the event and all the helpers who gave up their time.

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Literacy News

We would like to share the amazing literacy achievements of our Grade 1 students! These students were the first to commence the new structured Literacy Program Initialit in Prep in 2022. This year, the students have continued with the Initialit program and the results are super exciting!

 All students have recently completed the independent National Grade 1 phonics check, and 94% achieved within the highest category - ‘fluent decoders!’ This means the children correctly responded to most words in sections 1 and 2, and they displayed well-developed decoding skills. Further information about the phonics check can be found here:

https://www.literacyhub.edu.au/for-families/what-is-the-year-1-phonics-check/

Congratulations, Grade students and our early years teaching teams!

Please enjoy this snapshot of the Grade 1 students in action.

https://youtu.be/oLOr4_0kQHk?si=YAurqMHOgj4Tfikc

The Chicken Project

The Grade 6 Construction Crew worked with Mr.Carlon to dismantle the old chook pen and build the brand new pen/run. The team managed to get all of this work done in 1 day and the chickens are sure to love their new and improved home. A huge thank you to the Construction Crew and everyone who supported the Fundraiser earlier in the year to enable us to purchase the new equipment. 

SILENT DISCO

On Friday, 25th of September, students from P-6 took part in the silent disco with D.J Blinky Bill (Mr.Carlon). This was a fundraiser and we raised about $390 for the school chicken coup project. All students looked to enjoy themselves and so did the staff! There were lots of positive comments about the day, with the most common question being, "Can we do this again?" Thank you to everyone who supported the fundraiser. 

Schools Triathlon Challenge

The school's Triathlon Challenge is confirmed for Thursday, 24th of November. Further information has been sent to our Grade 3-6 families via Compass. Parents will need to provide consent for their child to participate. If you wish to learn more, please click on the link below.

Entry forms are available online or from the school office and will be due back to the school office by Wednesday, 20th September.

School News

Outside News