Term4 Week 9

We farewell 2021 with joy and thanks, we thank and farewell some important people who have made a great contribution to our school and look forward with anticipation to another great school year in 2022!

Over the course of the last week, we have celebrated, acknowledged, partied and reflected. 2021 is now almost over and we have lots to be proud of. The third Advent candle – the candle representing Joy will be lit at this Sunday’s masses. It is quite apt that we light this candle at this time of our school year. Joy is the unstoppable feeling of happiness. I feel very privileged to be able to see joy every day at school and feel joy every day at our school. We are a very special school. This year has been extremely busy, but also extremely enjoyable and successful. When I reflect on what we have achieved together in so many ways, I continually feel great pride and admiration.

I hope that you celebrate Christmas this year for all the great joy it brings, and remember of course what the true meaning of this celebration is all about – a baby born in a stable to loving parents who changed our world some 2000 odd years ago.

2021 CELEBRATIONS:

The end of the year is often a time to stop, reflect and celebrate. There is much to be proud of this year at Stella Maris. We have done a few things differently and we have done a few things the same, we have added and improved, we have worked hard and we have given our all. I can tell you quite honestly that our teachers and staff are tired – and this if often the sign of busyness and giving your all – our staff have absolutely given their all this year. I thank all of our very dedicated staff for their willingness and ability to put the kids first, to work far beyond the school day and far beyond the school term. I thank them for their dedication and professionalism and I thank them for their ability to provide an education that is holistic and developmental. Most of all I thank them on your behalf for the care and compassion they show to all the students in our community.

I again thank and acknowledge those staff who are leaving us at the end of the year. To Ella Floreani, Chiara Brown and Megan Pratt – thank you for what you have brought to our school community in your time with us.

To John Sheridan, for your 10 years at Stella and your 38 years in Catholic Education. We thank you for your sense of humour, your dedication to the teaching profession and the many people whose lives you have touched in your journey.

And to our own Cathy Tilley – as I said last week at carols, if there was a Stella Maris Hall of Fame, Cathy would without doubt be right up the top of it. Your leadership, support and dedication to making Stella Maris the place it is and will continue to be has been such a great blessing for our community.

We wish you all God’s blessings and the very best of luck as you move into another direction in your lives.

And finally we celebrate and acknowledge an outstanding group of students who graduated from our school and will move on to their next secondary education journey. We thank them for their contribution to our school, and we also acknowledge and thank those families who will be leaving Stella Maris at the end of the year including the: Amirghiasvand, Arora, Barr, Gardner, Keam, Kollias, Leong, Little, O’Loughlin, Richardson, Sharma, Shorter, Sun, Treacy, Williams, Clothier, Devbhandari, Sapkota, Alharthi, Singh families.   

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents of our school for your support and involvement this year. Once again we have been challenged to think about things differently and do things differently as COVID continued to make things tricky! A school can only be successful if it is in strong partnership with families and you truly provide a great partnership. I thank all those parents particularly who have volunteered their time for our school in both formal and informal ways.

Over the last week or two, our staff have also been inundated with gifts and presents from our parent community. Your generosity and appreciation is certainly something we don't take for granted, and your words of support and love are so very much appreciated. 

And finally I thank the students. You are what makes our school great. Once again, they have stepped up to the mark and continue to impress me with their attitude, pride and joy while at school. Stella Maris is a very special place to live in and this is due in large part to the great gifts that our students bring to school each day.

Yesterday you would have also received your child’s 2021 End of Year report. I have had great delight in reading these reports over the course of the last couple of weeks. I believe our teachers do a great job with writing these reports. They are balanced, provide celebrations and things to be proud of and also areas that need further focus and attention moving forward.

2022:

On Tuesday morning, students met their teacher and class mates for 2022. As I wandered around to each class I observed happy, calm, smiling children – and teachers! We are excited about the great things we will accomplish together in 2022. We welcomed Julia Morrison (Yr 3) Charlotte McCann (Yr 1) and Kerry Zervas (Yr 4) to our community.

Next year we will begin the year with around 355 students. This number will include 30 odd families who will be coming to our school for the first time.

Next year we will again invite all families to attend an ‘Open Morning’ prior to school coming back. This will take place on Friday morning the 28^th January from 8:30 – 10:30am. Our teaching staff will be ready to say ‘hi’ and students can see their classrooms and their teacher prior to school beginning on Monday the 31^st January at our normal time.

CONCERT PERFORMANCE:

For those families who ordered a concert USB with the Matinee and Night performance this will be coming home with your child today. We hope you enjoy the show as much as we did!

AFTER SCHOOL SPORT:

Yesterday we acknowledged over 200 (yes 200) students who recieved a Sports Award for their participation in an After School Sport team for this year.

This means that over 2/3rds of our students are having fun, learning new skills and developing great capabilities each week!

Of course, this would not be possible or achievable without the enormous amount of work Mr Kym Hill has and does put in to our sport program. Kym has built a sport program the envy of most other schools at Stella over the last 16 years. We have much to be thankful to Kym for.

Next year, Kym will take a step back from this role (but still be heavily involved) as he moves back into the classroom in the Yr 6 role.

We will welcome Mr James McCarthy to our school who will take over the reins from Kym.

Some information about some exciting developments in regards to the sports program will be sent out shortly.

HOLIDAY LEARNING:

I have stated earlier how much growth our students have achieved in the last 12 months. Sometimes we take for granted exactly how far they have come. It is essential therefore that some ‘learning’ continues over the holidays, so that students come back to school in at least the same position as they leave us. If no learning is done in the holidays, then research tells us that students can fall back by as much as 6 months (or more) in their development. Literacy and Numeracy skills are particularly essential. Continue the nightly (or as close to it) reading, get your children to write journal entries about their holiday highlights and practice their numeracy in everyday life when using numbers, money, time and weight. For further ideas and inspiration, you may want to visit the web site below with some great ideas about Literacy and Numeracy development at home (courtesy of Department for Education and Early Childhood Development – Melbourne) and the CESA Home learning page:

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/parents/primary/201literacymathstips2011.pdf

https://www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/learning-online/learning-resources

HAPPY HOLIDAYS:

I’d like to take this final opportunity to wish all families a very peaceful and happy Christmas and a very relaxing, restful and enjoyable holiday. I hope that you celebrate Christmas this year for all the great joy it brings, and remember of course what the true meaning of this celebration is all about – a baby born in a stable to loving parents who changed our world some 2000 odd years ago.

For those who are heading away, travel safe and we look forward to seeing all families and students for what promises to be another bumper and exciting 2022.

Kind regards and see you next year,

James

APRIM CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

As the school year draws to a close, it is nice to stop and reflect on the positive achievements of 2021.

We as a school community can take pride in the many activities we have undertaken in the wider community to help others. Even with ongoing ‘COVID’ restrictions, we have managed to show love and support to those most in need. The level of care and respect we have shown for each other and for those around us too, shows evidence of God’s love in action and of each person showing we are truly living out our school theme for this year - ‘We are Good Samaritans’.

In our preparation for Christmas it is important that we think about what is truly important in our lives. The birth of Jesus offers great hope – it helps us to better relate to living and understanding God’s love for us. With God’s love we can become more loving and caring people.

Below I have included an extract from Pope Francis’ Christmas message from last year..

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did, and that it reminds each of us to invite Jesus into our lives.

Finally, I would like to thank each and every family for your support over this past year. I feel extremely privileged to have been able to walk beside you and your children in supporting their faith growth and learning journeys.

May the blessings of Christmas be with you all during this Christmas Season. May you enjoy time with your family and friends, and travel safely over the holiday break.

Many blessings,

Paula

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM POPE FRANCIS (Taken from his 2020 address)

Dear brothers and sisters,

“To us a child is born” (Is 9:6). He came to save us! He tells us that pain and evil are not the final word. To become resigned to violence and injustice would be to reject the joy and hope of Christmas.

In this festive season, I think in a special way of all those who refuse to let themselves be overcome by adversity, but instead work to bring hope, comfort and help to those who suffer and those who are alone.

Jesus was born in a stable, but was embraced by the love of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. By his birth in the flesh, the Son of God consecrated familial love. My thoughts at this moment turn to families: to those who cannot come together at this time and to those forced to remain at home. May Christmas be an opportunity for all of us to rediscover the family as a cradle of life and faith, a place of acceptance and love, dialogue, forgiveness, fraternal solidarity and shared joy, a source of peace for all humanity.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Pope Francis 2021

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM FOR 2022

In last fortnight’s newsletter I announced that enrolments for the Sacramental Program for 2022 are now being sought. The paperwork for this has not yet arrived however, so this will come out very early in Term 1 of 2022.

If your child is baptised in the Catholic faith and you believe they are ready to take the next step in their faith journey you are invited to enroll them for the Sacrament of Reconciliation (usually around year 3) or for Confirmation and First Holy Communion (usually around year 4 - children must have celebrated their First Reconciliation in a prior year).

VINNIES CHRISTMAS APPEAL FOOD AND TOY DRIVE:       

On behalf of our local Chapter of the St Vincent de Paul Society, I would like to thank all families who have supported the Christmas appeal this year. Your generous donations will certainly help to bring ‘Christmas Joy’ to those families most in need this year.                               

SOUTHERN CROSS

The current edition of the Catholic newspaper put out by the Archdiocese called,’ The Southern Cross,’ is available at; www.thesoutherncross.org.au

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

Kindness is the oil that takes the friction out of life.

Wishing you and your families a happy and joyous Christmas.

God’s Blessings,

Paula Clark

APRIM

Week 9 Fun

It has been a hive of activity this week with classes enjoying a range of different activities. Our R-2 classes enjoyed a fun day with nature play, bouncy castle, face paint and balloon animals, while our Year 3 and 4 classes enjoyed excursions to the movies. The Year 5s had a movies and pizza day at school and our Year 6s celebrated their graduation with a dinner at Somerton Beach Lifesaving Club. We thank all teachers for their effort in ensuring that students had a great end to the term.

Thank You

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people within our school community who make Stella Maris such a great place to be. Firstly I would like to thank all staff, for their dedication and the unwavering commitment that they show each and every day. I feel truly lucky to be able to work with such a special group of people. I would also like to thank our Stella families, who partner with us to ensure that students are happy and thriving in our school community. Thank you for your support and for the many ways that you assist us throughout the year. Finally, I would like to thank the students, who make Stella Maris a great place to learn and work.

Being our final newsletter for 2021, I would like to wish all families a happy and safe Christmas and New Year. I hope the Christmas break brings you time with your family, a chance to reflect on the year that was and the opportunity to recharge in preparation for 2022, which is sure to be another busy year!

Merry Christmas!

Ella Kirkham

Assistant Principal (Learning & Wellbeing)

Wishing all Stella families a very safe and happy break over Christmas and the school holidays! Once we're all rested we can begin to look forward to a fantastic 2022! 

Emily Hughes

Pastoral Care Support|ESO

CHRISTMAS MASS TIMES:

Christmas Eve, December 24

Mass 7pm Holy Spirit Church

Mass 9pm St Bernadette's Church

Christmas Day, December 25

Mass 9:15am Holy Spirit Church

Mass 10:45am St Bernadette's Church

* No 6pm Mass on Christmas Day