2023 Week 4 Newsletter - Term 1

Weekly Focus

From the Principal -Celebrating Community

Dear Families

It was wonderful to be able to gather with many of our school community and celebrate the most ‘normal’ start to the year that we have had for a long time.  It was actually one of the best Welcome Barbecue’s I remember attending throughout my time at Star of the Sea.  There are many possible reasons for this:

-    The awesome disco /karaoke organised by our Year 6 students and           Mr King
-    The delicious food and drinks organised by Dan and Rachel and their generous team.
-    The fact that we haven’t gathered for a welcome BBQ in sooooo long.

Personally, I think it came from spending time with such a brilliant bunch of human beings, each genuinely interested in having a great night and making everyone feel welcome.  Thank you to all those who helped make it such a success.

Our school has grown significantly over the last five years and, while it is great to see our community keeping such a close and welcoming feel, there are some difficulties our increased numbers have delivered:

Outside Hours Care Service (OSHC)

The demand for our Outside Hours Care Service has grown steadily over the past couple of years.  At the same time, it has become increasingly difficult to find staff qualified and prepared to work the difficult hours this service caters for.  We are very grateful for the expert and generous team we have in OSHC, especially to Kylie Best who has been taking on the Acting Coordinator role in Kira’s absence.

You will see that we are currently advertising for new staff and we ask your support in spreading the word and helping us grow our OSHC staff in order  to cater for the growing need.

Volunteering for Events

We have lots of events throughout the year, especially our sporting events, that rely heavily on the time and generosity of parent volunteers.  Examples of events we will be seeking help to run in the first half of the year include:
-    Cross Country 21 March (TBC - changed from the Wednesday)
-    Mother’s Day Stall 04 May
-    Junior Jumps (P to 3) 26 May
-    Senior Jumps (3 to 6) 29 May
-    Athletics Carnival 02 June

In particular, we are in need of a few helpers to cook Pancakes at about 7:30am next Tuesday 21 February.

You will need to complete the annual Volunteer Induction and there is more information about dates in this newsletter.  We encourage you to lock these dates in your calendar and help us if you can.

Prep 2024 Enrolments

We have a large group of new families seeking to have their child enrolled at Star of the Sea next year.  I am hearing that we also have many existing families seeking a place for their child in Prep 2024.  Please spread the word that the online enrolment process needs to start now to ensure we have places for current families.

Have a wonderful week everyone!
God bless you.
Jennett Mullane
Principal
jennett_omullane@rok.catholic.edu.au

Position Vacant - OSHC Assistant

Spread the word - we would love to have some great new staff join our team.

2023 School Goals

Bishop's Inservice Day - Friday 17th February - School closed

From Our APRE

Making Connections!  Our welcome back BBQ on Friday night was all about making connections – unfortunately I was unable to attend, and I feel like I missed something special.  I hope you got the chance to connect with someone new at the BBQ. From all reports it was a great night.

Building relationships may be the most important thing we do with our students at the beginning of the year.  Predictable routines and trust take time to build and there is evidence to suggest that if students don’t feel safe in their learning environment, then they are unable to learn.

I am joining classrooms at the moment for their morning routine and it is great to be part of the wonderful welcome that teachers give to their students each morning.

Make a connection this week.

God Bless

Kellie Richardson

Assistant Principal: Religious Education

kellie_richardson@rok.catholic.edu.au

CATHOLIC IDENTITY

This statue sits at the front of our office – I wonder if you have ever thought about the story behind this beautiful piece of artwork?  Mrs Mullane purchased this statue for our school on a Pilgrimage to the Holy Lands.  Sure, it is nice to look at, but there is more to the story of this statue.

 It was brought in Bethlehem from a business that gives opportunities for local Palestinian Christians to share their creations. 

 The statue is made from the trunk of an Olive Tree and is very special being one solid piece of wood.  Olive trees are very important to the people in the Holy Land and across that area of the world.

 The statue depicts Jesus as a child with the family that nurtured and cared for him – Mary, His mother and Joseph, His stepfather.  It reminds us of how special and important God believes families are that He gave his own Son a family to care for Him and to pray for all of us as well.

In Our Prayers

From the APC

ORAL LANGUAGE

The development of literacy begins through the use of spoken language. Oral language development is not simply teaching children to speak. Oral language development must focus on students’ ability to communicate more effectively. Oral language involves thinking, knowledge, and skills that develop across the lifespan.

Oral language provides a means to observe children as they learn to construct conceptual meanings through words. Children who are developing language appropriately will demonstrate an increasingly complex use of words in explanations, discussions and interactions.

 By school age, most children will generally have a tremendous vocabulary (relative and relevant to their experiences), will use irregular noun and verb forms (eg: tooth - teeth n.; find - found v.), can talk with adults using four to eight word sentences, giggle over nonsense words, engage in imaginative play using complex oral scripts, tell longer stories and recount the day’s events in sequence.

In the first years of school, students need to listen critically and respond appropriately to oral communication.

In our Prep classes the following skills are developed

Speaking

• retell personal events and experiences to peers and known adults
• share feelings and thoughts (about the events and characters in text)
• retell key details or points from a text viewed or heard
• use appropriate or mainly appropriate word order
• use appropriate volume for small audiences
• use rehearsed phrases to introduce themselves (Good morning, my name is …)

Listening

• listen actively to short texts consisting of a few sentences
• recall one or two ideas
• respond to simple statements, commands or questions
• use a small range of listening strategies (asking what, when, why questions
• discriminate individual words in a short, spoken sentence
• identify familiar objects and actions heard in a text

Then developing into Year 1

Speaking

• speak audibly and clearly to a familiar audience (own class)
• make short presentations using a few connected sentences,
• use some extended sentences
• organise key ideas in logical sequence
• provide some supporting details
• express causal relationships (when the egg cracked the chicken came out)
• provide simple justifications (I chose cherries because they are red)
• use some varying intonation or volume for emphasis
• regulate pace with pausing

Listening

• respond to simple and predictable texts
• recalls specific information from a spoken text
• respond to literal questions about a spoken text
• experiment with a small range of listening strategies
• use learnt vocabulary and simple adjectives to recount key ideas from a text

Taken from the Diocesan Curriculum - Teaching and Learning Site.

I encourage all parents to look through the list above and then encourage similar scenarios at home to improve your children’s oral language skills.  No matter the age of your children, it is important to still encourage progression in their oral language.

Have a great week.

Anthony King

Assistant Principal: Curriculum

anthony_king@rok.catholic.edu.au

School Fees Term 1

Term 1 school fees were sent out earlier this month.

If you haven’t yet received your fees, please contact the office. (Please also check your junk email in case the fees were directed there. They are sent from the sosg_finance@rok.catholic.edu.au email address).

FEES FOR TERM 1 ARE DUE FRIDAY 17^th FEBRUARY

If you currently hold a Centrelink Health Care or Concession Card, you may be eligible for a discount on your school fees. If you have such a card and not currently receiving the discount on your fees, please contact the finance office to confirm if your card is eligible.

If you have not received your fees, or feel that you will not be able to pay your fees by the due date, please contact the office on 49721305 or sosg_finance@rok.catholic.edu.au 

Thank you 

Kaddie Dawe – Finance Officer

Volunteer Inductions

ARE YOU PLANNING ON HELPING IN THE CLASSROOM OR AT SCHOOL EVENTS SUCH AS OUR CROSS COUNTRY?

You will need to join us for a Volunteer Induction first please!
 
These inductions do not take long but serve a very important purpose in helping us to provide a safe and supportive environment for your child.

Please note that this is an Annual Induction that must be completed each year.

Join us if you can in the staffroom at the following times:

Thursday 16 February @ 8:40am

Monday 20 February @ 2:40pm

Tuesday 21 Febuary @ 7:15am

Monday 27 February @ 9:00am (after assembly)

Friday 3 March @ 2:30pm

Parent Information Sessions

Our Parent Information Sessions continue this week and we encourage you to attend if at all possible as these sessions provide a valuable opportunity to meet your child's teacher and learn a little about routines and expectations for the year.  We thank you for your flexibility and understanding with the postponement of a number of these sessions last week.

Week 4
Tuesday 14 Feb @ 4:30pm - Year 2B

Tuesday 14 Feb @ 4:45pm - Year 1A & 1B

Tuesday 14 Feb @ 5:00pm - Year 5A & 5B

Please Update Your Media Details

Dear Parents

We are asking your assistance in updating media consent for your child/ren.

Our system has been updated with more options that give us clarity with the myriad different ways your child's details can possibly be used.  If you completed a paper copy of the enrolment form, you will definitely need to update these media consent details please.  Parents who completed an online application are also asked to check their child's current media permissions to ensure it is correct.

This is a very quick task completed through Parent Lounge and below are some instructions to guide you with this task.  You will need to complete this task for each child you have at Star of the Sea please.

We appreciate your help in ensuring we have the correct information for your child/ren.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Fundraiser

Our Year 6 classes have kindly offered to help raise money for Project Compassion by selling pancakes.  Please support them if you can.

Position Vacant - Parish Finance Secretary

Our parish is seeking to employ a Finance/Administration Officer and is calling for applications.

The role is part-time (3 days a week) and provides assistance to the Parish Priest in the administrative tasks of the parish.
 
 Principal duties include:
• General book-keeping and management of parish financial giving program
• Payment of parish expenditure
• Record keeping for parish finance council meetings
• Liaising with contractors and suppliers for maintenance and property matters
• Providing general admin/secretarial work in a job-sharing arrangement with another admin officer

The position would be suitable for someone with book-keeping experience or knowledge (especially of MYOB software), who is proficient with Microsoft Office software and is well-organised and attentive to detail.

A familiarity with some aspects of parish life and practice will be an advantage.  The successful applicant will be provided with in-house training and a hand-over period during which  s/he will work with existing staff.

A copy of the full position description and instructions for applying can be obtained by contacting the parish office (sosgladstone@rok.catholic.net.au or 49721025). Applications should be submitted no later than 10th March 2023.

Keep up to date on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/sosparishgladstone

Please do not hesitate to contact the parish office on 4972 1025 if we can be of any assistance.

2024 Prep Applications now open for Existing Families

We are experiencing strong demand for our 2024 Prep classes and do not want our existing families to miss out.  Please ensure you have registered your interest in enrolling your child for next year's Prep cohort by submitting your application online:

http://www.staroftheseagladstone.qld.edu.au/enrolment/enrolment-information.html 

Tuckshop News

Our Tuckshop is up and running for the year and we are grateful for the enthusiasm and commitment that our convenors, Julie and Witney-Bre, give to this school service.  It has already proven to be popular and we remind you of a few rules.

- Preps are not permitted to buy directly from the Tuckshop with coins and cash.  Their orders (including iceblocks) need to be preordered through Flexischools or via a Tuckshop Bag please.  We would prefer Year One and Two preorder their iceblocks etc as well.

- There is a limit on the number of iceblocks that students can buy.  Please ensure they are not sent to school with excessive amounts of money to use.

Student of the Week Award

Free Seminar for Parents - Talking to your child about Respectful Relationships

Catholic School Parents Qld is the over arching organisation for our Parents and Friends.  As part of their goal to engage and support parents in their important role they have organised this free webinar with Robyn Rosengrave.  We hope you find it very valuable.

Family Name Labels to use in your car for drive through pick up in the afternoon

Having your child's surname clearly printed and placed where it can be seen on the sunvisor or dash helps us find your child quickly and speed up the collection process in the afternoons.

In the past we have printed names for all families in our school – if you would like us to send home a label for your car to be used at pick up please email us and we will get one ready for you and send it home.

Email kellie_richardson@rok.catholic.edu.au if you make the subject SCHOOL PICK UP SIGN we will know to make one and send it home for your use.

2023 Port Curtis Sport Information

There has been an update to the Port Curtis Sport 10-12yrs Student/Parent process for 2023 as follows:

•    Student receives trial information from Sports Co/Sport contact.  Do not nominate until you have been instructed to do so please.

•    Students who wish to nominate MUST complete online permission booklet, link: https://capsport.eq.edu.au/supportandresources/formsanddocuments/documents/representative%20school%20sport%20permission%20details%20booklet.pdf 

•    Print completed booklet and sign sections where marked.

•    If you are unable to access or print, school sport contacts will be able to assist.  We encourage you where possible to fill the form in electronically to assist with legibility and accuracy of documents.

•    Once student and parent has signed all necessary sections, the completed booklet is to be handed into sports co/sport contact.

•    Sports co/sport contact will sign and obtain Principal signature.

•    Form will then be given back to students.

•    Students must hand in the completed and signed booklet to the team manager at the PC trials.  No booklet = no trial.

•    This same booklet will be passed on by team managers from one level to the next level as students progress through the representative sport program.

•    If any details change after this booklet has been submitted, a change of details form will need to be completed and handed in to the team manager, link: https://capsport.eq.edu.au/supportandresources/formsanddocuments/documents/representative%20school%20sport%20change%20of%20details%20form.pdf 

In addition to this process change, the team levy has now been removed as per the below letter.

Student Absentee Line

If your child is not attending school, you can call us, 24/7, to leave a message to report the absence. The  phone number is 4994 8301.  

This designated phone line gives you the opportunity to call the school at a time that is convenient to you.

As always, absences can be reported using Parent Lounge or by emailing your child’s teacher and  SOSG_Absentee@rok.catholic.edu.au).

46th Gladstone Harbour Festival Fun Run

Thank you to our Caulfield Sponsors