2024 Week 9 Newsletter - Term 1

WEEKLY FOCUS - Harmony Week

From the Principal - A Milestone for our Church.

Dear families

Welcome to Harmony Week!

As one of the world's most successful multicultural countries, this is an important annual celebration of the cultural diversity that is at the heart of who we are.

Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, from the Traditional Owners of the land to our most recent arrivals.   It also recognises that over half of all Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was born overseas.

Harmony Day (celebrated each year on the 21^st March) provides an opportunity to celebrate the Australian values of freedom, respect, fairness, democracy and equal opportunity that bind us together.

We look forward to discussing this important day with our Pastoral Care groups this Friday 22^nd March.  These groups, comprised of students from Prep to Year 6, are a great way to build relationships across the year levels and explore important concepts together.  You can find out more about Harmony Week at this website:

https://www.harmony.gov.au/

This year marks a special milestone for our Star of the Sea Church, with it reaching its 100th anniversary in November.

It was built in 1924 and has withstood cyclones and supported many families through the joys and sorrows of their lives.

The Parish is looking for assistance to help plan a special celebration on the weekend of the 15th – 17th November.  They are also seeking people to share their photos and favourite memories.  If you have anything to offer, please feel free to contact the Parish Office on 49721025.

We will say an official farewell to Miss Deb and Mr Ahern, who are both retiring, on behalf of the school, the students and all of the Parents and Friends, to Deb and Paul this Wednesday 27 March at 11am.  

We would love you to join us if you are free.

Have a wonderful week everyone!
God bless you.

Jennett Mullane
Principal
jennett_omullane@rok.catholic.edu.au

Position Vacant - Facilities Officer (Groundsperson)

We have extended the closing date - please spread the word and help us find our new Groundsperson.

Applications can be made via this link:

https://applynow.net.au/jobs/CER926 

From Our APRE

This week we celebrate Harmony Week.

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds.

It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.​

On Friday we will celebrate our diversity in our Pastoral Care Groups.  These groups meet once or twice a term and give students a chance to mix with students from across the school to discuss various topics. 

Click on the link below to listen to a little bit more about Harmony Week.

https://www.harmony.gov.au/stories/story?storyId=209

Be a peacemaker this week.

God Bless

Kellie Richardson

Assistant Principal: Religious Education

kellie_richardson@rok.catholic.edu.au

Reflection by Michael McGirr

The word ‘heart’ occurs almost a thousand times in the Bible, more than three times as often as the word ‘soul.’ Perhaps this is just another item of trivia but surely it gives us a clue about Christianity.

It is a religion of the heart. It gets our blood pumping. As we approach the climax of our Lenten journey, this week’s readings ask questions about our hearts. The psalm begs ‘a pure heart create for me, O God.’ Those words invite the Lord to come right inside us, into the very core of our being. The prophet Jeremiah quotes the Lord as saying, ‘deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts.’ In other words, we won’t find God’s most intimate whisperings to us just in books or lectures. We will find it when we are genuinely in touch with our core, our most intimate space. God’s love is inscribed on our hearts.

In his letter Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis speaks against ‘a culture of walls.’ He asks us to treasure the hope found in every heart:

Hope ‘speaks to us of something deeply rooted in every human heart, independently of our circumstances and historical conditioning. Hope speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration, a longing for a life of fulfillment, a desire to achieve great things, things that fill our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love... Hope is bold.’

The word ‘caritas’ means love. The work of Caritas Australia is a heartfelt response to the needs of the world, one that gives expression to our shared hope. Caritas always works in partnership with others. During Lent, as we have listened to the experience of people we have helped through our support of Project Compassion, we will have noticed that life-giving partnerships with groups on the ground in many countries make this possible.

In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the grain of wheat that must die to create a rich harvest. Of course, he is referring to his own passion. We are called to wear our hearts on our sleeves. To be led by love for others.

In Our Prayers

From the APC

As part of our continued efforts to improve Literacy for all students in our school, we’re hoping to encourage some volunteers to come in and help with reading.  

Reading regularly to an adult has been shown to significantly increase the rate of progress that children can make with reading.  With as little as 10 - 15 minutes per student per day, we can enable students to feel more confident and reinforce and consolidate important skills.   

As there are many of you who bring your children/grandchildren to school, we are hoping that there would be some volunteers who would enjoy coming into school for the first 45 minutes of the morning (starting at 8:40am) to listen to children read. Typically, you would work with individual children, spending approximately 10 minutes talking about the book they’re reading and listening to them read. You would work with the same children each week, getting to know them and watching them progress.  It would require a committment to either a Tuesday and / or Thursday each week so that a schedule could be drawn up as part of a regular school routine.  

We also welcome our grandparents and parish members to join our Reading Stars program.  If you know of anyone who would like to be involved, please pass on this information to them.

If you would like to volunteer and join our Reading Stars program, please let me know.  We will be starting in Term 2 and our inductions will be on Tuesday 16^th or Thursday 18^th April.  

2025 Prep Enrolments

Cross Country 2024

Cross Country this year will be held on site at Star of the Sea. The course will be a mix of terrain, with some gentle inclines to add to the fun. Cross Country will be held in Week 10 on Tuesday 26^th March.

As always, we will be asking for parent help, so if you will be available to help on the morning, please send Mrs Hooley an email (kim_hooley@rok.catholic.edu.au). With the event being held at school, training and walk throughs of the course will occur in PE, so students will be very familiar with the course.

In preparation for the Cross Country, Mrs Hooley has started a fitness club on Tuesday mornings, which commences at 7:50am in the top shed. Students will need to wear comfortable clothing – that isn’t their uniform, and comfortable running shoes (these can be school shoes if they are suitable).  Please remind students to bring their school uniform to change into following training.  This training will be available from students in Year 3 – 6 and will focus on building running stamina.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Mrs Hooley at the email above.

Parents & Friends Meeting - Change to Meeting Time - Tuesday 26th March at 11am (After Cross Country)

We invite all of our Parent Community to our P and F Meeting on Tuesday 26th March at 11am in the staff room (entry via the front office).  

With our Cross Country event taking place at school that day, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to gather straight afterwards for our P&F Meeting.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Our Combined Schools Musical Star

A huge congratulations to Amarni Thetford, one of our Year 6 Leaders, who is currently performing in the Gladstone Combined Schools Musical Production of The Little Mermaid.  We are very proud of the commitment and enthusiasm Amarni has shown towards rehearsals and sharing her talents on stage.  Well done Amarni - Keep shining bright!

Invitation to the Chrism Mass

For those unable to join in person, the Mass can be watched on the St Joseph’s Cathedral, Rockhampton YouTube channel -  https://www.youtube.com/user/StJosephsCathRton 

Caulfield 2024

Our Caulfield Team is looking for helpers and there are lots of different ways you can assist us.

Please contact soscaulfield@outlook.com for more information.

2024 School Priorities

IMPORTANT: Please Update Your Media/ Information Sharing Details

Dear Parents

We are asking your assistance in updating media/information sharing 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.  

This is important information that affects our ability to collect data and obtain funding for our students.

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.

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 classroom teacher  and                                                                                                                SOSG_Absentee@rok.catholic.edu.au).

St Joseph's Cathedral Appeal

Community Notices

Caulfield 2023 Sponsors