Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School Gladstone eNewsletter

From the Principal - Many Ways To Shine

Dear families

Happy Feast Day everyone!
This Friday we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary who we look to as an example of someone who answered God’s call to be all He created her to be.

We are called to be the same, not hiding our light and feeling unworthy, but shining out the gifts we have in order to bring God’s love to the world in many different ways. I have always loved the following story which illustrates this perfectly:

One evening a man took a small candle from a box and began to climb a long winding stairway.

“Where are we going?” asked the candle.
“We’re going up higher than a house to show the ships the way to the harbour.”
“But no ship in the harbour could ever see my light. My light is so very small.” the candle said.
“If your light is small, just keep on burning brightly and leave the rest to me,” said the man.

When they reached the top of the long stairs, they came to a large lamp. Then he took the little candle and lit the lamp. Soon the large, polished mirrors behind the lamp sent beams of light out across the miles of sea.

We are God’s candle. Our job is to keep on shining. The success of our work is in His hands. A tiny candle or match can start a forest fire. The little flame of your good example can change the lives of others without you knowing it.

There is so much to love about Star of the Sea – our story, our traditions, our namesake and our motto. Most special of all is our people. Each of us contributes a valuable page in our school’s story.

Thank you all for the many ways you shine your light within our school community. Please feel free to join us for our Feast Day Mass this Friday at 9am if you can. More information about our Feast Day celebrations is included in this newsletter.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

God bless you.

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

Star of the Sea Caulfield 50/50 Raffle Tickets

We ask your support in promoting and selling tickets in our 2025 major fundraiser.

Fifty percent of the funds raised will go directly to our school to support the provision of quality learning and play experiences for our students. The other fifty percent will go to the one lucky winner with a minimum prize of at least $2,000.

The winning ticket will be drawn at our Caulfield Event on Saturday 18th October.

Tickets are now due back at school please.

If you are unable to sell your tickets, we kindly ask that you still return these as we can resell them. Alternatively, if you are in need of additional tickets to sell, please pop in/ contact the office and we can get them to you.

Thank you all for your assistance in your support of our Caulfield Cup event and fundraising for our school.

From Our APRE

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” Mother Theresa

Friday was a chance for staff to gather together and collaborate to consider the pieces of the puzzle that help make our school a place of learning. We took the opportunity to explore the great teaching and learning that takes place within our school.

In all we do at our school we endeavour to ensure the Catholic Identity is not lost amongst the everyday, but rather it is front and centre at our Catholic School.

Dialogue is an important part of this process and we follow the Dialogue triangle the Rockhampton Diocese has worked hard to implement.

What does this look like for us? The Dialogue model is a way of allowing students to make meaning through learning.

This model enables us to take a learning opportunity, try and make sense of it, look at the Catholic perspectives and interpretations and at the same time consider different world views on concepts or issues.

We consider questions, such as,

What do I think about this?
What’s at the heart of the this topic for the Catholic Church?
Are there hidden worldviews to uncover?
How is this issue portrayed in the media?
How is this different to other religious perspectives?
How is this learning challenging my original thoughts?
What could I do with this learning?

Life is complex. By exploring and learning together we can start to make sense of challenges or issues together.

This week we take time to celebrate our school Feast Day – The Holy Name of Mary. Mary, a guiding light for us all each day. Students and staff have been shining their lights since 1902 – 123 years of our great school.

God bless

Kellie Richardson

Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Kellie_richardson@rok.catholic.edu.au

Sacramental Information

Sacrament of Reconciliation enrolments are now open for children who are baptised Catholic in Year 3 or above. Enrolment forms are due to be returned to the Parish Office by Friday 19th September.

2025 Feast Day Invitation

Come and help us celebrate our Feast Day - The Holy Name of Mary

Feast_Day_Events_Schedule.pdf

In our Prayers

For our school as we celebrate our Feast Day this week: May we always strive to let our lights shine so that we can be a star like Mary that leads people to Jesus.
For the Marist priests and religious and Mercy sisters and all who have helped write the chapters of our Star of the Sea story: May we always be grateful for their contributions.
We pray for those who struggle in life because of mental health, poverty, sickness or persecution: May they find hope, healing and comfort and people who bring them consolation.
We pray that, through the Holy Trinity, those who have died will find their home with the Lord.
We pray for all those whose lives are affected by war and terrorism: May peace find a home in the hearts of all people.

From the APC

Child Protection Week

Every conversation matters—but words alone are not enough.

The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect - NAPCAN is committed to moving beyond talk and is focusing on concrete steps that prevent harm to children. Through strengthening prevention and advocacy initiatives, they are empowering communities to actively protect every child, ensuring they not only feel heard but truly experience safety, care and protection.

This year’s National Child Protection Week theme, ‘Every conversation matters: Shifting Conversation to Action,’ reminds us that while dialogue is essential when it comes to raising awareness - challenging harmful norms and sparking new ideas is essential. Real change is only possible when we turn those conversations into meaningful action. This year, there is a focus on moving beyond conversations to concrete actions that prevent harm and instead, focussing on strengthening support systems, and empowering communities to actively protect children.

By shifting from conversation to action, it is possible that every child not only feels heard but also experiences real safety, care and protection.

Have a great week!

Anthony King: Assistant Principal: Curriculum

anthony_king@rok.catholic.edu.au

Thank you to our School Officers

A huge thank you to all our School Officers who work hard in many different ways to ensure a safe and supportive learning environment for our students to learn and grow. We are grateful for all they do!

Term 3 Date Claimers

Parents are most welcome to attend all assembly presentations and our masses and liturgies (In the Church unless notified otherwise).

Week Nine - Child Protection Week

Thursday 11th September - Year 1 Incursion
Friday 12th September - School Feast Day celebrations beginning with Mass at 9am

Week Ten

Friday 19 September - Year 1B Assembly Presentation @ 8:35am

Sport News

Congratulations to Oliver S on being selected in the Cricket 10-12 Years Boys Team to represent Capricornia Regional School Sport in 2025.

Caulfield 2025

Parents and members of our school community,

We are in need of volunteers to support our major annual fundraising event, Caulfield 2025. There are a number of different ways that you can support the event - both before, during and after.

Any time that you can spare, whether it be an hour or a day, would be greatly appreciated. It is a fun afternoon for all involved!

Please let us know as soon as possible through the google link below.

https://forms.gle/ikBGLFduVnrGyRKj7

Kind regards

The Caulfield Team

https://forms.gle/ikBGLFduVnrGyRKj7

Father's Day Stall

A huge thank you to our Parents and Friends and all the volunteers who made our Father's Day Stall such a success. Our students had heaps of fun shopping and we hope all our Dads loved their gifts!

Andrew Chinn Concert

Andrew Chinn is a great friend of Star of the Sea who has visited us many times to share his music and his faith.

We loved having Andrew back with us last week to train our School Choir and to engage us all in an uplifting and entertaining performance of his beautiful Christian music.

125 School Anniversary Committee

In 2027 our school celebrates 125 years of learning and growth as a school. This may sound like a long time away but it is not when you are planning for a significant event such as this. We have such a rich story that so many people have been a part of.

We are calling for interest from those who may like to assist with the preparations for this event, in particular, we are hoping to put together a steering committee that will work together to get a few ideas into a plan. Please let us know if you are interested. The committee can be made up of past and present community members.

Important Information about Changes to our Parent Orbit APP

Due to recent changes with TASS, the URL for our Parent Orbit app has been changed.

Unfortunately this means that parents will need to update the App currently used.

The new link to download our school’s app via a mobile device is https://parent.tassorbit.com.au/sosg

Please not that this link is only accessible via a mobile device, you cannot access this on your pc.

It can also be found by using the QR Code below.

Wearitto Uniform Shop Opening Hours - Extended Trading Hours

The Wearitto Gladstone Uniform Shop trading hours have extended for Term 3 and Term 4. The new hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 4.30pm.

The shop is located at Shop 1/90 Goondoon Street for all school fittings and uniform needs.

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).

2025 Week 9 Newsletter - Term 3