OUR LADY STAR OF THE SEA SCHOOL ~ NEWSLETTER 14 …Yr 3 Parent Info Night BYOD 2016 Wednesday, 26th August Leadership Day – Yr 6 leaders Thursday, 27 th August Book Week Parade,

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Monday, 17th

August

Student Free Day

Thurs 20th

– Sat 22nd

August

Music Festival

Thursday, 20th

August

Yr 3 Parent Info Night BYOD 2016

Wednesday, 26th

August

Leadership Day – Yr 6 leaders

Thursday, 27th

August

Book Week Parade, Hall 9:00am

Tuesday, 1st

September

Incursion ‘Volleyball’ Yr 4-6 8:45am

Thursday, 3rd

September

Father’s Day Breakfast,

Koortoomitji 7:30am

Footy Colours Day – Gold Coin

Sunday, 6th

September

Father’s Day

Friday, 11th

September

Spring Art’s Auction, Hall 7:00pm

Monday, 14th

September

Numero - Interschool

Wednesday, 16th

September

Father’s Night 4K-PP 5:00pm

Friday,18th

September

Disco, Hall 9:00am

Tuesday, 22nd

September

Learning Journeys 4K-PP 9:00am

Learning Journeys Yr1-6 3:00pm

UNIFORM SHOP

Open – Thursdays

8.30am-9am

2.30pm-3.30pm

School Board Meeting Monday, 24th August

5:15 - 7:00pm

Parents & FParents & FParents & FParents & Friends riends riends riends

AssociationAssociationAssociationAssociation

Monday, 24th August 7:00 - 8:30pm

School Library

OUR LADY STAR OF THE SEA SCHOOL ~ NEWSLETTER 14 August 2015

The The The The AssumptionAssumptionAssumptionAssumption The Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven, informally known as the Assumption, according to the beliefs of the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of Anglicanism, was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life.

The Catholic Church teaches that the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory". This doctrine was dogmatically defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus by exercising papal infallibility.

In Munificentissimus Deus Pope Pius XII pointed to the Book of Genesis (3:15) as scriptural support for the dogma in terms of Mary's victory over sin and death as also reflected in 1 Corinthians 15:54: "then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory".

The Assumption is a major feast day, commonly celebrated on August 15. In many countries the feast is also marked as a Holy Day of Obligation. Our children all celebrated this great feast day by attending Mass and praying special for Our Lady and our own Mothers.

________________________________________________________________________ Dear Parents, Students and Parishioners

Learning is what we do - we are committed to learning at every level. At Our Lady Star of the Sea, all of our classes structure their work day to have two sessions of dedicated learning time; blocks of Literacy Dedicated Time and Mathematics Dedicated Time. Within these sessions, your children engage in independent and guided reading tasks. Teachers assess students to find their levels of competencies, proficiencies and skills and to identify any areas that may need extra support or revision. All learning is driven by the data we gain from different forms of summative and/or formative assessment. Students also focus on writing tasks and their learning is supported by frequent practice of learned skills, through homework, reading and writing activities in class. Through the Australian Curriculum we are required to embed ICT into all general capabilities and ensure all students have well developed and ethical ICT skills. In regards to homework, it must be stressed that it is not a time for new learning, rather it is a time for practice and consolidation of known material. Parents often ask for “harder” or “higher” level reading books to try and extend home reading, but this should not be the case. Home reading should be pleasurable and attainable, thus children should have readers they can read with ease and high levels of success. If homework activities are becoming times of tension and frustration, please make an appointment to meet with your child’s class teacher. By breaking home tasks into manageable steps and providing assistance with organisation, children have a greater chance of success. I encourage all parents to identify the ‘non-negotiable’ daily activities, like drilling times tables, spelling, reading and even home jobs like making the bed, feeding the dog. Ensure children know that these activities are not up for discussion and as such are mandatory non-negotiable. This can assist children with a more positive mindset and helps to set up effective mental models for adulthood. Engagement is essential - we are committed to Catholic Education’s mission through relationships with all.

I recently met with our student leaders from Year Six to review their progress as leaders and to gather their thoughts for improving our school. One marvellous suggestion was to

have Year Six students meet and greet at the front gate before school. So don’t be surprised when you’re warmly greeted with a happy ‘good morning’ from one of our students to welcome you into our wonderful school. I thank our student leaders Mason Payne, Harriet Wildberger, Angus Bairstow and Asha Pope, for their dedication and commitment to Our Lady Star of the Sea.

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Engagement - continued - Our spectacular SSSSpppprrrriiiinnnngggg ArtArtArtArtssss ExExExExhibitionhibitionhibitionhibition and Auction and Auction and Auction and Auction will be held on Friday, 11

th September 2015.

Tickets on sale Tuesday, 18th August from

the Administration Office. All monies raised will go towards the enhancement of our reading resources which will directly benefit all our students. Accountability is not optional - we have a personal and collective

responsibility for our system’s success.

This week we submitted our Mid-Year Budget Review. The School Board is responsible for the preparation of the Mid-Year Budget Review and is completed so we can track anticipated expenditure for the remainder of the 2015 School Year. School income is dependent on the regular injection of income from our Australian Government grants, our State Per Capita Funding, and School Fees. I wish to thank all families who have paid in full or who are making regular payments of school fees. This enables us to more effectively plan for the remainder of the School Year. Discipleship is our calling - we are committed to deepening our

relationship with Jesus.

You read a lot about differing parenting styles these days and how they impact strongly upon our children; the helicopter parent, the lawn mower parenting style and laissez-faire style, to name but a few. I’m not sure if there is a totally right way to parent but I am certain there are a significant number of things we can do as parents to support and encourage our children, to set them up for success and not failure, and to build resilience and independence. I take this quote from an article I read recently: “We have to be willing to let our children struggle and fail

and make mistakes without always rushing in to protect them

or fix the problem. We also have to be careful not to give the

contradictory message that mistakes are OK, except when

they count.”

‘Why Wrong Is Not Always Bad’ by Alina Tugend in Education Week,

May 18, 2011

Too often I see parents overcompensating for a child’s mistake, making excuses, or trying to right every wrong a child makes. These efforts are often done with good and caring intentions, however they can be very unproductive for the child. We must allow our children to make mistakes, be given the opportunities to self-correct and to know that making a mistake is not the end of the world. We learn from our mistakes and we can use them as a springboard to greater learning so let us give our children a safe environment and a place where mistakes are accepted as part of progress and learning. “Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.”

Bernard Baruch

God Bless

Sheldon Carey Principal

S C H O O L N O T I C E S SCHOOL PHOTO DAY Our school photo day has changed from 25

th August. It

will now be held in Term IV, on Tuesday the 27th October 2015.

A family photo order form can be collected from the front office. Please ensure that all completed MSP photography forms are returned to school with payment before Friday, 21

st August.

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TH ANNUAL ESPERANCE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015

I am very proud of the commitment and enthusiasm of our music and choir students. They have been busy rehearsing during their lunch breaks and after school hours. We wish all participants well for their performance(s) in the upcoming festival on Thursday 20th, Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd August at the Esperance Civic Centre, and hope that many parents are able to come and support. A schedule for events is available from www.esperancecommunityarts.org.au Erica Nielson Music Teacher CANTEEN Canteen is available to OSLOTS on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and a menu is accessible on our website http://www.olsots.org.au//wp-content/uploads/pdf/canteenmenu.pdf Please ensure you only select items which are available on each given day.

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S CORNER

Father’s Day Breakfast – SAVE THE DATE! Please join us on Thursday, 3

rd September for our

annual Father’s Day Breakfast. All fathers are welcome to join their child/children/grandchildren from 7.30am for a cooked breakfast at school. Whole School Focus – Spelling We continue our whole school focus on spelling and as staff we meet weekly after school. Our spelling program Words Their Way is a word sorting program that is a systematic study of spelling patterns. Our spelling program has not changed, rather, staff are reflecting and developing their own professional practice. Staff are kept busy with professional readings on the topic of spelling and the art of teaching it. Work this term is centred around helping children achieve fast and accurate production of words in writing and recognition of words in reading. Specifically, we’re looking at the most effective way of teaching children how to study unknown words and activities and games that best support the children with their learning of phonics, vocabulary and spelling. Mr Peter O’Mara Assistant Principal

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BOOK WEEK The Scholastic Book Fair will be in the school library from 24/8-3/9. OLSOTS Book Week Parade will be on Thursday, 27

th August,

9:00am in the school hall.

Well done to all participants for the Paper Plane Championship Cup

The Championship Cup went to Connor MaloneyConnor MaloneyConnor MaloneyConnor Maloney

Yr 1 Jake Daw Yr 2 Lachlan Butler Yr 3 Lachlan Pope Yr 4 Connor Maloney Yr 5 Ben Murgatroyd Yr 6 Harriet Wildberger

R E M I N D E R S

TERM DATES 2015 SEMESTER 2 Term 3 Students: Tuesday 21 July - Thursday 24 September Teachers: Monday 20 July - Friday 25 September *Pupil Free Days: Mon 20

th July, Mon 17

th August & Fri 25

th September

Term 4 Students: Monday 12 October - Friday 11 December Teachers: Monday 12 October - Friday 18 December *Pupil Free Days: Mon 14

th December-Fri 18

th December

*Esperance Show Fri 16th October

NEW ENROLMENTS FOR 2016 KINDERGARTEN Enrolment applications for Kindergarten in 2016 are now being accepted. Children eligible for Kindergarten in 2016, i.e. born between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012. Information regarding the school, enrolment criteria and procedures may be obtained from the Admin Office. Please be aware that siblings are NOT automatically enrolled in the school, nor are children who have previously participated in the 3 Year Old Kindergarten program. If you have children who may be starting Kindergarten in 2016 or if you know of families that have children born within the dates, please advise them it is time to complete an Enrolment Application form available from the administration office or online http://www.olsots.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/enrolment_form.pdf. THREE YEAR OLD KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM Our outstanding 3 Year Old Kindergarten program has only limited places available. These placements tend to fill very quickly. If you want your child to have the best start to their education, we suggest you submit your enrolment application sooner, rather than later so you won’t be disappointed. NB Children must have turned three years old, before they can start in this exceptional program.

RELIGION AND PARISH NEWS 1st Reconciliation Tuesday, 27

th October 5:00pm

You are invited to join our Faith Community for these

celebrations!

A C T I V I T I E S / P R O M O S PLAYING games

• Play ‘I Spy’ or other games to identify shapes, numbers and patterns.

• Dice are a great addition to any toy collection. Roll the dice and say, make or write the numbers identified. Roll the dice and add the numbers together to find the total.

• Play number games online with your child. try this website: http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/

Congratulations to the following MERIT AWARD

winners Kindy : Ethan Agawin, Oscar Harris &

Riley Stonehouse Pre Primary : Jude Antoo & Hudson Pokela

Year 1 : Nyree de Grussa, Mikayla Hamersley & Teah Riggs

Year 2 : Chevy Goldsworthy & Shani Moore Year 3 : Lachlan Pope & Taya Strickland

Year 4 : Ben Simons, Kate Smith & Ross Wilson Year 5 : Tayla Docherty & Jarvis MacDonald

Year 6 : Klay Mastaglia & Brianna Wilson

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COMMUNITY NOTICE BOARD

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Esperance AnglicanEsperance AnglicanEsperance AnglicanEsperance Anglican

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Please contact the Please contact the Please contact the Please contact the

Office on 9071772 Office on 9071772 Office on 9071772 Office on 9071772

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Ruth McIntyre Ruth McIntyre Ruth McIntyre Ruth McIntyre and and and and Joanne King Joanne King Joanne King Joanne King

CoordinatorCoordinatorCoordinatorCoordinator Festival CommitteeFestival CommitteeFestival CommitteeFestival Committee