Stella Maris Catholic Primary School

Our Vision:

Reverence the Story of all People

P.O. Box 4126 Shellharbour 2529 (02) 4296 4606 Fax: (02) 4295 1885 www.smsdow.catholic.edu.au

7 February 2013

02/13

STELLA TELLER
Dear Parents and Friends of Stella Maris, Jumping to conclusions can be a bad exercise Author unknown. Unfortunately, we have all engaged in this type of exercise at some stage in our lives and so will be able to empathise with the person in the following story. In Germany there are fast food places where one may stand at high tables to eat. A woman goes into such a place for a quick lunch. She buys a bowl of soup and a sausage sandwich which she carefully carries to an empty table. She places the food onto the table, hangs her purse underneath, and then realizes that she has forgotten a spoon. She returns to the counter to pick up a spoon and a serviette, which she has also forgotten. When she goes back to her table, lo and behold, a stranger is happily spooning her soup. He doesnt look like a German; his dark complexion suggests an origin in Italy, Greece, or perhaps Turkey. And that man is eating her soup! First, she is flabbergasted. Then, seconds later, an enormous anger takes hold of her; she could have killed him on the spot! Another ten seconds later, she has pulled herself together and decides: he is brazen well, so am I! She resolutely strides to the opposite side of the table and starts eating from the same bowl. One would expect that the man would apologize and disappear. Far from it. He quietly continues to eat, smiling. Apparently, he does not understand German, so verbal communication is impossible. But he is extremely friendly and his smile is his weapon. He is not in the least bit intimidated. The strongest provocation comes when he offers her half of her own sandwich. At the end of this awkwardly shared meal, he even extends his hand to her. By now she has calmed down enough to accept his handshake. He leaves, and she reaches for her purse. It is gone! She had known it from the beginning he was a thief, and had even stolen her purse. She runs to the door, but he has disappeared. She finds herself in a very hopeless situation; her credit cards, drivers licence, and her money were all stolen. Helplessly, she scans the room and then discovers, at the adjacent table, a bowl of soup (by now cold), a sausage sandwich (untouched) and her purse hanging underneath! During all that time it had never occurred to her that it might be possible that she, not he, was mistaken. Author unknown. No doubt the woman would have felt the blush of embarrassment but what was she thinking? I wish, perhaps! I wish I had made an attempt to communicate in some way, maybe by pointing at the food then at myself to express ownership. Then the man might have had the opportunity to point to my food on the next table. Oh, I wish! So how can we teach our children not to be judgemental of other people? Well, the first thing we can do is to be careful about the way we talk about the behaviour of others. When we are not in possession of all the facts and simply rely on what we suppose, we are in no position to express a judgement. Likewise, our children will learn from us by the manner in which we deal with their situation. Will we simply take their word when another child is involved or will we bother to seek the other side of the story? Will our children learn the honour of truthfulness and fairness from us? Will they be able to rely on us as a worthy benchmark for their own behaviour?

Principal: Mr Paul Brady Our Vision: Reverence the Story of All People

There is another exercise more worthy than Jumping to conclusions; its called, Seeking the truth. Great Spirit, Help me never to judge another person without having first walked in his moccasins for two weeks. - Soiux Indian saying. Peace and Best Wishes

Prayers Prayers are requested for Mr Leslie Mace, father of Mrs Jane Every, one of our School Support Officers who predominantly works in the school office. Mr Mace passed away on Saturday night in England. Welcome We welcome Mrs Ruth Temple who will be working in the school office and classrooms whilst Mrs Every is on leave. Thank You Mrs Vanessa Orlandi has tended her resignation as P & F President. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Mrs Orlandi for the wonderful work she has done as P & F President. Mrs Orlandi has been P & F President twice and has been committed to supporting parents and our school. Until an election for President can be held Mrs Tracey Lockeridge, our P & F Vice-President, has agreed to be Acting President. We thank her for her generosity. P & F Welcome BBQ & Disco On Monday you would have received a letter and order form for the upcoming P & F Welcome BBQ and Disco on Friday 15 February from 6pm. All families are encouraged to join us on this evening to welcome our new families. We would be grateful if you could complete and return the order slip which accompanied the letter as soon as possible. This function is a family night and therefore children should be accompanied by their parents. Kinder Enrolments 2014 Application forms for Kinder 2014 will be available from the school office from Monday, 18 February. All forms should be returned by Friday, 12 April. Interviews will be held during Term 2. I would be grateful if you could let other interested families who may not currently have children enrolled at Stella Maris know about the process and the dates. P & F Meeting The first P&F meeting for 2013 will be held on 19 February in the library from 7pm. Nominations are now being called for the position of P&F President. Nominations should reach the school office by Monday, 18 February. Parent Information Nights A reminder to parents that the Parent Information Nights begin on Monday and Tuesday evening. Monday 11 Feb: Year 3 6pm Year 4 7:15pm Tuesday 12 Feb:Kindergarten 6pm Years 5, 5/6 & 6 7pm. We look forward to seeing as many parents as possible on these nights.

Religious Education News

Gospel for today Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." [Mark 5:34] All Saints Catholic Parish Shellharbour Mass times: All Saints Church College Ave, Shellharbour City 6:00pm Saturday Vigil 9.00am Sunday, 6.00pm Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption. On this day, the canteen will not be selling any meat products. This year Ash Wednesday falls on 13 February. Children in Years 1-6 will be celebrating Mass at Stella Maris. Mass times are: 9.30am Blue Classes (Yrs 1-6) 12.00pm Gold Classes (Yrs 1-6) Parents are welcome to join us. Beginning of the Year Liturgy We will be having a Liturgy to celebrate the beginning of the Year and to induct our School Captains on Tuesday 19 February at 9.00am under our COLA. All families are welcome to join us. Thought for the Week GOD'S TODAY Don't let yourself be torn between yesterday and tomorrow. Live always and only God's today. Accept surprises that upset your plans, shatter your dreams, give a completely different turn to your day and - who knows? to your life. It is not chance, leave the Father free Himself to weave the pattern of your days. Dam Helder Camara, A Thousand Reasons for Living, DLT, London, 1984 Glory Puljak - Religious Education Coordinator

Principal: Mr Paul Brady Our Vision: Reverence the Story of All People

Diocesan Pastoral Planning On Monday we will be sending home to each family (with your eldest child) a copy of the Diocesan Pastoral Planning Workbook. The workbook entitled Parishes working together explains the current and future needs of parishes in our Diocese. A letter of explanation will accompany the workbook. I would encourage you to take the time to read the workbook and respond if you wish through the suggested contacts. In our parish two education meetings (21 February and March 7) will be held and a Regional Consultation evening will also be held on April 4. Queensland Flood Appeal In aid of the victims of the recent Queensland Floods we will be holding a Mufti Day on Friday, 22 February. Children who choose to wear suitable clothes are asked to pay a gold coin donation. Whatever is collected with be matched with school funds and a donation sent to the Red Cross. Safer Internet Day On Tuesday we celebrated Safer Internet Day with activities in the classroom. Attached to todays newsletter are some tips for parents. I urge you to read this attachment as changes to technology are happening so quickly we need to be able to keep up with our children to help keep them safe. Staff Member of the Week Our first staff member of the week this year is Mrs Glory Puljak. Mrs Puljak has been at our school for three years and this year is teaching Year 5/6. Mrs Puljak is also our schools Religious Education Co-ordinator. Mrs Puljak is a creative and hardworking teacher who brings out the best in her students. She also does a wonderful job co-ordinating Religious Education in our school. Reading Recovery Reading Recovery is an early intervention for children who find reading and writing challenging after one year at school. It provides intensive individual assistance (for 30 minutes each day) from a teacher specially trained in Reading Recovery procedures. Stella Maris has successfully and continuously conducted Reading Recovery since it was introduced into the Wollongong Diocese in 1994. Reading Recovery is supplementary and additional to Year 1 classroom teaching and children view it as something positive, exciting and special. Children on Reading Recovery are given a second chance at becoming active and independent learners. It is highly successful with most children making the accelerated progress necessary to place them in the

average group in their class. The process for selection of students will be explained to parents at the Year 1 Parent Information Night on 18 February. Therese Peterson - Reading Recovery Teacher /Literacy Coordinator Changes to Partial Attendance Regulations The state government has amended the regulations regarding the marking of attendance rolls in schools. From the beginning of this academic year students who miss two hours of school in a day will be marked as a half day absence. Students who miss more than four hours in a day will be marked as absent for the whole day. Award Assembly Friday award assemblies will begin on Friday, 15 February. Class sharing will begin the following Friday.

Principals Awards
Principals awards will be given to students at the first award assembly. Student Achievement Last weekend Sydney B. competed in the South Eastern Swimming Association (SESA) Championships which comprises swimming clubs from Helensburgh to Eden and inland as far as Jindabyne. She competed in five events and she came second in all of them and did four personal best times. Sydney has now qualified to represent SESA at the NSW Sprint Finals at Homebush on Saturday 9 March 2013. She will be swimming in the 8 year old 50 m freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke. Congratulations Sydney. School Swimming Squad As a result of our annual Swimming Carnival held at the end of last year a Swimming Squad has been selected to prepare for the South Coast Carnival which will take place on Wednesday 6 March (week 6). Students who have made this squad should have received a note regarding training earlier this week. Training begins this Friday and will be held during Primary Sport time. Munch and Crunch Munch and Crunch time at our school takes place at the beginning of Recess. The idea of Munch & Crunch is for parents to provide their children a healthy alternative to commercially produced snacks because research tells us that eating fresh fruit and vegetables is not only healthy but is also beneficial for learning.

Principal: Mr Paul Brady Our Vision: Reverence the Story of All People

What can be eaten in Munch & Crunch Break ideas on what to pack Small apples, Dried pears, Dried apricots, Banana, Dried peaches, Prunes, Grapes, Carrot sticks, Celery sticks, Pears, Cherry tomatoes, Snow peas, Apricots,thick cucumber slices, Capsicum sticks, Plums, Strawberries or Sultanas. Healthy Lunch Box Award The Healthy Lunch Box Award is presented weekly to the class which shows the greatest commitment to choosing healthy food for lunch and recess. The first of these awards will be presented next week. Dragons NRL Visit Next Monday afternoon representatives from the St George Illawarra Dragons Rugby League Team will visit our school. They will be speaking to students from grades 4, 5 and 6 as part of their promotion for the upcoming season. Representative Sport All Stage 3 students will soon receive a note detailing representative sporting opportunities open to them this year. To be considered for nomination to attend representative trials for Diocesan teams students are required to return these notes to school by Friday 22 February. Indeed trials for Basketball, Cricket and AFL will be taking place over the coming weeks. Wollongong Catholic Education Office Infoline number This year the Catholic Education Office will be providing a Sports Hotline service that parents may refer to when students are involved in Diocesan Sporting events. The number and access code listed below can be used to gain access to information on sporting events such as cancellations, weather announcements, venues and times, results, etc. 1902 262 019 [1139] Max call cost $1.10 per min (Higher from pay/mobile phones). Clean Up Australia Day Stella Maris will again be participating in Clean Up Australia Day this year. The date for our Clean Up day will be Friday 1 March. On this day students will participate in cleaning up not only our school grounds but also the local playing fields and harbour foreshores. Whilst Shellharbour Council does a great job in supporting our efforts by providing rubbish bags, gloves and a collection service it is advisable for students to bring along a pair of their own gardening gloves on this day if possible.

CANTEEN ROSTER 11 Feb 13 Feb 15 Feb Melissa Nieborak, Dolores Magrin Julie Kitchener, Elizabeth Powers, Polly Metzikis Vanessa Orlandi, Tammy Klein, Michelle McGregor

Canteen On Ash Wednesday, 13 February, no meat products will be available. Special items below will be available for purchase: Wedges with sour cream & sweet chilli sauce $2.00 Fish cocktails 50c each Spinach & Cheese triangles $2.70 Also salad sandwiches & wraps are available. All Saints Parish Catechists All Saints Parish is looking for Catechists to teach Scripture in our local State schools. If you are interested and can spare around one hour per week, please call Melissa on 0408531974 for more information.

February 11 Dragons visit Year 3 & Year 4 Parent Information Night 12 Kinder & Stage 3 Parent Information Night 13 Ash Wednesday 15 P & F Welcome BBQ 18 Year 1 & Year 2 Parent Information Night 19 Beginning of the School Year Liturgy and Installation of Captains P & F Meeting March 1 Clean Up Australia Schools Day 11 Catholic Schools Week 16 Working Bee 19 P & F Meeting 23 Autumn Fair 29 Good Friday April 5 School Cross Country Carnival 11 End Term 1 for students 12 Staff Development Day

Mr Paul Brady Principal Inserts/Attachments: Technology Parenting/P&F Newsletter

Principal: Mr Paul Brady Our Vision: Reverence the Story of All People