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WELCOME TO 2025! 

Welcome to the new school year! One of the many things I love about working in education is that we have the unique opportunity for a fresh start at the beginning of each school year. It has been wonderful seeing students settled and ready for learning during our first few weeks of school. Establishing routines and relationships early in the school year is imperative for meaningful learning to take place. I thank our staff for their collective effort in preparing for the new school year.  

We welcome new students and families to our school community this year. We welcome Thomas, Beau, Matilda, Koko, Pip, Sienna, Leilani, Gabriel, Katie, Aoife, Matilda, Holly, Leo and Sage and their families to Pre-Kindy, joining a number of continuing Pre-Kindy students. We also welcome Oceahna, Arthur, Wynter, Ada, Ava, Asher, Scarlett, Jax, Eddie, Max, Corbyn, Cooper, Cohen, Deegan, Billie, Stevie, Dane and Eli and their families to our school community. 

We welcome Ella Fish (Year 2/3 Teacher), Jess Rozynski (Year 5/6 Education Assistant) and Rosey Ryan (Administration Officer) to our school community. 

COFFEE CATCH UP! 

Thank you to all who came along to our coffee catch-up yesterday! It was a lovely way to begin the school year, and I thank our P & F Committee for organising this event. 

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS 

The following school improvements took place over the school holiday break: 

• Installation of new flooring in Pre-Kindy/Playgroup, Kindergarten & Pre-Primary 

• Upgrades to our Koortoomitji area and early years playground equipment 

• Electrical work, including the replacement of fans and lighting upgrades 

• External painting as part of our annual painting plan 

• The arrival of new furniture and calming colours carpets for Pre-Primary and Year 2/3, thanks to our 2024 P & F Committee 

I thank our Grounds & Maintenance team, Sonya Lawry and David Eltringham, for the undertaken over the school holiday break. 

STUDENT LEADERSHIP BADGES 

Our School Captains, Faction Captains and Ministers were presented with their badges on Monday, which will later be blessed by Father Paul. We believe in a distributive leadership structure at OLSOTS, with Year Six students not elected to formal leadership positions (School Captain/Faction Captain) having the opportunity to nominate for involvement in our MJR or Wellbeing Ministry Groups. We have extended our student leadership opportunities to Year Five students this year, inviting them to also participate in Ministry groups. This assists with building their leadership capacity and provides them with an introduction to school leadership. 

PARENT INFORMATION PRESENTATIONS 

Classroom teachers uploaded Parent Information Presentations for 2025 to Seesaw on Monday, along with Term One Curriculum Updates. Please take the time to read through this important information, if you have not yet done so. 

ASH WEDNESDAY MASS 

Lent begins with our Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday 5 March. Our Year 5/6 students will be leading this Mass, beginning at 9:00am. Please come along.

GAMES CLUB

Following a request from one of our wonderful Year Four students, we will be having a games club in the library every Monday during lunchtime. If you have any boardgames or card games that you would like to donate, it would be greatly appreciated!

BERRY STREET EDUCATION MODEL & CHARACTER STRENGTHS 

Our staff began the new year with two days of professional development. The first day was our third Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) day, this time focusing on Stamina and Engagement. As part of our BSEM work, staff have identified five non-negotiables, which are clearly displayed in all classrooms. 

1.  Begin every morning with a welcome circle: Each class begins the day with a welcome circle that includes a greeting, our CORE Values, class expectations, announcements, a positive primer and a reflection on What Went Well the previous day. 
2. Use scheduled brain breaks: Teachers schedule intentional brain breaks to assist with either re-energising or de-escalating students. Students are taught strategies to then use independently. 
3. Show unconditional positive regard: This expectation assists with building relationships for all to feel valued, regardless of their presenting behaviours, affects, or conditions. 
4. Assist students with being Ready to Learn: Being Ready to Learn means that students have self-regulation strategies and are self-aware of their readiness to begin learning. Ready to learn scales are used in classrooms to help students identify their feelings. 
5. Use 5 + 1: Educators use five BSEM strategies per day and every student has a Ready to Learn plan. 

Our second day saw staff become aware of their character strengths and those in others. By being aware of our character strengths, we can better support each other, have a greater understanding of different perspectives, and utilise the strengths of others in a positive way. Character strengths will be explored with students later in the year. 

UNIFORM 

Thank you to our parents who have supported our students in striving for Excellence by sending them to school in the correct uniform. Please ensure you have the correct uniform items, or have items on backorder if they are not available.

SCHOOL PROCEDURES 

As we begin the new school year, I remind our parents and caregivers of the following school procedures: 

School Hours: Classroom doors open at 8:30am, with formal instruction beginning at 8:40am. It is important that students arrive to begin their day at 8:30am as this allows students to settle in, engage in morning activities and be ready for the day. Students are to be on school grounds no earlier than 8:25am and no later than 3:15pm. 

Communication: Direct communication with teachers is to be via email, rather than Seesaw. Your child’s teacher’s email address is firstname.surname@cewa.edu.au (e.g. melissa.hayes@cewa.edu.au). As has been the case at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School for the last four years, teachers have two business days in which to reply to emails and are not expected to respond outside school hours. Teachers do not check their emails during teaching time as their focus is on the students. Please contact the office directly if your matter is of an urgent nature. 

Absences: Explanations regarding absenteeism are to be submitted via our online Absentee Form. 

Concerns: The first person to speak to regarding any concerns about your child is always their class teacher. If further discussion is required, please make an appointment to see Lorna Russell (Assistant Principal) or myself. 

Medical: If your child requires prescription medication during school hours, parents and caregivers are to ensure that the school is provided with written documentation from the doctor, outlining dosage and administration requirements. As the school is responsible for students during the school day a written note from parents does not suffice. If circumstances change, the medical advice from the doctor must be updated. Please ensure that medication is provided in the original packaging. 

Newsletter: Our school newsletter is published triweekly (Weeks 3, 6 and 9) and remains our primary source of communication. It is the responsibility of each parent to read the newsletter, ensuring they are kept abreast of school matters. 

ENROLMENTS   

We take enrolments for any year group at any point throughout the school year. Our Pre-Kindy program for 2025 currently has a waitlist and we have already received interest for the next few years. I encourage families interested in Pre-Kindy for this year to place their name on the waitlist, so we can determine the level of interest in a possible second day.  

HEALTH CARE CARD TUITION FEE DISCOUNT  

The Health Care Card Discount Scheme provides an automatic fee concession for the holders of eligible means tested family concession cards. This discount applies from Kindergarten to Year Six. Please ensure Tammie is provided with a copy of your current Health Care Card.  

 CHANGE OF DATE – PUPIL FREE DAY 

Please note that our Term Three pupil free day, originally scheduled for Monday 21 July, will move to Tuesday 26 August. Term Three will now begin on Monday 21 July and our families will enjoy a four-day weekend with two pupil free days, Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 August. 

UPCOMING PUPIL FREE DAY – TUESDAY 4 MARCH 

Parents are reminded that we will be having a Pupil Free Day on Tuesday 4 March, with our staff engaged in professional development. 

FACTION ATHLETICS CARNIVAL 

Our Faction Athletics Carnival will take place on Friday 21 March, with our interschool carnival taking place on Friday 11 April, hosted here at school. 

WELCOME FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

A welcome from our Executive Director, Mr Wayne Bull.

https://olsots.wa.edu.au/wp-

BLESSED CROSSES

On Tuesday morning before school began Fr Paul came to school and blessed the new El Salvador crosses that will be used in the classroom this year. Fr Paul also blessed all the staff present. Thank you, Fr Paul.

SACRAMENTAL ENROLMENT MASS  

Sacramental Enrolment Mass will be on Sunday 9 March at 9am.  All children who will be receiving a Sacrament this year must attend.  Class teachers of the students in Sacramental years handed out the enrolment letter on Friday 14 February. Catholic children in Year Three can receive First Reconciliation, children in Year Four receive First Communion and children in Year Six Confirmation. If you would like to participate in our Sacramental program and didn’t receive an enrolment letter or you have any questions, please contact your class teacher.  

2025 Sacramental Dates 

• Sunday 9 March – Sacramental Enrolment Mass @ 9am 

• Tuesday 16 September – Sacramental Workshops with Mildred Rego 
  • Holy Communion: 2:30 – 3:30pm
  • Confirmation: 3:45 – 5pm

• Saturday 20 September @ 2pm – Sacrament of Reconciliation 

• Sunday 26 October – First Holy Communion @ 9am  

• Sunday 9 November – Confirmation @ 9am 

NAPLAN TESTING: YEAR THREE & FIVE 

Students in Years 3 and 5 will be sitting the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy tests (NAPLAN). NAPLAN will be conducted from Wednesday 12 March to Monday 24 March 2025. Please put these dates in your calendar.  A flyer explaining NAPLAN testing has already been sent to relevant families. Please be sure to have a look at the information contained there. Further information about NAPLAN in WA can be accessed on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website at https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/assessment/testing/naplan/parents 

AFTER SCHOOL PICK UP

Please ensure that your child understands where he/she is to be collected in the afternoon. Please contact the front office if pick up plans have changed during the school day. 

Parish Car Park Kiss ‘n’ Ride:  Students from Pre-Kindy to Year 3 and their younger siblings only, may be collected from the Parish Car Park Kiss ‘n’ Ride gate. There is a teacher on duty at this gate each afternoon.   

Walker St: Students from Years 4 – 6 may collect their younger siblings and exit via Walker St unless their parent has parked and is personally collecting younger children from their classrooms. There is a teacher on duty at this gate each afternoon.  

Parish Car Park: Please be aware that when collecting your child at the end of the school day and leaving the school grounds, you are to do so via the gate in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) playground onto Giles St (Bus gate).  Please do not walk your child out of the Kiss ‘n’ Ride  gate as this is for Kiss ‘n’ Ride only.    

Bike racks: The bike racks are situated near the window outside the administration office. Students must wear a bike helmet when leaving the school.  

After School Playground  

Please be aware that children are not permitted to play on school play equipment after school. 

Please assist staff by leaving the school grounds through the appropriate exits and in a timely manner. 

In Pre-Primary we have had a great start to the year settling into our new class and meeting new friends. We have been working hard in our Maths lessons counting, creating collections, playing iPad maths games and writing numbers. We are super awesome at working in our groups and having fun whilst learning all about numbers!  

In Year One, we have been getting straight into our routine and expectations. We have been learning how to be an architect by drawing our designs and labelling them before stepping into the builders role and constructing our designs during Investigation Time. The class has also been looking at our family dynamics in Religion and have loved creating our family portraits with leaves. 

Our students have had a wonderful start to Art with a collaborative puzzle project. Each class is creating their own puzzle, where each student makes their own individual puzzle piece. Their puzzle piece is to represent their interests, hobbies and a snapshot of who they are. This shows that each individual student is needed to make the whole puzzle work. There is a heavy emphasis on the importance of each student and celebrating their individuality. This has been a great way for students to appreciate each other’s uniqueness and learn new things about their classmates. I’m excited to see what our incredible students create this year.

Dear Parents,

URSTRONG’s whole-school friendship strategy has improved the social climate in schools around the world, connecting over a million kids, parents, and teachers with a common language of friendship. We are proud to be a URSTRONG School and are committed to continuing to empower your children with friendship skills.

As with last year, you are invited to take advantage of a FREE Parent Membership to access hundreds of resources – including an 8 session video series. This will allow you to learn the same language & strategies being taught in the classroom through the Friendology 101 curriculum. We hope that, as a URSTRONG Family, you will reinforce the important messages of empowerment, self-compassion, & kindness at home.

As a next step, I would recommend:

• Click here to view an overview of URSTRONG.
• Activate your FREE Parent Membership and explore all the resources available to your family (if you haven’t already).
• Explore the hundreds of resources available to you!

As a school and in collaboration with CEWA, we believe that empowering our students with these skills will create a culture of kindness at our school and we hope that, together with URSTRONG, we can support your children to have healthy, feel-good friendships.

SAVE THE DATE – Parent-Student online workshop with URSTRONG

Date: Thursday 22 May 2025

Time: 6:00-7:15pm (over Zoom)

We encourage all parents and carers to take advantage of this FREE workshop, facilitated by URSTRONG over Zoom. This workshop helps parents/carers to speak a common ‘language of friendship’ as their children, and reviews the core concepts taught in our Friendology curriculum with students.

This months URSTRONG theme is self compassion. Students will explore the importance of SELF-COMPASSION and why it’s the very first step in developing healthy relationships. Before we can have feel-good friendships with others, we need to know how to treat ourselves like a best friend first!

JUNIOR REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN 

Sign up now for the 2025 hockey season! Follow the link below to our registration page, and follow the simple steps listed. We accept KidSport vouchers for eligible children 

https://www.revolutionise.com.au/esperancehockey/registration