Broken Bay Diocesan Mass

Stella staff recently attended the Broken Bay Diocesan Mass. The Mass brings together all Catholic schools in the Broken Bay Diocese to welcome new staff and recognise staff commemorating milestone years of service.

The following Stella staff received special recognition:

• Marcia Charles - 50 years of service
• Elizabeth Carnegie - 40 years of service
• Jennifer Molloy - 40 years of service
• Alison Hausmanns - 25 years of service
• Alison Tedman - 25 years of service

My thanks to all staff who represented Stella at this important opening Mass.

Year 7 Camp

Last week our Year 7 students ventured off to the Great Aussie Bush Camp in Kincumber for their three day camp. Year 7 camp is intentionally held early in the year and aims to give our newest students the opportunity to step out of their comfort zones to meet new people and expand their friendship network. From all reports, it was a huge success and students should be congratulated on their willingness to give everything a go. Thank you to our Year 12 leaders and staff in attendance who facilitated such an outstanding experience.

Living out the Year of Community

At our Opening Liturgy I gave the girls some thoughts about how they might be able to live out the Year of Community in 2024.

St Teresa of Avila was a Doctor of the Church. A Doctor of the Church is someone that the Catholic Church recognises as having made significant contribution to theology or doctrine through research, study or writing. Of the 36 Doctors, only four are women.

Teresa decided as a young woman to become a Carmelite nun. She worked alongside St. John of the Cross (another Doctor of the Church) to reform the Carmelite order and return it to a life dedicated to contemplative prayer and communities of learning and reflection.

Teresa was a mystic and contributed many spiritual writings including her most notable, The Interior Castle. In this book, Teresa of Avila compares the contemplative life to a castle with seven chambers. Tracing the passage of the soul through each successive chamber, she describes the path to spiritual fulfilment.

St Teresa wrote a famous prayer capturing what it means to build community and make a difference.

Christ has no body but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands yours are the feet, yours are the eyes you are his body.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Here Teresa offers us an invitation:

• to be the change in the world,
• to be the one to volunteer,
• to get involved,
• to lead with courage and
• to make a difference.

I encourage everyone in our Stella community to find a way to pay it forward as St Teresa challenges us to do. As students, staff, parents or carers, friends or alumni, we all have a way to build community.

In a world where many people spend time criticising and critiquing from the sidelines, it's time for us to be positive and supportive of Stella Maris.

Lenten Prayer

As I enter another week of my Lenten journey,
guide me to the path that leads to you.
Fill my heart with gratitude, patience, strength, and peace
As I strive to become the-best-version-of-myself.
Help me to accept others, showing them your great love, not judgement.
Help me come closer to you through prayer this Lent.

AMEN

https://www.dynamiccatholic.co...

Open Evening - Wednesday 13 March (early finish)

A reminder that our annual Open Evening takes place on Wednesday 13 March from 4.00 - 7.30pm. To allow time to prepare for the evening, students will be dismissed at 1.30pm. Please make travel arrangements for your child on this day. Thank you to all our wonderful student volunteers and to parents/carers helping out on the P&F barbecue.

Stella Sailors Set Sail

The tides of excitement have risen as our sailors embark on a thrilling new chapter this year, navigating the beautiful waters of Middle Harbour aboard the sleek Melges keelboats. Renowned for its sporty design and impressive speed, it is the choice of boat this year. Each Wednesday afternoon our girls share their passion for adventure and camaraderie. It’s a celebration of sea, sail, and sisterhood.

Ann O’Brien – Sailing Coordinator

Community Youth Mass and Dinner

A warm invitation is extended to attend the Community Youth Mass at St Kieran's Parish this Sunday from 6.00pm.

Dads and Carers Workshop

Fathers and male carers are invited to attend a workshop, "Supporting men to connect to their teens" at the Seaforth Village Community Centre on 20 and 27 March. Further details in the flyer below.

Workshop details

Stella musicians at AYAH

On Saturday 2 March, six Stella students made a visit to the Manly Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice (AYAH) at North Head. AYAH is Australia’s first dedicated service for young people, aged 16 - 30, with life-limiting illness. The service offers respite care, symptom management, end-of-life care, and care coordination support in the transition from children’s to adult services. Thanks to Siena, Scarlett, Greyson, Bronte, Ebony and Georgie. It was fantastic to see the students in action and to lend their creativity to show support for this important centre and to spark an atmosphere of peace and relaxation for people in our community dealing with serious health issues that deeply impact their quality of life. Stella’s Making A Difference (MAD) Social Justice group will also send up care packages to the hospice and have provided artworks for annual Art events.

Sarah Metcalfe and Evan Browett

Out Front 2024 Exhibition

Congratulations to Josie Fowler, Ashley Gerber and Holly Wickham, graduating students from 2023 on their Visual Art works being selected for the ‘Express Yourself’ exhibition at Manly Art Gallery which opened last Friday. This year the gallery is marking the 30th year, where annually a selection of artworks by HSC Visual Arts students from the 20 secondary schools across the Northern Beaches are curated and displayed.

The gallery is evolving the exhibition and has renamed it ‘Out Front’ – with the 2024 edition titled ‘Out Front 2024: Thirty years of Express Yourself'. It will include a pilot mentorship program focused on supporting their transition to emerging professional creative practices. The exhibition aims to explore the contemporary themes which are of importance to young people today.

This exhibition has been a part of MAG&M’s program since 1995. Presented in partnership with the Theo Batten Trust and MAG&M Society, the program has provided Youth Art Awards to aspiring artists for 30 years. The program demonstrates the galleries ongoing commitment to connecting with secondary schools across the region and to supporting visual arts education.

The exhibition celebrates the extraordinary talent and creativity of young emerging artists from our local community and will feature a broad range of expressive artforms, demonstrating the diversity, spirit and artistic strength of our young local artists, as well as showcasing the quality of teaching in Northern Beaches secondary schools.

The Theo Batten Bequest Youth Art Award, and the KALOF People’s Choice Award are presented as part of this exhibition.

The artworks are always of a very high standard and we are thrilled for our three students as this is a great accomplishment and a recognition of all their hard work. We also are grateful for the excellent guidance from the Visual Art teachers. We look forward to seeing the exhibition through March until April 14 at the Manly Art Gallery & Museum. Come along if you can!

Prophetic Voices 2024

Jocelyn P, Indi H, Morgan A, and Bridey C were excellent representatives for Stella Maris at the Good Samaritan Education Prophetic Voices online conference held on Tuesday 26 February.

The girls assisted in filming and script writing to produce a video clip that highlighted what Stella does for their community and were able to share this confidently with the other nine Good Samaritan Education (GSE) schools in attendance at the conference. The girls covered topics such as the Benedictine value of Community and the importance of being inclusive of all. They discussed how as students they can seek out opportunities at the College to action this value through participation in the GIFT Cook program. Jocelyn P, Bridey C and Morgan A explained how Stella places an emphasis upon the need to be educated and aware of the plight of asylum seekers and refugees within our community and that not all people are receiving a fair go. Finally, the students showcased how Stella is working to assist and support the Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice in our local community by contributing artworks for their annual art show and the creation of care packs to help bring some comfort and care to people facing a life-limiting illness.

Watch the video clip below:

NAPLAN 2024

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual evaluation conducted in Australia for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It aims to identify student progression in literacy and numeracy skills over time. NAPLAN assesses what students have been learning in the classroom in their current and previous years at school, and is linked to the Australian Curriculum: English and Mathematics. They are tailored tests that adapt to a student’s performance, and are administered online.

Students in Years 7 and 9 will participate in NAPLAN tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy during Weeks 7 and 8 this term – 13 to 18 March. Catch-up sessions will occur during 19 to 22 March for students who are absent.

Students have been informed of these dates and reminded that they do not need to worry about the tests. In preparation for NAPLAN, the College will be conducting a practice test session with students during Week 6. This will provide an opportunity for students to become familiar with the online test format, functions and tools. Students do not need to be able to touch type to complete the tests. These practice tests are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked. Students are required to bring a fully charged laptop, earphones (please avoid Bluetooth devices to circumvent poor connectivity) and a pen/pencil to all NAPLAN tests.

Students can access the public demonstration site to further familiarise themselves with NAPLAN tests. However, excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended.

https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site

Adjustments in NAPLAN tests are permitted for students with disability to enable access to the tests on the same basis as students without disability. These adjustments will reflect the kind of support and assistance normally required for assessment in the classroom. Cath Douglas (Head of Inclusive Learning) will be organising these adjustments and will contact families as required. If you have any queries regarding NAPLAN adjustments, please contact Cath at Cathy_Douglas@stellamaris.nsw.edu.au.

NAPLAN tests are a routine part of the school calendar. However, students may be withdrawn from the testing program by their parent/carer for reasons such as religious beliefs or philosophical objections to testing. This is a matter for consideration by individual parents/carers in consultation with the College and a formal application for withdrawal must be received prior to testing. If you wish to withdraw your child from NAPLAN please contact Kim Naylor (Director of Studies) at kim_naylor@stellamaris.nsw.edu.au and alternate academic activities will be arranged during the scheduled tests.

The data generated from NAPLAN provides valuable insight for students, parents/carers, teachers and schools, to support improvement in best teaching and learning practices.

All students who participate in NAPLAN will receive an individual report of their results in each assessment area. The results are classified into one of four proficiency levels: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support.

These reports are expected to be available in Term 3.

Some useful links for parents and carers regarding NAPLAN 2024 include:

https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/for-parents-carers

https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/parent-information#:~:text=You%20can%20withdraw%20your%20child,a%20year%20before%20the%20tests).

Watch a video that explains tailored testing:

We wish our Year 7 and 9 students well for the NAPLAN tests.

Animals Alive!

We were so excited to welcome ‘Golden Ridge Farm’ to Stella last week for a Year 7 Visual Arts incursion, Animals Alive!

Our budding artists spent the morning developing their drawing and observation skills as well as learning a little about ‘life drawing’ (drawing something in real life)...and in the case of baby chicks, ducklings and piglets: those life drawing models were very wriggly!

Our students experimented with a variety of materials: charcoal, graphite, and white pencil on black paper to experience the different results, and experiment with tone, texture and composition.

The students had a lovely time and were thoughtful with the animals, being quiet and calm as well as doing a wonderful job focusing on the task in hand. We have some wonderful drawings from the morning which the students can develop upon in class.

It was so lovely to have the animals visit and a bit of a treat for the other year groups (and teachers!) to come and say hello as well.

Our other Year 7 students who take Visual Art in Semester 2 will also get this experience to look forward to.

Last weekend marked the beginning of three March weekend rehearsals which saw the company complete a full run of Scenes 1 - 9 of the show. This is a true milestone and the girls should be extremely proud!

Reminder

• Main Drama Rehearsals are held on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3:30pm - 5:30pm.
  
• Open Night: Wednesday 14 March from 4:00pm - 7:00pm (open rehearsal in the Drama Studio). Items to be confirmed by the company
• Upcoming weekend Drama Rehearsals are Sunday 10 and Sunday 24 March, and Sunday 14 April

Ms Mitchell will continue to send out the weekly rehearsal schedule on Fridays for the following week to all students. Rehearsals are compulsory, however, if you are unwell, please email Ms Mitchell prior to the rehearsal and we will happily work around it.

The Uniform Shop is open Tuesdays to Thursdays from 8.00am to 4.30pm during term and can be contacted via email:

uniform_books@stellamaris.nsw.edu.au

Winter uniforms are to be worn from Week 3 of Term 2. During Weeks 1 and 2, either summer or winter uniforms can be worn. If wearing winter uniform during these weeks, stockings and blazer must be worn.

Winter uniforms are now available to Year 7, Year 10 and new students who started from Term 4 last year.

Year 10 students are requested to come at Recess and Lunchtime only. Parents have been emailed details.

Year 11 can purchase the pink senior blouse.

If you require a junior or senior blazer or senior skirt, I need to see you by lunchtime, Thursday 28 March. This will allow time to place a top up order if required.

If you come after this date, you will be fitted in the next available size.

Please ask your daughter to collect their online orders from Recess after the order has been placed. Please use your daughter’s name on the order.

Please follow this link to the P&F Facebook second hand page:

Broken Bay Swimming

Congratulations to the Stella Swimming team who competed at the Broken Bay Swimming Championships on Tuesday 12 March. The Stella swimmers were outstanding, with amazing performances from so many of our swimmers! The highlight of the day was our intermediate relay team, who had big wins in both the 4 x 50m relay and the medley relay!

A huge congratulations to Jess O, who was named 15 years Broken Bay Age Champion. Zara D was runner up in the 16 years.

We have four students who have been selected to compete at the NSWCCC Championships in April: Zara D, Zoe B, Mila C and Jess O. Congratulations to these girls on this fantastic achievement!

Well done also to the girls who finished with top three performances in their events:

Jess O, Charlie C, Piper B, Emma C, Zara D, Ella B, Zoe B, Mila C and Katie F.

Good luck to the swimming team who is competing at IGSA this Friday.

Stella Cross Country

The Stella Cross Country carnival will be held on Tuesday 2 April (the day after the Easter long weekend). The races will be held around the lagoon and on Manly Beachfront. Distances for the races are:

• 12 – 13 years: 3km
• 14 – 18 years: 4km (please note that 18 years will run 6km at inter school carnivals)

Students have been sent the link to register. Anyone interested in competing must register by Monday 25 March.

A Consent2Go with all details will be sent to participants next week.

Stella Athletics Carnival

The Stella Athletics Carnival will be held on Tuesday 30 April at ES Marks Kensington. This is the first day of Term 2. More information will be sent to students in the coming days.

Peninsula Cup Touch Football

Congratulations to the nine Stella teams who played in the Peninsula Cup Touch Football Competition. It was a short but fun competition, against lots of other Northern Beaches schools including Mater Maria, Oxford Falls and St Luke’s.

The Stella teams played well all season and showed so much improvement from the start of the season.

We look forward to the NSW Touch Regional Gala Days in Term 2.

Term 2 Sports

The Sport Department is busy planning Term 2 sports. Registrations will be sent out next week. Some sports have already called for expressions of interest, including water polo, hockey and netball.

Netball: teams will play in the Peninsula Cup competition on Tuesday afternoons in Term 2

Hockey: teams will play in the Mollie Dive Competition on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings at Barker

Water Polo: teams will play in the NSSWPA competition at the Warringah Aquatic Centre.

• Year 8/9 will play on Monday evenings.
• Year 10 – 12 will play on Friday evenings.

Students have been sent the link to register for these sports.

All other registrations will be sent next week.

NSWCCC Sport Trials

There are a number of NSWCCC sport trials in the coming weeks or early next term. These trials are for students who have a high level of experience (representative). The level for NSWCCC trials is extensive representative experience. There are also strict age requirements, which vary across different sports. If you need more information, or wish to register your child to trial, please click on the link to the websites below.

Only students with high level representative experience will be approved to attend trials.

NSWCCC nominations

Please go to the NSWCCC website to register for any of the following sports: AFL, Basketball, Hockey and Water Polo.

https://csnsw.sport/sports/nswccc

AFL

• NSWCCC GIRLS 15 YEARS & UNDER AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL (AFL) - closes 12 April 2024.
• NSWCCC selections - Monday 6 May & Tuesday 7 May at Wagga Wagga.
• The cost is $90.

Basketball

• NSWCCC 16 YEARS & 18 YEARS BASKETBALL - closes 3 May 2024.
• NSWCCC selections - 18 Years Monday 13 May, 16 Years Tuesday 14 May at Sutherland.
• The cost is $45.

Hockey

• NSWCCC 15s & OPENS HOCKEY SELECTIONS - closes 3 May 2024
• NSWCCC selections - Monday 20 May at Bathurst.
• The cost is $45.

Water Polo

• NSWCCC 17 YEARS & UNDER WATER POLO SELECTIONS - closes 17 May 2024
• NSWCCC selections - Monday 27 May at Ryde, 12pm - 3:30pm.
• The cost is $35.

Local Sports Champions

Stella has had lots of students achieve outstanding results in various state championships over recent weeks. Some of these amazing results include:

Surf Lifesaving: NSW Championships

• Zoe B: Gold medal – NSW State Champion Lifesaver
• Eva R: Silver medal – Junior NSW Lifesaver of the Year
• Amelia M: Gold and Silver in the 2km and 1km beach relay events

NSW Junior Athletics Championships

• Lyla R: Gold in the U15 Steeple Chase; 7^th in the U15 1500m
• Avie R: Silver in U15 Long Jump, Bronze in U15 100m, 6^th in U15 200m
• Pip Q: Gold in U16 1500m, Bronze in U16 3000m, 4^th in U16 800m
• Elisabeth P: Silver in U17 Discus
• Erin H: 4^th in U18 high jump

All of these athletes have now qualified for the NSW team to compete at the Australian Athletics Championships in Adelaide in April.

Year 7 Social at Freshwater Brewery on Thursday 21 March

Remember to grab your tickets and join us for an exclusive Year 7 Social at Freshwater Brewery on Thursday 21 March! As we foster connections within our school community, Year 7 Parents & Carers are invited to a special gathering at Freshwater Brewery in Brookvale. Hosted by our Year 7 WhatsApp admin, Catriona Turnbull, this promises a casual evening and a chance to get to know your fellow parents and carers.

Date: Thursday 21 March
Time: 7.00 - 9.00pm
Location: Freshwater Brewery, Brookvale
Tickets: $15, including your first drink and delightful nibbles.

We look forward to seeing you there!

P&F General Meeting – 29 February, 2024

Thanks to those who joined the meeting. It was lovely to see some new faces! If you missed it and are interested, here are the meeting minutes.

Here is a list of the P&F WhatsApp Channels and the admin(s) who look after them:

Term 1

Wednesday 31 January - Friday 12 April

Term 2

Tuesday 30 April - Friday 28 June

Term 3

Tuesday 23 July - Friday 27 September

Term 4

Tuesday 15 October - Tuesday 3 December

Term 1

Week commencing Monday 11 March

Week commencing Monday 18 March