Dear Parents and Carers,

As we embrace the beauty of our natural environment in August, we find ourselves preparing to celebrate a significant and joyous event in the Catholic Church: the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. On August 15th, we commemorate the belief that at the end of her earthly life, Mary was taken up, body and soul, into heaven. The Assumption is a powerful reminder of God's immense love for us and the ultimate hope of eternal life. It also offers us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our school's values: joy, compassion, respect, and creativity.

We see our school vision, "St Mary's Star of the Sea, Milton is a supportive community of learners, living Christ’s love through faith in action," come to life every day. Each morning at our school assembly, a student is chosen to lead our school prayer and to name another student who embodies one of our school values. It is a great honor to be recognised in this way, and it gives our community a clear indication of how students are living our vision.

Last week, we saw this vision in action at our inaugural Lip Sync Competition. This wonderful celebration was a fundraiser for Safe Waters, a shelter for the homeless in our community. The competitors worked so hard to put together their acts, showing great creativity and courage, all for a great cause. We were pleased to be able to send $300 to Safe Waters, and more importantly, our students and families stepped up for those in our community who are vulnerable.

Enormous congratulations to our Athletics Team who competed at the South Coast Diocesan Athletics Carnival in Wollongong. Congratulations to Adele in Year 5, who was named the 11-year-old girl champion on the day. Eight of our students also qualified for the next level of trials, which is a great achievement. We are especially proud that our school was named the Small School Champion on the day. Congratulations to all of our competitors who represented our school with such enthusiasm and pride! Good luck to our competitors for the carnival next Tuesday! 

We are looking forward to Book Week celebrations next week, culminating in our Book Week Costume Walk next Friday morning. After the 'walk', we invite all parents and friends to join us in the classrooms to share a book with your child and their friends. Thank you to Mrs Collins for organizing a fun-filled week to celebrate books and reading!

I look forward to seeing you in our school next week.

Lindy Nelson
Principal