News from our Parish schools Dec 1, 2023

First Sunday of Advent

Siena Catholic Primary School

Siena Catholic Primary School wish the Stella Maris Parish a blessed and holy Christmas.

May the birth of Jesus bring new hope, peace and happiness to you and your family.

May this Christmas be a time of reflection, gratitude, and generosity, as we embrace the spirit of giving and share the love of this season with those who are less fortunate.
Thank you for your prayers over the year and we look forward to sharing our faith with you in celebration of the Eucharist in 2024.

Here are some pictures that Year 3 have drawn depicting the various accounts of the nativity. Can you guess which ones are from Matthew’s Gospel and which one is from Luke’s Gospel?

Stella Maris Primary School

Wow time flies! Where did the 2023 school year go?

Our school celebrations have been continuing; Christmas Carols on Conway, the School Swimming Carnival, and our School Liturgy on the last day.

In our final Staff Liturgy, we said farewell to a number of staff, all of whom have made a significant contribution to the fabric of Stella Maris. The staff leaving include Julianne Biffin, Mike Van Dalen, Michael Low, Kari Scott, Vanessa Portors, Michelle Howell, Courtney Morgan, Vicki Parker, Crystal Fowler, Nadine Tarrant, Tom Duncan, Louise Ford, Rose Burgess, Jessica Pennesi, Kristy Brittain, Trena- Jane Rowlands and Genevieve Bignell.

We pay special tribute to Julianne, who retires from our school office after over 40 years of service, and to Mike, who retires from education after a career spanning over 40 years, the last 17 years at Stella.

We also wanted to share some of the beautiful prayers written by our Year 3 students.

So, from us here at Stella Maris, Happy New Liturgical Year and we just wanted you to know we love being part of the Stella Maris Parish.

Siena Catholic College

The 2023 school year is now complete, and the final week of school has not seen us slow down.

Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have completed a variety of Worthy Siena Men and Women activities; have visited the Bli Bli Waterpark; spent a day at the beach and the movies; and looked forward to the upcoming Advent and Christmas seasons.

On Tuesday, we finalised our hampers for the Vinnies Christmas Appeal, with each of our Homerooms providing food and Christmas essentials for families in need. Throughout the week, we also found opportunities to farewell the staff and students who are leaving us to move on to new challenges and new adventures – we wish them well for the next stage of their life’s journey.

The staff and students of the College would like to wish all Parishioners a happy and holy Christmas season.