Reminder – Stella Maris College Withdrawal Procedure

We kindly remind parents that it is a condition of enrolment that one full term’s written notice is required if a student is to be withdrawn.

• For students departing at the end of Term 3 (26 September 2025), notice must be provided by the end of Term 2 (27 June 2025).
• For students departing at the end of Term 4 (5 December 2025), notice must be provided by the end of Term 3 (26 September 2025).

To submit a withdrawal notice, please email the Registrar at registrar@stellamaris.nsw.edu.au, including your daughter’s withdrawal date, intended destination, and the reason for withdrawal. If one term’s notice is not provided, parents will be charged a terms fee in lieu of notice and will be payable prior to your daughter’s departure.

Year 7 2028 - Enrolling now!

Applications for Year 7 2028 (current Year 4 students) are now open. All prospective students (including siblings of current students) participate in the enrolment process at Stella with the submission of an enrolment application and a family interview.

Please note the following important dates:

• Enrolment applications close: 25 July 2025
• Enrolment interviews: 6 - 11 September 2025

The first step in the process is completing the Enrolment Register via the link below.

We look forward to welcoming our Class of 2033!

Community News

Debating Success

Congratulations to the Stella Maris Debating Team on their impressive win against Frensham School, Mittagong on June 18! Arguing the affirmative side on the topic "That the federal government should buy the homes of people that live in designated natural disaster areas," the team had just one hour to prepare their case. Well done to Lauren O (Year 9), Ella M (Year 9), Sophie M (Year 8), and Mabel B (Year 8) for their outstanding performance, quick thinking, and excellent teamwork.

Common Ground

Four students from Years 9 and 10, Ava, Charlotte, Ilenia and Ivy, have recently participated in a program called Common Ground. Common Ground is a joint initiative of two non-profit organisations, The Ethics Centre and Courage to Care and is funded by Multiculturalism NSW. The program is being rolled out across seven LGAs with the first running on the Northern Beaches and involved students from Years 9 and 10 across 11 local schools including public, independent and Catholic schools. The 3-day program was designed to educate students so they could better understand, respond to and proactively address discrimination and prejudice. As part of the program, the students formed small groups and produced a short video on an example of discrimination that they observe in society. The video was intended to provide an overview of the issue, along with strategies to tackle the discrimination.

The video produced by two of our students, Ilenia and Ivy, along with three students from Pittwater House and Narrabeen High was judged as the best video. The discrimination issue they presented on was homelessness. Their prize was a $1000 donation to a charity of their choice.

Congratulations Ava, Charlotte, Ilena and Ivy, you were wonderful representatives for Stella.

Visual Arts News

by Marisa Quick, Head of Visual Arts

Year 10 Visual Arts Excursion

Our Year 10 Visual Arts students spent a wonderful day in Sydney’s CBD last week visiting the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA).

We enjoyed the hugely popular ‘Archibald Prize’ at the AGNSW. This prize is awarded annually to the best portrait, 'preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia’, and has been running since 1921.

The girls were particularly interested as ‘portraiture’ is a major unit that they complete in Year 10 Visual Arts.

The educators ran an excellent workshop where the students created their own quirky collaged portrait with references to their interests, lives and identity. We hope to exhibit them in the school next term.

After a sunny walk through the Botanic Gardens, we visited the MCA to wander through the contemporary art exhibitions which the girls also enjoyed such as Cerith Wyn Evans', ‘In the Light of the Invisible’.

Our Stella girls were engaging, polite, and perfect ambassadors for the school; it was a most enjoyable and successful excursion.

Library News

by Jocelyn Christensen, Teacher Librarian

Unsung Hero Award

A Tale of Two Epics (Click images for links).

To a mum and daughter and their epic swapping
A fruitful bond shown by a mum and daughter swapping titles like Circe and The Song of Achilles — sharing Ancient Myths and adventures through reading. (Mature Themes)

Next to be swapped is... Iliad vs Odyssey:

Read for Your House Competition Term 2

Click Knud to hear her announce the winner.

Purpose: Encourage students to read books and earn points for their house.

How it works: Every time a student finishes reading a book, they log it under their house name

Points: Each book logged earns 1 point for that student’s house.

Goal: Accumulate points throughout Term 3 to compete for the House Cup awarded at the end of the term.

Term 2 Library Happenings

Year 11 Historiography Research Topics

Our Year 11 students have been diving deep into the past through their historiography research projects. From gripping modern events to fascinating corners of the ancient world, here are just a few of the topics they've been exploring:

Holiday Road Trip?

Sign in to Wheelers Audio and eBooks

Languages News

by Jennifer Murray, Head of Languages

Congratulations to the following students for their results in the Education Perfect International Languages Championships. Stella was 21st in New South Wales and 14th in Australia in the 501 – 1,000 students category out of 352 schools.

Showcase of Music

Our recent Showcase of Music was an exciting evening celebrating the talents of our student musicians. Audiences were treated to a diverse program of high-quality performances across a wide range of styles, including baroque, jazz, and contemporary music. Students demonstrated impressive technical skill, and each performance reflected the hard work that has taken place during rehearsals this semester. From expressive solo instrumental performances to larger ensemble pieces, the evening displayed the dedication shown by the College’s extra-curricular ensembles and soloists.

Showcase of Dance

Our recent Showcase of Dance was a celebration of talent and creativity. It featured a wide range of high-quality performances across various styles. The evening highlighted the dedication and skill of our students, with particularly outstanding contributions from our Year 12 dancers, who demonstrated refined technique and strong performance presence. The event was a testament to the hard work of all ensemble members, choreographers, Theatre staff and Ms Rochelle Jones.

Stella Grand Finals

It is finals season for many of our sports! Well done to all of our teams who have played well over the semester one and term two competitions. The Stella teams across all of our sports have trained hard, improved immensely and played well over the season.

Congratulations to the following teams who made it to the grand finals in their various sports:

Water Polo

Well done to the Open Water Polo team who won the bronze medal in the open division of the Northern Beaches Water Polo Schools Competition. The team played a great bronze medal match against SCEGGS Redlands, and came away with a convincing win!

Hockey

Our Mollie Dive hockey team went through the season undefeated! They had strong wins against all schools, setting up a grand final match against Loreto Normanhurst where they went on to win 3-1.

Basketball

It has been a very successful season for our basketball teams, with four of our nine teams making it to the grand final:

• Year 7: Green, Red
• Year 8: Red
• Year 10: Green

Well done to Year 7 Green on their grand final win.

Netball

We had ten teams playing in the Peninsula Cup Netball Competition this term. All of the teams showed a great deal of improvement over the season. Well done to Stella Red, Stella Gold and Stella Pink who made the grand final. Congratulations to Stella Pink for their grand final win.

We look forward to our Term 3 sport competitions in water polo, soccer and basketball.

Soccer

Congratulations to Jade G and Amber K who represented NSWCCC at the NSW All Schools Championships in Lake Macquarie last week. It is an outstanding achievement to be selected to play at this tournament. Both Jade and Amber played very well and enjoyed the experience. Well done!

Futsal

It has been a busy couple of weeks for our Futsal players.

The CGSSSA Futsal Championships were held at Camellia on Friday 20 June. The Stella teams both had a successful day!

Our junior team played well through the round games and semi final, progressing through to the grand final against Monte. It was an exciting and close game, with Stella ending up winning 4 – 1! 🥇

Our senior team also had a very good run through the round games, and a strong win against Mt St Benedict in the semi final. They also faced a strong Monte team in the grand final, and came away with the silver medal after a 3 – 1 loss 🥈.

Well done to all members of the team:

• Junior: Evie M, Lily C, Gracie B, Lola H, Siena A, Zoe V, Camille C, Emily S.
• Senior: Charlotte C, Ellie E, Emily B, Amber K, Jade G, Sophie L, Lara M, Lyla R

Our U14 team played at the NSW Regional Championships at Blacktown Basketball stadium on Wednesday 25 June.

The team made it all the way to the grand final in a close game. Well done to the team on coming second with a 0-1 grand final score.

Team: Amelie V, Lily C, Gracie B, Lola H, Siena A, Zoe V, Emily S, Evie M

Good luck

Good luck to the Stella students who are competing at the Northern NSW Interschools Snow Sports Championships in the holidays. Bridey C, Archie H and Ava S will compete in ski and snowboard events over four days at Perisher. Good luck!

Good luck to Lara M, Matisse F and Mya B who are representing NSWCCC at the NSW All Schools Rugby Championships on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 June.

Best of luck also to the students who are representing NSWCCC at the All Schools Cross Country Championships in week one of Term 3: Sarah C, Bella R, Amelia M, Philippa Q and Eadie P.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Australia

Refugee Week was marked by three Year 9 students journeying across the Harbour to Glebe where they participated in a Refugee Forum hosted by the Good Samaritan Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support Network. The key premise of the forum was Finding Freedom: Diversity in Community.

Penny N, Brooklyn E and Summer F were standout students on the day. They asked insightful questions and listened attentively to the guest speakers. The girls contributed thoughtful comments in our discussion and were concerned to hear that people who have come to Australia without a Visa after 2013 were not allowed to settle in Australia. They were concerned to hear that their options were to either return to the country they were fleeing, remain in permanent detention or find another country to accept them.

The two guest speakers were Sara and Abdul. Sara had escaped war torn Sudan in search of freedom. She had attained a Ph.D. and ran her own construction company with her STEM qualifications. She is currently seeking asylum to be able to establish a life in Australia. Abdul had escaped torture and was also seeking asylum. He has been supported by JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service) to gain housing and vouchers for food. As he stated that he was under such hardship that he could not even afford to buy food to eat.

Actions you can take:

• Please email Sister Catherine Norman: cnorman@goodsams.org.au
• Join with other agencies in their actions to reiterate Australia’s international human rights obligations
• Visit CAPSA’s (Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum) webpage
• Find out facts through the Refugee Council of Australia webpage
• Visit the JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service) and the ASRC (Asylum Seeker Resource Centre) webpages to see how you can help.

Brooklyn E

At the Asylum Seekers Network and Refugee week presentation, we had the chance to go to St Scholastica’s to learn about refugees and their stories in life. We learnt that asylum seekers are people who come here to seek protection. A refugee is someone who comes here who has already been given protection. We had the chance to listen to Sara’s story whose family had the chance to come here as refugees after a bombing in their home country, and how she then had to come here as a refugee. We also listened to Abdul who had a disability and how he struggled throughout his journey in life. It is important that we understand their stories and come together to help other people in need. We can go through groups that support these people such as the Refugee Council of Australia. I thought it was very interesting to learn all about the subject of refugees and their stories.

Penelope N

I got to hear personal stories from people who had to leave everything behind because of war, violence, or fear for their safety. It really opened my eyes to how tough and heartbreaking their journeys are. Despite everything they’ve been through, their strength and hope really stood out to me. I also learned how hard it can be for them to start over, having to find a place to live, a job, and feeling welcome in a new country. It made me realise how important it is for us to be kind, understanding, and speak up for people who’ve had to go through so much.

Summer F

The Refugee Week Presentation provided me with valuable insight on the life and struggles of refugees. The speakers shared their challenging personal experiences of arriving in Australia, whilst discussing the difficulties they faced in finding employment and stable housing after being forced to leave their countries. They spoke about how their lives changed instantly due to violence in their homelands, leaving them with no choice but to flee their homes in search of safety. The experience was both informative and deeply moving, inspiring us to want to act.

During term, the Uniform Shop is open Tuesdays to Thursdays from 8.00am to 4.30pm.

The Uniform Shop will not be open during the holidays. It reopens on Tuesday 22 July at 8.00am. Orders placed from Wednesday 25 June and during the holidays can be collected on the first day.

During Term 3 the Uniform Shop will be closed on:

• Thursday 31 July
• Thursday 14 August
• Thursday 4 September, and on
• Wednesday 30 July will close at 4.00pm

Please follow these links to the Uniform Shop Online Store and price list.

Winter uniforms are available during Terms 2 and 3. Items not listed online can be purchased instore.

The parents of Year 7 students studying Art next term have been emailed details to purchase the Art Pack. Art Packs are to be ordered and collected before June 25. Year 7 Art Packs for Semester 2 are to be purchased at

https://uniformshoponline.stellamaris.nsw.edu.au/collections/stationery/products/art-pack-year-7

Many online orders are to be collected. Orders are ready for collection from Recess after the order has been placed. Reminders are only sent as a last resort.

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

Week commencing Monday 21 July

Week commencing Monday 28 July

Stella P&F Trivia Night

As we head towards the end of the term, the P&F has hosted some amazing events including the fabulous Trivia Night which took place on 13 June to a sold out venue at the Manly Leagues Club. Over 200 parents and teachers attended. The raffle was a great success and raised almost $2,000. Fun was has by all.

Term 2 P&F General & AGM Meeting

Thank you to all those who attended the AGM; the minutes are below. As a reminder, our new and renewed P&F Committee members are:

• Vice President – Linda Rowe – Year 9 parent
• Secretary, Marketing Communications Officer – Catherine Fitzgerald, Year 7 and 9 parent
• Treasurer – Cecilia Lee – Year 7 parent
• Events Officer – Stu Frank – Year 9 parent
• Fundraising Officer – Jo Reid – Year 7 and 9 parent
• Graphic Design – Clare Cahill – Year 9 parent

We are still searching for the head honcho, the leader who can help pull this all together - our President. Here is the job description:

The President provides leadership and direction for the P&F by working collaboratively with the Principal and Executive Committee to support the school community. They chair meetings, ensure agendas are prepared and minutes endorsed, and promote the aims of the P&F in all dealings. The President supports fellow committee members, ensures meetings run efficiently, and presents the annual President’s Report.

If you are interested, please reach out to Sue Homann, Community Engagement Manager.

AGM Minutes

Upcoming P&F Events in Term 3

• Father’s Day Breakfast (raffle) – Friday 5 September

• Stella Ladies Long Lunch – Booked at Teddy Larkins again for Friday 19 September

2025

Term 3

Term 4