Father's Day Breakfast

Ticketing is now open for our Father's Day Breakfast. Stella dads, grandfathers and male carers are invited to join their Stella student/s to celebrate Father’s Day at our annual Father’s Day Breakfast where a complimentary light breakfast, and tea/coffee will be served.

All attendees must have a ticket, whether a parent, carer or Stella student, so be sure to include your Stella daughter/s in your numbers.

Looking forward to a fun-filled morning with our wonderful Stella fathers.

Date: Friday 5 September
Venue: On the deck, main campus
Time: 7.30am - 8.30am
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/f...

RSVPs close on Friday 29 August.

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parents that it is a condition of enrolment that one full term’s written notice is required if a student is to be withdrawn.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

The Sleep Connection Webinar

Do you know how vital sleep is to your children's health, learning and emotional wellbeing? Do you know what effects screens are having on the quantity and quality of our sleep? Don't miss this opportunity to find out strategies you can use to help your children develop healthy sleeping habits for optimal function!

Join Sleep Educator Lisa Maltman from The Sleep Connection for an insight into how important sleep is for your children - and you - and tips for making sure the whole family gets enough zzzzzzzz.

Please join us for CCSP's Term 3 sleep webinar.

Wednesday 13 August
7.00pm - 8.00pm
Presented by The Sleep Connection
(For parents and carers of K-12 school students)

Time for Dads Workshop

Northern Beaches Council is running this two-session workshop providing tips and tools supporting connections between dads and their young people.

Further details, including the ticketing link are available on the flyer.

Timor Leste Immersion Experience

At the end of Term 2, I had the privilege of participating in an immersion experience to Timor Leste, organised by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. This eight-day journey brought together staff from affiliated schools across New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, offering a powerful opportunity to witness the work the Sisters have facilitated in communities in need.

Throughout our time in Timor Leste, we visited sites of deep cultural and historical significance, learning about the country's complex and often painful history—from Portuguese colonisation, to Indonesian occupation, and finally, to their hard-won independence in 2002. Despite its past struggles, Timor Leste is a country rich in resilience, filled with people whose hope and vision for the future is inspiring.

Our group was deeply moved by the warm and heartfelt welcomes we received in schools and tribal communities, often expressed through music, dance, and song. We stayed with local families in homestay accommodation, sharing meals and stories, and immersing ourselves in daily life. We spent time in classrooms with students from kindergarten through to Year 12, assisted with medical outreach and food drive programs, climbed mountains to connect with remote communities, and came together in moments of shared prayer.

Timor Leste is Australia’s closest neighbour yet remains unfamiliar to many. It is a beautiful country shaped by hardship but alive with hope. I am incredibly grateful to the College and to the Sisters of the Good Samaritan for the opportunity to be part of such a transformative experience.

Marisa Quick
Head of Visual Arts

Year 10 Stella Students Lend Their Voices to Prophetic Change

Four Year 10 students Grace E, Roisin O’N, Natalia BF, and Alexis H represented Stella at the Prophetic Voices gathering, joining peers from nine Good Samaritan Education schools from across Australia for three days of inspiration, connection, and Social Justice action. The students were active participants and were instrumental in the final drafting of key statements they worked collaboratively to develop.

The Prophetic Voices gathering culminated in the Ever Ancient, Ever New conference at Australian Catholic University and our students were confident public speakers addressing over 150 people in the audience. They held their own with aplomb and with a quiet, gentle and assertive presence answered complex questions from the public in the final Q&A session.

The Conference marked the final stage of work that the students had been a part of over their previous four terms. Roisin, Natalia and Alexis were particularly focused upon the issue of mental health in youth today and how to tackle this from the school perspective. They developed a statement that outlined the key issue of loneliness and provided practical ideas to combat this issue that is on the rise, such as across grade connection points, a drop box to signal anonymously if something is awry and the ability to not be a bystander to instances of bullying in our community and to act with genuine empathy.

Grace worked on the statement regarding inclusive education for rural and marginalised communities. After listening to guest speakers from the remote Northern Territory it was clear that First Nations people represented high rates in this category. Grace was pivotal in addressing the key issues of minimal school attendance in the children and the misplaced “western” perspective of these school communities needing more fund raising and materials where in fact this was not the case and they required consistent teaching staff to stay in these challenging and remote communities to forge relationships and the ability to fuse Indigenous culture with the western syllabus to make their education meaningful to their local context.

Over three days, students engaged in hands-on workshops, thought provoking discussions, keynote addresses, and collaborative projects, exploring how young people can be bold, compassionate leaders in today’s world. Their experience was both energising and enriching as to how young people can lead with hope and courage. They returned not only with fresh ideas for action within our own school community but also with new friendships formed with students from the nine other Good Samaritan schools. These connections will be a genuine treasure for years to come. Our girls particularly built rapport with our fellow SGS school, Rosebank College.

As reflected by Year 10 student Roisin O’N:

“We were able to learn from other schools’ social justice initiatives, collaborate on shared goals, and truly feel part of something bigger,”

The Stella Mission team looks forward to continuing this important work, inspired by the call to be prophetic voices for justice, peace, and hope.

Watch the highlights: https://www.canva.com/design/D...

Visual Arts News

by Marisa Quick, Head of Visual Arts

We were excited to welcome ‘Kindifarm’ 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 this case a two week old piglet, a baby calf also about two weeks old as well as goats, ducklings, chickens and guinea pigs: 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 at 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 also.

Stella Maris College is proud to offer international students a safe and nurturing environment to learn and grow. As part of this commitment, we are currently seeking warm, caring families on the Northern Beaches to host international students (aged 14 - 18) on a long-term basis.

Hosting is a rewarding experience that gives your family the opportunity to:
✔️ Build lifelong cross-cultural friendships
✔️ Share the Australian way of life
✔️ Support a young student’s educational journey
✔️ Earn $430–$450 per week, plus a reduced rate over holiday periods

We provide ongoing support, resources, and guidance to ensure both the student and your family have a positive and enriching experience.

If you've ever considered hosting—or are simply curious—we invite you to attend our upcoming online information session to learn more, ask questions, and hear from current host families.

Thank you for helping make Stella a welcoming home for student from abroad!

For any enquiries, feel free to contact:

Jiani Chen

International Program Manager

jiani_chen@stellamaris.nsw.edu.au

Cabaret - Broadway Through the Ages

Stella Maris College Performing Arts proudly presents our new cabaret evening: Broadway Through the Ages.

Join us for a dazzling celebration of musical theatre, featuring an eclectic mix of iconic numbers from Chicago, Moulin Rouge, The Phantom of the Opera, Burlesque, Wicked, Beetlejuice, Dreamgirls, High School Musical, In the Heights, Les Misérables, Hairspray and more!

Enhance your evening with our special event experiences:

• Polding Centre Rooftop Sunset Bar – Enjoy stunning views, live acoustic music, and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, alongside pre-ordered dinner and snack boxes (see below for menu options).
• Broadway Candy Bar – Located outside the Star of the Sea Theatre, offering chocolates, chips, popcorn, soft drinks, hot chocolate, tea, and coffee. Open pre-show and during intermission.
• Intermission Bar in the Nun’s Garden – A charming outdoor space serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, along with pre-ordered intermission snack boxes.

** Purchasing alcoholic drinks from event bars is not permitted for Stella students, regardless of age.

Tickets can be purchased using the link below:

• Pre-show food options will be served in the Polding Centre Rooftop Sunset Bar between 5:30pm-6:20pm, accompanied by live acoustic music provided by ‘CC Tunes’. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be available to purchase.
  Access to the Polding Centre Rooftop Sunset Bar is strictly limited to double platinum, platinum and gold ticket holders.
• The Broadway Through the Ages Candy Bar (outside the Star of the Sea Theatre) will be open pre-show and during intermission, selling chocolates, chips, popcorn, soft drinks, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate.
• During intermission, patrons (18+) can visit the Intermission Bar in the Nun’s Garden, where sparkling wine, red wine, white wine, and beer will be available for purchase. Pre-ordered Phantom of the Opera snack boxes can also be collected from this location.
• All dinner and snack boxes are provided by Barbette’s Feast and must be pre-ordered. Please note: food boxes will not be available for purchase on the night.

CGSSSSA Basketball

Congratulations to the Stella basketball teams who played at the CGSSSA Basketball Championships on Wednesday 30 July.

The Stella teams played amazingly all day and achieved outstanding results! All three teams finished in the top three on the day:

• Junior: Silver medal 🥈
• Intermediate: Bronze medal 🥉
• Senior: Bronze medal 🥉

Well done to all members of the teams on these fantastic results.

Futsal

Congratulations to the Stella U16 Futsal team who recently competed at the NSW Schools Futsal Inner West regional gala day. The Stella team went through the round games and final series undefeated, to set up a grand final game against a very strong Matraville High School team. It was a very close game, with the Stella team just going down 1 – 0 in the final minute, to finish with the silver medal. The team has now progressed through to the State Finals.

Well done to both of our futsal teams (U14 and U16) who will play in the NSW State Futsal Finals in late August.

Athletics

Our athletics season is well underway, with our team training hard and participating strongly at the IGSA Twilight Athletics Carnivals. The squad has a busy few weeks ahead, with the CGSSSA Athletics on August 15 and IGSA athletics on August 22. Well done to all our athletes who have run, jumped and thrown so well at the IGSA Twilight Carnivals. We look forward to seeing you compete at the upcoming championship carnivals.

Good Luck!

We have a busy few weeks coming up in sport. Best of luck to the students who will represent Stella at the many sporting events in the next two weeks:

• CGSSSA Athletics: August 15
• NSW Touch regionals: August 19
• NSWCCC Netball: August 20
• IGSA Athletics: August 21 and 22

During term, the Uniform Shop is open Tuesdays to Thursdays from 8.00am to 4.30pm and can be emailed on uniform_books@stellamaris.nsw.edu.au

During Term 3 the Uniform Shop will be closed on:

• Thursday 14 August
• Thursday 4 September

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. Winter uniforms will be packed away on 19 August to make way for summer uniforms.

Please purchase additional junior skirts and junior and senior long sleeve blouses next week.

All blazers and senior skirts are available all year.

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 18 August

Week commencing Monday 25 August

Upcoming events

P&F General Meeting - Thursday 14 August

The next P&F General Meeting takes place on Thursday 14 August at 7.30pm in the Stella Maris College Library or online here. We would love parents to come along and get involved.

Father's Day Breakfast Raffle – Friday 5 September

The P&F will be running a raffle and silent auction on the morning of the Father’s Day breakfast. Jo Reid, our Fundraising Officer, will shortly be reaching out for prizes from our parent/carer community. If you would like to make a donation, please let us know via pandf@stellamaris.nsw.edu.au

Stella Ladies Long Lunch – Friday 19 September

Tickets go on sale via Humanitix for the Ladies Long Lunch at Teddy Larkins next week. Last year’s event was a big hit and a popular event.

2025

Term 3

Term 4

2026