9 - 28th March, 2025 - Term 1, Week 9

Principal's News

Dear Families,

It was fantastic to see a great turn-out for our Family Night this week, with a big crowd enjoying the STOMP performance, a delicious BBQ cooked by the Merbein Lions Club and a wander through the classrooms to take a look at how our students have been learning this term! Congratulations to our students for learning and performing their STOMP dances in just four days! It’s been a great week working with Isabelle and Tahlia from STOMP and the kids have had a ball! Thank you to all families who came along last night to support their children – it was wonderful to see the school buzzing! I hope families also enjoyed your visit to the classrooms - this is something that is often difficult to fit in during the term, so it was good to see people making the most of the opportunity.

Today a flyer with a checklist has been sent out to assist families with remembering dates and events that are coming up. We hope this helps you to keep up with all that is happening around the school up until the end of term and in the first weeks of Term Two.

Next week we will have our final assembly for the term, with Grade Three presenting their item. At 12.45pm we will be drawing our Easter Raffle, so please make sure you have sent in tickets and donations well before then. There is always plenty of excitement when students can see the prizes lined up along the stage, and we hope to have a good number of prizes to give out! Remember you ahve to be in it to win it!

School finishes at 2.30pm next Friday, so please make sure you have arrangements in place for the early pick-up. Both our NSW and Victorian bus students will need to be collected by parents, as neither bus is running early on this day.

Please note that our Easter Liturgy will take place next term on Wednesday, 23^rd April. This decision was made because it will be much closer to the actual Easter date and therefore  more meaningful for students.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and are excited for the last week of term!

Narelle Gallagher

End of Term 1 - 2.30 pm Finish

The VICTORIAN & NSW BUS WILL NOT be running at the earlier time of 2.30pm when Term 1 finishes next week 

Due to this change, we are asking that parents arrange for students who travel on these buses be collected from school at 2.30pm as staff will also finish at this earlier time on the last day of term.

We thank you for your co-operation.

Links:

Enrolments at OLSH:

OLSH Calendar:

Religious Education News

Reminder: A reminder to families involved in the sacrament of Confirmation and Holy Communion to attend the information evening at the Sacred Heart Church on Wednesday April 2nd. The yellow forms that were sent home need to be returned to the parish office on 11th Street before next Wednesday with payment. Contact the parish office on (03) 5021 2872. 

Sacramental Program: Those families wishing to participate in the Sacramental Program need to contact the Parish Office for more details.

Sacrament of Confirmation (Year 3 & Above)

• Celebration of the Sacrament - Friday 30th & Saturday 31st May & Sunday June 1st.

Sacrament of Holy Communion (Year 4 & Above)

• Celebration of the Sacrament - Friday 20th & Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd June.

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Year 2 & Above)

• Parent Information Session - Wednesday October 15th
• Celebration of Sacrament - Wednesday November 26th

Easter Liturgy: Our liturgy will now be held after the holidays so that it is closer to Easter. It will be held on Wednesday April 23rd at 12:45pm. All families and parishioners are welcome to attend. 

Flyer sent home today

Easter Raffle & Donations - NOW DUE

We already have some great donations and raffle books returned.  As always, we rely on the generous donation of Easter eggs and treats from our school families to make the raffle successful. There is a basket in the foyer of the office where families can drop their donations into. The more donations we receive, the more prizes we have to give away! 

More tickets are avaible from the office.  

Tickets are due back now!

Mother's Day Liturgy & Morning Tea

We will be celebrating our OLSH mums with a Liturgy on Friday, 9th May at 9.15 am. Following the Liturgy in the church we will join the students in the classroom for activities and then head over to the Multipurpose room for Morning Tea. 

We would love to see you all there and we are asking you to r.s.v.p. by the 2nd May so we can organise the food and activies.

RSVP: https://forms.gle/ALHb2gKsspCfNiMg8

Tuning Into Kids

OLSH Choir

OLSH Canteen

Orders need to be completed by 9.15am every Friday.

Happy Birthday

We wish the following students a Happy Birthday in the coming week:

• Lily B - 2nd April - 11 yrs

• Klara S - 3rd April - 8 yrs

• Indi M - 4th April - 6 yrs

• Colton O - 6th April - 5 yrs

Prep News

STOMP- Thanks to everyone who came along to the Family Night last night. Students did a great job with their performance and showing you all around their classroom.

School Nurse- Denise Pragt, the school nurse, will be visiting on Wednesday. Thank you to all families who have completed the forms.

Reading- Please remember to keep reading. Extra books will be sent home on Friday to read over the holidays. Please encourage your child to read during the next 2 weeks. It could be a magazine, a book from home or even a book from the town library.

Easter Raffle and Donations- Thank you to those parents who have kindly donated Easter treats for the hampers. Please keep bringing in donations. The raffle will be drawn on Friday.

Hats- Students will bring home their school hats on Friday. These will need to be washed and returned to school at the start of Term Two.

Library Books: All books need to be returned before the holidays.

Art folios- Students will bring home an art folio next week. It will have lots of artwork that students have completed across the term. Students receive one art folio and it is used all the way through to Grade Six. Please make sure it is returned ready to fill again with art work.

Holiday Homework- Next week students will bring home a pack of activities that can be completed over the holidays. If you have any questions, please come and see me.

Show and Tell- A note will be sent home next week with the Holiday Homework. Week One Show and Tell topic will be ‘Something from the holidays’. Due to it being a short week, Students who are listed for Monday, Tuesday and Friday can bring it any day.

STEM- On Wednesday in Week 10 (next week) the Prep students will be taking part in a STEM activity. STEM involves working in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. For this activity we will need small household boxes (cereal, chips, biscuit etc). These can be brought to school anytime. Thanks in advance.

Week 9 Photos

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Grade 1 News

And just like that we have almost made it to the end of Term 1! This term has gone very quickly and it has been very 

With the holidays just around the corner, it’s great to see everyone gearing up for some well-deserved rest.

A huge congratulations to everyone for their fantastic participation in STOMP this week! It was wonderful to see such enthusiasm and energy from all the students.

Looking Ahead to Next Week:

• We’ll be wrapping up the term by watching Inside Out as part of our end-of-term activities. We’ve already read the Inside Out book as a class, and next week we’ll be comparing the movie to the text.

• Sports Update: Next Friday, students will be walking the cross-country track with Mr. Breewel to get ready for the cross-country event, which will take place in the first week of Term 2.

• STEM Day: Next Thursday, the Grade Ones and Twos will have their STEM day. If you have any small cardboard boxes or tubes lying around, please bring them in by Thursday.

• Spelling Reminder: There will be no spelling homework next week, so enjoy a break from that!

Looking forward to a fun and productive final week before the holidays!

Grade 2 News

Hi everyone, 

 The students have absolutely loved STOMP week and I have been pleased with how each student has participated so enthusiastically each day. Thank you to all of the parents who were able to come to Family Night and watch the performance. It was also great to see the students proudly showing their parents the work they have completed in class. 

I can't believe it is nearly the end of Term One! We have one more action packed week ahead! We will be watching a movie next week so students can bring in a pillow on Monday.  

On Thursday, we have our STEM Day. If students could please bring in some small boxes and cardboard tubes that would be great (no egg cartons or toilet paper rolls please). 

 Reminders: 

*Easter Raffle Books (raffle drawn next Friday - week 10)

*Donations for the Easter Raffle

* Boxes etc. for STEM Day (Thursday)

* Pillow for movie watching

Week 10 Class News:    No class news in Week 10

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

STOMP!

Grade 3 News

It was wonderful to see so many of you at Family Night! The children were excited to share their learning with you.

This week, I’ve been impressed by how well everyone has participated in the Stomp lessons. It’s been great to see students embracing new experiences, even those outside their comfort zone, and making the most of every opportunity.

Next Friday 4th April, Grade 3 will be sharing some of the term's highlights including a song at assembly. Please join us if you can.

A friendly reminder to encourage reading each afternoon and support your child with their homework and revision tasks. These small daily habits make a big difference in their learning, and your support is greatly appreciated!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Cheryl-Anne 

Grade 4 News

It was lovely to see so many families attend our Family Night last night. We hope you enjoyed the STOMP entertainment and managed to check out some of your child's learning in their classrooms. The children in Grade Four should be very proud of what they have achieved so far this year and I am sure their efforts will continue into Term Two.

This week in Maths we focused on how multiplication and division are related and commenced a poster project on Endangered Animals in Australia. The students are a wealth of knowledge with their chosen animal so this might be a good opportunity to discuss it with them.

Grade 5 News

This week in Grade 5 we have been busily working on our Australian Animal Adaptation Projects. We've learnt lots of interesting structural, behavioural and pysiological adaptations animals have. Students have also done a fabulous job of creating a realsitic artwork of their animal in it's natural habitat. 

Next Thursday we will be watching the movie Because of Winn-Dixie, to celebrate completing the book as our class novel this term. Students are welcome to bring pillows and blankets for this, as well as a extra small snack. 

On Monday next week students will go over to Kenny Park to walk the cross country course with Mr Breewel in preparation for this in Week 1 of next term. 

Grade 6 News

We have had a blast participating in Stomp each morning this week. Thank you to all who came to our Family Night and popped in to see what we have been getting up to in our classroom. 

It's quite hard to believe that next week is the end of Term One! It will be a busy week for us finalising lots of our learning and getting prepared for Term Two. On Friday we will have our assembly in the morning and the Easter Raffle will be held at 12.45pm. A reminder that school finishes at 2.30pm on this day. 

Next week students will be completing a walk through at Kenny Park for the Cross Country course. Students require permission from PAM to go to this. Please make sure you have given permission for both the practice next week and the Cross Country which is in the first week of Term Two. 

Keep an eye on SeeSaw as I will be popping some information on there regarding our upcoming movie day which is happening on the last day of school. We are watching 'Holes' which is the movie for the class novel we have loved reading this term. 

Enjoy the weekend! 

Breanna 

Other News

General News

School Advisory Council Members:

Thel O’Shea, Hannah Mills, Courtney Portaro, Sandra Hammet, Lana Borchard, Sara McClelland, Jennifer Wilson, Jordan Wade, Adam Lawrence (Staff Rep) & Narelle Gallagher (Principal). 

Change of details:

Please contact the office if you have had a change of details. Phone: 50252258 or Email: admin@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au

Bell Times

SIMON Everywhere App

This can be downloaded from either the Google Play Store or the Apple Store.  The app has been updated earlier this year and an email was sent out to parents.  If you are having issues with logging in, can you please contact Mia in the office. 

Student Medical Profile

Medical Profile: Please make sure that the school has been notified of any changes that have been made to your child’s Medical Profile on PAM and to also include this on the pink Parental Authority and Consent Form each year. 

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PARENT TO MAKE OLSH AWARE OF ANY CHANGES.

Parent Notified Absence

If your child is unwell and will be absent from school, you are able to complete a Parent Notified Absence (PNA) on the SIMON Everywhere App or Parent Access Module (PAM) which will automatically notify the teacher and a text message will not be sent.

Newsletters

These are distributed every Friday on SIMON Everywhere and the OLSH Website. Please contact us if at any time you have any queries or require any further explanation about events, dates etc. Any items for the newsletter are asked to be handed in at the office by 9.00am on Friday.

Attendance & Sign in

A reminder to parents that the school needs to be notified of a student absence by 10 am on the day.  This can be done by calling the school office or by using SIMON Everywhere or sending an email to admin@olsmerbein.catholic.edu.au.

Second Hand Uniform

Please contact the school if you require any second hand uniform.