31 - 17th October, 2025 - Term 4, Week 2

Principal's News

Dear Families,

This week we had the pleasure of taking the Grade 5/6 students to Adelaide for camp! The students had a great time participating in numerous fun activities, such as AFL Max, the Beach House waterslide, the Adelaide Zoo and a tour of the Adelaide Oval. We also saw some brave souls tackling the heights of the West Beach High Ropes Climb and bungy down to tell the tale!

Camps offer many fantastic experiences that some students may not get to have otherwise, as well as the opportunity to be independent, live in very close proximity with others and to just be away from home, which can challenge some. Our students received high praise from all the operators of the venues we visited for their manners and enthusiasm, which makes us so proud! One tour guide said they were a credit to their parents and the school, and for us this was so great to hear. The way the students interacted and supported each other was commendable. There are some tired individuals today (including the adults!) but it was all worth it! Many thanks go to the staff and to Thel O’Shea for attending and orgainsing the camp and making it such a great experience for the students.

Our Grandparents Day is coming up quickly, with our mass, morning tea and activities happening next Friday! We can’t wait to welcome our visitors to school, so if you haven’t already replied with numbers, please do so as soon as possible! The students are very excited about the occasion and will be very proud to show their grandparents how beautiful our school is.

Each year, the Diocese of Ballarat recommends the school fees for the following year, with a 4% increase suggested so that schools stay on top of financial requirements. In the coming weeks, the School Advisory Council will formally endorse the fees for the 2026 school year, and then these will be communicated to the school community. Fee payment for this year is due to be settled by the end of October, which is just around the corner. We appreciate your attention to this. Any families who are experiencing issues with payment should contact me as soon as possible, so that we can make an appropriate payment plan. Thank you to those families who have finalised their fees or are doing so through Direct Debit.

A reminder to parents that no child is to bring boiling water to school in a thermos (generally to make noodles for lunch). If you would like to send noodles to school for your child’s lunch, these are to be pre- made and drained of hot water before they are placed in the thermos. We would hate to see any student suffering an injury due to spillage of hot water. We appreciate your cooperation with this.

The Grade Three and Four students are getting excited for their camp next week on Tuesday and Wednesday! I’m sure they will have a great time. Please check past communication for all requirements.

Narelle Gallagher

Links:

Enrolments at OLSH:

OLSH Calendar:

Religious Education News

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Year 2 & Above)

Registration forms should now be completed and returned to the parish office with payment.

Below are the details of the celebration of the sacrament.

 Celebration    of     Sacrament     -      Wednesday November 26th

Grandparents Day

Our annual Grandparents Day will be celebrated on Friday October 24th. Please make sure all Grandparents are aware of the day. This is a great celebration and gives us time to reflect on the important role grandparents play in our lives.

Jesus' grandparents are St. Anne and St. Joachim. Their unconditional love and support were a constant presence in the life of Jesus and remind us of our own grandparents. Further information will be available closer to the date.

Mission Mass

Our annual Mission Mass will be held on Thursday

November 20th beginning at 9:15am. All families and parishioners are welcome to attend.

Summer Sports Report

Last Friday the Grade 5 & 6 students represented OLSH at the District Summer Sports. The children were involved in Basketball, Volleyball and Tennis. Everyone represented the school with pride and demonstrated sportsmanship and respect towards the opposition and umpires.

Congratulations to the Tennis team which has won through to the next round and will represent the school next Tuesday.  Our girls basketball team also performed really well and won every game. Well done to our senior unit  and teachers on a successful day.

Grandparent's & Special Friends Morning

Student Leader News

Recycle Bottles & Cans

The Student Leaders have organized an account for donated bottles and cans. If you have refundable bottles and cans, you can recycle them at any CDS container refund depots in Mildura and scan the barcode below. This will donate the money directly to the Student Leaders to go towards new equipment for the students!

Thank you, OLSH Student Leaders

Student of the Week

Happy Birthday

We wish the following students a Happy Birthday:

Month of October:

• 2nd - Pippa P - 9 yrs
• 3rd - Hazel W - 6 yrs
• 4th - Rubee S - 8 yrs
• 6th - Zali B - 12 yrs
• 12th - Phoenix M - 13 yrs
• 14th - Kai L - 7 yrs
• 17th - Lachlan C - 8 yrs
• 17th - Levi P - 9 yrs
• 18th - Savannah F - 12 yrs
• 21st - Frankie R - 11 yrs

OLSH Canteen

Orders need to be completed by 9.15am every Friday.

CDF Community Fund

Prep News

Prep have had another busy, productive week. Over the past 2 weeks in Science, we have been looking at moving objects. Last week we explored push and pull forces. This week we looked at changing direction. In groups the children made 'mini golf holes' and then tested moving a ping pong ball through their hole. They worked fantastically in groups, sharing ideas and being creative. Some photos below will show you their finished golf holes.

Show and Tell - Week 3's topic is 'Share something that is smooth, crinkly, bumpy or shiny'

Miss Appledore will be back next week. I have enjoyed working with the Preps over the last 2 weeks.

Have a great weekend!

Grade 1 News

Well done to everyone on their assembly performance today!

It was so much fun to change things up and try a game-style assembly item - the students did a fantastic job!

In Writing, we have been exploring the story circle strategy, which we’ll be using next week to write our own narratives. We focused on identifying problems and solutions in stories and experimented with changing endings to create new twists.

In Maths, we introduced fractions, learning to identify halves and quarters. The students picked this up quickly and should be very proud of their efforts.

A reminder that students are to now be in full summer uniform.

Have a great weekend!

Grade 2 News

It’s been a quieter week with the Grade 5/6 classes away on camp. The rest of the students have been enjoying a bit more space on the playground and basketball courts!

Despite the quieter atmosphere, it’s been a busy and productive week of learning in Grade Two.

In Literacy, we’ve continued working on persuasive writing, focusing on writing strong topic sentences and supporting them with relevant details, evidence, and examples.

In Maths, our focus has been on fractions, exploring one-half, one-quarter, and one-eighth—both as parts of a whole and as parts of a group of objects.

In Geography, we explored the origins of place names. We discovered that towns and cities may be named after First Nations language and culture, natural features of the area, or even famous people from history.

In Science, we’ve just started our new unit on ‘Survival’, where we’re learning about the special features that help plants and animals adapt to their environments and stay alive.

Our Religious Education topic this term is ‘Celebration’, and we’re learning about how people celebrate Christmas and Advent in different ways around the world.

We’re very excited to welcome our Grandparents and Special Friends next Friday (week 3) for a special mass, classroom activity, and morning tea. The students have been working hard on their artwork to help decorate the MPR for the occasion.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

– Lisa

Grade 3 News

In Literacy, we are continuing to read and write about how decisions are made in a democracy. In Maths, we’ve been adding 10, 100, and 1,000 to four-digit numbers. This has been a bit challenging for many students. You can help at home by practising “ten more, ten less” and “one hundred more, one hundred less” with four-digit numbers.

We used another pumpkin from our veggie patch for some cooking fun! This week, Miss Garreffa helped students make pizza dough that included mashed pumpkin. The pizzas were both colourful and delicious! You can find the recipe on our class SeeSaw page.

In Art, we completed our stick and twig creations and began a weaving project. You can see some of the children’s beautiful work in the photo gallery.

Final camp arrangements have been made, and we’re all ready to go! The camp itinerary and packing list were given out today.

Have a lovely weekend! Cheryl-Anne

Grade 4 News

This week, our Grade Four students have been busy taking on the Grade Six responsibilities while the senior students were away on camp. Each student showed great commitment and responsibility in carrying out their tasks — they should all be very proud of themselves. Well done, everyone!

In Religion, we have been exploring the unique personal gifts we were born with and discussing how these gifts contribute to teamwork and a strong sense of community in our classroom.

Our own camp is fast approaching next Tuesday and Wednesday! Final arrangements have been made, and we are all looking forward to two fun-filled days together. A friendly reminder for students to wear their bathers underneath their clothing and bring a towel suitable footwear for the pool on Tuesday. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding camp.

Julie

Grade 5 News

Well done to all the students for their great efforts on camp! Everywhere we went, we received compliments on their manners and behaviour. Please visit the school’s Facebook page to see photos from the camp.

Grade 6 News

It was an amazing week on camp! All students were an absolute pleasure to take on camp and were highly praised for their behaviour and manners everywhere we went! Lots of photos have been posted on SeeSaw and our OLSH Facebook page if you haven't checked them out yet!

Good luck to our students, Zali, Mason, Izobel and Chloe who are partipating in the Hot Shots tennis on Tuesday. These students made it to the next round of competition and we wish them all the best!

A reminder that Grandparents Day is next Friday 24th October!

Have a great weekend!

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.