30 - 10th October, 2025 - Term 4, Week 1

Principal's News

Dear Families,

I hope you enjoyed the holiday break and are ready for the last term! Although there are eleven weeks ahead of us, they are action packed!  Yesterday our Grade Three to Six students headed into the Mercy Theatre to watch the St. Joseph’s College performance of Alice in Wonderland, and today our senior students participated in Summer Sports. Next week Grades Five and Six head to Adelaide for camp and the Grade Threes and Fours are preparing for their camp in Week 3! As you can see, it will be important to be on top of upcoming events and dates, as there is quite a lot on the calendar!

Grandparents and Special Friends Day is also coming up on Friday, 24^th October. This is always a great morning, with grandparents joining us for mass, activities and morning tea. A flyer and link to a form indicating attendance went home last term and is also in today’s newsletter. We would appreciate it if families could let us know as soon as possible the number of grandparents attending, to assist us with catering. We are looking forward to this special day!

As always in Term Four, our Major Raffle runs as part of our end of year celebrations. This year we have once again had some generous donations, from past donors and some new ones, which is fantastic! We greatly appreciate the generosity of these families, as it allows us to have some amazing prizes. Raffle books will go home in Week Three, which allows plenty of opportunity for us to sell tickets. The raffle will be drawn at our End of Year concert on December 11^th. We will also be asking for items for our hamper prizes very soon, so keep an eye on the newsletter for this information.

For those families whose child has an Individual Learning Plan, Student Support Group (SSG) meetings will be held on Monday, 20th October, and Thursday, 23rd October. Please note that not all students on an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) will require a meeting this term. If a meeting is required for your child, you will receive a message inviting you to log in to Simon Everywhere to book an appointment. Please be aware that some time slots may be unavailable due to teacher schedules - this information will be shown at the top of the booking system. If your child has an ILP and you do not receive a message but would still like to attend an SSG meeting, please contact the school to arrange a booking. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jo Finlayson by phone or via email at jfinlayson@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au.

Just a couple of reminders:

• Students who wear Smart Watches to school must put these onto “School Mode” during school hours. No child should need to contact their parents during the school day, and if necessary, this will be done by your child’s teacher or the office. Watches are also not to be used for taking photos at school! As we have mentioned previously in newsletters, if watches become a distraction, we will confiscate these for the day and ask students to leave them at home. We appreciate your support with this matter.
• Summer uniform should now be worn by all students. Please ensure that your child has the correct uniform items, including their hat.
• Assemblies for this term will be in the following weeks:
• Week Two (Grade One) Week Four on Thursday 31st October (Grade Five/Six) Week 6 (Prep) Week 8 (Auslan)

Grades Five and Six will head off at 8.30am sharp on Monday morning for their camp in Adelaide, and this will no doubt be a fun-filled four days of activities! We are really looking forward to experiencing all that the city has to offer, and the students are very excited! While I am away, Lisa Ryan and Cheryl-Anne Courtney are overseeing things at school, but we don’t anticipate any issues! We will return from camp on Thursday afternoon, and it will be school as usual on Friday for students. Please note: if your child is usually visited for specialist appointments (speech/OT) at school, please let them know that we will be away on camp next week!

As the senior students will be leaving for camp at 8.30am, the bus will be parked in the Kiss and Go on Monday morning. Please take care not to drop off non-camp students too closely to the bus, as there will be a lot of parents and students in the area. We ask families of Grade Five and Six students not to park in the Kiss and Go on Monday while farewelling their children to give other families room to drop off their children.

Have a great weekend!

Narelle Gallagher

Links:

Enrolments at OLSH:

OLSH Calendar:

Religious Education News

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Year 2 & Above)

A registration form has been sent home to children in Grade Two wishing to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Please complete this form and return to the Parish Office with money by October 14th 2025. 

Below are the details of the parent information night and the celebration of the sacrament. Please contact the parish office if you are unable to attend this meeting.  

• Parent Information Session - Wednesday October 15th
• 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. 

Grandparent's & Special Friends Morning

Head Lice

We’ve had a couple of cases of head lice reported in our school community. At this time of year, the chances of head lice spreading increases, so we ask families to check their child’s hair regularly and treat if needed. If you do find head lice, please let the school know so we can arrange checks and help stop it spreading further.  Thank you for your cooperation and support.

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

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.

Prep News

Congratulations to the Preps for coming back from holidays ready to work!  It has been a busy week.  In Maths we have been learning to tell o'clock times on the clock.  They have done a fantastic job with this, so next time you notice the clock is about to reach the next hour you might be able to test them on this.

We have also been working with extending our sentences to add more detail and make them more interesting.  They have made a great start to this.

Show and Tell - Week 2's topic is Free Choice.

Have a great weekend!

Grade 1 News

Welcome back to Term 4! We hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing holiday break. It’s been lovely to see how settled and enthusiastic the students have been as we begin our final term of Grade 1.

This week in Writing, we have been learning all about verbs, identifying them in sentences and using them to make our own writing more interesting and exciting. 

In Science, we explored the fascinating world of light and shadows, learning the difference between translucent, opaque and transparent materials. 

In Maths, we focused on addition and counting on, as well as discovering the many different ways to make the same number.

We’re also very excited for our upcoming assembly next week, where we’ll be teaching everyone about idioms. We can’t wait to see you there and share what we’ve been learning!

Grade 2 News

Welcome Back!

We hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable holiday break. While this term won’t be quite as busy as the last, we still have lots of exciting things happening in the classroom!

In Literacy, we’ve been learning how to write persuasive texts. Students have explored the difference between fact and opinion and have practised writing strong arguments to support their opinions.

In Art, we’ve started creating beautiful line drawings of flowers to decorate the MPR for Grandparents’ Day. Next week, students will be painting their artworks – we can’t wait to see the final results!

In Geography, we’ve been learning about the importance of addresses – not only for receiving deliveries but also for helping emergency services find the right location quickly when needed.

In Mathematics, our focus has been on division. Students have been learning how to share objects into equal groups and how division and multiplication are closely related.

It’s shaping up to be a great term ahead!

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Grade 3 News

We’ve had a wonderful start to the term, beginning with welcoming Mrs Rachel Bruggy to our class. Rachel is studying her Master of Teaching and will be completing a four-week placement with us.

This week, we picked some carrots from the school garden, and Mrs Bruggy worked with a small group to bake a delicious carrot cake. Most students had a taste — and almost everyone loved it! I’ll post the recipe on Seesaw if you’d like to try it at home.

A note about camp was sent home on Wednesday outlining what students need to bring for the Tuesday activities. One important item we forgot to include is bathers, a towel, and thongs or crocs for the Waves Pool activity — apologies for the oversight!

A big thank you to the parents who have kindly offered the use of their tents for camp. We’d greatly appreciate all hands on deck to help set up from 3:30pm on Tuesday, 21st October, and to assist with pack-up from 7:30am on Wednesday, 22nd October.

Have a lovely weekend!

Cheryl-Anne

Grade 4 News

Another busy term is upon us — and a long one at that!

This week, families would have received the camp note outlining what students need to bring. One important item we forgot to include is bathers, a towel, and thongs/crocs for the Waves Pool activity — apologies for the oversight!

A big thank you to the parents who have kindly offered the use of their tents for camp. We would greatly appreciate all hands on deck to help set up from 3:30pm on Tuesday, 21st October, and to assist with pack-up from 7:30am on Wednesday, 22nd October.

This week in sport, students learned some basic T-Ball skills, and next week we’ll be putting those into practice with real games. On Thursday, we all enjoyed a fantastic performance of Alice in Wonderland at the Mercy Theatre. It was wonderful to see some of our past students shining in their various acting roles.

Enjoy your weekend!

Grade 5 News

It has been a busy week! Students have taken part in Summer Sports and enjoyed a wonderful experience at the St Joseph’s College performance of Alice in Wonderland Jr. The show was fantastic, showcasing some excellent talent, and it was lovely to see so many of our ex-students involved.

Next week, it’s time for camp! A note was sent home yesterday with reminders and a packing list. As we will be crossing the SA border, students cannot bring any fruit or vegetables for lunch or snacks. Please ensure your child packs a jacket, as we are staying in the hills and it can get quite cold. Students need to be at school by 8:00 am on Monday. When dropping off, please do not park in the Kiss and Go zone.

Grade 6 News

It's been great to see everyone return after the holidays and all students have settled back in nicely with some great learning achieved this week. Please check posts on SeeSaw for any upcoming event reminders. 

On Thursday we were lucky enough to travel to SJC Theatre to watch their production of Alice in Wonderland! It was great to see some familiar faces on the stage and the show was enjoyed by all students. 

Excitement is high for camp next week! A note of reminders went home on Thursday. Please ensure everything is clearly labelled - just to make it easier for everyone! We have a lot of fun things planned and it's going to be a great camp. Just a reminder that no electronic devices are allowed. 

We are starting to get things organised for the Grade Six Graduation. This is going to be held on Monday 15th December at 9:15am. A morning tea will follow in the Multi Purpose Room for all students and families. I am on the hunt for a graduation cake if anyone is a keen baker - let me know! 

See you bright and early at 8am on Monday ready to get on the bus to depart at 8.30am. 

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.