17 - 15th December, 2023 - Term 4, Week 11
Principal's News
Dear Families,
I can’t believe we have finally reached the end of the term! It has been a great year of learning for our students and it’s lovely to see how they have changed and grown as individuals in that time. I’m sure we are all looking forward to a break from the routines of school and some time to relax over the Christmas period. On behalf of our staff, I’d like to thank our families for your support throughout the year and wish you all a very peaceful, restful and holy Christmas. Let’s hope it will be another great year in 2024!
School reports were sent out yesterday, and we hope you are celebrating the achievements of your children, as we are here. Most families would have received a school magazine also. This looks amazing and is a great record of the year we have had at OLSH. A big thank you goes to Miss Ford for her work putting the magazine together.
Covid is the gift that keeps on giving, and it has certainly shown its face again at school this week! We have had a number of students who have presented as unwell with headaches, who have been sent home and then tested positive for covid. At such a busy time of the year, nobody wants to be housebound with covid, but for the sake of others we suggest you test anyone in the family who is unwell.
The following are our school closure dates for 2024. We hope that by getting these out early, families can make arrangements for care of their children if needed, particularly for the Structured Literacy dates which are close to holiday periods (out of our control, as mentioned in last week’s newsletter).
School Closures:
Friday, 9th February Structured Literacy PD
Monday, 15th April Restorative Pathways PD
Friday, 19th July Structured Literacy PD
Monday, 4th November Report Writing Day (preceding Melbourne Cup Day)
Wednesday, 6th November Religious Education PD (following Melbourne Cup Day)
The public holidays for 2024:
Monday, 11th March Labour Day Long Weekend
Thursday, 25th April ANZAC Day
Monday, 10th June King’s Birthday Long Weekend
Tuesday, 5th November Melbourne Cup Day
Wishing you all a wonderful break and a happy time with those you love over the Christmas period. May the New Year bring good things for everyone. For those who are travelling, stay safe, and we will see everyone back at school on Tuesday, 30th January! It will come around sooner than we think!
Narelle Gallagher
Email:
- Narelle Gallagher: principal@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
- Office staff: admin@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
Office hours: 8.00am to 4.00pm - Monday to Thursday 8.00am to 3.45m - Friday
Teachers: 8.45am to 4.00pm - Monday to Friday
OLSH School Calendar
Student Reports
The link below explains how to download your child/rens Semester 2 Report.
Religious Education News
Christmas: Firstly, we would like to wish all the families of OLSH a holy and blessed Christmas. May this be a special time for you and your loved ones.
Whilst it is easy to get caught up in the commercialism that is Christmas, it is important to stop and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and what the birth of a child brings to us all.
During the last four weeks of Advent, we have been focusing on words such as Peace, Joy, Love and Hope. When a child is born these words become important to us. So this Christmas spend time reflecting on how YOU bring those words to life.
How do you bring Peace into the lives of others? Is it through your actions, words? This is a time to reflect on the impact you have on the lives of others.
What Joy do you bring to the lives of others? Remembering the joy that your children bring to you, especially when they were first born. Maybe spend some time with your children reflecting on their birth and how they have changed your life. How you selected their name, set up their room and how you felt when you first brought them home.
Christmas is a great time to reflect on the things we love in life. It is also a time to tell those close to you what they mean to you.
Christmas is a time of Hope. Hope is what keeps us going, it is our dreams. This Christmas, reflect on what you are hopeful for in 2024 and make a list of how you will achieve your dreams.
Thank you to all families for your support in 2023. For attending Masses, liturgies and prayer sessions. We look forward to continuing to work alongside you all in 2024.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
.
Happy Birthday
We wish the following students a Happy Birthday:
Bob Heinrich - 18th December - 9yrs
Henry Matulic - 20th December - 6yrs
Fletcher Pollock - 21st December - 12yrs
Student of the Week
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| Grade 1 / 2 L: | |
| Grade 1 / 2 R: | |
| Grade 3 / 4 L: | |
| Grade 3 / 4 P: | |
| Grade 5: | |
| Grade 6: |
Prep News
Congratulations to all students on a fantastic year. You have all made some amazing improvements. Thank you to all parents for your assistance and support with your child’s learning this year. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and best wishes for next year.
SeeSaw: In the coming weeks, I will archive our SeeSaw class from this year. You will receive an email with instructions on how to download your child’s work and photos from this year. If you want to keep a copy you will need to do this on a computer. Parents will receive a new code to scan to set up a class at the start of next year.
Grade 1 & 2 News
Grace and I would like to thank all of our parents and families for their wonderful support this year. We have loved teaching your children and it has been fantastic to see their progress this year.
We have really appreciated all of the lovely gifts and cards that we have received over the last few weeks. We both feel very appreciated and valued.
Thank you also to all of our amazing students - you have made the year fun, challenging and never dull!
We wish all our familes and students a wonderful festive season and a restful break. We look forward to seeing everyone back and ready to learn in 2024!
If you have any questions you can email us at:
Prep: Rebecca Appledore - rappledore@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
1/2 L: Grace Laity- glaity@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
1/2 R: Lisa Ryan- lryan@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
Friday - 1/2 R contact: Emma Garraway - ewood@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
Grade 3 & 4 News
Thank you to all the Grade 3/4P&L families for a wonderful and productive year. It has been a pleasure teaching your children and watching them grow academically throughout this year.
Thank you also for the lovely cards and gifts that we have received over the past week. They are all very much appreciated.
Adam and I wish you all a very happy and safe Christmas and holiday season and we look forward to meeting with some of you again in 2024.
Julie and Adam 😊
If you have any questions you can email us at:
- 3/4 L: Adam Lawrence – alawrenc@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
- 3/4 P: Julie Phelan – jphelan@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
Grade Five News
Students have enjoyed the final week of the school year with some creative tasks and special games. On Monday and Tuesday it was all about STEM and solving the challenge of helping animals move around bushland that has a major road being build through the environment. Students came up with some very creative designs as you will see in the photos.
For the remainder of the week students have been finishing tasks and helping out with packing and moving. I have appreciated their good humour and willingness to help out where ever they were needed.
It has been a pleasure working with the Grade 5 students this year and I have appreciated the support provided by parents and families. It really is a team effort! I'm so proud of each student and can't wait to see what they achieve in Grade 6.
Best wishes for a safe and happy Christmas!
My New Gallery
Grade Six News
- We made it! Congrats to all the students on compelting their primary school journey. This week students have been super helpful, assisting me with packing up and moving classrooms. I am going to miss you all next year.
- We enjoyed a beautiful lunch together at G&T last Friday. Thanks to Gemma and Travis for having us. The food was delicious as always!
- Thanks for all your gifts, kind words and ongoing support in 2023. Have a safe and happy holidays. Merry Christmas!
If you have any questions you can email us at:
- 5: Cheryl-Anne Courtney - ccourtney@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
- 6: Danielle Ford- dford@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
General News
School Advisory Council Members:
Thel O’Shea, Hannah Mills, Grant Finlayson, Amy Cupper, Sandra Hammet, Lana Borchard, Adam Lawrence (Staff Rep) & Narelle Gallagher (Principal)
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.
