6 - 8th March, 2024 - Term 1, Week 6

Principal's News

Dear Families,

Another week has flown by and with swimming and assessments over, it has been a good week to focus fully on our learning. Even though the weather looks to be heating up for the long weekend, it has been nice to have some fresher Autumn mornings! With the cooler mornings, students are wearing their jumpers more, so please remember to name these carefully. As the day warms up, jumpers can tend to be left lying around!

Today we were sad to hear that Sr. Marion McDonald had passed away last night. Sr. Marion was a big part of our school as she tirelessly led the parish in Merbein for 18 years. She would walk across to our school on most days from the parish house, always stopping to chat to the students and ask about what was going on in their lives. Sr. Marion (or Mr. Marion, as I remember one student calling her!) absolutely loved the children and welcomed their participation in parish life through school masses and the sacraments. She would share stories with us and offer her insights into how education had progressed since she was a teacher and principal. Sr. Marion also loved Essendon Football Club (another of her good qualities!) and was a proud supporter. Her final years have been spent in Geelong, at Mercy Place Rice Village, amongst other Mercy nuns. She was a generous and faith-filled person who will be missed by our community.

Many of our students are now wearing Smart Watches to school, which we allow, provided that students do not send or receive messages on their watch during the school day. In the past it has been made clear that if watches become a distraction for students, they will be asked to leave them at home. It has recently come to our attention that some students are receiving messages from parents during the school day. If you need to give your child a message throughout the day, we ask that you call the office and the message will be passed on, as has always been our practise. Some watches can also be switched to school mode during the day, and we suggest that all students do this if they are wearing a Smart Watch. We appreciate your support with this issue.

Catholic Education takes on special significance this year as our community of schools recognises the 150^th Anniversary of the formation of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat, of which we are a part. The Diocese of Ballarat has 64 schools in total (primary and secondary) providing Catholic education in rural and regional settings from the Murray to the Sea. The Diocese is divided into the Far North, Mid-North, Southern and Central Zones and has over 18,000 students enrolled in its schools. At OLSH, we are the furthest school in the diocese from Ballarat and we sit at the very top of the Northern Zone! During Catholic Education Week in May, we will be celebrating our schools and their beginnings with various events. Stay tuned for more about this as the weeks go on.

This week we had our first School Advisory Council meeting for the year. As well as discussing what's been going on around the school this term, topics of interest for the school community are the resurfacing of our basketball court and upgrades to our junior playground this year. We are currently gathering information to get some of these works underway. We also discussed the preparation of a new Master Plan, which helps us to ensure that the school is being maintained or enhanced to suit our needs moving into the future. We will keep the school community informed of these developments throughout the year. Thanks go to the parents who give up their time to be a part of the SAC as representatives of the parent community.

Next Friday, 15^th May, we will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a little early by wearing green accessories to school with our sports uniforms. St. Patrick was an important individual in our Catholic history, who converted many people to Christianity and in Ireland, was renowned for driving snakes out of the country! We are asking for a gold coin donation from each of our families to fill our pot of gold, which we will then use to buy a virtual brick to support Foundation House, a purpose-built accommodation facility for patients of Mildura Base Public Hospital, their families and staff. The Student Leaders came up with this idea and I think it’s a great one, as we can have some fun on St. Patrick’s Day while also doing something for our community.

A few reminders:

-NAPLAN Assessments will take place next week, with students in Years Three and Five participating.

-Grade 5/6 Camp notes and deposits were due today. Please make contact with me if you are experiencing any difficulties paying, as we do not wish to see any student miss out on a fun time at camp.

-Family Night reply slips are due back on the 14^th of March. We hope to see you all there!

-School Photo envelopes finally went home this week after a few issues! Please follow the instructions on the envelopes to purchase your photos.

Finally, I hope you had a win last night if you’re a footy follower! Forty degrees and football season starting – crazy times! Enjoy the long weekend and we will see everyone again on Tuesday!

 Yours sincerely,

Narelle Gallagher

OLSH School Calendar

Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) Survey

Information was emailed out to parents last week.

Religious Education News

Sacrament of Confirmation (Grade 3 and above): Children in Grade 3 and above who have been baptised, have the opportunity to continue their sacramental journey by making their Confirmation. Below are the dates of Confirmation and parents need to contact the parish office to register their child. 

Parent Information Meeting: 27th March 7pm, Sacred Heart Church.

The  celebration dates are as follows: Friday 17th May, Saturday 18th May and Sunday 19th May.

Project Compassion: Project Compassion is an important project that Caritas Australia runs during the season of Lent. The aim is to raise as much money as possible to help those in need around the world. 

The money is used to help educate adults and children living in poverty, help communities develop infrastructure to gain clean water and produce food independently, provide medicine to communities living in poverty and to help communities become self-sufficient.  

So during the last weeks of Lent, please give generously to help those in need around the world. Every little bit helps.

All boxes can be returned to school by Thursday March 28th (the last day of Term One).

Altar Servers Guild: The parish is founding an Altar Servers Guild to provide practical training and ongoing formation to Guild members. The Guild will meet weekly during school terms. If you are interested in joining the Guild and becoming an altar server visit: 

www.sunraysiacatholic.org/altar-servers or call the parish office on 5021 2872.

Easter Liturgy: will be held on Thursday March 28th at 12:30pm in the OLSH Church. All families are welcome to join us in our celebration.

ANOINTING MASSES

• 14th March, 5:30pm, Red Cliffs
• 21st March, 9.30am, Merbein

Learning and Teaching

Grades Three and Five will have NAPLAN tests over the next two weeks. Each student will participate in four tests: Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language, and Mathematics.

This week, all staff members participated in another online learning module. The focus was about why it is important to teach writing at the sentence level, as sentences are the building blocks for successful writers. Most of the strategies needed to do this are already in place at OLSH. However, it was good to have this concept reinforced and to know that we are on the right trajectory, supported by the latest data on writing. The learning also explained how good sentence structure can positively affect comprehension.

Adam Lawrence

NAPLAN BROCHURE

School Photos - Tuesday 19th March

Our Schools Photos are fast approaching just over 1 week to go.  Envelopes have gone home this week.

OLSH Family Night

A flyer has been sent home and emailed out to parents.  We ask that the RSVP be returned no later than the 14th March so that catering can be finalised.

Enrolment at OLSH

The link below will take you to our website where you are able to fill out the online enrolment form.  To finalise the application you will need to upload your child's Birth Certificate and Immunisation Record. 

If you have any questions please call the school or email admin@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au

OLSH School Leaders Profiles

Michele Dichiera - Student Leader

Hi everyone, my name is Michele.  I am 10 yrs old.  I love playing soccer and basketball, so you will see me mostly on the basketball court shooting hoops!  I have two crazy brothers and a little sister.  My favourite subjects are Maths, P.E. and Performing Arts.  When I finish school I want to be a Police Officer.  I'm so proud to be a Student Leader at OLSH.

Violet Dimasi - Student Leader

Hi my name is Violet Dimasi.  I am your Grade 3 Student Leader.  I'm so excited for the year ahead.  It's going to be the best year yet.  I hope you all feel you can come to me with any questions or recommendations.  I would love to hear what you have to say. 

OLSH Easter Raffle

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 will be a basket in the foyer of the office where families can drop their donations into over the next few weeks. The more donations we receive, the more prizes we have to give away! 

More tickets are avaible from the office.  

Tickets are due back: Monday, 25th March & the Raffle will be drawn on the last day of Term 1.

SchoolTV

NAPLAN JITTERS

Every year, more and more emphasis is placed on achieving good results in exams, causing many students to feel extraordinary pressure and having unrealistic expectations. This month on SchoolTV, parents will find advice on how to help students cope with the pressure and how students can work smarter to achieve the results they desire.

Exams are like a game. Once you know how to play the game, your chances of achieving great results rapidly increase. Parents can learn how to assist their kids to maintain perspective and keep their sanity intact during exam time.

Diet, exercise and sleep all play an important part in helping a student balance a busy schedule and study smarter. Keeping stress levels to a minimum and reducing anxiety can be easily achieved through careful planning and having a supportive environment.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Exam Jitters edition of SchoolTV
https://olshmerbein.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/exam-jitters

Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser

This year OLSH Merbein will once again be taking part in the Banjo’s Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser. For every order made, Banjo’s Mildura will donate 20% of all sales back to OLSH Merbein.  We are yet to decide on what we put the funds towards this year. Banjo’s Hot Cross Buns are delicious and great toasted or fresh with a cuppa so we hope that all families will support this drive! 

How it will work:

• Collect your orders/money and keep a record on the form below - this will be for your records                (we will be sending these forms home on Monday)

• Log on to CDF Pay and complete your order by the following date:  Wednesday, 20th March

• All orders will be delivered to the school for collection on Tuesday, 26th March at 3.20pm on wards.

Happy Birthday

We wish the following students a Happy Birthday:

• Quinn Bell - 11th March - 8 yrs

• Layla Portaro - 11th March - 8 yrs

• Isaac Longeri - 12th March - 11 yrs

• Giulana Mazza - 14th March - 6 yrs

• Savannah Borchard - 16th March - 9 yrs

• Jake Borchard - 16th March - 9 yrs

Student of the Week

Prep News

Students have done a great job for their first full week of school.

Sunraysia Daily will be once again producing the feature “Welcome to Preps 2024” which will be published on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Look out for a photo of our students in the paper!

What we are learning about at the moment-

Structured Literacy

We have been working on sounding out words using the strategy Tap it, Map it, Graph it. This allows students to recognise how many sounds are in the word and then they have a go at writing the word.

Maths

This week we have continued to focus on number formation. We learnt rhymes to help write each number. Please see below if you would like to practise at home with your child.

1- Start at the top and down you run. Thats the way to make a one.

2-Around and back, around the railway track.

3- Around the tree, around the tree. Thats the way to make a three.

4-Down across and down some more. Thats the way to make a four.

5- Short neck, belly fat, Mr 5 wears a hat.

6- Down and around back tot he nest. Number six is the best.

7- Across the sky and down from heaven. Thats the way to make a seven.

8- Make a s and do not wait. Go back to the top to make an eight.

9- Make a loop and then a line. Thats the way to make a nine.

Religion

This week we have been learning about different objects and symbols that are in the Church and what they mean.

Science

On Wednesday students completed their first science lesson. This term we are learning what Living things are and what they need to survive.

Enjoy the long weekend! 

Week Six Photos

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Grade 1 News

Mathematics- We have been focusing on days of the week and months of the year. Students learnt about which season their birthday is in, and a song to remember the months of the year in order.

Science- We had a very exciting day on Wednesday, creating our bird feeders. All students worked well with their partner to plan and create their design. 

Reminders-

Next Friday the 15th of March, the school will celebrate St Patrick's Day. Students are encouraged to wear a touch of green with their sport uniform and bring a gold coin donation. 

Grade One library is on Mondays.

There is no more show and tell for the rest of the term.

Spelling and readers should be getting completed each night at home.

Grade 2 News

 Grade Two students have had a busy and settled week! 

Mathematics

This week we have been learning about time, revising times on the hour and half-past the hour and learning about quarter-past and quarter-to times. This has been challenging, but the students' showed great perseverance and a positive attitude!

Literacy

This week we have been reading about fossils and using our knowledge to write complex sentences. I wonder if your child can share any of their learning with you at home?

The students have been doing a great job in paired fluency time. This is when students read to a partner and then are given feedback on what they are doing well, and one thing to work towards. This had led to some great teamwork!

The spelling results for the whole class were fantastic this week! I could really see that most students had practised during the week, which made a big difference. Great effort! 

RE

In RE we have been learning the story of Zaccheus which teaches us about learning from our mistakes and trying to be a better person. Next week, we will have a focus on St. Patrick leading up to our special day on Friday.

History

In our History lessons we have been looking at how artefacts give us clues to life in the past. As part of this unit of work, we made our own 'cast fossils'. The idea was to replicate how cast fossils are made in the natural world when animals leave an imprint in sand and then this is filled with other materials which harden into fossils. We made our fossils using plasticine and Plaster of Paris. They turned out really well, check out the photos below!

St. Patrick's Day

This will be held on Friday the 15th of March (week 7). Students can add a touch of green to their uniforms and bring a gold coin donation. The money will go to purchasing a brick which is part of a Mildura Hospital fundraiser. 

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Grade 3 & 4 News

It has been great to have had an uninterrupted learning week this week. The Grade Three’s have been preparing for the upcoming NAPLAN tests which will commence next Wednesday with a writing task.

Thanks to those parents and friends who came along to support the Grade 3/4L class with their assembly today. Next Friday is Grade 3/4P’s turn.

Thanks to parents who are supporting their child’s reading each day and getting diaries signed, however it has been noted that some students have been reading the same book for weeks on end! A reminder that both classes can borrow books from the school library  - 3/4P on Monday and 3/4L on Fridays.

Next Friday, our school will be celebrating St Patrick’s Day. Students are encouraged to wear a green accessory (school uniforms should still be worn).

Grade 3/4P : If you have any bits of ribbon, beads or feathers lying around, we would love to have some for an art activity we are doing next week. Please drop them into the office or the classroom if you have. Thanks in advance!

Grade 3/4L: Congratulations to Emmett, who came first in the Victor S.K.A.A Sub-Junior division over the weekend! Good luck for the Australian title in April. We were fortunate enough to see his go-kart yesterday as he shared his fantastic news.

Julie and Adam

Grade Five News

• Just a reminder that camp notes/deposits were due today. If you haven’t returned this yet, can you please call the office and make arrangements to do so. 
• We have spent two weeks learning about plant adaptations and in particular, carnivorous plants. Students have worked very hard to plan and write an informative paragraph. They are of a very good standard and will be on display in the classroom for parents to see on the family night.
• Please save the following dates and join us for some special events.
  • Friday 22nd March 9am - we will share our learning at assembly.
  • Thursday 28th March 12.30pm - Easter Liturgy in the Church. Many Grade 5 students will have important roles including reading prayers and acting out the Gospel.
• I hope everyone enjoys a safe and happy long weekend!

Grade Six News

• Just a reminder that camp notes/deposits were due today. If you haven’t returned this yet, can you please call the office and make arrangements to do so. 
• Students have done a great job with our text study this week. We have been learning about the three levels of the Australian government. Their writing shows that they have a good understanding of the different tiers and the responsibilities each level holds. 
• We have been practising our typing skills this term. Just like handwriting, typing is an important skill to have. Check out their concentration faces below. 
• Some information went out during the week around Executive Functioning. We have started learning about these mental skills and their importance in helping us get things done. These crucial skills help us to plan, start a task, organise our time, remember our instructions and manage more than one task at a time. Check out the flyer to read and understand more about how you can help your child strengthen these skills at home. 
• Enjoy the long weekend. See you Tuesday!

St Joseph's College, Mildura 2024 Open Evening

General News

School Advisory Council Members:

Thel O’Shea, Hannah Mills, Grant Finlayson, Courtney Portaro, Amy Cupper, Sandra Hammet, Lana Borchard, Adam Lawrence (Staff Rep) & Narelle Gallagher (Principal). Our first meeting for the year is on March 5th.

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.