8 - 22nd March, 2024 - Term 1, Week 8

Principal's News

Dear Families,

Last night OLSH held our Family Night, which included a STOMP performance by the students and the opportunity for families to go into their child’s classroom to see some of the work that has been happening throughout the term. It was fantastic to see so many of our families in attendance, especially as our students were keen to showcase the dances they had been learning this week with Kira from STOMP. As you would have seen, kids are fast learners and when you are led by someone as enthusiastic as Kira, it’s hard not to get involved! We would also like to thank the Merbein Lion’s Club for once again assisting with the BBQ – this makes our night so much easier as it’s one less job to do for staff! We appreciate the contribution of the Lions Club and ask that you support them whenever you are able. We thank all families for coming along to enjoy the evening and our staff for their hard work and preparation on the night.

On April 25^th the country observes Anzac Day and our school is proud to play its part in commemorating this special occasion. As a location for soldier settlements, Merbein has strong connections to the wars of years gone by and by attending the march, we can show our appreciation for those who fought and died in these battles. Although this is a public holiday, OLSH has always had a strong presence at our local march, which leaves the Merbein RSL around 9am and makes its way to the rotunda in Kenny Park. It would be fantastic to see as many of our families attending as possible, with students in their school uniforms to represent Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. We will continue to place reminders in the newsletter as Anzac Day approaches, and hope to see you there!

We have now received conveyance passes for our students who travel to and from school by bus. Students must show their pass upon boarding and if they don’t have their pass on them, will have to pay the fare to travel. Our students are great at taking care of their bus passes, but if they do become lost, a $10.00 fee will be required to replace the pass. We ask that if possible, all students return their 2023 passes to school.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Jo Finlayson and I attended the Mental Health in Primary Schools professional development in Mildura, along with staff from many other local schools. Mental health is at the forefront of the minds of many schools, with Covid having had a large impact on how many children present at school. All Victorian schools have received funding to contribute toward programs and initiatives addressing mental health concerns and the good news is that in this space, OLSH already has some great strategies in place to support our students. We are excited to see what else we can add to ensure that our students health and wellbeing is being nurtured.

Recently we decided to add the option of a polar fleece zip up jacket to our winter school uniform. Although we already have a windcheater, we acknowledge that some students find this uncomfortable for sensory reasons. Our students also tend to get hot in the classroom, so unzipping their jacket rather than taking it off completely is an option when the weather is cold. The polar fleece jacket will not replace the windcheater and students must wear one or the other - not both at the same time! The jacket will be available at Lowes in the near future, hopefully sooner rather than later. If you are interested in the jacket, I suggest you pop into Lowes  over the holdiaysto check whether it has arrived.

March 21 is Australia’s Harmony Day, which celebrates our country’s cultural diversity. While we don’t have a specific celebration to mark this date at our school, we acknowledge that our community is made up of families from different cultural backgrounds and embrace the richness that these cultures bring to OLSH. In this current climate of war and unrest, focusing our attention on how we can contribute to a peaceful society seems more important than ever.

Next week is the last week of term! Nine weeks have flown by and although it was a relatively short term compared to others, I think everyone will be grateful for a rest! We will finish our week on Thursday 28^th March at the earlier time of 2.30pm. We will be drawing our raffle at 9am on Thursday morning this year, so please feel free to join us for what is always a bit of fun and excitement, before we finish our day with a liturgy reflecting on the true meaning of Easter. Again, we welcome all families to join us at 12.30pm in the church.

Narelle Gallagher

OLSH School Calendar

OLSH Easter Raffle

We would like to thank our families for the amazing donations towards this years Easter Raffle, this could not go ahead without your support!  There is still time to donate and hand your raffle books in.

Tickets are due back: Monday, 25th March

Easter Raffle will be drawn on the last day of Term 1 at 28th March, 9am.

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. The children from OLSH making the Sacrament of Confirmation are: Violet Dimasi, Morgan Dowling, Isaac Lohmeyer and Jacinta Wagner. Please keep these children in your prayers.

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 Project Compassion boxes (sent home on Ash Wednesday) 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 MASS

• 21st March, 9.30am, Merbein

Learning and Teaching

This week, Grade Three and Grade Five students finalised their NAPLAN testing, completing the Mathematics and Language Conventions assessments. All students should be proud of their efforts! Shortly we will receive our results, which will help to drive our teaching.

Adam Lawrence

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

Faith Lawrence - School Captain

Hi, my name is Faith. I am very excited to be a 2024 School Captain at OLSH. I’m looking forward to being a role model for all students and being able to help more around the school. I am hoping to see more environmentally friendly things going on around the school. I’m hoping to be able to get to know everyone and help this year to be the best year yet. 

Savannah Williams - Student Leader

Hi, my name is Savannah.  I am in class 3/4 L and I am 8 years olds. I have three brothers and a sister and I am the oldest kid in my famiy.  I like swimming camping and fishing but my favourite thhing to do is dancing.  I love being a student leader because I get to help with different school jobs and be a good role model.

SchoolTV

In this edition of SchoolTV - PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & EXERCISE

In the last decade, children’s participation in physical activity and exercise has been in decline. In this digital age, children are using computers and mobile devices, not only for learning, but for relaxation and recreation purposes. This sedentary lifestyle is having a detrimental effect on today’s youth. The key is finding the balance.

Research shows, that regular physical activity and exercise leads to changes in the brain. It improves cognitive function, elevates mood, enhances learning and improves academic outcomes. Playing sport helps kids develop fundamental movement skills impacting positively on their confidence, self-esteem and ability to develop social skills. Parents play an important role in helping children establish positive habits that will benefit their children in the long-term.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will discover practical advice relating to the benefits of regular physical activity and exercise, as well as tips on how to get their kids motivated and moving more.

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 Physical Activity & Exercise edition of SchoolTV
https://olshmerbein.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/physical-activity-exercise

Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser

Orders have now been collected and will be delivered to the school for collection on Tuesday, 26th March at 3.20pm on wards.  

Thank you once again for the wonderful support towards our fundraiser.  We have raised approx $330 which will go towards student learning.  Banjo's have sent through a colouring competition for anyone who would like to take part.  

Happy Birthday

We wish the following students a Happy Birthday:

• Jordan Hammet - 26th March - 7 yrs

• Parker Valinoti - 29th March - 7 yrs

• Lilliana Primarano - 31st March - 12 yrs

Student of the Week

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.

Reading- Please remember to keep reading. Extra books will be sent home on Thursday 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 Thursday morning.

Hats- Students will bring home their school hats on Thursday. 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. At the beginning of Term Two 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’.

STEM- In Week 9 the Prep students will be taking part in a STEM activity on Wednesday. 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 8 Photos

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Grade 1 News

Well done to all the students for their participation in STOMP this week. It was so great to see everyone getting involved and enjoying learning some new dances.

Mathematics- We have been focusing on place value, using both MAB blocks and ten frames. 

Literacy- This week we have been writing narratives. Students have done a great job planning, writing and re-reading their work. They should be very proud of their efforts!

Reminders-

-Easter Raffle books can be returned to the office.

-Donations for the Easter Raffle can be sent to the office.

-There will be no spelling homework for the last week of term.

-All library books needs to be returned by the end of the term.

Grade 2 News

 The students have loved practising their STOMP routines this week. It was great to see the routines come together at their performance last night. Congratulations to all of the students who gave it a go!

This week we have been learning about the Easter Story, starting with Palm Sunday and finishing with Easter Sunday. I wonder if students can recount any of these events with parents at home?

Next week we will be watching the movie version of 'James and the Giant Peach'. We will spread this out over the week and then discuss some similarities and differences between the story and movie. 

There will be no spelling words sent home for homework next week due to a short school week and other events such as the Easter Liturgy and the Easter Raffle. 

 Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Grade 3 & 4 News

We have had an incredibly busy week this week. Our Grade Three students have now completed NAPLAN, which is always good to get to the end!

STOMP took precedence this week and all students should be congratulated on how well they danced, remembered their moves and performed at our mini concert on Thursday evening.

It was lovely to see everyone on Thursday at our family night and then in our classrooms for a look. This was a great opportunity to showcase some of the great things we are achieving in our grades.

It’s hard to believe that we have only one week left of this term. Next week will be a shorter week given that it is Good Friday at the end of the week. A reminder that school will finish at the earlier time of 2:30 on Thursday 28th March. This year our Easter Raffle will be held first thing in the morning (9am) on Thursday 28th March. Parents and Friends are welcome to join us. Our Easter Liturgy will be held in the church on Thursday 28th March at 12.30pm.

Julie and Adam 

Grade Five News

• I'm so proud of all the Grade Five students this week. With positivity and determination they have powered through Stomp, photos, two more Naplan tests and produced a great assembly item. We are all looking forward to a rest this weekend!
• It was lovely to see so many families last night and to have the children show you through our classroom and share the work they are most proud of.
• In Maths we have also been working on elapsed time. Your child might ask you to give them some elapsed time questions to solve such as what time will it be in one hour and 10 minutes time or what time was it 35 minutes ago.
• Students are reminded to read every afternoon/night and practice your times tables, particularly the 3x and 4x tables. 
• Please join us next Thursday at 12.30pm for our Easter Liturgy in the Church. Grade 5 will be acting out the gospel.

Grade Six News

• Thanks to everyone for coming along to our Family Night yesterday. It was a great night showcasing the moves we have learnt throughout the week during our STOMP performance and opening our classroom up to present some of the hard work that has taken place so far this year.
• It is so hard to believe that the holidays are here next week. As you know I’ll be returning for part of Term 2, with Tana Lawrence taking over in Week 6. We are lucky to have Tana and we wish her all the best in Grade Six!
  

STOMP

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.