25 - 9th August, 2024 - Term 3, Week 4

Principal's News

Dear Families,

This week has been challenging for our staff, with illness keeping several teachers away. Covid and Influenza A are still hanging around, and we have had several students and staff suffering from these in the past few weeks. If your child is unwell, we encourage you to keep them at home, as covid and the flu are extremely contagious. While we don’t want our students to be ill, we really don’t want our teachers to be absent, as it is very hard to find replacements for classrooms. Hopefully some warmer weather will arrive soon and some of these bugs will disappear!

Following our focus on Homelessness, particularly in our local area, our students were able to present quite a large number of items to representatives from MASP during today’s assembly. I think it is fair to say that Lisa and Dani were quite overwhelmed by the generosity of our families! Our Catholic Social Teachings encourage us to help others where we can, and our students and families did a wonderful job of sending in food and other items such as blankets, which are all appreciated by families who may not be able to afford these themselves. It also takes some pressure away from services, who are now providing assistance to more families that ever. We hope that our contribution to Homelessness Week will make a difference to someone else’s life this week! Well done and thank you to all who donated to the appeal.

On Friday, August 30^th our annual Father’s Day Breakfast will be held in the Multipurpose Room from 7.30 – 8.30am. This is a great chance for dads to enjoy a delicious bacon and egg roll with their kids in a relaxed atmosphere! After breakfast, dads can head out onto the oval to have a kick of the footy or to have a look in their child’s classroom. All dads are then welcome to come along to assembly at approximately 9am if they wish. Today in the newsletter you will find information about placing an order for breakfast on CDF Pay. Follow the instructions on the flyer. We ask that you have placed your orders (for dad and the kids) by Monday, August 26^th.

On August 22^nd, we will be audited by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to ensure that we are meeting all standards required for registration as a school. These checks by the VRQA occur every four years and are conducted by an independent auditor in consultation with our compliance officer and school principal. Elements such as the Child Safe Standards are covered, as well as curriculum and staffing recruitment. At OLSH, our practices around meeting our compliance duties are excellent, so we are not anticipating any hurdles!

In September, we will begin the process of replacing our junior playground! Earlier in the year I informed the community that our current equipment is ageing and parts of it are becoming less compliant due to ever-changing rules and regulations. The rubber under the playground also needs to be replaced and this will be done at the same time. At this stage, works will begin to remove the playground in the week before the school holidays and hopefully within three weeks we will have our new equipment installed, meaning the students will get a good term of playing in before the end of the year! Something to look forward to!

Over the last two days I have been in Horsham with all principals from our diocese, working on the new Strategic Plan for a High Performing System of Catholic Schools. We worked with Pasi Sahlberg and Dave Runge on the draft proposal for developing a system that will allow for learning in such a way that student engagement is clearly visible, schools are well-resourced and in which there is equity for all. This is going to be a lengthy process but one which is needed, as there is plenty of data both locally in Australia and globally that tells us that the money spent in education is not equating to adequate results. Stay tuned for more on this in the future.

I mentioned in last week’s newsletter that we have space in our 2025 Prep Class for a small number of enrolments. If you know anyone who has been thinking about joining our OLSH community, please let them know to contact the school as soon as possible. We have had a number of students join us in the last few weeks in different classrooms, and while some rooms are at capacity, we do have some room to move in others. Enrolment forms are also on our website.

Our junior swimming is coming up fast, so please make sure you have given permission through PAM for your child to attend. Water awareness is part of the curriculum, and it is important that our students know how to save themselves when in difficulty, especially in our Sunraysia region where the weather is warm, and swimming is common.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Narelle Gallagher

Links:

Enrolments at OLSH:

OLSH Calendar:

Religious Education News

• Sacrament of First Holy Communion (Grade 4 & above)
• Parent Information Meeting: Wednesday August 28th at 7pm at Sacred Heart Church
• First Communion Masses: Friday 25th, Saturday 26th & Sunday  27th October 2024
• Sacrament of First Reconciliation (Grade 2 & above)
• Parent Information Meeting: Wednesday October 16th at 7pm at Sacred Heart Church 
• Sacrament Masses: Wednesday 27th November 2024 at 6 or 7pm at Sacred Heart Church.

150th Anniversary of the Diocese of Ballarat: In preparation of the Diocesan Assembly in November 2024 there will be formation sessions held around the diocese with a focus on leadership and governance.

If you are interested in participating in the formation sessions, which will be run by Fr. Justin Driscoll, please contact the parish office. 

Father's Day Breakfast

Sports News

Junior Swimming

Our Junior Unit Swimming Program will take place from Monday August 19th - Friday August 23rd 2024. This will take place at the Mildura Waves Aquatic and Leisure Centre on Deakin Ave. The children will travel to and from the venue by bus which will be driven by Mrs. Watson.
The times are below:

• Grade Preps - 12:30pm - 1:00pm
• Grade Ones - 1:00pm - 1:45pm
• Grade Twos - 1:45pm - 2:30pm

The children will need to bring along:

• Bathers
• Towel
• Pair of thongs/sandals to wear at the pool
• Pair of goggles

A reminder to complete the permission slip through PAM .

OLSH Athletics Day

We will be moving the day to the Mildura Little Athletics Track so that the children are familiar with a variety of athletic events. Date: Tuesday September 10th, 2024.  We will require parent helpers on this day to ensure that the day runs smoothly. More details regarding the day will be sent home early next term. 

School TV

In this edition of SchoolTV - Friendship & Belonging

Learning how to make new friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. For some these skills will come very naturally, allowing them to easily move between different friendship groups, sharing their experiences and opening up to new people. For others, this can be much harder to navigate. Belonging to a group that is like-minded with similar interests is highly beneficial to a young person’s wellbeing. It gives them a sense of security helping them feel valued which in turn builds their confidence.

Positive friendships are an important part of the journey to adulthood. Adult carers can support their child or teenager by providing guidance in the many social and emotional skills required for a healthy relationship. This will help them to obtain, retain and maintain friendships. However, not all friendship are regarded as positive. Sometimes young people develop negative or toxic friendships. Therefore it is also important for them to learn how to identify, avoid or deal with such a friendship.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers can learn how to support their young person’s friendship so that they experience a sense of belonging.

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 Friendship & Belonging edition of SchoolTV
https://olshmerbein.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/friendship-belonging

Student of the Week

Happy Birthday

We wish the following students a Happy Birthday in the coming week:

• Natalie Sutton-Leunig - 13th August - 12 yrs

• Michele Dichiera - 14th August - 11 yrs

• Sonny Pollard - 16th August - 10 yrs

Prep News

This week we welcomed Miané Van Schalkwyk and her family to our school. We hope Miané has had a great start at OLSH.

Show and Tell- Week 5’s topic is ‘Something that has gold on it’.

Swimming- Junior swimming is coming up from the 19th-23rd of August (Week 6). We will be traveling via bus to the Wave Pool to complete these lessons. Thank you to everyone who has given permission on Simon for this. If you haven't completed this yet or are having issues please contact the office. This will be a very big week for the Preps.

Learning in Prep

Writing-Over the past two weeks we have been learning about two different types of sentences. Statements- which are telling sentences and need a full stop. Questions- which are asking sentences and need a question mark.

Maths- This week students have started learning about Subtraction. They have done a really great job with this and I'm sure they would love to show you how they can solve sums at home!

Science- Students explored what different objects felt like and were made of.

Religion- We are currently learning about the bible and how it is broken into 2 parts- the old and new testament. We also started learning the story of Noah's Ark.

Grade 1 News

The Grade Ones have been working hard with Miss Bock this week and they are looking forward to seeing Miss Laity back on Monday. 

Thank you to everyone who sent in donations for Homelessness Week. The representative from MASP was very pleased with the donations our school was able to collect. 

Swimming lesson are happening in Week 6 from the 19th-23rd. We will travel by bus each day to Mildura Waves to attend the lessons. The students will change back into their uniforms at school so it would be a great idea if they could bring a robe, dressing gown or extra hooded towel (as well as a towel to dry themselves with) to keep them warm on the bus trip home. Thongs or slides to wear to and from the pool would also be great to save time putting on shoes and socks.  

The Grade One Assembly is next Friday the 16th of August.

Have a great weekend!

Grade 2 News

The Grade Twos did a fantastic job this week practising for assembly and performing today. I was very proud of them!

Thank you to everyone who sent in donations for Homelessness Week. The representative from MASP was very pleased with the donations our school was able to collect. 

Swimming lesson are happening  in Week 6 from the 19th-23rd. We will travel by bus each day to Mildura Waves to attend the lessons. The students will change back into their uniforms at school so I think it would be a great idea if they could bring a robe, dressing gown or extra hooded towel (as well as a towel to dry themselves with) to keep them warm on the bus trip home. Thongs or slides to wear to and from the pool would also be great to save time putting on shoes and socks.  

As you may have heard, our school did not win the Mildura Airshow competition but we were awarded two children's passes for the Airshow. We will raffle these off between the two classes, however, if you think you will not be able to use the ticket, please let me know.

Our chicks will hopefully hatch in about 10 days! If you are interested in adopting a chick please let me know.  

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Grade 3 & 4 News

Plans are now well under way for the upcoming Grade 3 and 4 camp. This will take place in Term 4 from Tuesday 15th October to Thursday 17th October, 2024.  A note regarding this can be found in your child's bag today!

This week we had our Term 3 Inform and Enpower Online cyber safety lesson. This term's focus was about navigating uncomfortable situations, being an upstander and help-seeking strategies. Please refer to the flyer below containing some useful tips for you at home.

On Thursday morning we were part of an online book launch by Andy Griffiths who took our minds on many adventures. Andy Griffiths' new book is called Adventures Unlimited-The Land of Lost Things. Do yourself a favour!

Grade 3/4L students have the chance to win a pass to the Mildura Air Show because of our entry into the art competition. We are going to place every student's name from Grade 2 and Grade 3/4L into a hat and draw two winners. If you do not want to use the pass, please let Mr. Lawrence know, and your child's name will be excluded from the draw.

Grade Five News

I asked Grade 5 students to share their highlight of the week.

• Andy Griffiths talk and cooking and getting to know Connor and Jandre - Alice.
• Games and sport when we have a brain break - Isaac.
• Snack and lunch and playing soccer with Oliver, Max and Michele - Phoenix.
• Thrive online and getting to know Connor and Jandre - Shanae.
• Cooking the broccoli fritatta - Paley.
• Playing soccer with Phoenix, Oliver and Isaac - Connor.
• I liked sport on Tuesday - we played Star Wars and backboard - Izobel. 
• Playing cricket, library, soccer, basketball and downball - Ekam. 
• Playing with Izobel - Ava.
• Cooking frittata - Jandre.
• Listening to Andy Griffiths talk about his new book - Chloe.
• Painting my paper mache dog and getting it ready for the Wentworth Show - Mason.
• Playing soccer with Phoenix, Max and Isaac - Michele. 
• Playing with my friends at recess - Oliver. 
• Hearing Andy Griffiths talk and thinking about story ideas - Max. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Cheryl-Anne 

Grade 6 News

This week we welcomed a new student into our class. His name is JP and he has settled in very well.

On Thursday we took part in a launch for the new book series by Andy Griffiths, author of the Treehouse series. The children got to hear from Andy about his process in creating his stories and then had the opportunity to create their own pictures and scenarios following a similar process.

Have a great weekend!

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). 

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.