27 - 23rd August, 2024 - Term 3, Week 6
Principal's News
Dear Families,
A large part of yesterday was spent with our Risk and Compliance Officer, Julie Graham, and a reviewer from the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, working our way through the minimum requirements that must be met to ensure that our school is operating safely and meeting all eleven Child Safe Standards. Evidence, which comes from the programs we teach, the signage we display, the curriculum documents that we develop and follow, and the policies and procedures in place at our school all contribute to how we meet the required standards. I am happy to say that our school passed this audit with flying colours and as we already knew, we have more than the minimum in place to address each of the elements that must be covered. This is thanks to the dedication and high-quality work practices of all school staff, as well as the advice, support and work of our School Advisory Council. Families cannot obviously know or understand everything that goes into ensuring that a school runs smoothly, but rest assured that there is a lot involved, and the children are always at the forefront of all that we do.
Letters will be emailed out to current families who have a new Prep student beginning school in 2025 on Monday. This is an offer of enrolment, and we ask that you make an acceptance as soon as possible. Attached to the offer is a link to a survey for parents about your child which will tell us a little bit about them. This survey is very brief, and its aim is to give us some background into your child and their development. As siblings often already know the school reasonably well, an in-person interview is probably not as necessary as it would be if families weren’t familiar with the school. If you would still like to meet in person, this can be arranged, but we will meet at the Transition Days later in the year.
Thank you to those families who have returned their camp notes for the 3/4 camp to Swan Hill. These were due today, so if you have not indicated yet whether your child will be attending, we ask that you please do so as soon as possible. There will be a cut-off date for final numbers, and we would hate anyone to miss out. If any family has questions about the cost of the camp or is having difficulty paying, please call me at school to chat.
Our Junior Swimming Program finishes today, and it has been a very successful week for the Grade Prep, One and Twos! They loved the lessons, especially the survival component yesterday when they had to wear their pyjamas or clothes in the pool! The heated water has also been a bonus! Thank you to Mrs. Watson for her bus driving and the teachers and LSOs for their organisation and supervision.
As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we have a new playground on the way! An image has been included below to show families what the new playground will look like. Some colours may vary slightly. The students (particularly the juniors!) are very excited to see the finished product!
We are hoping to see lots of dads at our Father’s Day Breakfast next Friday! Get your orders in fast as the date is creeping up.
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.
Father's Day Breakfast - NEXT WEEK
Sports News
OLSH Athletics Day - Please refer to the information & flyers below
Our annual Athletics Day will be held on Tuesday September 10th at the Mildura Little Athletics Club. All children will need to be dropped off between 8.30am and 8:45am by their parents. Buses will bring the children back to school where they can be collected at the end of the day.
We ask that parents complete the consent on SIMON Everywhere. There are questions regarding assistance from parents on the day. If you have any questions please contact Michael Breewel at mbreewel@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au or ring the school office on 50 252 258.
We will have some assistance from children from Merbein P-10 College but we need parental help for various activities such as:
- Running athletic events - High jump, long jump, vortex throw, discus, shot put and running events.
- Cooking the BBQ
- Setting up and packing up.
The Athletics day will not run smoothly without the assistance of parents. Coming along to help out is a grat way to get involved and also watch your kids participate!
School TV
In this edition of SchoolTV - Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity emphasises the natural variation in how an individual's brain functions and how they perceive and interact with the world, leading to diverse ways of learning and communicating. While most young people are neurotypical, some exhibit variations in brain development, such as ADHD, autism or dyslexia, making them neurodivergent.
Embracing neurodiversity involves accepting, celebrating, and supporting neurodivergent children and adolescents without attempting to change or treat their differences. Using respectful language, challenging unhelpful attitudes, avoiding assumptions, and actively promoting inclusivity can help embrace neurodiversity effectively.
Acknowledging the unique ways neurodiverse young people do things and then adapting tasks and activities to ensure their full participation will encourage them to develop strategies that feel natural to them. It will help improve their mental health, wellbeing and sense of self. By recognising and nurturing their strengths, parents and caregivers can contribute to building an inclusive and compassionate society where all young people can thrive.
Learning more about neurodiversity, equips caregivers with insights into effective communication techniques, educational strategies, and parenting approaches tailored to the specific needs of their neurodivergent child.
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 Neurodiversity edition of SchoolTV
https://olshmerbein.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/neurodiversity
Student of the Week
| Class: | Awarded to: | For: |
| Grade Prep: | Arabella Barlow | always completing her work to a high standard. Keep it up! |
| Grade 1: | Addison Bock | helping her peers and always taking pride in her work. |
| Grade 2 : | Layla Portaro | her wonderful efforts in contributing to class discussions and sharing her ideas. |
| Grade 3 / 4 L: | Dixie Canning | being engaged in class and for contributing more to class discussions. |
| Grade 3 / 4 P: | Toby Walsh | his vibrant and entertaining contributions to class discussions! |
| Grade 5: | Isaac Longeri | having a positive attitude to learning and writing well-constructed sentences and paragraphs. |
| Grade 6: | Ryder Goldsmith | the focus and effort he is putting into his work and his contributions to class discussions. |
Happy Birthday
We wish the following students a Happy Birthday in the coming week:
Isabel Mathews - 26th August - 7 yrs
Aston McGowan - 27th August - 10 yrs
Prep News
The Junior teachers have begun planning for our Junior Unit Activity Day and Grade 1/2 Sleepover. This is happening on the 13th of September. A letter went home with more information and permission needs to be completed on Simon. Don't forget the $20 needs to be paid to the office. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Show and Tell- Week 7’s topic is ‘Something that starts with m’.
Swimming- We have had a very busy week of swimming lessons. Students have managed really well and have developed over each session. Thank you to everyone for being organised everyday!
Swimming
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me during office hours, either the SeeSaw app or email:
Rebecca Appledore- rappledore@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
Grade 1 News
It has been a busy week with swimming happening at the Wave Pool. Everyone has done well and seems to have enjoyed themselves. It will be nice to have a full week next week without interruptions as well as the Father's Day breakfast on Friday.
Please RSVP to our Father's Day Breakfast if you have not done so already.
There are a few busy weeks coming up, so please refer to Seesaw for a list of upcoming events for the school.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me during office hours, either the SeeSaw app or email:
Grace Laity- glaity@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
Grade 2 News
We have had a very busy week this week with our students participating in our swimming program. I am very proud of how everyone had a go and listened to their instructors. Having our lessons at the Wave Pool in the lovely warm water has been fantastic. A huge thanks goes to Maritta Watson for driving the bus each day!
The Grade 1/2 Sleepover notes went home on Monday and permissions are on the SIMON Everywhere App. Please let us know if your child will not be attending the day or sleeping over. Students who are not sleeping will need to be picked up after dinner at 7pm. We have a great day/evening of activities planned for the students!
Our Father's Day Breakfast is coming up soon so please RSVP to this and place your order if you have not already done so.
Have a great weekend!
Lisa
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me during office hours, either the SeeSaw app or email:
Lisa Ryan - lryan@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
Grade 3 & 4 News
Thanks to everyone who returned camp slips and the $50 deposit last week. Now that we have definite numbers we will be clearer with our planning.
Next week, 3/4L have their assembly and 3/4P have theirs the following Friday.
A reminder that next Friday is our Father's Day breakfast, which is always a lovely way to start the day. Thanks to those who have indicated that they will be attending.
In Grade 4 Maths we have been focusing on identifying and writing decimal fractions this week. This has been quite a challenge for some students, but asking clarifying questions and recieving extra support is helping to understand this concept.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
Julie and Adam
Congratulations to Levi, in 3/4P, who received his pen licence this week!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me during office hours, either the SeeSaw app or email:
3/4 L: Adam Lawrence – alawrenc@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
3/4 P: Julie Phelan – jphelan2.3@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
3/4P (Friday's): Emma Garraway - ewood@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
Grade Five News
For the next five weeks out Literacy work has a Science flavour. We are exploring states of matter and how they behave. On Wednesday we put a solid (sand), liquid (water) and gas (air) under pressure to see how they would react (see photo gallery). After some more reading and writing, we were ready to find key words in a text and use them to write our own summarising sentences. Engagement was high and student's writing on point.
Maths this week has been all about strategies for solving division problems. Having a good understanding and recall of times tables is really helpful with this topic. Students are encouraged to spend 5-10 minutes after school practicing their tables. Charts and activity booklets are available from class. Please let me know if you would like one for home.
If you're visiting the Wentworth Show on the weekend, take a walk through the needlework pavilion and have a look at our 3D artwork. We have entered a variety of items including paper mache animals, toilet paper mache food items and tin foil athletes. We are all excited to have our work on display and hopeful there will be a prize or two for collection on Saturday.
Have a happy and safe weekend!
Cheryl-Anne
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me during office hours, either the SeeSaw app or email:
Cheryl-Anne Courtney - ccourtney@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
Grade 6 News
This week we started a new Science unit which focusses on the states of matter. We did an experiment with ice cubes, salt and food colouring which demonstrates how condensation forms. Then we did another experiment that we had to check after a few hours that showed how the water cycle works. This one involved using coloured water in a ziplock bag that had an example of an outdoor scene drawn on it, then placing them in a sunny spot to show how evaporation works.
Now that we have completed our class novel, "Holes", the children are keen to watch the movie to see how it compares to the book. We will watch it on Monday, so if they want to bring in cushions etc for this, they can.
Please continue to remind and support your child in completing their homework, which is to be handed in on Mondays along with their home reading.
Have a great weekend!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me by email and I will respond during office hours:
Tana Lawrence - tlawrence@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au
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
8.30am | Supervision of students begin. Classrooms are remained closed. |
8.45am | Classrooms are opened for reading time. |
8.55am | Organisational bell (students go to the toilet, get a drink, be in line before music ends). |
9.00am | Teachers collect students from their line and proceed into class. |
11.00am | Recess bell. |
11.25am | Organisational bell (students go to the toilet, get a drink, be in line before music ends). |
11.30am | Teachers collect students from their line and proceed into class. |
1.30pm | Lunch bell. |
1.40pm | Students are to finish eating and go and play. |
2.20pm | Organisational bell rings (students go to the toilet, get a drink, be in line before music ends). |
2.25pm | Teachers collect students from their line and proceed into class. |
3.10pm | NSW bus bell. |
3.25pm | End of day bell rings. |
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.
