1- 31st January, 2025 - Term 1, Week 1

Principal's News

Dear Families,

Welcome back to the new school year! I hope you all enjoyed the holiday break. It was great to see the excitement of the students when they returned on Wednesday, and it seems that a great week has been had by all! Our new Prep students have settled in well but I’m sure they will be looking forward to the weekend for a little bit of rest! We look forward to doing some great learning together this year.

Families who hold a Healthcare Card will now be receiving a credit of $400 per child on their school fees, thanks to the School Savings Bonus funded by the Victorian Government. In State Government schools, all families will receive this bonus in 2025, regardless of whether they hold a Healthcare Card or not. Last year the Director of Catholic Education objected strongly to the fact that all families in Catholic schools were not afforded the same bonus as state school families, but to no avail. With the cost of living impacting on every family in some way, and with the permission of DOBCEL (our governing body), OLSH has decided to apply a fee credit of $400 per family to those families in our school who will not receive the state government bonus. These families should have received a letter via email yesterday. Although this amount is considerably less than the government’s bonus, we hope that this will help our families in some way. If you have any questions about this, please contact the office.

Every year our staff are obligated to attend Professional Development, with pupil-free days on these dates. Structured Literacy is again occupying two of these days, along with Religious Education, Learner Agency, and the first and last days of the school year. There could possibly be one other date added to the calendar, but this is to be confirmed. Some dates to get into your diaries now are;

Tuesday, 22^nd April (Structured Literacy)

Monday, 19^th May (Learner Agency)

Monday, 21^st July (Religious Education)

Friday, 31^st October (Structured Literacy)

When you look at your calendar, you will see that the date on April 22^nd falls in the first week of Term Two. In that week, Monday is a holiday due to Easter, Tuesday is the Structured Literacy day (we had no choice in this date) and Friday is ANZAC Day, leaving only two days of the week for school! We realise that this may create an opportunity for some families to continue their school holidays rather than return for two days, but we also hope that you will see the two days as great opportunities for learning. The school Cross Country Run will be on Thursday of that week, which is a great reason to be at school!

Our Beginning of Year Mass will be held on Thursday, 6th February at 9.30am in the church. This is always a great celebration where we ask for God's blessing on our school community as we embark on a new year. School Leaders and Student Leaders will be presented with their badges during mass. Families are most welcome to join us for mass!

If you have been around the streets of Merbein during the holidays, you may have noticed the beautifully decorated planter pots towards the Bendigo bank end of the main street. These pots were carefully painted by Mrs. Phelan and Mr. Lawrence’s Grade Three/Four classes late last year, in consultation with the Merbein Development Association, and depict the bird life and fish of our Murray River. The pots look amazing, and we congratulate both classes on their fantastic work! (photos below)

Just a reminder to all families about the after school pick up protocols:

• No student will be sent across the road to parents – parents must walk to the gate to collect their children.
• Only once the school bus departs will teachers start sending students to their cars.
• Walkers and scooters must leave via the appropriate gate. Walkers (parents and students) at the main gate must wait patiently for the bus children to get onto the bus.
• If you are using the drive-through Kiss and Go to collect students, you must not exit your car to buckle students into seatbelts – this holds up the line and stops the flow of cars. Children must be able to buckle themselves in.
• Once in the pick-up line, families are not permitted to leave their car to collect students and then pull out of the line. This is unsafe and not what Kiss and Go is to be used for!
• No U-turns are permitted in front of the school. These are also dangerous when there are families crossing the road to access their cars.

Parking in Surgery Street or across the road from the school is suggested if you are walking in to collect your children. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation with these rules, as they are in place to keep our school community safe.

This year, we are holding our assemblies on a fortnightly basis instead of weekly. This term, assemblies fall on the odd weeks (1,3,5,7 & 9) in the Multipurpose Room at the usual time of 9am. All parents are welcome to come along!

Next week will be a hot one, so please ensure that your child has their hat and drink bottle each day.

I hope your children have enjoyed their first week back at school and I wish you all a lovely weekend!

Yours sincerely,

Narelle Gallagher

Links:

Enrolments at OLSH:

OLSH Calendar:

Religious Education News

Beginning of School Year Mass: will be held on Thursday, February 6th at 9:30am. Everyone is welcome to attend. 

Ash Wednesday: will be held on Wednesday March 5th. An Ash Wednesday Liturgy will be held on the day. More information will come closer to the date.

Sacramental Program: Those families wishing to participate in the Sacrament Program need to contact the Parish Office for more details. The Parent Information Night for the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist will be held on Wednesday April 2nd.

Reminder: Register for the new CDFpay mobile app today

CANTEEN BEGINS NEXT FRIDAY

The new CDFpay mobile app and website is now available for online canteen ordering.

If you haven’t already, please register for a new CDFpay account today:

1. Download the CDFpay mobile app on the Apple or Google store, then click ‘Sign up now’.
   No app? Register here

Important:

• You will not be able to use your existing CDFpay credentials to log in to the new CDFpay mobile app. You will need to follow these steps to create a new CDFpay account (you can use the same email address if desired).
• Register for a new CDFpay account before the start of Term 1 2025 and we will transfer any remaining balance on your account before the end of March 2025.

1. Enter and confirm your email address, then click ‘Sign up’.
2. Check your email inbox and follow the prompts to complete your account registration (check junk/spam if lost).

OLSH Wellbeing Dog

 Indi is Back! 

Indi, our wonderful OLSH Wellbeing Dog, is excited to be returning to school next Monday, 3rd February 2025! 

To ensure a safe and positive experience for everyone, please check out our next post for important information on how to interact with Indi at school.

 Action Required: If you haven’t already, please take a moment to complete this form so we can better understand how your child feels about dogs.

Thank you for your support! We can’t wait to see Indi back at OLSH! 

Connect Survey - Parents to confirm

We ask that ALL parents log on to SIMON Everywhere and go to the notifications or the Connect Survey tab to complete a survey to confirm and accept the new Parent Code of Conduct and Enrolment Agreement. These two documents have been developed by Catholic Education Ballarat and we ask that all families complete this before the end of the year.

Happy Birthday

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

• Sophie Barnes - 2nd January - 9 yrs
• William Cory - 2nd January - 6 yrs
• Summer Alderson - 8th January - 10 yrs
• Laney Pollard - 15th January - 7 yrs
• Jandre van Schalkwyk - 18th January - 11 yrs
• Tommy Field - 20th January - 9 yrs
• Jacinta Wagner - 20th January - 9 yrs
• Morgan Dowling - 27th January - 9 yrs
• Arabella Barlow - 31st January - 6 yrs
• Ava Dodson - 7th February - 10 yrs
• Layla Gebert - 7th February - 6 yrs
• Charlotte Primarano - 7th February - 9 yrs
• Reuben Sheard - 8th February - 7 yrs

Prep News

We have had a great week at school! All students have settled into the routines at school very well and are completing lots of learning tasks each day. I think they will be looking forward to the weekend!

Art smocks- Students will need an art smock at school.

SeeSaw- Thank you to those parents who have already signed up to SeeSaw. This is an easy way for us to show you what is happening in the classroom each day and to share any information. If you need a new note with set-up information, please let me know.

Beginning of Year Mass- This is on Thursday 6th Feb at 9:30am. Everyone is welcome to come along.

Sports Days- All students need to wear their sports uniform on Mondays and Fridays.

Library Day- Students will need to return their current books each week so they can borrow. No bag means no borrowing. We will visit the library on Fridays.

Buddy Assembly- On Friday the 14th February, the Preps, along with their buddies will present an item at assembly at 9am. All parents are welcome to come.

Prep Rest Day - Wednesday 5th Feb, Wednesday 12th Feb, Wednesday 19th Feb, Wednesday 26th Feb. Students do not come to school on these days.

Reading- Yesterday students took home their first home readers and they were very excited! Please make sure you are listening to/reading each night.

History- In History this term students are learning about themselves and their families. We would like each child to bring in a photo of themselves as a baby and a family photo. This photo can either be brought in and I will photocopy it or it can be emailed to me. We would like these photos by Monday the 10th of February. 

Letter Box- This term instead of doing Show and Tell we are going to do a Letter Box. One at a time students will bring home a box with a letter card inside. Their task will be to find things (around 5-6 things) around the house that start with this letter. Students will then bring the box back to school and share with the class what they found. Items will be sent home on the same day. Please contact me if you have any concerns.

Week One Photos

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Grade 1 News

We have had a fabulous start to the term! Students have done so well remembering the school expectations and routines from last year.

Art smocks- Students will need an art smock at school.

SeeSaw- Thank you to those parents who have already signed up to SeeSaw. This is an easy way for us to show you what is happening in the classroom each day and to share any information. If you need a new note with set-up inormation, please let me know.

Beginning of Year Mass- This is on Thursday 6th Feb at 9:30am. Everyone is welcome to come along.

Reading & Spelling- On Monday students will take home their first home readers. Please make sure you are listening to/reading each night. They will also bring home spelling on Monday. There will be a note sent home today with more details regarding spelling.

Grade 2 News

We have had a very positive and settled start to the year in Grade Two. It was lovely to see everyone's happy faces on Tuesday morning. The students have been busy learning about the expectations and procedures in Grade Two as well as completing some holiday writing and craft.

Yesterday readers were sent home. I will listen to each student read over the next week and see how they are going with their current level of books. It would be wonderful if students could read regularly at home to an adult and have their diaries signed.

Reminders:

* Please return your child's workbooks by Monday 

*There will be no Assembly in Week 2

*Beginning Year Mass is next Thursday the 6th of February

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Grade 3 News

Welcome to Grade 3 and the 2025 school year! 

This week, Grade 3 have been settling in, getting organised, and becoming familiar with their new routine. We explored the school values and discussed our class norms. Students also worked in pairs to interview each other and write thoughtful introductions. Once these are complete, I’ll share photos on Seesaw!

Some important information and dates for your diary:

Monday and Fridays are our sports days - students should wear their PE uniform.

Monday is our library day - please send a library bag.

Mrs Lohmeyer will take the class on Tuesdays and Mrs Gareffa (LSO) will work in the room Monday to Thursday. 

Assembly will be held each fortnight on the odd weeks (1, 3, 5, 7 and 9)

Beginning Year Mass - February 6th 

Parent Teacher Interviews - 17th & 18th February 

Swimming Week - 24th - 28th February 

Book covering.You are welcome to choose whether to cover your child's exercise books or not. If you would like to cover your child's books please let me know via email, Seesaw or a note in your child's diary and I will send them home on Friday 7th Feb. 

Please don't hesitate to make contact if you have any questions or concerns. My contact details are below. The QR code for our class Seesaw page was sent home on Thursday. Please take a moment to join the group as it's a great way to stay connected with class and school news.

Have a lovely weekend!

Cheryl-Anne 

Grade 4 News

Welcome back to another exciting school year! I look forward to touching base once again with those parents I had the privilege of working with last year and to meet with new families to our class in the near future.

This week, our class has taken the time to reaquaint ourselves with fun tasks and activities, create our class norms and rules and set goals for the year ahead.  

Next Friday there will be an information slide that you will have access to which outlines timetables and class expectations regarding Grade Four in 2025. Just a heads up for the following:

-a note was sent home on Wednesday which gave instructions how to connect to your child's current SEESAW page. Please log on to this ASAP to be able to access announcements and quick messages etc. Mrs Gallagher is adding a slide to the information that you will have access to next Friday regarding SEESAW PROTOCOL. Please make the time to read this.

-Mrs Phelan teaches Monday to Thursday. Mrs Garraway teaches in the Grade Four room on Fridays

-students need to wear their school uniform on Wednesday and Friday

-library borrowing and returns will be on Friday

-if you have any unwanted egg cartons at home, they would be much appreciated please

Thank you and I look forward to working in partnership with you all in 2025.

Julie Phelan

Grade 5 News

Welcome to Grade Five!

 Today an important note is being sent home to Gr.5 families via email. Please read it as it has information about this term.

The sheet with information to join Seesaw was sent home today. 

If students haven't already, they need to bring in an art shirt. This can be an old shirt. It just needs to cover their school shirt.   

Thank you, Adam Lawrence

Grade 6 News

Welcome to the 2025 school year! The students have all come back excited and ready to learn. It's going to be a great year together! 

Communication

My email is listed below. If you ever have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me. Email is the easiest way as I am able to check this regulary throughout the day. If you would like a face to face conversation at any time throughout the year please contact me to book a time as things can be busy after school with meetings and duties. Thanks so much for your assistance with this. Reminders for events and activities including photos throughout the year will be put on SeeSaw App, our school Facebook page and always in the newsletter. 

A timetable was sent home on Wednesday detailing our week. Some reminders are below:

• Sport Days - Monday and Friday 
• Library Day - Mondays 
• Assemblies - Every second week (Weeks 1,3,5,7,9)

A reminder that Sophie Lohmeyer will be teaching in Grade Six on Fridays for the duration of the year. 

Some upcoming dates: 

Beginning Year Mass - February 6th 9:15am

Prep/Grade Six Assembly Performance - February 14th 

Parent Teacher Interviews - 17th & 18th February 

Swimming Week - 24th - 28th February (More info to come) 

I had the pleasure of picking up the Grade Six shirts on Thursday night. Just in time for our first full week of school! I can't wait to see the kids wearing them next week! 

Have a nice weekend! 

Breanna Meyer 

General News

School Advisory Council Members:

Thel O’Shea, Hannah Mills, Grant Finlayson, Courtney Portaro, 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.