18 - 13th June, 2025 - Term 2, Week 8

Deputy Principal's News

Dear Families,

As always with a short week, we’ve had a lot to fit in!

Important Notice: Planned Industrial Action Affecting Bus Services: Please be aware of planned industrial action on Monday 16 June and Tuesday 17 June that is expected to disrupt public bus services and selected school special bus services. An email with full details has already been sent to families.Students and families should check the PTV website (https://ptv.vic.gov.au/industrialaction) or mobile app for the most up-to-date transport advice.

Yesterday, our Year One and Two students enjoyed their excursion to Wentworth, where they visited the jail and the Pioneer Museum, followed by lunch at the junction. It was a fantastic day of learning and exploration.

This week also saw our staff take part in a professional development workshop with James Anderson on Wednesday after school. The focus was on The Four Zones of Learning: the Comfort Zone, the Performance Zone, the Learning Zone, and the Aspirational Zone. These zones help students develop Learnership by understanding how to navigate each one effectively, supporting both short-term success and long-term growth.

Last Friday, OLSH students represented the school in Winter Sports, participating in Soccer, Netball, and AFL 9s. All students should be congratulated for the excellent behaviour and sportsmanship they displayed throughout the day. One highlight came from Beau, who paused the soccer game to point out a handball by OLSH that the umpire missed. The day brought a mix of wins and losses—see the student-written sports report for all the details.

A quick reminder: Pie Fundraiser orders are due back on Thursday, June 19th, with orders being delivered to OLSH on Thursday, June 26th. Once again, Cowards Cakes will be supplying the pies. Having a few in the freezer always comes in handy for a quick and easy dinner when you're too tired to cook! A portion of the proceeds will go towards purchasing extra resources for our students, so please consider supporting us by buying and selling pies and pasties to family and friends.

Regards,

Adam Lawrence

Links:

Enrolments at OLSH:

OLSH Calendar:

Important Notice: Planned Industrial Action Affecting Bus Services

CDC have emailed the school regarding next week's arrangements (see below):

We are writing to update you about changes to the planned bus strike and what it means for your school’s bus services. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) has changed the dates of the protected industrial action, and it will now be a 48-hour strike. The strike will take place on Monday, 16 June and Tuesday, 17 June 2025 instead of Thursday, 12th June 2025 as previously advised. This means that Thursday, 12th June 2025, will operate as a normal school day with all bus services running as scheduled.

Impact on School Bus Services on Bus Strike Days:

• If your school has a dedicated school bus run by CDC Victoria, that service will continue to operate as normal even on these strike days.
• However, if your school has a route bus service that is diverted to your location or passes in front of your school during school hours, it will not operate on Monday, 16 June and Tuesday, 17 June 2025.

Dedicated school buses have our school’s name on the bus sign (the desto). Route buses will show a normal route number instead of the school’s name. If you are not sure which type of service your school has, please call us and we will confirm it for you. Please inform parents and carers of potential impacts on route school services and to start considering alternative travel arrangements for both school drop-off and pick-up on these days. All bus services will resume to normal from Wednesday, 18th June 2025.

CDC Victoria will continue to work with the TWU in good faith and will aim for a fair and reasonable resolution. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your support in helping families prepare. For any questions or feedback, please contact the depot on 5023 0274

Religious Education News

Holy Communion: This will be celebrated on the weekend of June 20th - 22nd and we keep the following children in our prayers as they prepare - Isaac Lohmeyer and Morgan Dowling. 

* Children making their first commuion need to ensure they have the passport and attend 3 Masses before making the Sacrament of Holy Communion. These need to be handed into the parish office the week before the sacrament. 

* There will be practice sessions for both sacraments the week before the sacrament. Please contact the parish office for further details.

* Lessons are online and need to be completed before making the sacraments. It's encouraged that students complete one lesson a week with their parents. 

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Year 2 & Above)

There will be an opportunity for children in Grade Two or above to make their Sacrament of Reconciliation. Below are the details of the parent information night and the celebration of the sacrament. Please contact the parish office for further details if you are interested in making the sacrament. 

• Parent Information Session - Wednesday October 15th
• Celebration of Sacrament - Wednesday November 26th

OLSH Pie Drive Fundraiser - DUE NEXT WEEK

Orders and money are to be returned by: Thursday, 19th June, 2025

Payment can be made by:

• Cash

• Eftpos (school office)

• Direct Debit: Merbein Catholic School/NAB, BSB: 083-764, Acc: 515871761.

These pies/pasties from Coward's Cakes are yummy and a great idea for the freezer when you need a quick dinner as we are heading into the colder months! There are quite a few varieties to choose from.

Please note the return dates for the order forms. Let’s all support this fundraiser as it will benefit our students through the purchase of much needed equipment.

Student Leader News: Recycle Bottles & Cans

The Student Leaders have organized an account for donated bottles and cans. If you have refundable bottles and cans, you can recycle them at any CDS container refund depots in Mildura and scan the barcode below. This will donate the money directly to the Student Leaders to go towards new equipment for the students!

Thank you, OLSH Student Leaders

Sports News

Winter Sports

Last Friday (June 6th) the Grade 5/6 children represented the school in our annual Winter Sports Carnival against The Lake Primary School and Merbein P-10 Primary School. All participants demonstrated sportsmanship and respect and tried their best. Thank you to all the staff who assisted on the day. Below are some reflections from some Grade 6 children:

Netball

On the 6th of June the Grade 5 and 6's played winter sports. The sports were netball, soccer and football. I played netball with Izobel, Alice, Paley, Jess, Ariana, Frankie, Ava D, Charlotte and Summer. We won one game and lost the rest. We lost against the two Lake teams and one against P-10. We beat the other P-10 team. We scored lots of goals and got lots of intercepts. All the girls that did an amazing job. Thanks to Mr Breewel, Mrs Lomeyer and all the other staff for organizing the winter sports and coaching. Thanks to Sandra Hammet for helping out.  

By Zali Breewel

Football

We played football and had a mixed day, but we had fun.

We lost two matches, and we won two matches. 

Our first match against The Lake A team we were beaten easily, 22 goals to 0.  Our second game we played much better against Merbein P-10 A and won by one goal.  Our third game was against Merbein P-10 B and we won easily, 22 goals to 0. Our final game was against The Lake B and we were beaten convincingly. We didn’t score but it was a fair match. The weather wasn't good. It was freezing, wet and I felt like I had frostbite. 

Our better players were Alfie Gebert, Phoenix McGowan, Sonny Pollard and Wyatt Field. Some highlights were Alex Gregg's goals, Dixie Canning running around with her jumper over her head so her hair wouldn't get wet and trying to keep our gear dry but we didn't do it very well.
By Phoenix McGowan

Soccer

When OLSH played soccer in winter sports we won two games - one was against the Lake B Team and the other was against Merbein P-10 B Team. Every time we won we had won by a lot of goals (with Isaac Longeri scoring 9 goals with one that didn’t count) and Connor Pole scoring nine goals as well. Along with those goals Beau Blore, Levi Davis, and Harry Petty all scored 1 goal. Everyone on the team were  positive even when we lost and showed great sportsmanship all day.

The weather was really bad, it rained all day so some people played with their jumpers under their jersey. Mr Lawrence was the best coach and led us to some victories. Overall everyone had fun and tried their best and that is all that matters.

By Isaac Longeri

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)

Happy Birthday

We wish the following students a Happy Birthday:

Month of June:

• 2nd - Isla Mc - 8 yrs

• 3rd - Alexis F - 9 yrs

• 5th - Archie M - 8 yrs

• 7th - Shelby J - 10 yrs

• 7th - Esther S - 10 yrs

• 8th - Hemi L - 9 yrs

• 8th - Riley N-C - 7 yrs

• 9th - Aiden D - 9 yrs

• 9th - Savannah W - 10 yrs

• 13th - Zoe A - 11 yrs

• 13th - Toby W - 10 yrs

• 14th - Beau B - 11 yrs

• 15th - Fei L - 9 yrs

• 21st - Lachlan S - 9 yrs

• 23rd - Isaac L - 10 yrs

• 24th - Izobel M - 12 yrs

• 29th - Vincent M - 6 yrs

• 30th - Anastasia C - 9 yrs

OLSH Canteen

Orders need to be completed by 9.15am every Friday.

Prep News

Show and Tell: Week 9's topic- 'Something that is soft'.

This week in Prep:

Spelling: We have been learning the 'th' sound and continuing to practise our stretching and blending to read words.

Writing: This week we have learnt different types of sentences, statements and questions. Statements are sentences that tell us something and they end with a full stop. Question sentences ask as something and need a question mark.

Maths: We have continued our work on addition.

Science: We started a new topic about living things. We talked about different animal features and discussed which feature from an animal we would like to have.

Religion: We wrote prayers of thanks to God for the world that he made. 

History: We have been talking about different celebrations and the different things that we do to celebrate birthdays.

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Grade 1 News

What a fantastic week we've had in Grade 1!

Yesterday, we enjoyed a wonderful excursion to Wentworth with the Grade 2s. I'm incredibly proud of how well everyone represented our school — their behaviour was excellent, and it looked like everyone had a great time!

In Maths, we’ve been revisiting place value. It’s fantastic to see how confident everyone is with this concept, especially since it’s something we explored earlier in the year.

In Writing, we've been focusing on forming questions and remembering to use question marks at the end — a small detail that makes a big difference!

As we approach the end of the term, let’s keep up the great effort. Keep working hard, and let’s make the most of these final weeks before the holidays!

Grade 2 News

 The big excitement this week has of course been our excursion.

The students had a great time and the weather was kind to us this year!

We started off at the Wentworth Gaol and were given a tour of the men's and women's cells. Alan, from the Wentworth Rotary Club told us some interesting facts about the cells for example, the cells were made of one million bricks which were made by the prisoners! After breaking into groups and touring the rest of the gaol we walked across to the park to have our recess. 

We then went to the Pioneer Museum. This had many interesting exhibits but the students particulatly enjoyed the Megafauna display, dinosaur and a few of my students were most excited by the tractors and farming equipment.

We then enjoyed our lunch at the Murray/Darling Junction park and burnt some energy on the playground. I'm sure everyone slept well last night!

Today we have our electives and my Art group will be using their designs to create their clay masterpieces!

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

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Grade 3 News

This week in Maths, we have been learning about symmetry and fractions. Yesterday, we went on a walk around the school yard searching for objects that had symmetry. The children were surprised to discover how many natural and man-made objects have one or more lines of symmetry. Fractions are a little bit trickier. We are learning to find halves, quarters, and thirds of a given amount. For example, if you had twelve apples, how many would half be? At home, you can help by involving your child in everyday activities such as sharing food (e.g. cutting a sandwich in half or into quarters), dividing toys or counters into equal groups, or folding paper to explore symmetry. These hands-on experiences make learning more meaningful and fun!

In Literacy, we have continued exploring life in colonial Australia through the text My Place. Students planned and wrote a paragraph about a child living in 1838. Here are two examples of their work:

Davey, Sam and Sarah's son, lived in Australia in 1838. Sadly his dad died. Also he thinks the Owen’s boys are snobs! He has two sisters and one brother. He might change his mind but he wants to be a bushranger! Davy’s story helps us to learn more about life in colonial Australia. By Evie

Davey, Sam and Sarah’s young son, lived in Australia in 1838. He is seven years old. He loves horses very much, especially Duchess. When Davey was little his dad died because he fell off the roof of the new house. Davey dislikes the Owen boys very much, he thinks they are snobs. Davey's story helps us to learn more about life in colonial Australia. By Quinn

Have a lovely weekend!

Grade 4 News

This week we continued to consolidate our understanding of the formal addition algorithm. We created a masterpiece, inspired by the Archibald Prize competition, which depicted our own identity and learnt how to identify topic sentences and supporting details in a paragraph.

Well done to all students in Grade Four who continue to be diligent with their weekly times tables homework as well as their daily reading. It is very pleasing to see reading progress in many students.

Enjoy your weekend!

Julie

CREATING PAINTINGS OF OUR OWN IDENTITY

Grade 5 News

This week, students have been working hard to complete their narrative writing pieces, with a particular focus on using paragraphs correctly to structure their ideas. We also began the week with an End of Module Test in Mathematics, which covered both long and short division strategies. The results were outstanding, and the class should be very proud of the progress they’ve made over the past few weeks. Well done to everyone for their effort and dedication!

Grade 6 News

I hope everyone had a restful long weekend and managed to stay warm! It’s hard to believe we’re already heading into Week 9.

It’s been another busy week as we prepare for our assembly, which will take place on Friday 20th June at 9:00am in the Multipurpose Room. We’ll be sharing our learning about natural disasters, and our research projects are really taking shape. We’re hoping to have them completed in time to display at the assembly!

In Mathematics, we've been exploring growing patterns and learning how to identify rules that help us predict what comes next.
In Religion, we’ve been learning about the Beatitudes and are now moving into a study of the sacraments, with a particular focus on Holy Orders - especially in light of the recent change in the Pope. Students will complete an assessment task linking this sacrament to their own lives and understanding its significance. Thank you to families for working with your child to complete the family history assignment for Mrs Lohmeyer's Migration project. This will provide valuable information for students to complete their History unit of work. 

Have a nice weekend! 

Breanna 

General News

School Advisory Council Members:

Thel O’Shea, Hannah Mills, Courtney Portaro, Sandra Hammet, Lana Borchard, Sara McClelland, Jennifer Wilson, Jordan Wade, 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.