22 - 25th July, 2025 - Term 3, Week 1

Principal's News

Dear Families,

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday break and are looking forward to the new term! We have nine weeks of learning and activities ahead of us, starting with a NAIDOC liturgy and activities on Tuesday at 11.30am. NAIDOC Week (which falls during the holidays) celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and is a time for all Australians to learn about and acknowledge the rich heritage and contributions of First Nations peoples. OLSH will participate in various activities with their units after our liturgy.

On Monday, OLSH staff were joined by the staff of St. Joseph’s Primary, Red Cliffs to learn about the Fullness of Life Curriculum.  As part of our commitment to supporting the development of the whole child, in Term Four our school will implement the Fullness of Life for All, Relationships and Sexuality Education curriculum developed by DOBCEL. Grounded in Catholic teaching and aligned with the Victorian Curriculum and Child Safe Standards, this program supports students to grow in self-awareness, respectful relationships, and an understanding of human dignity. It provides age-appropriate learning that nurtures wellbeing, identity, and a sense of belonging.  There will be more information on this later in the term and the opportunity to attend a parent information session early in Term Four. 

Parent/Teacher Interviews are this coming Monday and Tuesday and the bookings will close on Sunday, 27^th July. After this time, families will need to call the office to make a time to meet with their child’s teacher. I hope you enjoyed reading about your child’s progress in the first semester and are looking forward to discussing the report at the interviews.

A big thank you goes to all families who have either paid their school fees in full, or who are well on their way to completing their fee commitment. While it can sometimes be difficult to keep up with fees, particularly in this current economic climate, I encourage any families who are having difficulty contact me as soon as possible, as the date for fee completion at the end of this term will come around quickly. A plan can always be made to address any issues families are experiencing.

Last weekend, three of our Grade Four students travelled to Wangaratta for the Sunraysia Under 13s Winter State Championships for Baseball. Morgan Dowling, Oscar Hensgen and Ned Collins-Wood did themselves proud, making it all the way to the Grand Final. Extra congratulations goes to Morgan who was selected as an All Star. Well done, boys!

This term, our Assembly dates will be in the following weeks:

• Week Three, 8^th August (Grade Four)
• Week Five, 22^nd August (Grade 5)
• Week Seven, 5^th September (following Father’s Day breakfast – Grade Three)
• Week Nine, 19^th September (Grade Two)

Please take the time to look at the calendar to check dates for upcoming activities. There will be quite a lot happening this term (as always!) and it’s always good to be prepared!

Stay warm this weekend!

Narelle Gallagher

Links:

Enrolments at OLSH:

OLSH Calendar:

Religious Education News

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

NAIDOC Liturgy

To celebrate NAIDOC week, we will begin with a liturgy at OLSH on Tuesday July 29th, 2025 beginning at 11:30am. All families are welcome to attend. Children will then participate in a range of activities. 

SSG & Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher Interviews are taking place on the 28th & 29th July.  These are now open on SIMON Everywhere.  Bookings will close on Sunday, 27th July. Please call the office to make a time after this date.

SSG Meetings are taking place on the 4th & 7th August. These are now open on SIMON Everywhere.  

2026 Diary Cover Winner

We would like to announce that Ariana Mazza is the winner of next year’s 2026 Student Diary Cover Competition!  Well done to all the students who handed in a design, you should be very proud of your work.

Athletics Day

Our annual Athletics Day will be held on Tuesday, August 26th at the Mildura Little Athletics Track. Children will need to be dropped off at the track by 8:45am and collected from the track by 3:25pm. 
If any families are available to assist on the day with roles such as running events, cooking and serving the BBQ, etc. please contact the school or Michael Breewel at mbreewel@olshmerbein.catholic.edu.au to complete the necessary paperwork. 
We look forward to another successful Athletics day!

NAIDOC Celebrations

Book Week - Dress Up

We will be celebrating Book Week in Week 4 of Term Three (11–15 August), one week earlier than the official Book Week dates due to the Grades Prep to 2 Swimming Program taking place in Week 5.

Throughout the week, classes will take part in a variety of Book Week-themed activities, including a ‘Dress as Your Favourite Book Character’ Day on Tuesday, 12th August.

We will hold a costume parade at 9:00 am where students can showcase their outfits. Friends and family are warmly invited to attend.

Carlton Respects Match Day Experience

One of our very lucky students, Isla Chirgwin, recently had an unforgettable experience representing OLSH at the Carlton Respects Game at the MCG — and to top it off, she got to see Carlton take the win! 

Isla was chosen to take part in this special experience as part of our school’s involvement in the Road to Respect program — a wonderful initiative that promotes positive and respectful relationships among young people. As part of the evening, Isla had premium Level 1 seating with her family and stood proudly in the Guard of Honour, right beside the banner as the players ran onto the field.

Here’s what Isla had to say about the night:

"I really loved going to the game, especially seeing Carlton win! I was a bit nervous walking out onto the oval in front of so many people, but it turned out to be such an exciting and memorable experience — especially getting to high-five Ollie Hollands and Tom De Koning (TDK)! My family was so thankful for the opportunity to come with me. We had the best time and it’s something I’ll never forget. Thank you to OLSH and the Carlton Football Club!"

The Road to Respect program is an interactive digital and face-to-face program designed for students in Grades 3–6. It aligns with the Victorian Government’s Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships curriculum and aims to inspire students to build future positive relationships.

A huge thank you to the Carlton Football Club and the Carlton Respects team for giving Isla Chirgwin, and her family, a night to remember. We are so proud to be part of programs that make a lasting impact.

#CarltonRespects #RoadToRespect #OLSHCommunity #StudentVoice #PositiveRelationships #MCGMemories

Census Collection Notice

The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) would like to advise all staff, parents, guardians and students (where applicable) that it will collect certain information about OLSH school, its staff and student body as part of the non-government schools census collection (the census).

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

Happy Birthday

We wish the following students a Happy Birthday:

Month of July:

• 2^nd  – Claude M – 6 yrs

• 4^th  – Alex G – 11 yrs

• 4^th  – Hunter M – 7 yrs

• 5^th – Jake H – 13 yrs

• 7^th  – Addison B – 8 yrs

• 7^th  – Samuel M – 6 yrs

• 8^th – Lachlan W – 11 yrs

• 9^th - Hayley C – 9 yrs

• 13^th – Alice P – 12 yrs

• 19^th – Indi B – 8 yrs

• 20^th – Rylee W – 8 yrs

• 22^nd – Evelyn M – 11 yrs

• 27^th – Amy R – 10 yrs

• 28^th – Kelly W – 7 yrs

• 29^th – Conor G – 9 yrs

• 30^th – Jack I – 6 yrs

• 30^th – Daisy I – 6 yrs

• 30^th – Ariana M – 11 yrs

• 31^st – Nash S – 9 yrs

OLSH Canteen

Orders need to be completed by 9.15am every Friday.

Prep News

Welcome back to a very busy Term Three! I hope everyone had a great break over the holidays.

We have had a great week of learning and all students have seemed very happy to be back at school!

Reading- Well done to all students who continued to read over the holidays. Please make sure you are reading each night and practising word books as well.

Show and Tell- A new list was sent home last term. Please let me know if you would like a new sheet. Week 2’s topic is ‘Free Choice’.

100th day- On Thursday next week we will complete lots of fun activities to celebrate 100 days at school! A note went home on Tuesday with an activity to complete at home. These can be sent into school at anytime.

I will be out of the classroom on Wednesday to complete some testing. Students will have Mrs Webb on this day.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone over the next couple of weeks at Parent Teacher Interviews and SSG Meetings. Please contact the office if you haven't booked an appointment.

This week in Prep:

• Writing- This week we wrote about our holidays.
• Maths- We have been learning the days of the week.
• Science- We looked at what things are made of and made some binoculars.
• Religion- We read the story "How to be a Bucket Filler" and discussed ways we can be kind to each other.

Week One

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Grade 1 News

What a fantastic start to the term we’ve had! The students have settled straight back into their learning and classroom routines beautifully.

In Writing, we’ve been focusing on combining sentences and using adjectives to make our writing more interesting. We have practised turning two short sentences into one longer, detailed sentence and thought carefully about using describing words to paint a picture for the reader. The students are becoming more confident in adding extra detail to their ideas.

In Maths, we’ve been exploring how to share items into equal groups. We have been using counters to practise making fair shares. The students have enjoyed working in small groups to solve sharing problems and explain their thinking to their classmates.

In Science, we have been discussing the needs of pets and what it takes to care for them. The students had lots of fun thinking about what animal would make a great class pet and sharing their reasons why.

Show & Tell will begin in Week 3 and the roster for this will be sent home next week.

Grade 2 News

The holidays flew by and I think it will be the same for Term Three. It is only a nine week term and we are packing in a lot of events!

We are starting new Electives on Friday and these will run for the first 4 weeks of this term.  The students made their choices last term and the most popular ones were Dash Robots, Art and Building Challenges. I will be leading the building challenges group and would appreciate any shoeboxes or similar medium size boxes for our challenge in Week 2. 

This Term in Science, we will be learning about Forces such as push/pull, gravity and friction. This is a fun topic with lots of hands-on activities. 

In Literacy, will will begin to learn about topic sentences and supporting details in paragraphs. 

In Mathematics, we have been revising three-digit place value and numberlines which is always a challenge. The students showed some excellent resilience and perseverance in our last few lessons. 

I look forward to sharing your child's achievements and progress with you at our Parent/Teacher interviews next week! Please book in via the SIMON Everywhere App.

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Reminders:

• NAIDOC Week celebrations: On Tuesday we will have a Liturgy and activities at school to celebrate NAIDOC Week 
  
• Parent/Teacher Interviews are taking place on the 28th & 29th July.  These are now open on SIMON Everywhere.  
• SSG Meetings are taking place on the 4th & 7th August. These are now open on SIMON Everywhere.  
• Book Week will be held in Week 4 - the dress up day and parade will be on Tuesday August the 12th.

Grade 3 News

It’s great to be back for Term Three! My leave has been postponed to Weeks 5–8, so I’ll be with the students for the first four weeks of term. Mrs Lohmeyer will take over from Monday 18th August. 

This term, our Literacy and Geography learning is integrated as we explore what maps can teach us about Australia. In Religion, we’re focusing on the value of respect, and in Maths, we’re continuing to develop strategies for adding and subtracting two- and three-digit numbers.

Homework—a small revision task—will be handed out on Monday afternoons. Students are asked to complete and return their homework by Friday morning. Daily reading for 20 minutes in the afternoon or evening is also very important. Students can choose books from home or borrow from school library on Monday afternoons. I appreciate your support in encouraging and taking time to read with your child—your interest and involvement make a big difference in their confidence and love of reading.

NAPLAN reports are now available for parents to collect from the front office—we are unable to send them home with students. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Cheryl-Anne 

Grade 4 News

This week, Grade Four has had Mrs. Lawrence teaching them while Mrs. Phelan is away on leave. All students retuned eager and raring to learn after the break, which is great! I'm sure lots of great learning experiences will take place this term!

Grade 5 News

Welcome back, everyone!

A reminder that if you haven’t yet booked a time for Parent/Teacher Interviews on Monday and Tuesday, please do so via SIMON.

This week, we began our Geography topic on Europe and North America. We also started our new class novel, Dragonkeeper.

In Art, we explored printmaking—check out the photos below! And yes, the students did get to paint on the desks!

Grade 6 News

Welcome Back to Term Three!

It’s great to be back in the Grade Six classroom! The students have returned with fantastic energy and have been eager to dive back into their learning - wonderful to see!

Here’s a quick snapshot of what we’ve been up to and what’s coming up:

In the Classroom

• Maths: This week we’ve been exploring angles - learning how to estimate, measure and name them.

• Religion: Our focus this term is on the theme of ‘Promise’. Students will explore what promises are, why they matter, and how they connect to Scripture and our daily lives.

• Geography (with Mrs Lohmeyer): Students will be learning all about Asia - its countries, cultures, and key features.

• Science: We are looking at Changing Matter. Students have been learning about evaporation, condensation, freezing and melting. 

Electives Begin!
Our Middle and Senior Unit electives kick off tomorrow and there's lots of excitement! Students will join mixed-age groups to explore their chosen topic: Woodwork, STEM, OLSH Has Talent, or Creative Writing.

Book Week - Week 4
A reminder that Book Week is just around the corner in Week 4. 

Parent-Teacher Interviews
If you haven’t yet, please jump online to book a time for your Parent-Teacher Interview. These will be held next week on Monday 28th July and Tuesday 29th July.

Looking forward to a wonderful term ahead!

Breanna 

Other News

Wentworth Annual Show Schedule

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.