Our Lady of Lourdes Primary Newsletter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the lands of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice cries in the wilderness;

Prepare a way for the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley will be filled in,

every mountain and hill be laid low,

winding ways will be straightened

and rough roads made smooth.

And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.

Ref:Liturgyhelp.com

Today’s gospel is a reminder to us that Advent is a season of preparation. In this case, the preparation is all about making way for the love of God in our lives. The love of God surrounds us all the time. It’s like a rapidly flowing stream and sometimes we have placed boulders in the stream that send the water flowing around us. The call to make a way for the Lord is a call to clear the rocks out of the stream; to remove the obstacles that are directing the love of God around us and allow it instead to flow directly through us.

© Creative Ministry Resources Pty Ltd

A huge thank you to the school community for your generosity in giving to the St Vincent’s de Paul’s Christmas Hamper drive. The children were so excited as they walked through the gates, with their donations in hand, knowing that they were giving to others in need. To see the joy and excitement on their faces as the donations were collected demonstrates the love in giving. 

Christmas will be celebrated a little differently this year due to the current Covid restrictions. We could not, however, let this special time of the year go past without celebrating.

Students in all grades will be performing a special Christmas song and dance. The grades will video their performance and a special OLOL 2021 Christmas Dance recording will be made available for families to watch at home. More information on how you will be able to access this will be sent home in the Week 10 newsletter. 

The Nativity story, the reason for the season - The Birth of our Saviour, Jesus, will also be included in this movie.

All grades will be recorded on Thursday 9th December and the students are asked to wear their Christmas clothes to school on that day. Please see below for individual grade costume ideas.

We thank you for your patience and understanding as we endeavour to continue to celebrate the special end of year events in a Covid-safe manner.

All medication will be sent home on the last day of Term 4. If your child will not be present on the last day of term, please collect medication from the office on your child's last day. Updated medication and action plans can be returned to office at the start of Term 1.

If you borrowed any computers or readers during the lockdown period, could you please now return them to the school?

Many thanks for your cooperation.

Advice from NSW Health is that parents and carers should not send children to school if they are unwell, even if they have the mildest flu-like symptoms.  

Parents are required to have students tested if they are unwell for even the mildest of sysmptom, 

Schools will make arrangements for students who are unwell or have flu-like symptoms to be sent home.

If students are absent or have been sent home due to flu-like symptoms, they should not return until they have a negative COVID-19 test and are symptom-free.

Schools must sight the negative COVID-19 test result prior to allowing students  to return to school i.e. NSW Health or COVID-19 Testing Centre correspondence (SMS or email or hard copy) and/or a medical certificate must be provided to the school via email and a record of this kept by the school. 

email : ololbhills@parra.catholic.edu.au

Congratullations to the Anthony family on the safe arrival of Miguel, little brother to Lucia (1H), Rafael (2P) and Axel (5C)

We have wrapped up with our youth groups for the year, but look forward to coming back in person next year! Please keep us in your prayers as we plan for sessions in the coming year!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the youth office via email or mobile (youth@parishofbaulkhamhills.org.au | 0407 773 174).  

IWITNESS CONFERENCE: From the 10th-12th of December, the 2021 iWitness Conference will be taking place at the Tops Conference Centre. The Conference is for young adults (18+), and provides a fantastic opportunity to engage with and grow in your faith, to meet heaps of young adults from all around Australia, and to break out of your regular rhythm! If this sounds like it could be for you, check out the registration link (which also has contact information to get in touch with event organisers! Tickets are $230 for the weekend (which includes food and accommodation!), with special deals available (for more info., check the link or contact the organisers)!

 Booking & Contact: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=823275&

Skoolbag is the school’s primary avenue for immediate communication with parents.

Skoolbag is a communication app which all parents are strongly advised to install on their smartphones, ipads etc.