Newsletter

Strategic Intent:

At Our Lady’s School, we aim to strengthen our Catholic community through: fostering respectful relationships; clear, strategic faith-filled leadership; and our commitment to professional pedagogical excellence that is founded upon our deep knowledge, collegiality, effective teamwork and our Gospel inspired dedication to the learning and wellbeing of each child.

Education in Faith

That students understand and make more meaningful, relevant connections between the Catholic story and their own lives.

That staff develop their capacity to design and implement a contemporary RE curriculum.

Leadership and Management

That staff teamwork and ownership of the Vision and educational priorities of the school will improve

Learning and Teaching

That student learning outcomes will improve.

Student Wellbeing

That the wellbeing of all students will improve.

School Community

That the home/ school partnership is strengthened to the benefit of student learning outcomes. 

Dear Families and Friends of Our Lady's School Community,

It is great to be able to once again share with you the great things that are happening in our school. It is really fantastic to be able to welcome back  parents to some of our traditional engagement opportunities at our school. Not only do we welcome back parents to help in the classroom, but we also invite parents to attend our weekly assemblies at 2.45pm in the MPC.

Grandparents/ Special Friends Day

What a wonderful celebration we had on Wednesday when we welcomed our Grandparents and special friends to our school. The corridors were filled with laughter and chatter about school and learning. We hope all our visitors enjoyed a wonderful visit and felt our warm Our Lady’s welcome.

I thought I would share with you one of the many emails I received in gratitiude.

Dear Annie and Staff,

We travelled from Ballarat to be at the grandparents and special friends morning and wish to congratulate you on a truly lovely event . The effort and preparation so obviously done by you all and also the children was obvious . We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the morning and of course felt very proud of our three grandchildren !  ( Lenny, Ted and Hattie )

Thank you so much for the opportunity to be involved and congratulations once again .

Regards ,   

Ann and Alan Campbell

Cross Country

A huge call out to Mrs James, the OLPS staff and parents for supporting the District Cross Country event last week. We congratulate  our OLPS Team for their outstanding results.

Mother's Day

We hope that all our amazing OLPS mothers, grandmothers and great women in our lives enjoyed their special day last Sunday. This precious day is a time to stop, reflect, be thankful for, and celebrate the significance mothers and mother figures have on our lives. As we paused to think about our mothers, we also think of those that are no longer with us. We give thanks to, and remember their influence on our lives in shaping who we are today.

The Mother’s Day lunch was a big success, it was great to see our community come together in this way and enjoy each other's company. 

NAPLAN  - The National Assessment of Literacy and Numeracy 

The National Assessment of Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) was conducted with all Year 3 and 5 students last week. These assessments provide a snapshot of where each students’ learning is currently placed in literacy and mathematics. This information, combined with comprehensive, ongoing teacher assessments help to identify academic achievement and future learning goals.

We congratulate all our students and the staff involved, for the level of professionalism, calmness and gentle support. 

We will keep you updated regarding when the 2021 results will be available.

Eucharist and Reflection Day

Today, our Year 5 students have enjoyed the day in Lysterfield as part of their preparation for the Sacrament of First Eucharist. This special Mass will be celebrated next Sunday, May 30th @3.00pm. If you have any questions about the Mass please feel free to contact Ms Emily Nicholson, our RE Leader.

Working Bee

Next Saturday we will be holding our second working bee for the year. Thanks to Jason Brosolo for coordinating this for us. Be sure to come along, it is not only a great way to help out the school but a wonderful way to make friends and widen your circle of support. Look out for the sign in document from the PFA.

Young Leaders Conference

On Monday, Mr Hawke and I will be escorting our 4 school leaders to the Halogen Young Leaders Day at the Melbourne Convention Centre. This is the first time OLPS has attended this conference and I hope that it will be an opportunity for our future student leaders.

By attending this conference, it is hoped to inspire our young people to grow , develop and discover the importance of making a difference in the world. They will hear stories from the young leaders of today who have been brave and courageous, and have made a difference. The world requires the next generation of leaders to be bold, creative, resilient, humble, sacrificial, resourceful..the list goes on! I am confident that it will be a day of great learning.

2021 Enrolments

We continue to lead OLPS school tours for prospective families. We have been so proud to showcase our school to the many families interested in learning more about our school over the last couple of months. Thank you to our community for speaking so highly of our great school - your connections and affirmations of OLPS are greatly appreciated. We continue to invite you to leave a google review on our Facebook page.

Student Illness

As the winter months approach, we ask that if your child is unwell that you do keep them at home. As you would be aware, the children play and learn in close proximity to one another and gems can be easily spread. We continue to remind students about correct hand hygiene and how to manage coughing and sneezing in a safe way.

Thank you to the families who are being considerate towards all at OLPS, in keeping their child at home at the slightest sign of illness.  By doing this, you are not only keeping your own child safe, but also avoiding sharing any infection.  We thank you in advance for your support.

School Photo's - Wednesday, May 26th

A reminder that our school photo's will take place next Wednesday . All students are asked to wear their full winter uniform. The uniform policy can be found at the end of the newsletter, should you require further information.

We do ask that all our Year 6 students wear their Jacket for their official photo's.

A gentle reminder to all parents/ families that are visiting our school during school operation times ( 8.45am - 3.30pm) that you must sign at the office. As you would appreciate office staff may be quite focussed on administation tasks or attending to students in sick bay. Please do not bypass the signing in proceedure . This is a Child Safety requirement. There is a bell located on the counter in the office, please ring it for attention.

In closing...

Schools first and foremost, are places of learning and within our catholic context are places of spiritual and personal growth for the whole child. As we know life is a journey, a journey that consists of smooth paths, potholes, hills and meandering beauty. At OLPS, love is at the centre of all we do. 

Love brings patience and understanding, which are so important in teaching and learning . Teaching and learning  is rarely a predictable act. Woven into it are a million threads of impression, expectation, feeling, and narrative construction for which teachers cannot plan. Holding these threads together like a loom,constantly at work as new material is fed through, the teacher’s unique identity as an artist balancing , coordinating, and creating the learning environment, shine.

As parents we also have a responsibility to  illuminate the love of learning in our children. Helping them find the connections between what  they are learning and the value these lessons will serve later in life. Learning relationships are triangular - they move between the school, the student and their  home lives. It requires everyone in the triangle to shine the light and illuminate the love of learning for all our students. 

Thank you for working in partnership with us.

"Courage doesn't always roar. Soemtimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saything, I will try again tomorrow."Mary Anne Radmacher

God Bless

Annie

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge 2021

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and Our Lady’s is excited to be participating. The PRC application offers a range of exciting features including:

• access to a library catalogue (including book images and blurbs)

• a modern user-friendly interface

• rewarding  students with badges as challenge milestones are achieved

• the option for students to mark books as a favourite, give them a star rating or complete a book review

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 17 September 2021.

Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: www.education.vic.gov.au/prc 

We will be opening the school library on Wednesday mornings and at playtime so that students can come in to read and enter their challenge books.

Classroom Helpers

Please remember to fill in the google form if you would like to be a parent helper in our junior classrooms. Your classroom teacher will be in contact shortly.

parent helper days and times

Please remember to watch the presentation, present your Working With Children’s Check and also sign the confidentiality form from the office.

Presentation

Kimberly Chin

Literacy Leader

This term, students from Prep to Year 6 are focusing on the Eucharist.  Students are learning about the historical context, the connections between the Liturgy of the Eucharist and their own lives and what the Sacrament of the Eucharist means for them. 

Whilst we keep our students who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist in our prayers, at home you may want to share in the task below as a family. 

"After Jesus nourishes us in the Eucharist, we are asked to go out to be “bread for the world.” Eucharist calls us to help feed those around us who are hungry. Some people are hungry for food, others are hungry for love, or care, or friendship.

Pray the following prayer together with your child.

PARENT: Some people in our world are hungry for food. They don’t have enough to eat.

CHILD: Open our hands, God. Help us to share what we have with others.

PARENT: Some people in our world are hungry for care. They are sad or lonely. They need comfort and support.

CHILD: Open our eyes, God. Help us to see the needs of those around us.

PARENT: Some people in our world are hungry for friendship. They are excluded because others think they are “different” in some way.

CHILD: Open our hearts, God. Help us to share your love with others.

Together, make a commitment to bring the love of Jesus to someone in need. Someone we know who is in need of help is...This person is hungry for (food, love, care, friendship, prayers)...We will help bring Jesus’ love and care to this person by..."

link: www.ecsi.site/au/user

Website access code - Ghj654 

Updated Survey Access Code - f1g71h

A gentle reminder that you are invited to please complete the ECSI survey for 2021. The details above will give you access to the survey. 

 Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your anticipated participation.

Warm regards,
Emily Nicholson 

Religious Education Leader

In light of recent news reports & backed by research pointing to an alarming increase in online harms & child exploitation (Sydney Morning Herald May 16), particularly since COVID19, Carley has written an open letter to all parents of primary school parents. Carley is a psychologist, cyber safety educator and parent and writes her letter to both increase awareness and also provide some practical steps to get started.

As a parent you know that your child’s success at school is linked to their wellbeing.

Wellbeing Resources

Wellbeing and learning go hand in hand. When your child feels connected to their family, peers and teachers they feel secure in the knowledge that they will be supported throughout their learning journey. Safe and trusting relationships create a positive learning environment where wellbeing can flourish. The Australian Student Wellbeing Framework supports you to work with the school to promote your child's wellbeing and learning.

https://studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/parents/

Running Group

Running group will take a break now during the colder, wetter months. We will resume later in the year.

Dear parents,

This is a fun and simple initiative to keep your children active during the colder months. A big advantage of this is students can run on any day at any time that suits them, (so avoid the rain & strong winds). I will be running again this year in the VXC for staff and lging kms for OLPS, it will be fun for the OLPS cohort to 'virtually' run together, especially when our Running Group is taking a hiatus during Winter.I'm happy to sit with any student who requires help to sign up, they should just pop in and see me, it is very easy to log runs/walks.I encourage all students to sign up ,remember you may walk if you choose (it doesn't have to be running) I hope our wonderful runners from the OLPS running group will join in as a priority :)Lets see if we can get a massive kilometre tally for our school! Below is the link to log in.

Go Our Lady's!

Mrs James

https://www.ssv.vic.edu.au/Pages/VirtualCrossCountry.aspx

SSV Virtual Cross Country for 2021

Built on the success of the 2020 Virtual Cross Country event, SSV is delighted to provide this great opportunity again in 2021. Victorian primary and secondary students can take part in any way they would like - they can run or walk.Students can run or walk for a new personal best or for fun and fitness. The main aim is for students to get out and give it a go. Every meter run by a student will earn virtual points for their school. Students will be given the option to submit their performance, but if they wish they also now have the additional option to not have their performance made public. #SSVVXC

Getting started

Students should make sure they have parent/guardians permission before heading out for a run or walk or even better take them along and maybe also a friend.There are three simple steps for students to participate in the SSV Virtual Cross Country:

Important Information The Virtual Cross Country offers 1000m, 2000m, 3000m or 5000m. The Virtual Cross Country will run in parallel to the normal SSV interschool sport cross country pathway. The Virtual Cross Country performances cannot be used to gain entry to the SSV interschool sport pathway for any sport and no medals will be awarded. Virtual points will be allocated to the student's school which will be added to the school ranking ladder. Students from SSV Member Schools, from Prep to Year 12, are encouraged to enter as many individual repeated performances as they would like. The data collected is in accordance with the SSV Privacy Policy. Schools are encouraged to promote this opportunity to all students in an effort to get them involved in recreational running.  It’s also a great way to get students moving and in training in the lead-up to the SSV interschool sport cross country season. One of the important aspects we learned from last year is that teachers play a huge part in students participating in virtual sport opportunities. Survey results showed that 51% of students get involved when a ‘Teacher encourages’ them to be involved. Teachers have the option to download a spreadsheet to allow student entries to be submitted in bulk. Download the bulk entry sheet.

Things to remember

• Warm-up before you participate to minimise the risk of injury
• Be sure to have the correct footwear, clothing and equipment
• Remember we are not looking for the best, we are looking for students to give it a go
• Entrants provide their personal information to SSV for the purposes of SSV conducting the Virtual Cross Country and awarding school points. Entrant's information will be used in accordance with SSV's Privacy Policy
• The use of third party apps: Please be advised, this is not a Department owned or managed licensed software for Schools. To the extent permitted by law, the State of Victoria (Department of Education and Training) and its employees, agents and consultants exclude all liability for any loss or damage (including indirect, special or consequential loss or damage) arising from the use of, or reliance on, the this software whether or not caused by any negligent act, omission or misuse. By accessing and using this software, you accept that any disputes about this software or its contents are to be determined by the courts having jurisdiction in Victoria in accordance with the laws in force in Victoria (except any principle of conflict of laws inconsistent with this requirement).  The State of Victoria (Department of Education and Training) makes no representation that the content of this software complies with the laws (including intellectual property laws, privacy and data protection) of Victoria.

Congratulations to the 2021 OLPS Cross Country Squad:

Luke M, Quinn K, Sam D, Isla O, Emmy L, Isabel C, Lucy G, Sophia C, Grace C, Charlotte C, Sage K, Olivia S, Harry G, Charlie C, Angus C, Finn O, Charlie B, James M, Leena H, Lachie H, Lenny C, Kallum JR, Tom L, Oliver F.

Special mention to Harry G and Luke M who qualified to the next level- Division. A special mention also to Lucy G who missed out by one spot on making it to the division.

WHAT SOME STUDENTS SAID AFTER THE CROSS COUNTRY RUN

Lachie H - "The hardest thing was to keep going. I wanted to do my best."

Sophia C - "I have never run 2km before. It was hard but I kept pushing. I felt so proud once I got to the end."

Luke M - "The corners were the hardest, I didn't want to fall behind. I was very happy to get into the top 15 to go to division and compete."

Isabel C - "I wanted to represent Our Lady's. I love running, I love the feeling when you finish. I felt so proud of myself."

Olivia S - "I felt nervous. There were lots of schools there. I got a stitch, but I kept pushing. At the end I felt relieved and exhausted.

Musical Evening

Music performance night on Tuesday, 8 June in the multipurpose room from 7pm till 8 pm.

All guitar and piano students are being asked to perform for friends and family. It’s a great way to showcase the hard work and practice these students are putting into their musical studies! 

Bluebell Park – just down the road on the corner of Erasmus and Harding Street - may be used by families with children at Our Lady's Primary School.  As a result, you may have an interest in knowing a little more about it, and how you could help to maintain it as the pleasant environment that it now is.

Bluebell Park is one of the City of Whitehorse parks and its facilities are supplied and maintained in part by that Council.  However, by 2004, it had become very rundown and shabby.  A group of nearby neighbours formed a committee, and lobbied the Whitehorse Council for improvements to the Park, so it was a better place for them and for their children.  The Council agreed and made major improvements to Bluebell Park.  The Bluebell Park Committee, with Whitehorse Council support, has worked since to maintain the park, by weeding and repairing as needed.  To do this, it holds 1 ½ hour working bees four or five times a year.  These start at 9 am on Saturdays and finish with morning teas for the working bee team from 10.30 am.

Any parents who live near to Bluebell Park and who use it or whose children use it, are invited to join us at the next working bee.  Saturday May 22, 2021.   Or and perhaps join us for the later ones – planned for Saturday August 21, September 18, and November 20, 2021.  The people who join us on those working bees are all friendly and inclusive and so the working bees can be both useful for the park, and sociable for those taking part.

Friends of Wattle Park

The "Friends of Wattle Park"  would like to invite: students, staff and parents to join them in the carpark on top of the hill at 10.00am on Saturday July 3rd, to plant some small native plants around the park. They will provide the plants and gardening equipment. The event should take about one hour. Kirsten Phelan from Parks Victoria is coordinating this event.

The "Friends of Wattle Park" who since 1992, have planted indigenous and native plants in the park, weeded garden beds and taken tours of the park. 

It would be great to see OLPS supporting our local community in this way.

School Fees

School fee statements will be sent out in the coming weeks. School fees can be paid by direct credit or  B-Pay. If you pay your school fees by credit card, when you fill in your credit card details please include the CVC number on the back of the card.

Student Absences

If you child is going to be absent from school, it is your responsibility to inform the school via telephone call, skoolbag app notification or email.

Teachers do not check their emails after 8.45am as they are invloved in the act of teaching or student supervision.

If you are notifying the school after 8.45am, could you please contact the office not individual class teachers. This will avoid the school needing to contact families.

Please contact the school office if there are any medical issues that we should be aware of. It is most important that all medical forms, asthma and anaphylaxis plans, are updated for the 2021 school year and returned promptly. We are advised that children may need to be excluded from school if they do not have the required medical information or medication available at the school eg. Epipens, with the correct ‘use by dates’. 

Do I have to complete an Action Plan, if the child only has seasonal asthma, or asthma symptoms when they have a cold? 

Yes, any time asthma medication is prescribed and expected to be taken at school or the children's service, it must by law be accompanied by a medical management plan. If the health professional is concerned about diagnosing the child with asthma, it is recommended that they put a shorter review date on the action plan, and write a covering letter to the school or children's service explaining the expected time frame the child will need reliever medication.

Thank you to our parents that have voluntered to be class reps this year. 

Prep: Lisa Grant, Kat Brosolo, Joanna Kelly

Year 1 /2 C: Kasia De Costa, Emma Ryan

Year 1 /2 L: Jess Campbell, Laura Edgcumbe

Year 3 /4 L: Rach Voshege, Melissa Pellegrini

Year 3 /4 N: Marjie Langford, Rach Glass

Year 3 /4 L: Emma Lynch, Elaine Hanlon

Year 5 /6 H&L : Daniela Greening, Cath Bergin, Steph Johnson

Please see attached below information regarding Our Lady's School Uniform, including how to order online and the uniform price list.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Uniform Orders are filled on Mondays.
• Please order Uniform Orders thru CDF.
• To keep costs low we are only stocking limited quantities across the Range. If items are not available please allow a 2 week turn around to allow time for items to be ordered and delivered from our Supplier.
• If you need to try on Uniforms for size this can also be done on Mondays unless other arrangements have been made with Krista.
• If you have any queries, please email Krista on uniformshop@olsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au

All students attending Our Lady’s Primary School have the right to feel safe and be safe. The highest possible standard of care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a fundamental responsibility of all within our school community.