Newsletter

Principal: Ms Judeline Wadhwani, principal@olshinternational.org

Acting Principal: Mr Patrick Baiwan, admin@olshinternational.org

Head of P-6: Mrs Wiki Thomas, primary@olshinternational.org

Head of 7-12: Mrs Rachel Baiwan, secondary@olshinternational.org

Head of RE, Faith & Mission: Mr Raymond Rangatin, rrangatin@olshinternational.org

School Address: P O Box 211, Kavieng, New Ireland Province

School Telephone Number: (675) 984 2128

School website address: www.olshinternational.org

Dear parents and members of the OLSH community and extended OLSH community,

I trust all Secondary parents attended the Parent-Teacher Interviews yesterday and that you found them to be a valuable opportunity to discuss your son’s/daughter’s progress with their teachers.  At this point in the school term, the students and parents are working as one heartbeat with the school, to ensure the best learning outcomes.  Please support us by ensuring that daily and weekend home study complement classroom learning.   Practice and revision are key to success.  The Daily Home Study Expectations flyer is accessible at the click of the link further in this newsletter.

• Wednesday 5 May – 3.30 – 7.00 pm

All parents especially new parents are encouraged to attend the above interviews

Mask-wearing is mandatory and social distancing will be observed.

Coaching will start in due earnest from Week 3.

Please click on the link below to see the Focused Learning Plan that all Coaches (formerly known as Pastoral Care or PC teachers) are using during Coaching Time (formerly PC time).  Do ask your son/daughter how they are faring in each subject and help them identify their areas of need for the Learning Plan to be discussed for action during Coaching Time.

This term we have focused on Assessment for Learning in our Building Collective Efficacy Teacher Professional Learning sessions each Thursday.

Assessment for Learning is a change in learning-teaching-assessing culture which involves active learner-teacher interaction during the learning process, every day in every lesson.  It seeks to minimise the heavy teacher reliance on summative or end-of-topic/unit assessment as well as assessment overload for the students and marking overload for the teachers.  It ensures that teachers know at their fingertips the learning needs of the wide range of students in their classroom and more importantly, that they cater for these needs at the point of their regular lesson planning.

Assessment for learning (AfL) is an approach, integrated into teaching and learning, which creates feedback for students and teachers in order to improve learning and guide their next steps. One way of thinking about AFL is that it aims to ‘close the gap’ between a learner’s current situation and where they want to be in their learning and achievement. AfL involves students becoming more active in their learning and starting to ‘think like a teacher’. They think more actively about where they are now, where they are going and how to get there. Skilled teachers plan tasks which help learners to do this. (Cambridge Assessment, International Education)

We will be using the Cambridge Assessment online series of theory and educational videos in an interactive way.  I thank Mrs Wiki Thomas and Mrs Rachel Baiwan for their enthusiastic embracing of Assessment for Learning and especially for leading their teams with the support of team members.  Truly, this is teacher collaboration in action and the best way for teachers to learn to improve their repertoire, from and with their peers.

CATHOLIC CHURCH CALENDAR:  4th week Easter in the ordinary Year ‘B’ 2021

WEEK REFLECTION: John 10: 11-18

Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd

Jesus is concerned about every human person. He wants everyone to give love, compassion and gentleness. To be a ‘Jesus-Type’ shepherd is ‘Total Commitment’. It takes sacrifice and hard work to care for others.  How are we exercising our role as ‘Shepherd’ to those around us?

Jesus showed his love for us has no limit.

Jesus showed how we must live within the Love, Mercy, and Will of God.

Jesus Christ wants us to trust him at all times.

Welcome back to everyone for Term 2.

All Friday School Masses are on hold at the moment because of COVID-19 resurgence. So there won’t be any Friday School Mass. God loves people who listen well. So please let us be merciful to the directions given to us to wear face masks all the time, wash hands regularly, observe social distancing and if you are feeling sick, to please go to the hospital.

The month of May is coming and a program of the room to room journey of Our Lady will be given by the end of this week.

Thank you and God bless you all.

Mr R. Rangatin