Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

We are incredibly grateful for everyone's commitment and support over the last couple of weeks as we completed the compliance component of our Review as well as Day 1 and Day 2 of our Review. We were so proud listening to the reviewers speak about how OLA is a HIGH FUNCTIONING, HIGH PERFORMING AND HIGH ACHIEVING SCHOOL! They also spoke about how impressed they were with our strength in community and in our safe, positive and enabling learning environments. Our collaborative approach and planning were spoken of as being exemplary and they loved how we were outward facing. They also noted their gratitude for our hospitality, warmth and positive atmosphere.  OLA is in a great place and it is because of the way we all work together respectfully and in the best interests of the children. Thank you everyone. We look forward to our Reviewer Jan Hayes returning to us for the 'Dialogue and Engagement' part of the Review on Tuesday 23 April and then setting in motion our 4 year School Improvement Plan after that. 

Celebrating Mrs Taig

On Tuesday we came together to acknowledge and celebrate our amazing Deputy Principal, RE Leader and Mathematics Leader - Caitlan Taig. 

Wishing you Caitlan the very best as you and your husband Rick embark on a new chapter in your lives as you both prepare to welcome your much anticipated bundle of joy into the world. Many of our parents would have watched Caitlan come in as a graduate teacher and come through to today as an amazing educator, leader, listener and caring human.

Caitlan is an integral part of our school's leadership team, bringing dedication, passion, and a tireless work ethic to her varying roles. 

As Caitlan prepares to embark on maternity leave, we reflect not only on her professional accomplishments but also on the warmth and kindness she has extended to each and every one of us. Her door has always been open, her guidance very levelled and fair, and her presence a source of inspiration to us all. While we will miss her leadership and expertise during this time, we are filled with joy and excitement for the new journey she is about to undertake. 

So, as Caitlan prepares to welcome her much loved baby into the world, let us take a moment to express our gratitude to Caitlan for her hard work, dedication, and her unwavering commitment to our school community. Working right up to this week is incredible and another great example of her dedication. 

Congratulations, and best wishes to you Caitlan. We eagerly await the news of Baby Taig and we also eagerly await your return maybe even before the end of the year, but until then, you go with our love and best wishes as you embark on this beautiful journey of motherhood.

It was so lovely to see the students from Prep to Grade 6 present Caitlan with a card sharing their beautiful words and pictures. Thank you to the Chairs of our OLA P&F, Lauren K and Claudelle for organising and presenting Caitlan with a swish baby bag, flowers and voucher to go towards all things for Baby Taig. Thank you to all parents for your lovely words and contributions to this special gift and to helping make the last few days for Caitlan so memorable.

Message from Caitlan:

I am so grateful to our wonderful community for such a lovely afternoon on Tuesday. My husband Rick, Baby Taig and I (and our fur baby Toby) are certainly feeling very valued as we head into this new chapter in our lives.  Thank you to Lauren, Del, the OLA P&F and all those who put in for the gift, those who have dropped of other gifts, written cards and checked in with me over the past few months. Thank you! 

Change up of roles

With Mrs Taig having begun Parental Leave on19 March I am delighted to once again share the following staff appointments during Caitlan's leave:

Deputy Principal & Learning Diversity Leader - Josy Reeder

RE Leader & Learning and Teaching Leader - Michela Vella

Intervention, Literacy and Wellbeing Leader - Shelby Turner

Mathematics Leader - Nicole Collins

From Term 2 Miss Turner will come out of the 1JM classroom to take on her new responsibilities and Mrs Hayley Azar will take on this role on a Friday.  It has been lovely to have Hayley into for handover and sharing of information as well as to meet the children.

Mrs Vella will be coming out of 2MV on a Wednesday for the remainder of this school year to carry out duties associated with her extra responsibilities. Mrs Lara Berley who is already in PCH on a Friday and 2MV on a Tuesday will now also take 2MV on Wednesday. 

We welcome Mrs Azar

"Hello OLA community. My name is Hayley Azar and I am so excited to be joining you in Term 2. I have been a teacher for several years and I have taught at many different schools as a Casual Relief Teacher. I am passionate about teaching and I am dedicated to creating safe and positive learning environments. Outside the classroom, I care for my two young children aged 4 and 2, who keep me very busy and on my toes. I spend any spare time I have reading or going for walks. I love the beach, ice cream and of course the mighty Tigers! I love travelling and have been to almost 20 different countries, my favourites include Switzerland and Jordan.  I look forward to the rest of the year and meeting you all." 

Hayley Azar

Catholic Education Week

Last week we celebrated Catholic Education Week - a great opportunity to celebrate our Catholic identity. Our School Captains, together with our Wellbeing/Social Justice Leaders represented OLA at St Patrick's Cathedral last Friday. The children were amongst 2000+ students and staff from schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne. 

Crossing Guards

We ask all parents and carers to have a conversation with your children about the important role of crossing guards. We have three supporting our school and we have recently had feedback that children are forgetting and not following directions to hop off their bikes and walk across safely. We also take this opportunity to encourage families to chat about how important it is to greet these important people in our community with a smile, a hello and even to find out their names. Thank you for your support on this important life lesson.

Do we have any younger sisters or brothers keen and ready to start school next year?

Please submit your Enrolment Application Forms online before the Easter School Holidays. We can't wait to welcome the siblings of our OLA students next year. We also want to ensure we keep enough spaces open for current families before offering places to our new families.

2025 Prep Enrolments

Our next school tour will be on Sunday 24 March at 10:00am. If you have a child or you know someone wanting to tour schools for their child, please encourage them to book a school tour online on the school website or call Sharan or Gabrielle in our front office to book a school tour. We encourage our current families to have their Enrolment Applications (now online) completed and submitted as soon as possible.  It is exciting to see so many little brothers and sisters bursting to start here at OLA next year.   If you are not able to make these tours, you are welcome to call to make a time that does work for you. 

Last Chance Photo Orders

Calendar

Please open the ‘Key Dates and Events’ tab in this newsletter for important dates or access the OLA Calendar here.

Pupil Free Days for 2024

• Monday 15 April  RE/Inquiry with Kate Korber
• Friday 7 June Positive Behaviour & Family Partnerships 
• Monday 15 July Spiritual Development/Faith Formation
• Monday 7 October Respectful Relationships 
• Monday 4 November Assessment & Reporting
• Friday 6 December 2025 Planning and Preparation 

Please note on the following dates school finish early at 1pm:

Parent/Teacher Interviews on Thursday 27 June

OLA Fete on Friday 22 November

Last day of school Tuesday 17 December

Key dates for the next 2 weeks...

Congratulations

Kingston Divisional Swimming Championships 

Congratulations to Jess, Dolores and Sophia who went on to represent OLA at the Kingston Divisional Swimming Championships. The three students had a great morning at the pool and got to shine bright for OLA. Congrats to Sophia for placing 3rd in Butterfly, Dolores placing 4th in Butterfly and Jess placing 5th in Backstroke. 

Bike Ed

Look at the glow on the faces of our Grade 4 bike riders after they finished their Big Bike Ride on Tuesday! What an achievement. We hope you all feel safer on the roads and on your bikes. We hope you enjoyed Bike Ed. We thank you OLA P&F for making this wonderful opportunity happen each year.

FIRE Carriers

Last years OLA FIRE Carriers led the handing over ceremony to our 2024 FIRE Carriers. 

A lovely moment and a reminder of our rich indigenous history and connection to the land. We wish our FIRE Carriers all the best as they lead our community this year and we congratulate them for taking on this important role.

NAPLAN

Congratulations to our Grade 3 and Grade 5 students for giving their best in NAPLAN assessments over the last couple of weeks. Whilst we ask our children to turn up ready to do their best, have a growth mindset and give of their best, we also want them to know that its just one test, on one day and it does not measure everything that makes them incredible. We gently remind parents that NAPLAN tests are one aspect of our assessment and reporting process. They do not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. Your class teacher will have the best insight into your child's educational progress. We are so proud of each and every student involved.

Catholic Education Week Creative Arts Exhibition

Four pieces of OLA art work were successful in being selected to enter the 2024 Catholic Education Week Creative Arts Exhibition. A huge congratulations to these students: 

Alice - Barn Owl

Grace - Olsen’s Frogs

Lucas - Inside Out Animal Art

Abigayle - Aussie Beach

Fete Information Evening

What an amazing turn out for our OLA Fete Info Evening. As we excitedly begin to plan for our OLA Fete on Saturday 23 November it is so important to have an awesome team in place to make it happen. Thank you to Mel and Claire our Co-Chairs of the Fete Committee for hosting, welcoming and providing information. Everyone's involvement and support are crucial in making this event a resounding success, which will ultimately benefit our children and Parish. 

Friendship work in Grade 1/2

We know that friends are so important in life and here at OLA we explicitly teach children the essential life skills of what makes a good friend and what doesn’t. We congratulate our Grade 1/2s for their work on this throughout Term 1.

Principal Awards

It is always wonderful to have a sample of superstars visit the principal and leadership team to celebrate their learning. We recently had Grade 5/6 students share their learning on the three levels of government - local, state and federal. We love these visits from our extra proud children. 

Thank you

Such a highlight of the year looking our super best for class, individual and sibling photos!! Thanks everyone for being so supportive of making this day work and for having the children look their very best in full school uniform.

Only one week of Term 1 to go! Unbelievable!!

Thank you everyone for helping make this such a happy and memorable term for our students. Next Thursday is our last day of term and it is a gold coin donation to wear Casual Clothes as a fundraiser for the Fete. There will be a 9.00am Holy Week Prayer Service that day as well as a 2.30pm Easter Egg Raffle Draw.

A reminder to all young artists of Cheltenham community! We are thrilled to be hosting an Easter Colouring Competition which has been delivered to Cheltenham households last weekend and into this week week. $50 Rebel vouchers up for grabs!! We have some leaflets in our front office if you haven't received yours yet! 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Richard Jacques

Principal