Principal's News

TOMORROW IS A FREE DRESS DAY FOR ALL STUDENTS.  THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT WITH THIS YEAR'S COLOUR RUN!

Dear Parents and Parishioners,

Christ, during His life, showed that He was not seeking people who are prefectly prepared and in control of their lives. He was interested in people who had difficulties in their lives but who wanted a way out of those difficulties; people who were honest with themselves and of good intention.

Christ, today, does not expect us to be perfect but to be people of hope, who trust that His coming will have meaningful consequences in our lives.  The teenaged Mary and the midwife Joseph, who I wrote about in last week’s Newsletter, are amazing examples of how things can occur, if we have hope and trust in God’s word.

Advent is a time to:

“Accept surprises 

that upset your plans

shatter your dreams, 

give a completely 

different turn 

to your day 

and – who knows – 

to your life. 

It is not chance. 

Leave the Father ...

to Himself 

Weave the pattern of your days.”

Dom Helger Camara. A Thousand Reasons for Living. 

The Last Hurrah at OHR is on Tonight!

The Last Hurrah offers the opportunity for all parents to come together to farewell the parents of those children who will be leaving the school community at the end of this year.  This is a special night on the school calendar.  The evening will be held in the hall foyer and commence at 7.00pm.  All parents are welcome to attend.

A heartfelt thanks to Fiona and Damian Love for the preparation that has gone into this evening.

Please note that this is an event for adults.  Drinks will be provided.  You are welcome to bring a plate to share. 

Twilight Working Bee

This Tuesday 9 December there will be a special Twilight Working Bee between 5.00 and 6.00pm.  The purpose of this event is to relocate classroom tables, chairs and storage units.  For OH&S reasons I do not want students, nor teachers, moving the items of furniture up and down stairs.  It would be great to have as many hands on deck for the one hour period to enable the furniture from four classrooms to be efficiently relocated.

We have undertaken a similar project in recent years and, as a result of so many parent helpers, managed to complete all tasks generally within 40 minutes. 

If you are able to help out for the full hour or part thereof, please indicate your attendance by emailing either of our two Working Bee Coordinators:

PFA Annual General Meeting

It was great to have a number of new faces in attendance at last Wednesday’s PFA AGM, which presented the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of those on the PFA and recognise the many parents that have supported PFA initiatives throughout 2025.

All positions on the 2026 PFA committee have now been filled, including:

President: Lauren Wong

Secretary: Geraldine Nankervis

Vice-President (Social): Michelle Wood Nouri and Sasha Knott

Vice-President (Fundraising): 

Treasurer: Geri Wee

Tuck Shop Coordinator: Kate Casley

Class Representative Coordinator: NancyNashed

Food Bank Coordinator: Justine Holloway

Working Bee Coordinator: Laura Hilet

Second Hand Uniform: Amanda Mannfolk

2026 Class Lists

2026 Class Lists will also be emailed this Monday, 8 December, detailing your child’s 2026 class and their teacher(s).  The staff have been working on developing 2026 class lists over the past month, adhering to the criteria articulated in the OHR Formation of Classes Policy.  The staff initially began work on this process in their levels before eventually bringing the lists to the entire teaching staff for final consultation.

May I remind everyone that the decisions made by the staff are governed by the rationale in our policy which states, 

“At OHR we believe that learning is influenced by a diverse range of factors. The professional knowledge, judgement and discretion of all teachers is critical to the placement of students. The class allocation process should follow protocols which address the balance of social, emotional and academic needs of each child.”

2026 Fees and Levies

Three weeks ago, all families were emailed a letter including the schedule of Tuition Fees and Levies for the 2026 school year.  A copy of this document can be accessed here:

2026 Parent Gatherings

As has become an OHR tradition, we invite families to open up their homes to host one of three parent gatherings that are spaced throughout Term One on Friday evenings.  These are warm and low key social events.  There is very little for the host family to organise, with the exception of some tubs filled with ice so that people can chill their drinks.

All Parent Gatherings were  well-attended earlier this year. 

We have currently set aside three dates for 2026:

• Yrs Prep-2 Parent Evening: 20 February @ the Shepherd's home
• Yrs 3&4 Parent Evening: 13 March @ ________________
• Yrs 5&6 Parent Evening: 27 March @ ________________

If interested in hosting one of these evenings, please let either Heather or myself know.

Free Dress Day

Due to the fact that our students exceeded the $15,000 fundraising target during the recent OHR Colour Run, there will be a free dress day for all students tomorrow, Friday 5 December.

How to support your child under 16 with the new social media age restrictions  

From 10 December 2025, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 will require social media platforms to:

• prevent children and young people under 16 from having a social media account

• deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.

Delaying access to social media protects the health and wellbeing of young people and gives them extra time to build real world connections and digital literacy skills. 

The responsibility will be on the social media platforms, not parents, carers, children or schools, to implement these new restrictions. 

Most popular social media platforms will be age restricted. These include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and YouTube.

Messaging services and online games, as well as apps and platforms that support health and education, can still be used. 

How to help under 16s prepare for the change

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online. 

To help get under 16s ready for the social media minimum age requirements, you can go to the eSafety website to learn more about the social media age restrictions and find tips on how to talk about social media age restrictions with young people.

Commencement of the 2026 School Year

The following dates will assist families in planning for the commencement of the new school year:

• School Staff Resume – Tuesday 27 January 2026

• Students in Years 1 to 6 resume – 8.40am on Wednesday 28 January 2026

• Students in Foundation (Prep) attend Individual Testing Interviews – Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 January 2026

• All Foundation students commence school – 8.40am on Friday 30 January 2026

   

Note: Each term, one day is a desginated as a school closure day for staff professional learning.  The date set aside as a school closure day in Term 1, 2026, is Monday 23 February.

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank