Dear Parents & Parishioners,

Halloween was once a tradition reserved for those in the United States of America. Times have changed and over recent years the presence of the pumpkin and cobwebs have begun to adorn Australian letterboxes and supermarkets in the lead up to the end of October. Even one of my favourite breweries has just relased a special batch of pumpkin brown ale. Is this just another American tradition creeping into Australian culture? Is it all bad? Most importantly do our children understand the origins of Halloween? Well, let's take a look ...

For one thing, Halloween does not have it's roots in lollies and costumes, nor in American pop culture. Long ago in Ireland and Britain, Christians would come together on All Hallows Eve to ask for God's blessing and protection from the evil in the world. The source of the modern celebrations stemmed from the donning of saintly and evil spirit costumes to act out the battle between good and evil.

'Halloween' is a 'direct derivation of All Saints Day' with 'All Hallows' in Old English meaning 'the feast of the saints'. 'Halloween' has also been translated to 'Eve of All Hallows', which was a holy day celebrating the day before All Saints Day. All Saints' Day is celebrated on the first day of November while All Souls' Day is celebrated on 2 November.

All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are related, but they are two separate celebrations. On All Saints' Day there's a call to remember the saints, and to remind us how we're supposed to live. On All Souls' Day, we're talking about all souls and asking God's mercy for them. We are talking about those people we know who have died before us, and their process of getting to heaven, through Christ.

All Souls' Day is a commemoration of the faithfully departed and is observed primarily in the Catholic Church. Its origins date back to European folklore related to customs of veneration practiced worldwide through events like the Mexican Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) or the Chinese Ghost Festival. To remember the departed, many cultures prepare meals for the souls of the dead, light candles or leave flowers on relatives' graves and some anoint tombstones with holy water or pour milk over them.

Each celebration touches on cultural beliefs about the spirit world, honoring the dead and feasts. So, when Halloween is celebrated this year it's important for our children to remember the significance of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day as well.

Tomorrow is World Teachers' Day

World Teachers’ Day is held internationally on Tuesday 5 October. As it usually falls during the school holidays in many parts of Australia, in Victoria we celebrate World Teachers’ Day on 27 October 2023.

World Teachers' Day is a chance to recognise and celebrate the teachers who are making, or have made, an impact in our lives. Whether you're a current student, have children in school, or have been out of school for many years, World Teachers’ Day is a chance to reflect and say, ‘thank you’.

eSafety Parents

eSafety is Australia's independent regulator for online safety. eSafety educate Australians about online safety risks and help to remove harmful content such as cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse and intimate images or videos shared without consent.

The eSafety Commissioner's website has a great range of parent friendly resources that are easily navigable.

Select the following logo to take you to these helpful resources:

Safety Day

Tomorrow is Australia’s largest child safety education and awareness day. Parents, carers, and educators are encouraged to start a conversation with children and young people about personal safety. Schools and early learning centres conduct child safety education activities. Businesses and community come together to raise awareness of child safety issues.

This year all students will be focusing on their recall of a phone number of a trusted adult, knowing their address and the use of Triple Zero.

Make sure you go to the Student Wellbeing page to learn more. And ... remember to wear a touch of red.

Working Bee

Last Sunday morning's weather did not look very promising but the fine drizzle did not deter more than 24 parents, and equally as many children, from turning up to help out with the Working Bee. On behalf of our Working Bee coordinators, Justin and Luke, I would like to express our sincere thanks to all the parents (and their children) who have assisted with this year's Working Bees. We have had consistently good attendances throughout the year and this has ensured that our school remains a tidy, welcoming and safe place for all.

A special thanks to Luke and Justin for overseeing the four Working Bees held throughout 2023.

Colour Run ... Only One Week to Go!

There is only one more week until OHR's Colour Explosion Fun Run. To ensure that this event is a real success, we need lots of parent helpers. Please refer to the emails that have been sent out by the PFA in recent days encouraging parents to go to the Sign Up Zone.

Next Friday, 3 November, the students are able to wear their sports uniform to school but in place of their sports top they can wear their white T-shirt for the entire day. Each child will also need to bring their clearly named drink bottle.

2024 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. All Parent Gatherings were very well-attended earlier this year.

We have currently set aside three dates for 2024:

Prep - Yr 2 Parent Evening: 16 February 2024
Yrs 3 & 4 Parent Evening: 1 March 2024
Yrs 5 & 6 Parent Evening: 15 March 2024

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

Formation of Classes

The teaching staff are commencing the process of developing class placements for the 2023 school year. The construction of class lists is a process that requires teaching staff to give consideration to a great variety of factors in an effort to create a social, emotional, behavioural and academic balance within any given class, as detailed in the Rationale of our Formation of Classes Policy:

“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.”

A copy of the Formation of Classes Policy is attached below for your reference. Please take the time to read through the Policy carefully, as it clearly articulates a range of considerations that need to be factored when placing every individual child into a class. The Policy informs the decisions of staff as we collaboratively construct class lists over the coming weeks

OHR Twilight Christmas Celebration

The PFA have planned an exciting OHR Twilight Christmas Celebration to fall on the evening of Friday 1 December. The evening will commence with Christmas Carols sung by the OHR students (Mr Bode has already commenced preparation with our students). There are also many other events planned for the evening which the PFA will communicate over the coming weeks. So save the date!

Term 4 School Closure Days

Melbourne Cup Weekend - Monday 6 & Tuesday 7 November
2024 Planning Day - Monday 27 November

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank

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