Principal's News

Dear Parents & Parishioners,

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, which is a Catholic celebration that takes place on the last Sunday of the liturgical year in the Catholic faith — on November 26 this year. Originally a Roman Catholic feast, it is now observed by Christians of all denominations as a way to recognise and honor Jesus Christ as the ‘King of Kings.’

In a modern world that has since come to know anti-religious ideologies such as fascism and communism, the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King acts as a way to ground the human race back to Earth in recognition of God and the benevolence of Christ. In general, the roles of a good King include the ability to bring order into lives, unify the people, convey the truth, protect the people from harm, and do what is best for them. For those in the Christian and Catholic faiths, Jesus Christ exemplifies all the traits of a good King as he fulfills all the traits that encourage his followers to live proper lives.

Parents are warmly invited to attend tomorrow morning's whole school mass in which we will recognise the Feast of Christ the King - Our Holy Redeemer's namesake.

Prep & New Families Welcome Mass last Sunday

Last Sunday's Parish Mass, for current Preps and New Families (including St Bridget's and 2024 Preps) was really well attended.  The church was pretty close to being full.  We also had a Baptism for Frederick, Stella P's (Prep HW) youngest brother.

Afterwards there was a sausage sizzle, which Cam Jackson had organised and was assisted by some of our willing dads.  So many people took the opportunity to linger and mingle, thanks to the sunny weather.  It was great to catch up with a good number of families, particularly those from St Bridget's, who were appreciative of this event.  Many commented how their children were looking forward to yesterday's  STEM fun day.

2024 OHR Staff

As mentioned in last week's Newsletter, Mrs Penny Hansen will join the Year 1/2 team, Mrs Danielle Willis (formerly Miss Busuttil) will return from Parental Leave and re-join the Year 3/4 team.  Mrs Margaret Maher will be transferring from St Bridget's School to form part of the Year 5/6 team, while Nicole Durrant will also be joining us from St Bridget's. Nicole will be employed as a full-time Learning Support Officer.

We received the news some weeks ago that Mrs Fiona MacIsaac, our Library Technician, has been offered full-time employment at her other school.  Fiona has expressed how much she loves working at OHR and is reluctant to leave, but the offer placed before her is too great to decline.  We have employed Mrs Julia Widdeson as our new Library Technician and look forward to welcoming her to OHR.

During recent months, I have been meeting with staff to plan for the 2024 school year.  As always, careful consideration is given to the most suitable teaching and student support combinations that will benefit the children’s learning and development.

At this stage I can announce that the following staff will be educating and nurturing the growth of our children in 2024:

Prep:   - Michelle Hollow (5 days)           

1/2:     - Tina Hautot (4 days)/Penny Hansen (1 day)      

             - Lana Gill (3 days)/Lisa Canty (2 days)

             - Mary Dening (5 days)

3/4:    - Carmel Pettinato (3 days)/Aria Karagiannis (2 days)    

             - Esther Jackson (3 days)/Danielle Willis (2 days)

5/6:    - Cara Mitchell (4 days)/Nick Byrne (1 day)

            - Kate Mackay (3 days)/Margaret Maher (2 days)

Yr. 3-4 Mathematics Co-teacher: Nick Byrne

 

Staff holding leadership positions in the school include:

Principal:                                   Frank Dame

Deputy Principal:                    Nick Byrne

REL / Learning & 

Teaching Leader:                    Nick Byrne

Mathematics Leader:            Penny Hansen

Literacy Leader:                       Lisa Canty

Student Wellbeing Leader:  Lisa Canty

Learning Diversity /

Pastoral Care Worker:          Carmel Pettinato

 

Digital Technologies 

Manager:                                  Josephine Harrison

Literacy Intervention:          Meaghan King

Specialist Teachers:            Science: Stephanie Axon

                                                     STEM: Stephanie Axon                                                  

                                                     Phys Ed & Fitness: Jo Golds

                                                     Performing Arts: Jon Bode

                                                     Languages (Mandarin): Chao-Ying Li

Administration Officer:       Heather Neil

Library Technician:               Julia Widdeson

Learning Support Officer:   Deidre Campbell

Learning Support Officer:   Rosha Vincitorio

Learning Support Officer:   Lana Nikolic

Learning Support Officer:   Themi Manou

Learning Support Officer:   Nicole Durrant

Twilight Working Bee

On Wednesday 6 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 undertook a similar project two years ago and, as a result of so many parent helpers, managed to complete all tasks 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:

The Last Hurrah at OHR

The evening of Thursday 7 December offers the opportunity for 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 and commence at 7.00pm.

On behalf of Fr Brendan, the staff and parents at OHR, I would like to thank all the families who will be leaving and have contributed to the life of our school.  A number of our families, following a long association with OHR, have their last child in Year 6, while others have their last child in other year levels  We will miss all our beautiful families and wish them nothing but the very best for the future.

2024 Prep Transition Program

Last Thursday, Mrs Hollow  ran the second of our Prep transition afternoons for our students commening in 2024.  According to Michelle, the students were 'just awesome'.  

At the same time, I ran a transition afternoon in the LRC (Library) for the parents.  During the second half of the session the parents were divided into three groups.  Mrs Canty, Mr Byrne and I each took a group each where we conducted a Community Conversation.  A Community Conversation proved to be a great way for the parents to build connections while learning a little more about one another.  

This evening, we will be hosting the Dinner & Information Evening for our 2024 Prep parents.  Our current Prep parents have been preparing for this event over recent weeks, with some assisting throughout today and others who will be on hand to help tonight. We are very grateful for their support.  Thank you to Sharmila Moreland, Amanda Lui, Katherine Prowse and Tiknee Lee for overseeing the organisation of this event.

This Tuesday, 28 November, we will be hosting our Prep Orientation Morning (9.00 – 10.45).  During the morning the parents will be taken to the hall, where our guest speaker, Carley McGauran, will run a 75 minute session loaded with helpful tips on transitioning to primary school. 

Mrs Hollow will conclude her kindergarten visits this week.

PFA AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the OHR PFA will be held this coming Wednesday evening commencing at 7.30pm.  All parents are welcome to attend.  The meeting will be held in the LRC (Library).

OHR Twlight Christmas Celebration

Don't forget that the OHR Twilight Christmas Celebration will be held next Friday, 1 December, commencing at 5.00pm with our students singing Christmas Carols.   Food and refreshments will be available. There will also be a jumping castle, balloon creations, face painting, and a visit by Santa.  Refer to the PFA news, further in today's Newsletter, for details. The PFA encourages pre-purchase of tickets for food and activities to help minimise lengthy queues - Purchase tickets here

We encourage the children to dress up in something Christmassy!

We also ask that children arrive by 4.45pm in order that the carols can commence at 5.00pm sharp.  Please allow ample time for car parking as the roads around the school will be busy.

Student Absences

Whilst ensuring student attendance at school is the legal obligation of parents, supporting students to attend school each day is the shared responsibility of all parents, students, the school, and the wider community. 

School attendance is important as it maximises life opportunities for children and young people by providing them with education and support networks. Positive engagement with schooling enhances academic and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people.

All MACS schools must document their school-based procedures for monitoring and recording attendance. To meet legislated requirements and discharge a school’s duty of care, school staff must record student attendance twice per day in primary schools. Attendance must be recorded, including the reason given for each absence. All schools must maintain attendance records, identify, and follow up unexplained absences and develop procedures to support and maintain student attendance.

I encourage you to read the attached Attendance Policy for MACS Schools.

2024 Parent Gatherings

Recently we invited families to open up their homes to host one of next year's Parent Gatherings, which are traditionally held during Term One.  Thank you to the following families for quickly responding to the invitation to host one of the evenings.

• Prep - Yr 2 Parent Evening: 23 February 2024 at the Lewis' home
• Yrs 3&4 Parent Evening: 1 March at __________________
• Yrs 5 & 6 Parent Evening: 15 March 2024 at the Love's home 

We now only require one family to open up their home to host the Yrs 3 & 4 Parent Evening on 1 March 2024.

Term 4 School Closure Days

• 2024 Planning Day - Monday 27 November

If you wish to book the Camp Australia service on the 27 November, please refer to the School Community page in this newsletter. 

Commencement of the 2024 School Year

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

• School Staff Resume – Monday 29 January 2024
• Students in Years 1 to 6 resume – 8.40am on Tuesday 30 January 2024
• Students in Foundation (Prep) attend Individual Testing Interviews – Tuesday 30 and Wednesday 31 January 2024
• All Foundation students commence school – 8.40am on Thursday 1 February 2024

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank