Dear Parents & Parishioners,

In a dark, cold winter, plants and trees that stay green all year cheer the spirit. Ancient peoples in Europe, long before Christmas existed, hung evergreen branches over their doors and windows to help keep away evil spirits and illness.

The association of a decorated tree with the Christian festival of Christmas possibly began with St Boniface who converted the German people to Christianity over 1,000 years ago. There is a story that the saint found a group of people worshipping an oak tree. Angrily he chopped the tree down and from its roots a little green pine tree sprang up. St Boniface thought this was a divine sign.

Christmas trees were probably first brought inside during the sixteenth century. Martin Luther was said to be walking through the snowy woods one Christmas Eve when he stopped to admire the beautiful sight of evergreen trees glittering in the moonlight. He decided to bring a small tree home and decorate it with lighted candles to celebrate the birth of Jesus with a symbol of the stars that shone over Bethlehem.

Christmas signs, symbols and rituals have different meanings to all of us. For many, our celebration is influenced by childhood memories and traditions.

Personally, Christmas has taken on a greater significance since I toured the Holy Land a few years ago with some other school principals. The pilgrimage enabled me to visit sites that I had previously only read about in the New Testament. Some appeared different to the pictures I had formed in my mind since early childhood. Nonetheless, I was moved to spend time in The Church of the Nativity, where the Christ child was born. Our group had time to reflect in Shepherd’s Fields, the site where Christ’s birth was announced to those tending their flocks. We also visited the Basilica of the Annunciation in the town of Nazareth. It was here that Mary first learned she was going to be the mother of God.

Last Friday's Christmas Carols in the Hall offered all of us the opportunity to celebrate the the beginning of the Advent season as a school community.

The above Nativity scene has been created by the students and their teachers in 1/2GC. It is larger than life. Pop in and have a look.

OHR Twlight Christmas Celebration

In light of the hot weather experienced last Friday, we were fortunate in that we were able to relocate the singing of the carols into the air-conditioned hall. At the conclusion of the singing, everyone was able to pour outside to enjoy the perfect conditions for our Twlight Christmas Celebration.

Thank you to the PFA and all parents who got behind this event to ensure it was a wonderful evening for our families and those who visited from the broader community. The event had a great community feel, including a visit by (a very hot) Santa, the creation of balloon critters, face painting, ice-creams, and the exceptional barbeque which proved to be hugely popular.

What a great way to celebrate the season of Advent.

Twilight Working Bee

Next Wednesday 11 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 last year and, as a result of so many parent helpers, managed to complete all tasks within 35 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:

Luke Torpey:

Luke.Torpey@jrtpartnership.com.au

Justin Bolger:

Justin.trees@hotmail.com

The Last Hurrah at OHR is on Tonight!

The Last Hurrah 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 foyer and commence at 7.00pm. All parents are welcome to attend.

A heartfelt thanks to Fiona and Damian Love for the prepartion 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.

Class Lists

Class Lists will also be emailed this Tuesday, 10 December, detailing your child’s 2025 class and their teacher(s). The staff have been working on developing 2025 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.”

Guitar Anyone? We still have a few available ...

We are in the process of sorting out some of the cupbaords at the back of the OHR Hall. There are a number of guitars that have not been used in over 10 years. They are in average condition but may prove to be a good instument for a student who is just starting out. If interested, pop into the school and see either Heather or myself. They are for free, or you can leave a donation beneath our St Vincent de Paul Christmas tree. Limit of one guitar per family. As you can appreciate, these may only be collected by an adult.

2025 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 familes for responding to the invitation to host one of the evenings.

Prep - Yr 2 Parent Evening: 21 February 2025 @ the Sutherland's home
Yrs 3 & 5 Parent Evening: 21 March 2025 @ the Korda's home
Yrs 5 & 6 Parent Evening: 28 March 2025 @ the Jackson's home

Skipping Club Demonstrations

Our students have been fortunate to have the opportunity to learn skipping skills and routines during their lunchtimes, with thanks to Mrs Nicki Durrant.

The final Skipping Club demonstration will be held at the following Whole School Assembly:

Year 3/4 - Monday, 9th December

Students are encouraged to wear their sports uniform on the day they are involved in their skipping demonstration.

Commencement of the 2025 School Year

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

School Staff Resume – Tuesday 28 January 2025
Students in Years 1 to 6 resume – 8.40am on Wednesday 29 January 2025
Students in Foundation (Prep) attend Individual Testing Interviews – Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 January 2025
All Foundation students commence school – 8.40am on Friday 31 January 2025

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank

School Community