Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

Thank you to all who joined us in wearing a touch of orange today and to all who joined us in conversations around the importance of Australia's multiculturalism and the importance of respect and belonging for all Australians. We wear orange on Harmony Day to signify social communication, meaningful conversations, and to show support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia. 

Please build on our conversations today in your homes and especially keep your ear out for inappropriate language and names being used that are racist and not ok. We need to name it to tame it. It has been shared with us that there is currently a popular Youtuber using inappropriate words that have historical sensitivities and do not build people up, they are highly offensive and cut beautiful humans in our community down.

Snapshot of next 2 weeks 

SAVE THE DATE: Monday 28 July - Grandparent's and Special Friend's Day - 'G' DAY

House Team Cross Country

The OLA House Team Cross Country Championships welcomed us on our return after the long weekend. Our Grades 3-6 turned up to school in their house team colours, cheered each other on, chanted, looked out for each other, stretched, ran and gave their absolute best. What a spectacular morning it was for our Cross Country Championships. A great event, super human efforts from the children, amazing acts of kindness with plenty of sunshine. We thank Mrs Thompson, staff, parent volunteers, supporters and the children for helping make this day a great success. For results please check out our Learning and Teaching tab of this newsletter.

NAPLAN

Over the last fortnight we have had our Grade 3 and Grade 5 students at OLA sitting NAPLAN and we are so proud of each and every one of them for turning up and giving their absolute best. A timely reminder that NAPLAN does not measure every part of what makes our children wonderful and we loved our students turning up with a positive mindset. Please read this post on Instagram from @theinquiryproject

Professional Learning

This week our leaders and whole staff sat alongside Kate Korber, from @theinquiryproject, planning for the purposeful use of graphic organisers which will help learners classify, sort and make sense of new ideas and concepts. We know that reducing cognitive load helps students focus on making connections between prior knowledge and new learning.  We loved having Kate with us at OLA.

Reconciliation Family Workshop

We keep in our prayers, our families and Grade 3 students as they prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation next Thursday evening. It's at times like this that we are truly grateful for the many opportunities we have in a school to experience our students acknowledge when they make the wrong choices and whole heartedly apologise and ask each other to be forgiven.

Catholic Education Week

This week is Catholic Education Week - a great opportunity to celebrate our school, our community and our Catholic identity. Thank you for your lovely words and support in person or via emails and google reviews. We appreciate hearing what our parents have to say about our school:

We are in the third year of our journey at OLA, and I honestly could not be happier! 

I have two children attending the school, who each have a unique set of interests, skills, and learning styles. Each of these have been harnessed to support them to develop a love of learning, and confidence to pursue their goals in a positive school setting. The innovative curriculum and inclusive learning environment have really enhanced their learning experiences as well as their engagement in the classroom and broader school environment. I am often amazed with the new ideas and perspectives that they come home with and use in their daily lives. This is complemented by the teachers’ efforts, who after only a few weeks of each school year, have already developed an understanding of each child’s strengths and learning capabilities, while bringing energy, kindness and compassion in their classrooms.

 

OLA situates itself with models of belonging and wellbeing. Each of my children have been warmly welcomed as part of the OLA community, developing beautiful connections with their peers, and strong working relationships with their educators. As a parent, the strong sense of community and efforts by the school to facilitate connections with parents and families has also made me feel like a valued part of the school. I have also made lasting friendships with parents and families through the many social opportunities facilitated by OLA. Thank you to all the lovely teachers, LSOs, office staff, and the School leadership team. We are so happy here!

 

Our eldest son loves the school library and thinks the selection of "non-fiction and fiction books is so good!". We truly appreciate the effort put into curating such a diverse and engaging collection for the students. Additionally, we always enjoy seeing how Mr Jacques manages the school assemblies. He has a remarkable ability to keep all students focused and foster a respectful atmosphere. Rather than ignoring disruptions, he addresses them with kindness and firm guidance - ensuring order in a way that resonates not just with students, but with adults as well! Even addressing minor issues, such as audio problems, promptly and calmly, instead of dismissing them, sets a great example for the students. Lastly, we wanted to highlight something we noticed while reading the latest newsletter: the ongoing investment in teachers and the introduction of new learning techniques. This is something we've witnessed since we first joined the school, and it's encouraging to see such an important commitment continue.

2025 Wish List

It is this time of year that we ask all in our community to share ideas about what the school could benefit from and we create a ‘Wish List’ of ideas that the Parents and Friends could fundraise towards.  These ideas are generated by staff, parents and students with the P&F Exec working closely with the Principal and Deputy Principal to select a realistic project that is aligned to our School Improvement Plan. We are sorry that swimming pools don't pass this realistic test! Examples of other ideas shared include: Bike Ed Program, Story Dogs, upgrade bike shed, improve adventure playground. Please email your ideas to pandf@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au or principal@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au or write your idea on the list at the front office.

Working Bee

Like many schools, we hold Working Bees where we ask our families to commit to one rostered Working Bee a year completing basic gardening and maintenance tasks.

The Working Bees will take place on the following dates:

Term 1 - Saturday 22 March 10am-12pm 

Term 2 - Saturday 3 May 10am-12pm

Term 3 - Saturday 2 August 10am-12pm

Please find below the 2025 Term 1 Working Bee Roster - we have families from each of the grades across each of the three Working Bees. You are welcome to bring your children to the Working Bees and they can help with tasks and/or play with other children who are also attending. The sense of pride in our school grounds and buildings is increased dramatically with engagement in activities such as this and it is a lovely informal way to get to know other families at OLA. We also ask families to bring tools along to Working Bees, (clearly named) that may be able to assist us in the tasks at hand, for example, wheelbarrows, rakes, shovels, Whipper Snippers, Hedgers, blowervacs etc.

If you have a particular skill that could help the school please also let us know and we can ensure that you are able to be assigned to an appropriate task. Please note you are welcome to swap/change your days with another family or you can make a donation if you are unable to attend. If you would like to request a different date to attend a Working Bee please email Sharan at the office (office@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au) with your preference.  Thank you as always for your support of our great school.

Working Bee #1 

School Photos

School Photos are booked for Tuesday 25 March. Please send your child to school in their full summer uniform. Blue ribbons/hair ties for long hair and no make up please! Black leather shoes with navy socks with the uniform too.

Please refer to the PDF below to order individual and/or sibling photos.

School Tours and 2026 Enrolments 

I know we are still enjoying welcoming our new Preps for 2025 but we also are beginning to receive many enrolment enquiries for Prep 2026 and beyond!! We have hosted School Tours with another 20 families joining us this week! Enrolments for Prep 2026 are now open and we encourage all families who have a Prep child beginning next year to submit their applications ASAP and definitely by the end of Term 1. Please book your school tour online on the school website.  If you are not able to make these tours please know that you are welcome to call Sharan/Maria to make a time that does work for you.

2025 School Fees and Levies

We have had many Direct Debit forms completed which we greatly appreciate. For those yet to complete it, please fill in the direct debit form for school fees, and either email to accounts@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au or hand in at the school office ASAP. Please also see below the school's bank details. 

If you would like support with fees and would like to discuss alternate payment plans, please make a time to meet with the Principal. 

Calendar

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

Key dates for the coming weeks:

Tues 25 March - School Photo Day

Thurs 27 March - 5pm & 7pm Sacrament of Reconciliation

Fri 4 April - 3.15pm - End of Term 1

SAVE THE DATE

Monday 28 July - Grandparent's and Special Friend's Day - 'G' DAY

School Term Dates - 2025

Term 1, 2025

Friday 31 January - Friday April 4th (10 weeks)

Term 2, 2025

Tuesday 22nd April - Friday 4th July (11 weeks)

Term 3, 2025

Tuesday 22 July - Friday 19th September (9 weeks) 

Term 4, 2025

Tuesday 7 October - Tuesday 16th December (11 weeks)

Congratulations

Kilbreda Pi Champion

On 14 March, countries from around the world celebrated International Day of Mathematics. Also known as World Pi Day, this is an exciting time to celebrate maths and the famous number π with the date in some countries written in numerals is 3/14 or as a decimal 3.14. On World Pi Day, Kilbreda Secondary College ran a competition for its students to remember as many of the numbers after the decimal point as they could! Past Student Zoe P (2024) won with knowing 147 numbers after the decimal. Congratulations Zoe! We are proud of you and the great mathematician you are.

Happy St Patrick's Day

Happy St Patrick's Day to all especially our Irish Families. It was great to see a touch of green throughout our playground on Monday 17 March!

District Lightning Premiership

Today our Grade 5/6 students participated in the Cheltenham District Interschool Sport Lightning Premiership. We know they will have absolutely given their best and been respectful and kind along the way. We are proud of all our Grade 5/6s and thank you to our parent volunteers who became 'Super Coaches' overnight and thank you to our teachers for helping make this possible. We especially thank Mrs Thompson and Mr B for coordinating these district opportunities for the whole area.

A big congratulations to our Boys T-Ball and Boys Tennis who won the Lightning Premiership day and proudly brought their flag back to the school. 

Displays around the school

Thank you to the amazing staff who have our classrooms and corridors looking amazing. We lead school tours through the buildings and grounds feeling very proud of the learning and teaching going on as well as how good the school is looking and feeling. Thank you to the amazing staff for celebrating learning through the 'third teacher' in the rooms - that being the displays.

Running Club

How good are Friday mornings at 8:15-8:30am with OLA Running Club being led by Mrs Montebruno, Ms Tiberi and Mrs Vella. Even some of our beautiful parents are joining in the run. All are very welcome. Congratulations to our courageous runners.

OLA’s “Party Mix” Trivia Night

Saturday, 22nd March - TOMORROW NIGHT! 6:30pm arrival for 7:00pm start.

Ticket sales close Friday 21st March at 5pm so be quick to gather your crew or join another table- friends of families are welcome!

https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1353585

Dress code is Smart-Casual

Please remember to bring drinks, nibbles and gold coins for games!

We hope to see many of our families at the OLA Working Bee tomorrow Saturday 22 March from 10:00am-12:00pm as well as the OLA Trivia Night on Saturday evening in our very own Brigid Hall. Thank you to our P&F for organising a fun night out.

We hope you all have a great weekend and Happy Harmony Day!

Richard Jacques

Principal