Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families

We truly could not have asked for a better start to the school year at OLA Cheltenham. Each day it has been a joy to see families filling the playground at drop off and pick up, reconnecting and building new relationships. Most importantly, the students have returned happy, settled, and ready to learn. They have transitioned beautifully into their new learning spaces, and we appreciate their positive attitude.

These last couple of weeks have been exciting with so many great moments being enjoyed like the FIRE Carriers Commissioning Ceremony, School Tours, Principals Tour, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent starting, Grade 6s receiving their leadership badges, Grade 1-4 Learn to Swim classes and the first ever OLA Grade 3-6 Swimming Carnival and this evening we have the well loved OLA Welcome Picnic.

FIRE Carriers Commissioning Service

Today we had the pleasure of commissioning our 2026 FIRE Carriers for OLA. Congratulations to Sophie M, Sophia K, Cleo V and Ella P. We know you will be wonderful FIRE Carriers for our community. Thank you also to Mrs Lee for all your work and inspiration in this sacred space.

This blessing prayer is over 40,000 years old and belonged to the original Australian people - from the Aboriginal People of the Kimberley. 

As we stand around this fire, let us receive its blessing;

Spirit of the Fire, be on our lips, that we may speak the truth in kindness Spirit of the Fire, put your glow in our eyes, that we may see what is good in life and in all people

Spirit of the Fire, burn in our ears, that we may hear with deep listening Spirit of the Fire, be in our arms and hands, that we may serve others with care

Spirit of the Fire, be in our legs and feet so that we may walk the earth with respect and give thanks for its life-giving nourishment

Spirit of the Fire, brand our hearts with the eternal flame of your love, that we may become the bearers of peace, beauty, hope, harmony and Reconciliation.

Catholic Principals tour OLA

We were beyond proud yesterday to take a moment and see how amazing our school looked and felt and how beautiful the relationships are growing between our students and staff at OLA. On top of that the learning was so focussed and the children so engaged. We hosted 20 principals from Catholic primary schools in the MACS South Central Network and we led them on a tour of our school while Mrs Taig, Mrs Reeder and Miss Turner led the first school tours with thirty people coming to check out our great school. There was an incredibly positive vibe and the learning environments were exceptional. Thank you to all who helped make the day a huge success and thank you to our Grade 6 Leaders, Noah W, Charlotte C, Cleo K, Rishon S and Michael M who welcomed our visitors and helped lead the tours.

Lent

Ash Wednesday at OLA was a special opportunity to stop, pause and reflect on the importance of praying, giving and fasting. As Catholics we were marked with ashes, a humble reminder to turn our hearts to God. Fr Alan shared a story that has stayed with him and that is rather than give up eating lollies for lent we should be gentle with our words and we be kind with each other rather than biting at people with unkind words, attitude or tone. 

In his 2026 Lenten Message, Pope Leo XIV invites us to open ourselves to listening, fasting and community. The Pope even asked us to refrain from words that offend and hurt our neighbour. He urges us to avoid harsh words, rash judgement, and speaking ill of others, and instead to make space for words of peace and hope.

Our Grade 6 School Leaders

Our Grade 6 students have excelled in their first few weeks, and we are greatly looking forward to working closely with them across the year in their leadership roles. We have been extremely impressed by the maturity and pride they have shown. At our first Friday School Assembly last week, students received their much anticipated leadership badges. We hope that these badges together with their Grade 6 leaders jumpers are worn with great pride and symbolise the leadership, responsibility, and sense of belonging that comes with being our senior students.

Swimming Carnival

OLA's first Grade 3-6 Swimming Carnival was a huge success. It was so brilliant to see so many students shine. Thank you to the many family members who came along to support their child and thank you to Mrs Thompson and the amazing OLA staff for their organisation and help to deliver a well run carnival. Thank you also the parent volunteers who helped keep the flow of the morning's events seamless!

Spanish at OLA

At OLA students learn Spanish from Prep to Year 6. Our program focusses on developing communication, literacy, intercultural awareness, and critical and creative thinking skills, while fostering respect for cultural diversity. Spanish lessons are thoughtfully connected to classroom inquiry units, allowing students to learn language in a meaningful context. By linking Spanish with topics learnt in class, students deepen their understanding of curriculum content and see how language supports learning across subject areas. Through a wide variety of activities such as songs, stories, games and role-play, students build their listening, speaking, reading, writing and viewing skills. They also gain confidence, cultural awareness and a strong foundation for future language learning.

We once again welcome Pilar Caivano and thank her for her brilliant teaching of the Spanish Language.

School Tours and 2027 Enrolments 

We are beginning to receive many enrolment enquiries for Prep 2027 and beyond!!  We require all current families to please ensure they submit a sibling application for 2027 prior to Friday 27 March 2026 to ensure a placement in our Prep intake for 2027. The enrolment application form can be found on our website here. Please do not hesitate to contact the school office should you have any queries. If you would like a school tour please book online on the school website or call Sharan/Maria in our front office. If you are not able to make these tours please know that you are also welcome to call to make a time that does work for you. This week we had 30 visitors tour our school for the first School Tour of the year. We were super proud to showcase our community in action.

Bowls Car Park

For many years we have maintained a wonderful partnership with the Cheltenham Bowls Club and OLA. They use our car park for tournaments on weekends and in the evenings and we use their car park at drop off and pick up times. The school, some of our parents at OLA and the team at the Bowls Club have met and want this to continue.

We simply ask that the car park is not somewhere to park all day while parents or teachers go to work and that we do not park in the reserved car park spots. Please also note that we ask all to drive slowly and keep to the left and observe all of the road rules. Remember that this a favour to our our community so lets please honour this agreement by using our best manners, best parking and best driving.

The Bowls Club competitors sometimes meet at 8.30am (less than a handful of times throughout the year) to carpool and make their way to faraway destinations. On these occasions like this Tuesday 24 February we ask that parents do not use this car park until after 8.30am so that they can get organised and depart without any fuss or chaos.

Thank you all for your understanding and support with this.

Crossing Closure

Unfortunately, following a large number of resignations and retirements this year, Kingston Council has informed us that they have made the difficult decision to close Mohammed's crossing in the mornings and afternoons. This crossing is the pedestrian lights on Centre Dandenong Road closest to our carpark and Minnows. This crossing will be unsupervised from Monday 23 February onwards. 

Families are still welcome to cross there, using the pedestrian lights to assist. If you would prefer to cross with assistance of a crossing guard, Mohammed will now be positioned at the crossing on the corner of Nepean Hwy and Centre Dandenong Road so please walk further to there. Jaffa will remain on the Wilson Street crossing. Thank you all for your understanding. 

School Uniforms

At OLA we pride ourselves on maintaining high standards for our school uniform and these standards are maintained by staff and leadership at the school. The students wear their school uniform 4 days per week and sports uniform 1 day per week unless they are in Grade 5/6 then that means they get to wear their PE uniform of two days. When wearing school uniform, it is expected that students will be wearing black leather school shoes, not black runners. Hair must be tied up and back if it is longer than shoulder length. The ribbons / headbands / scrunchies should only be in school colours please. Students are expected to wear the school hat until the end of April and apply sunscreen every day before coming to school. 

Student Mobile Phones / Smart Watches

We ask families to remind their children that all mobile phones and Smart Watches (i.e. any device with cellular capacity) are to be handed in to the office at the beginning of each school day. This aligns with the Victorian State Government legislation. Thank you for your cooperation. Parents who need to contact their child can do so by contacting the school office.

Calendar

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

School Term Dates - 2026

Term 1, 2026

Wednesday 28 January - Thursday 2 April (10 weeks)

Term 2, 2026

Monday 20 April - Friday 26 June (10 weeks)

Term 3, 2026

Tuesday 14 July - Friday 18 September (10 weeks)

Term 4, 2026

Tuesday 6 October - Tuesday 15 Dec (11 weeks)

School Fees 2026

Please find attached below the 2026 School Fee Information for our OLA Community together with the Direct Debit Form for you to access as and when required. Please note a slight increase in the Grade 3-6 Curriculum Levy from what was originally indicated in our November 2025 newsletter. Since publishing the original figures, we can confirm that we are continuing the Spelling Mastery Program in 2026. This has resulted in an additional $23 being added to the levy making the curriculum levy $568 for Grade 3-6 students. We believe this is a valuable program and a strong addition to our curriculum, and we are confident it will continue to benefit our students. Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support.

CSEF and MACS School Concession Fee

For concession card holders, Camps, Sports, and Excursions Fund (CSEF) eligibility will be subject to the parental/legal guardian’s concession card being successfully validated with Centrelink on either the first day of either Term One, (27 January 2026) or Term Two, (20 April 2026).  

Health Care Card holders may be eligible for the MACS School Fee Concession Program Application. The MACS Concessional Fee Policy is currently being reviewed by MACS Head Office, and the policy and application form will be available in Term 1 2026 which is to be submitted to the school office in Term 1 2026 (specific dates to be confirmed).

Any family wishing to discuss CSEF or MACS School Concessions Fee please contact Richard Jacques (principal@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au) or Maria Hogan (accounts@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au).

Congratulations

Throughout the course of a week we hear stories of children's achievements and growth at school as well as extra curricular involvement, commitment and achievements. Our community enjoy hearing about these proud moments and so we invite families to share a photo and a little explanation to add to our newsletter each fortnight.

Congratulations

OLA Basketballers

Eight of our Grade 1 boys who are in the same basketball team out of school, were so excited to see our very own OLA PE teacher, Mrs Thompson at the basketball stadium last weekend. They were all jumping for joy.  This connection and sense of belonging is something very special and we are so proud of the students for saying hello and for sharing their OLA pride. The boys got a win on court and a win when they saw their favourite PE teacher at the stadium 

School Photos

The shiniest of shoes, best summer uniforms and the most stylish of hair doo's were seen at OLA for our class, individual, sibling and whole school photos last Friday. Thank you all for looking and being your best for these special keepsake photos.

Welcoming our latest member of the OLA family...

A huge congratulations to Ariel and Alfred and their family on the exciting arrival of their baby sister Belle Angela Anne Marie. Born Monday 9th of February. Know you have all been in our thoughts and prayers. Ariel and Alfred adore their little sister so much and we hear that they are great helpers already!

Reminder

Welcome Family Picnic - Tonight Friday 20 February

All families are warmly invited to attend our Welcome Family Picnic on the OLA Oval tonight Friday 20 February at 5:00-7:00pm. Sausages and drinks will be available for purchase as will face painting for some extra fun. Otherwise families are to BYO picnic rugs, drinks and nibbles. Thank you to our wonderful P&F team for organising this event for our families. 

What a wonderful start to Term 1 at OLA! 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Richard Jacques

Principal