Principal's News
Dear Parents and Parishioners,
We were fortunate to have such a brilliant week of weather while in Canberra last week, with the temperature consistently hovering in the low to mid 20’s. Every day contained a full schedule in which the students visited significant sites where they had the opportunity to deepen their learning while engaging in rich experiences. It was hard to determine what the students found most interesting, as every site we visited held some sort of surprise. The AIS rated highly, but so too did the Royal Australian Mint. For some it was visiting and engaging in hands-on experiences at Questacon, while others were captivated and moved by the Australian War Memorial. Everyone seemed to enjoy the twilight guided tour of the Australian National Botanic Gardens where a blood moon was witnessed. The evening round of minigolf at the Canberra International Golf Centre also proved to be a hit (with students and adults, alike). The CSIRO was a relatively new addition to our schedule and one that set the students on team challenges of discovery. Overall, every student was provided with a week away that they will remember for a long time to come.
The accommodation was clean and modern, with the catering offering a variety of choices at both breakfast and dinner. A barista serving coffee to the staff each morning was a personal highlight!
The parents of the students were kept up to date with a plethora of photos shared through Seesaw. Thanks Mr Byrne!
I would like to personally acknowledge the staff who looked after the students from our 5.30am departure last Monday morning, through to the return at 5.45pm on Thursday evening. Thank you to Cara Mitchell, Esther Jackson, Jo Golds and Nick Byrne.
And finally, I would like to acknowledge the students themselves who acted as exemplary ambassadors of OHR wherever we went. On multiple occasions we were provided with positive feedback on the attentiveness of the students and the manner in which they conducted themselves. At the end of our tour of the National Museum of Australia, our guide stated that earlier that day she had taken another school group who made her question whether she wanted to continue in her role. However, after taking our school on the tour, her faith in students had been restored as she found them extremely polite, attentive and eager to learn. She asked that I would provide that feedback to our Principal. I told her that he already knew!
2023 Class Structures
Once again, in 2023, Our Holy Redeemer will be offering seven classes. We are pleased to be in the position to offer two Foundation (Prep) classes. It is reassuring to have 28 confirmed Prep enrolments, when some schools in the Eastern suburbs are in the uneviable position of struggling to attract new families. 50 percent of our enrollees are new families to the school.
You will also notice that we will be offering one Year 5/6 class in 2023. In acknowleding that our classes in Years 3/4 and 5/6 have numbers ranging from 26 to 28 students, we have decided to redeploy two teaching staff* into positions where they will be working alongside the teachers in Years 3 - 6 to ensure that there are consistent opportunities for small focus groups in Maths and English throughout the week. This will be further supplemented by the work of our Learning Support Officers within these levels. In other words, there will be occasions during the week when up to three educators will be working in the one class.
The Year 5/6 students and teachers will be working in the current Year 5/6 classrooms.
The following class structures will prove to be of the greatest benefit to our children, parents, teachers and learning support staff in 2023:
Foundation (Prep) x 2
Year 1/2 x 2
Year 3/4* x 2
Year 5/6* x 1
2023 Classroom Teaching Staff
Following a recent interview process, we have appointed a new teacher to our staff and she will be working at OHR three days per week as part of the Year 1/2 team. I cannot announce the name of our new teacher yet, as her current school community is yet to be advised that she is leaving. However, I can say that she is highly regarded by the staff, parents and students at her current school. Throughout her career she has worked as a classroom teacher and held a variety of leadership positions. She will prove to be a great addition to OHR.
Due to the higher number of students in the Years 3 to 6 classes, Mr Nick Byrne will be working as Maths co-teacher across the week. The team will also be joined by Mrs Karen Arnett, who will bring her strong literacy background and serve as English co-teacher in Years 3 to 6.
The classroom teachers in 2023 comprise:
Prep: Michelle Hollow Mary Dening
1/2: - Tina Hautot (4 days)/Karen Arnett (1 day)
- TBA (3 days)/Lisa Canty (2 days)
3/4: - Carmel Pettinato (3 days)/Aria Karagiannis (2 days)
- Esther Jackson (3 days)/Penny Hansen (2 days)
5/6: - Cara Mitchell (0.8)/Jo Golds (0.2)
Nick Byrne (0.4) – Yrs. 3 to 6 Maths co-teacher
Karen Arnett (0.3) – Yrs. 3 to 6 English co-teacher
Meaghan King -- LLI
Next week's Newsletter will contain a full list of both teaching and non-teaching staff for the 2023 school year.
Student Supervision Before & After School
The students are supervised before school by teaching staff from 8.25 – 8.40am. Commencing at 8.30am, the students may enter their classroom and begin setting up for the day as long as their teacher is in attendance. In the interest of child safety, we request that children are not dropped off at school any earlier. Teaching staff are not scheduled for playground supervision until 8.25am as they are regularly involved in meetings, preparation and administration.
The children are dismissed at 3.15pm, with staff supervision in the school grounds extending from 3.15pm – 3.30pm. We kindly request that all children be collected by 3.30pm as staff are often involved in a variety of meetings commencing at this time. At 3.30pm, student supervision is the sole responsibility of parents and/or guardians.
We appreciate the fact that so many parents and/or guardians are prompt in picking up their children at the end of the school day.
Please note the following:
- Children are allowed to play on the Junior Playground equipment between the times of 8.25 – 8.40am and 3.15 – 3.30pm, but not in the sandpit nor on the Middle/Senior Playground Equipment at the Northern end of the grounds.
- In the interest of everyone’s safety, ball games are not to be played before or after school between the times of 8.25 – 8.40am and 3.15 – 3.30pm.
- Children should never wait to be picked up in York Street. They should always be collected by an adult from within the school grounds.
2023 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 quickly responding to the invitation to host one of the evenings.
- Prep - Yr 2 Parent Evening: 17 February 2023 at the Fagan's home
- Yrs 3 - 6 Parent Evening: 3 March 2023 at the Southwood's home
Term 4 School Closure Days
The fourth, and final, school closure day for staff professional development will be held on Wednesday 30 November.
Wishing everyone a great weekend,
Frank