Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

We can certainly feel the run home to the end of the year is in full swing!  Thank you all for not only doing all you can to keep our community safe and healthy but also for supporting the special events taking place at this time of year.  We have enjoyed two Prep 2022 Orientation sessions onsite, we have welcomed two new members to the OLA School Advisory Council and we are quickly forming our 2022 Parents and Friends Committee. We have also celebrated the Sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation, the Grade 6 families and children have begun the About Real Life Sexuality Program, Grade 4 have participated in a Camp Experience Evening, P-6 Science Incursions, Grade 6 Bike Ed, we have been practising for the Christmas Concert and on top of all of this we have enjoyed the most amazing Art Show that we were so fortunate to share with our families.

OLA Art Show

What an exhibition! Thank you to Sam Hudson and the children of OLA for the most fantastic display of artwork.  This exhibition gave us the opportunity to come together and to celebrate the richness of the many creative talents in our community.  We were so proud of all the students who were excited to share their art work with their family.  Thank you also to Tser Lin and Mark for videoing this special event.  We will share this with you in the next couple of weeks.  It has been lovely for Sam and all of us as a staff to receive such positive feedback, such as, 

"It was so good. I've been to the Lourve, London's Tate Modern, The National Gallery, Melbourne's NVG and many more, but my favourite by a mile is OLA Art Show 2021! Well done to everyone who contributed." 

"Amazing - Sam Hudson you do such a great job and managed to pull it off again despite not having the kids on site for half the year - congrats and thank you"

"Thank you Sam!! It was amazing, you are so talented"

"It was fantastic as always! Congratulations"

Advent

Amongst the frantic nature of the end of the school year we take precious time to pause and reflect as we enter the season of Advent. Advent is the 4 weeks that lead up to Christmas when we watch and wait for the coming of Christ. It begins on Nov 27th through to Dec 24th and always contains four Sundays. 

Advent is the official beginning of the church year and it is represented by the liturgical colour purple.  The word Advent derives from the Latin word meaning ‘coming’. The Lord is coming. (Wait/Prepare/Be ready for Christmas).  It is a time of preparation for Christ’s birth and it symbolises ‘new beginnings’.

Our classes will gather in prayer each week as we celebrate this special Advent time.  

2022 Staffing

We wish to advise parents that Francine Jorgensen will be taking a year of leave in 2022.  We wish Francine a most relaxing year as she spends time travelling, trying new things and time with her family after 24 dedicated years of teaching. 

We also advise that Tom Perkin will be taking up employment at St Leonards College in Brighton in 2022. We have loved Tom's positive spirit and love for OLA over the last five years.  Thank you Tom for your care of each and every child you have supported with their wellbeing and learning.  Thank you also for helping to make learning fun.

In January 2022 Marsha Van Cuylenburg is looking forward to the birth of her second child.  Marsha will also be taking a year of leave to enjoy her precious new bundle. We have loved having Marsha return to us this year to teach in the Grade 5/6 Team.  

In further 2022 staffing news, Carrie Mulcahy continues to be with us at OLA for one day of teaching.  Carrie is reducing her work load from four days to one day.  Carrie will continue being a dynamic member of our Junior Team and we are excited for her.  Carrie has some amazing adventures already planned in 2022.  Thank you Carrie for all you continue to do for our OLA community.

In 2022 We Welcome...

We are delighted to advise families that we have appointed Tess Riley, Meg McCallum and Steve Pertz to classroom teaching positions and Rosie Siracusa as a Learning Support Officer for the 2022 school year.   We look forward to welcoming these four staff members onsite in the weeks ahead as they join with their 2022 level team to commence planning for the new year.  

Hi! My name is Miss McCallum. You may have seen me around OLA as I’ve been lucky enough to work as a Learning Support Officer here for almost five years now! During this time I have worked across each grade level and this experience has given me a lot of insight into teaching. 

I have recently graduated from Australian Catholic University after completing my Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree and I’m excited to move into a classroom teacher role at OLA in 2022. I especially can’t wait to continue working with the wonderful staff and students at OLA and foster a love of learning within my students. 

Looking forward to next year!

Hi! Mr Pertz is my name and I’m looking forward to continuing my career as an educator at Our Lady of the Assumption in 2022. I’ve spent the last eleven enjoyable years teaching upper primary levels at Greythorn Primary School in Balwyn North and can’t wait to join the OLA community. 

I was born and raised in Burwood and attended St Scholastica’s Catholic Primary School and Mount Waverley Secondary College. I then jumped straight into completing my Bachelor of Education at RMIT University and have relished all the wonderful experiences primary teaching has given me.

I love spending time with my wife Emily and our two year old son Oscar. I enjoy reading, watching documentaries, and all things sport. I barrack for the St Kilda Saints! 

I’m very excited about 2022 and can’t wait to work together with the students, parents, and staff of Our Lady of the Assumption. 

'Hello! My name is Miss Riley and I am so excited to be joining the Our Lady of the Assumption community in 2022. I am a recent graduate of the Australian Catholic University where I completed a Bachelor of Primary Education. I was born in Melbourne and went to primary and secondary school in Oakleigh, not too far from Cheltenham at all! I love all things travel, summer, reading, dancing, and of course teaching! I love working with students and helping them to be the very best version of themselves. I feel very lucky that I have known I wanted to be a primary school teacher since grade 1! I cannot wait to meet you all and look forward to all the fun, laughter, smiles and learning that 2022 will bring!'

Hello! My name is Miss Siracusa and I am so looking forward to being a part of the OLA community next year. I have been working in education and recreation for the past 7 years, and recently completed studies in Education Support at Victoria University. My favourite things are sport, sunshine and travelling, but nothing beats spending time with my family and friends. I can’t wait to meet all your smiling faces and support students at OLA through 2022!

2022 Grade 6 Leadership Roles

We congratulate all children who have nominated for leadership roles and written application letters to the Principal!  We specifically congratulate the children who courageously delivered speeches, endeavouring to take on the School Captain role.  Leadership positions will be allocated taking into consideration the student voting, as a priority, their application letter and after discussions with the Grade 5/6 class teachers.   We will communicate this early next week as we have been held up and are not able to meet the timeline of sharing this information this evening.  We apologise for this inconvenience.  

Leadership badges will be presented at the 2022 beginning of School Year Mass. It is the expectation of all Grade 6 children that they will have a presence as Leaders in our school and will conduct themselves in a manner that reflects our school vision.  Such a special year for these children.

Prep Orientation

What a joy it has been to host our new and current Prep children and families for 2022 for two of their three Orientation Days.  The children have played, spent time in the Library, danced, moved and participated in an art lesson.  This has been such a lovely way for them to get to know their new school and to meet their new friends and teachers.  While the children have been having fun, their parents have enjoyed coffee and cake at Frank’s Cafe and been part of curriculum discussions with our RE and Learning and Teaching Leaders.  They also had the treat of visiting our OLA Art Show and to buy items from our Second Hand Uniform Shop.  We hope our 2022 Preps and their families are feeling welcome and part of our great OLA community.

COVID Safety

We thank all in our community for their support and understanding as we navigate life using the COVID Operation Guidelines and the reality of positive cases being in and around our community of Cheltenham. We continue to pray and think of those in our community who are needing to be tested, who are isolating or have returned a positive COVID result.  We thank families for notifying the school immediately with any concerns or questions and we thank them for following the directions of DH. 

Students 

If a positive case is detected in a class or grade level and that person was at school within the last 48 hours of their test, all students/staff in that identified grade are to get a PCR test for COVID-19 (please note that we are not able to accept Rapid Antigen Testing results). We then ask each family to please forward your child’s test results to covidresults@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au as you receive them. If it is a negative result your child is able to return to school immediately. If there is a positive result your child needs to isolate and follow DH guidelines.

Parents/Families

If a child is asked to be tested and to isolate, their parents and families (ie. siblings), are not required to isolate. Please monitor for symptoms and only get tested should these present.  Please be aware that we do not provide any further information about the person or persons who have tested positive for COVID19 and we ask that you continue to respect their privacy.

We understand that receiving this news can be concerning, however we want to reassure you that we are following the health advice from DH and MACS. Please be assured the identified classrooms and facilities around the school will be given an extra deep COVID Safe Clean. Please contact DH if you have any concerns or questions.

We request that any children who show signs of being unwell must remain at home.   Parents please note that children will be isolated in the sick bay and we will call parents if we identify that your child is unwell.   This protocol is in place for the safety of all children and members of our community.  

Bike Ed

Thank you to Liz Thompson and Kelly Herat for leading the Bike Education Program, as a part of our school curriculum, for Grade 6 students this term. It was fantastic to see the joy on the faces of our Grade 6 students during these sessions.  May this important learning be with the children forever.  We thank the OLA Parents and Friends for raising the funds to pay for this great initiative. 

2022 Planning and Professional Learning

At the School Advisory Council Meeting during the week we felt that it was important to speak to our OLA families about the need for additional Casual Relief Teachers in recent weeks.  Not only do we have the current COVID challenges with sickness and testing etc. we find ourselves balancing the work of assessing and reporting children’s progress for the year as well as providing professional learning to set up our students and teachers for success in 2022.  Please note that in the past couple of weeks staff have been released to work one to one with children to complete the necessary curriculum testing.  This testing fulfils the requirements for our data collection and for the end of year reporting process. This assessment data is also passed on to the 2022 teacher to inform their practice and provide a starting point to each child’s individual learning journey.

The staff have had Professional Learning in Literacy and Numeracy.  In the area of Literacy we have evaluated our P-6 Spelling Scope and Sequence and improving it in line with current research.  In Numeracy we have partnered with MACS to provide staff with facilitated planning that has enabled teachers to deepen their knowledge and confidence in delivering multiple Mathematical strategies; this enables the students to problem solve in the most efficient way.  Especially in the current environment please be assured that we continue to aim to provide the best educational opportunities for your child.  

2022 School Fees

Please refer to the separate newsletter page highlighting the 2022 School Fees and Levy schedule. Please note the following key points:

• The Camp and Swimming Levies are indicative prices. These levies may vary according to bus, camp, swimming program costs etc.
• The new MACS School Fee Concession Program Application Form and new payment methods for 2022 will be communicated with families in the coming weeks
• School fees for the 2021 school year were kept at the same level as the 2020 school year with the aim to support families as we experienced challenging times.    In addition, the school provided fee support for families who have reached out to us or had a conversation with the Principal.   To meet the financial needs of the school we have had to provide a $55 increase to the 2022 school fees.
• Fee and Levy increases are always negotiated in partnership with the School Accountant and the School Advisory Council.

Celebrations of Learning...

Amongst all of the fun and special events happening across our school, there is no better jolt of joy than seeing our students who are super proud of their work pop into the office to share some of their very best work.  Thank you to all students for being kind and giving their absolute best right up until the end of the year.

Have a great weekend and thank you for your energy and enthusiasm.

Richard Jacques

Principal