Dear Parents and Guardians,

It is only Week 4 of Term 1 and we seem to have achieved and experienced so much already this year at COHR!

The storm of last week was certainly an exceptional experience, and one that we would really not want to experience again. The timing of the front coming through didn't help us at all with the car park and driveway full and many staff with many children outside waiting for them to be collected. Although it was quite scary to experience, it did pass, we were all safe. The safety of all has been our mantra moving forward. The Hall roof was quickly made secure on Wednesday morning, the trees with branches hanging have been lopped and today temporary fences are being erected on the oval where necessary. We hope to be back playing on the oval once the shade sails and the posts are made safe.

Repairs will take longer and we will keep you up to date with these as workers come on site. Thanks to so many members of our community that offered help and assistance as well as simple check ins on everyone's wellbeing. The caring of our community was certainly felt in the days after. For now all works are in the hands of our insurers.

Parent Teacher Chats - if you didn't catch up

Tuesday and tonight have been an invaluable time for our classroom teachers to chat with parents and for them to share their child's story. We strive to work in partnership with families and this is a great first step in the year.

All teachers have shared their email address with families, so if you need to contact them throughout the year this is the best way. Parents and family members are welcome to email teachers at any time. However please note that teachers may not be able to respond immediately, but they will do their best to respond in a timely manner within their work hours.

If you missed out on your Parent -Teacher Chat, please contact your child's teacher to arrange a time to chat.

Also if a matter is urgent, you are best to contact the School Office by phone on 9569 8966 during school hours (8:30am-4pm)

Open Days

Our Open Days for Term 1 will be held on Thursday 29th February, Tuesday 19th March and Tuesday 30th April. If you know of anyone who has a preschooler and may be interested in coming to COHR, then please let them know. More information can be found on the School website.

Preschool Story Time

On Friday 8th March at 11:45am - 12:15pm, we are inviting all 3 Year Old and 4 Year Old Kinder children and their parents to come to our first Preschool Story Time for 2024. Come and share a story and an activity in our beautiful Library and you may even borrow a book from our vast collection.

Reconciliation Commitment Masses

Saturday 24th February

SH - 5:30pm, COHR 7pm

This Saturday evening we are inviting the Year 3 children who are going to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation to come and make a public commitment to our Parish to prepare and receive this sacrament. All Year 3 students are welcome to attend the mass and they will all participate in the classes, reflection day and their families are welcome to attend the family workshop.

District Swimming - Congratulations

With everything else happening over the past almost 4 weeks, we are grateful to Ms Tobin for her commitment and organisation to get the COHR Swim Team off and running for 2024. Well done to those who tried out, to those who swam at District Level and to Liesel (Freestyle) Gisele (Freestyle) and Ari (Breaststroke) who will now go on to the Division level representing our district. Well done, we are all cheering for you!

All members of the COHR Swim Team will receive certificates of congratulations once the season is over.

PSGs

Emails have been sent out to some families to invite parents to Program Support Group Meeting (PSG) over the next few weeks. This is another great way in which we support our students with their families. Time taken to communicate is so important for us to work together.

SAC Meeting

The first School Advisory Council will be held on Wednesday 6th March. We thank the parents who have volunteered to give up their time to help support us all. We will share more communication from the SAC in future newsletters.

Working With Children Checks

This year will will have many opportunities for families to help support and be part of school activities such as Hot Dog Days, Classroom assistance P&F events. Due to Child Safety Standard no one can help at school events with students present without a current Working with Children Check.

Applying for a check is free for volunteers.

https://service.vic.gov.au/services/working-with-children

You just need to make sure you nominate COHR Primary School as the place you are volunteering.

The service then sends the office at school an email including a copy of your WWCC.

COHR Fete - Save the Date!

Friday November 15th

Finally, it is a Fete Year!! For new families, the COHR Fete is a highlight of the COHR calendar and COHR Community. It is so good, we can only do it every second year! So please pop Friday 15th November into your calendar.

Fete Meeting - Monday 4th March

Now for the Fete to happen it takes a team effort, so we are asking anyone who is willing to help out to come along to a meeting in the School Staffroom on Monday 4th March at 7pm. So even if you are just curious about how it is organised, please come. The more helpers and support we have the better and more fun it is for everyone.

Jo Cowan (Deputy Principal) &

Brian Martin (Lead Principal)

A Lenten Prayer