Dear Parents & Parishioners,

The three Sacraments of Initiation in the Catholic Church are Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation. Students from our parish are currently preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.

On Sunday, 19 July, the candidates participated in a Confirmation Workshop, which introduced them to the meaning and significance of the sacrament. Following the workshop, students and their families gathered for afternoon tea before attending the Confirmation Commitment Mass alongside fellow parishioners.

The Commitment Mass marks an important milestone in the candidates' faith journey, providing them with the opportunity to publicly express their commitment as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. During the Mass, the parish community was invited to keep the candidates and their families in their prayers, supporting and encouraging them throughout their preparation for this special sacrament.

So what is the meaning behind the Sacrament of Confirmation?

The sacrament of Confirmation continues, strengthens, confirms and celebrates the gifts of the Holy Spirit received in Baptism. The Gospels are a rich source for the continuation of the works of Jesus’ earthly ministry through the Holy Spirit.

At the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he promised his followers that he would send them the gift of the Holy Spirit who would help them to live as he had taught them and to pass on his message to all the nations.

In the very early Church, Baptism and Confirmation were usually conferred by the bishop and celebrated together. However, over time, access to bishops became more difficult and Baptism came to be conferred by the local parish priest, so Confirmation began to be celebrated at an older age.

In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the bishop/priest lays his hands on the baptised person and prays that the Holy Spirit will fill the person with spiritual gifts. Then, using holy oil, the bishop/priest makes a cross on the person’s forehead. It is usual for the person being confirmed to take on an extra name, that of a particular saint. The saint will be a source of inspiration by the way he/she lived their life.

Acknowledgement: Catholic Australia

Our candidates will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation on the evening of Tuesday, 1 September.

Preparing for 2027

Currently, we are in the process of finalising student numbers for 2027 which will go a long way to determining how many classes the school will be offering next year. If your child will be concluding their time at OHR at the end of the current school year, could you please communicate this formally in writing and email me at your earliest convenience?

Of course, this does not apply to families who have their last child completing Year 6 at the end of this year.

CPR

Last night all staff engaged in their annual First Aid CPR Update. This practical component of First Aid training follows the annual completion of online modules in CPR, Anaphylaxis, and Asthma management.

Athletics Training Day

The students in Years 3 - 6 will be invovled in today's Athletics Training Day at the Box Hill Athletics Track. Details can be found on the PE News page.

100 Days of Learning in Prep

The Prep children are looking forward to celebrating 100 days of learning at OHR next Friday 7 August. Mrs Hollow and Ms Dening are planning a range of exciting activties to do with "all things 100".

The impacts of absenteeism are cumulative

“The effects of non-attendance on achievement are cumulative and can impact both academic achievement and attendance in future years of schooling” – Hancock et al., 2013; Zubrick, 2014

Declines in achievement are evident with any level of absence. However, greater numbers of absences are typically associated with larger declines in student achievement (Gottfried, 2014; Hancock et al., 2013). Studies of chronic absenteeism (missing more than 10% of school days) show that regardless of the type, absence, has a compounding negative impact on academic performance (Gershenson et al., 2017; Gottfried, 2009; Zubrick, 2014).

As absences accrue over several years, the effect on a student’s academic achievement is cumulative. Hancock et al. (2013) found that Year 3 students with an accumulated unauthorised absence rate of 10% in each of their first three years of schooling achieved approximately 36 points lower in Year 3 on the NAPLAN numeracy domain than students with no unauthorised absences during the same period. As students generally gain 100 points from Year 3 to Year 5 (Hancock et al. 2013), a 36 point difference is almost two thirds of a year’s growth in achievement that students with high rates of unauthorised absences fail to reach. This impact continues to be evident in further years as well.

Findings from both US and Australian studies highlight the importance of setting positive attendance habits early in a child’s schooling. This includes attending early childhood education programs and early schooling. In an Australian study, researchers demonstrated that children who had attended a pre-school program at ages 4 or 5 achieved up to 20 points higher across NAPLAN domains in Year 3, compared with students who did not attend preschool. This equates to approximately 20 weeks of schooling by the Year 3 level, that students who did not attend pre-school missed out on (Warren & Haisken-DeNew, 2013). The link between attendance at pre-school, and Year 3 literacy and numeracy achievement is strong, even after controlling for various socio-demographic variables, indicating pre-school attendance has a significant impact on achievement outcomes in later years of compulsory schooling (Warren & Haisken-DeNew, 2013). International research demonstrates that chronic absenteeism in pre-school and Year 1 predicts patterns of non-attendance in later years (Attridge, 2016; Connolly & Olson, 2012; Dubay & Holla, 2016).

Acknowledgement: AITSL (2019), Attendance matters

Below is a copy of the Our Holy Redeemer Attendance Policy for MACS Schools.

OHR Art Show

The OHR Art Show is on again this year. So, make sure you add the evening of Thursday 10 September to your calendar now. This evening is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the incredible artwork of our students. You will be truly amazed!

Make sure that you head to the 2026 OHR Art Show page where there are further details and a competiton for the children to enter.

Further information will be arriving home through the nForma app in the coming days.

Learning Snapshots

As part of our Family Engagement focus this year, we are implementing Learning Snapshots which will take place regularly between 8:45 - 9am (at dropoff) or 3:00 - 3:15pm (at pickup), commencing this term. The Learning Snapshots are designed to best support you when working and guiding your child at home with their learning. Each session runs for only 15 minutes, thereby making them accessible for busy parents (and grandparents).

Our first Learning Snapshot was held on last Tuesday afternoon at 3.00pm. Approximately 25 adults attended, comprising parents and grandparents. Refer to the Learning & Teaching News page for notes to support you, with ideas, when reading with your child.

Topic	Date	Time
	Remaining Sessions
Growth Mindset	Thursday, 6 August	8.45am
Talking with your child about talk	Thursday, 20 August	3.00pm
Maths	Tuesday, 1 September	8.45am

PFA Kids Disco

The PFA Kids Disco is on tomorrow evening. Details can be found on the PFA News page.

Save the Date: OHR School Fete

Remember to save the date of Saturday 24 October in your calendar. This is the date of the OHR School Fete, branded as the OHR Spring Carnival School Fete.

Our organsing committe has been meeting regularly on a fortnightly basis.

Details can be found on the PFA News page.

Living and Growing Program

Parents with children in Years 3 - 6, should head to the Student Wellbeing page for details of the Living and Growing Program that will be held this term. Details of tonight's Online Information Evening for Parents can be found on this page.

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank Dame

Science and STEM