Lord,

I pray to Your my father above, that You influence all decisions, I, my family and my friends make today. You're our pillar of support and we want You to support us throughout the day by giving us the capacity. God, we need You to back all actions and decisions that surround us today. Let positivity follow us, oh Lord. And allow us the wisdom to avoid any negative occurrence in our time of need.

We thank You, Lord, for gracing us with Your presence.

Amen.

Dear Parents and Students,

I cannot believe that 1/4 of the 2024 academic year is nearly over. The students have worked extremely hard in all areas of the curriculum and the staff have been diligent in their implementation of researched based approaches to teaching literacy and numeracy.

I thank our highly dedicated staff for their professionalism and commitment to improving teaching, learning and wellbeing practices at OLGC. It is a privilege and a blessing to work alongside such an inspiring team.

Celebrating 100 year of Education

On Wednesday 24 April the students can wear casual sporting attire as they will be participating a morning of fun activities, ANZAC Day memorial, a sausage sizzle and ice cream lunch, then we will all be attending mass at 2pm. All parents and family members are welcome to join us at mass.

Thank you to the parents that have offered to sort through the school's archives for our centenary. We are still working on a date to celebrate this with our community.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY ACTIVITIES AND FUNDRAISER

Yesterday our students celebrated St. Patrick's Day. There were many fun activities run in classes and Yr 3/4TM won a green treat for the largest class donation to Caritas. Thank you to Mrs McIntyre for organising the money line on the court

HARMONY DAY

Students are encouraged to wear a touch of orange this Friday for Harmony Day

STAFF CONFERENCE

This year, our staff spent two consecutive days offsite to focus on staff and student wellbeing practices. This focused time for our staff, away from school, provides an opportunity to connect and learn in a way that is just not possible during school hours. Without a doubt, the return on our investment greatly exceeds expectations - enhancing staff capacity, strengthening team culture, nurturing and acknowledging the importance of staff wellbeing and, ultimately, improving student outcomes.

This year, we welcomed Anna Box – Psychologist and Trudy Parkin –Thriving Minds. Both Anna and Trudy worked with us on staff and student wellbeing and how to enhance the learning of our young people with ADHD. Our staff were so engaged with, and inspired by, both Anna and Trudy’s presentations and both were incredibly complimentary on the engagement and dedication of the staff.

EASTERN METROPOLITAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

We wish Victoria, Scarlett, Camila, Issy, Daniel, Lincoln, Hamish and Elliot all the very best as they compete in the Eastern Metropolitan Swimming Championships this Friday.

BIKE EDUCATION

Last week the Yr 3/4 students and staff participated in a Bike Education program. All had a wonderful time and I received some lovely feedback from parents on how valuable the program is. Thank you to the staff and our parent volunteers.

1/2 FAMILY MASS

Thank you to the families and staff that attended our Yr 1/2 Family Mass last weekend. It was lovely to see you there.

YR 5/6 CAMP

53 students and 6 staff attended a 4 day/3night adventure camp last week at Alexandra Resort. Everyone had a wonderful time and I thank our amazing staff for being there with the students and giving of their personal time to make camp possible. Unfortunately, some staff and students have come down with COVID since returning from camp. We wish them a speedy recovery.

NAPLAN

Congratulations to our Year 3 and 5 students who completed the majority of their NAPLAN tests this week. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing against National standards in Literacy and Numeracy. We gently remind parents that NAPLAN tests are one aspect of our assessment and reporting process. They do not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance.

WINTER UNIFORM

Weather dependent, there will be a 3 week change over period for Summer to Winter Uniform next term. All students will be required to be in their Winter Uniform by 6th May.

SEMESTER 1 - SRC REPS

Congratulations to the following SRC Reps. I look forward to working alongside you next term. SRC Reps were elected by their class peers.

PREP	Rumi V
1/2 D	Samira R.C
	William Z
1/2 MM	Hariette P
	Emmerson H
1/2R	Zara B
	Oscar G
3/4KM	Aurora S
	Riley R
3/4M	Juliet W
	Evelyn C
3/4TM	Isla B
	Elliot C
5/6B	Daniel A
5/6K	Lila B
5/6P	Camilla C

TERM 1 EVENTS	DATE
YR 3 & 5 NAPLAN Testing	13th - 21st March
2024 Prep Dinner Wear a 'touch of orange' - Harmony Day...	Friday 22 March
Yr 3/4 Gala Day	Tuesday 26 March
End of Term 1 Pyjama Day!	Thursday 28th March at 1pm

Term 2 Commences	Monday 15th April
Opening of School Term Mass	Wednesday 17 April
Yr 5/6 Gala Day	Thursday 18 April
Yr 5/6 Debating Program commences	Monday 22 April
ANZAC DAY/OLGC FEAST DAY/CENTENARY DAY	Wednesday 24 April
ANZAC DAY - HOLIDAY	Thursday 25 April
SCHOOL CLOSURE	Friday 26 April
Winter Uniform	Monday 6 May
Mother's Day Breakfast	Friday 10 May

CAMPS 2024

CAMP

DATE

Yr.3/4 Camp Mill Valley Ranch

30th Oct - 1st Nov

Prep Story Time

Yr.1&2 Sleepover

TBC

TBC

2024 SCHOOL CLOSURE DAYS

TERM 2

25th April - ANZAC DAY

26th April - PD Day

10th June - King's Birthday

11th June - Combined Parish School PD Day

TERM 3

15th July - Parent/Teacher Interviews

TERM 4

4th Nov - Report Writing Day

5th Nov - Melbourne Cup

29th Nov - 2025 Planning Day

EXTRA CURRICULA CLUBS - TERM 2

There will be a number of new Extra Curricula clubs on offer from next term. Next week there will be a Free Chess Trial for any interested Yr 1-6 students in the Atrium on Tuesday at 11:10-11:40am. (Please see flyer attached)

Other club on offer next term will be:

Chess: Tuesday Lunchtimes

Street Dance: Wednesday Lunchtimes

Robotics - Thursdays after school

We are waiting on flyers to be sent through. Once they arrive, I will forward them on to you.

OLGC PLAYGROUP

We are seeking expressions of interest from Family and friends who might be interested in starting/joining our OLGC Playgroup in Term 2. At this stage we envisage the Playgroup will run 3 times a term. Please note, there is no age limit on toddlers or pre-schoolers. If you think this is a good idea and would like to be a part of the OLGC Playgroup please email

office@olgcdeepdene.catholic.edu.au

2024 OPEN DAYS for 2025/2026

We strongly encourage our families to spread the positive news and share the wonderful experiences within our beautiful school community with their networks as we aim for two Prep classes in 2025.

SEEKING SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS

We are seeking nominations from parent representatives to join the School Advisory Council (SAC) in 2024/2025. Please consider nominating yourself if you feel you would like to fulfil this role.

We encourage all parents to consider nominating for one of these important positions. Please note SAC Membership is purely voluntary and is for a two year term.

If you are interested in applying for a SAC position, please click on these links. Letter/nomination form and Terms of Reference Guide.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

A reminder that Daylight Savings end this Sunday morning 7th April at 3am.

CANTEEN

Canteen is open on Mondays and Fridays commencing this week. Lunch orders must be submitted online by 8am through the My School Connect app. Reminders will be sent out and all order must be in by 8am Monday & Friday.

2024 TERM DATES

Term 1 - 30 January – 28 March

(Easter 29 March - 1 April)

Term 2 - 15 April – 28 June

Term 3 - 16 July – 20 September

Term 4 - 7 October – 17 December

END OF TERM

On behalf of Fr Brendan and the staff, I wish you all a very safe and holy Easter and a relaxing holiday and I look forward to seeing everyone next term.

A reminder that next Thursday 28th March is the end of Term 1. Dismissal at 1pm.

All students return to school on Monday 16 April

Kind regards,

Erin Macdonald

Principal

Birthdays and Awards