Principal's Message
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are just over a week away from stepping into the joyful season of Advent. Advent marks the beginning of the Christmas season, a time of reflection, anticipation, and celebration.
In the upcoming weeks, our students will have the opportunity to engage in various activities that embody the spirit of Advent. From special classroom projects and decorations to heartwarming assemblies, we aim to create a sense of wonder and excitement as we count down the days to Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Our dedicated teachers will be incorporating Advent themes into their lessons, fostering a sense of community and encouraging our students to embrace the values of love, hope, joy, and peace. We believe that these principles are not only integral to the Advent season but also serve as valuable life lessons for our students.
As we embark on this Advent journey together, let us create an atmosphere of warmth and togetherness that will be cherished by all. We look forward to sharing the blessings of the season with each and every one of you.
Christ Our Holy Redeemer Feast Day
Tomorrow we acknowledge and celebrate our school Feast Day. Children are invited to wear casual clothes and/or crazy socks and bring along a gold coin donation for the children of Timor Leste. The following activities will take place tomorrow;
9:00am Assembly
10:00am Whole School Mass
FREE icypoles for children at lunchtime
2:00pm COHR 's Got Talent
To conclude the day we invite all families to join us on the oval for a movie night, organised by the Parent's Association.
WOW! What a day!
2nd Hand Uniform Spring Clean and Sort
On Tuesday 28th November, we are looking for volunteers to help spring clean and sort our 2nd hand clothing. If you have some time to spare start after drop off, please meet Dani in the Community Hub.
Oakleigh Athletics - Mentone Relay Day
Congratulations to these students who represented Oakleigh Athletics on Mentone Relay Day. We are very proud of your efforts.
2024 Prep Orientation
Yesterday we held our final orientation visit for our 2024 Preps. Our new Preps got to meet their 'Year 6 Buddy' for next year. They were very excited to meet their buddies who presented them with a welcome card. Each of our new Preps also took home a learning show bag, full of fun activities to enjoy.
2024 Staffing
The following is a list of teachers who have been allocated to each level for the 2024 school year;
Prep - Jill Palermo
1/2 - Maya Howard
1/2 - Kim Goddard
3/4 - Rachael Goldring
3/4 - Clare Inwood
5/6 - Ilona Cetrola
5/6 - Karen Gosling
At the end of this year we farewell Molly Greely. Molly has made a wonderful contribution to our school community and made an positive impact on the students she has been working with this year. Molly has made the decision to travel and teach overseas in 2024 and we wish her much happiness in this new adventure.
Teachers have now commenced the process of organising classes for 2024. Teachers take a broad and balanced view when considering the needs of all students. It is our intention, as always, to provide well-balanced class groupings. To achieve this we take into consideration the gender, year level, academic, social, emotional and behavioural needs of all students. Teachers will draw on their collective knowledge of the students and expertise to arrange the classes.
Individual parent requests compromise this process and inevitably inhibit our capacity to deliver balanced classes. I ask parents to consider how difficult the task of arranging balanced classes would be if we were to act on all parent preferences. Therefore I ask parents to refrain from sending requests about student placement.
A full staffing list will be published in our newsletter at the beginning of the new school year.
School Closure Day
Please note that next Friday, 1st December , is a school closure day. This day will be used by staff in planning for 2024.
Start of the 2024 School Year
The 2024 school year will commence as follows;
Monday 29th Jan Staff Commence
Tues 30th Jan Preps 9:00-1:00pm
Year 1 - 6 assessments
Wed 31st Jan Prep 9:00 - 1:00pm
Year 1 - 6 assessments
Thurs 1st Feb All children in Years 1- 6 commence.
No Preps on Wednesday throughout February.
Bookings for 2024 assessments days will be sent out in the coming weeks.
Parent Voice - CONNECTIONS
Our teaching staff are already beginning to plan ahead for 2024. Each semester, an overarching concept is chosen as a lens for inquiry learning across the school. In Semester 1 2024, our whole school Inquiry concept will be CONNECTIONS.
As usual, we are in the midst of collating students’ voice in our planning - their prior knowledge, ideas and wonderings about the concept of CONNECTIONS.
However, we would also love to hear parents’ perspectives too. This optional survey (click on LINK HERE) should only take a couple of minutes to complete. Let us know what you think about CONNECTIONS, preferably by 1st December.
There are no right or wrong answers!
2024 School Fees
Following discussions with our school's business manager and in consultation with the COHR School Advisory Council the following fee structure will be in place for 2024 -
CODE CAMP 2024
Please refer to the attached flier should you be interested in having your child attend Code Camp in 2024.
Congratulations to Past COHR Students - Future Leaders
We often hear of the successes of many of our past students and their achievements at secondary school. These achievements can be in leadership, in the sporting arena or in academic success.
We have recently been informed of a number of past students who have been awarded leadership positions at their respective schools for 2024.
We congratulate the following past students;
Salesian College
James McLaughlin (School Vice-Captain)
Nicholas Goodman
Anthony Saraullo
Christian Bernardo
Sacred Heart Girl's College
Dezi Kydas (College Captain)
Ava Chiaravalle
Annie Duckett
Avila College
Charlotte Brewer
Daisy Bird
Eve Feeney
Congratulations to you all. We are incredibly proud of you!
Take care
Brendan Welsford
Principal