Dear Parents & Parishioners,

"You never appreciate all the things your mother did for you until you find yourself doing the same things for your kids."

Mothers' Day is a time to celebrate the joy of being a mother and of having a mother and knowing the warmth of her love. It may also be a day to quietly remember a Mum who is no longer with you - you feel the gap that her passing has left and you honour her legacy and all that she meant. It is a day to think of Grandmothers and extended families and the link that mothers are in keeping family ties and traditions together.

For some, Mothers' Day means only sadness - their child may be estranged or their dream to bear children may not have been fulfilled. Or perhaps they are the mother of a child who has died. When asked, how many children do you have, this mother may struggle with the answer - do you mention only the ones who are living or do you say there is one more and count your other son or daughter too?

So Mothers' Day has many meanings and it can be a time when joy and sorrow come hand in hand. To honour these many meanings, here are some special reflections on Mothers and Motherhood.

"The most beautiful necklace a mother can wear is not gold or gem, but her child's arms around her neck."

"A mother instinctively protects her child. A grieving mother instinctively protects her child's memory."

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of cake for five people, promptly announces she never cared for cake anyway."

"A man's work is from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done."

Abridged from an article in My Grief Assist

Mothers' Day Breakfast & Stall

We are all looking forward to tomorrow's Mothers' Day Breakfast in the Hall. Thank you to Cara Hales-Yeung, Tiknee Lee-Nowell, Kate Harris, Sooky Leong and Peter Mannfolk, who have coordinated this year's event. Such an event could not proceed without the support of so many parent volunteers; we are grateful for their generous assistance.

Thank you to Mel Engledow and Emma Jeffries for coordinating tomorrow's Mothers' Day Stall. This event is always a highlight on the students' calendar. The Mothers' Day Stall will be held in the LRC (Library) following the Mothers' Day Breakfast.

Further details can be found on the PFA News page.

Prep Enrolments for 2027

Enrolments for next year are soon closing. If you have a child who will be commencing school next year, please lodge an enrolment form to the office by next Friday 15 May. We need this information in order to ascertain student numbers for 2027. Enrolment figures are used to determine class numbers and structures. Our enrolment figures impact directly on the funding OHR receives.

Family enrolment meetings will be held in the weeks following 15 May.

Grandparents & Special Friends' Day

The school, with the assistance of some very dedicated parents, is planning this year's ‘Grandparents & Special Friends Day’. This special event will be celebrated on Friday 29 May. On this day we would love for either the grandparents of the children, or other special persons in their lives, to come to the school for the morning. The day will commence with a very special whole school mass in the church, celebrating the place of these important people in the lives of the children. The visitors will then be invited to partake in various activities within the classrooms. Following the classroom activities, our special guests are warmly invited to stay on for a delicious morning tea in the Hall.

Please mark this date in your calendar and commence sending out those important invitations!

Our annual Lamont Book Fair will be held in the LRC (Library) from Friday 22 May - Monday 1 June. Perhaps some of our visitors would like to make the most of their visit by popping into the LRC during the morning of Grandparents & Special Friends Day.

Years 3&4 Camp

On Wednesday and Thursday of next week, the students in Years 3&4 will be away at Camp Jungai in the Rubicon Valley. The site is historically significant to the Taungurung people, with the name meaning "place of many possums". Actvities will include hiking, bush tucker experiences, and indigenous art, to name a few.

The students will be cared for, and supervised by, Esther Jackson, Penny Hansen, Carmel Pettinato, Declan Gulavin, Nick Byrne and myself.

Learning Walks for Parents

Yesterday, a small group of parents joined myself, Lisa Canty and Penny Hansen for a learning walk where we visited three learning areas - 5/6 CM (Literacy - Writing); 3/4DG (Science) amd Prep MH (Phonics).

Please consider joing us the next time a Parent Learning Walk is offered.

Some of the parents provided feedback following yesterday's Walk, which you can read below:

Thank you very much for thel tour this morning! I found it really informative and it was so great to see how common themes were carried through each year level such as the focus on building on a routine, developing problem solving skills and the focus on a growth mindset. It was so wonderful to see how engaged each student was and to see strategies the teachers used to encourage all student participation. Additionally - what wonderful resources the students have access to. Thank you again for this opportunity!

Laura

The learning walk was a valuable first-time experience despite being in our fourth year at OHR. It offered deeper insights than the school tour, before joining for Prep, and helped us better connect our children’s accounts of their learning. It was great to gain a more holistic understanding of OHR’s learning culture and different teaching approaches, all underpinned by its core values. Highly recommended.

Tiknee

Learning & Teaching at OHR

Make sure you head to the Learning & Teaching News page to read about OHR's Public Speaking, where Mrs Canty has provided parent tips and addresses frequently asked questions.

Student Wellbeing

Make sure that you check out the article on Mental Health which Mrs Jackson has included in the Student Wellbeing page.

Next Working Bee

The next Working Bee was orginally scheduled for Sunday 17 May. However, due to the fact that this falls on the morning following the PFA Carnaval, we have moved the Working Bee to Sunday 31 May.

School Closure Days

We will have one remaining school closure day this term:

Friday 5 June (leading into the King's Birthday long weekend)

Wishing all our mums a very special and happy Mothers' Day this Sunday,

Frank Dame

Camp Australia