From the Office

Phones and Smart Watches

A reminder to all families that mobile phones are to be placed at the office as the children arrive at school and collected from their at 3.15pm. If your child wears a smart watch then it needs to be disabled during the school day or in class mode. Thank you in advance for your support.

Car Park

A reminder to all families to take it gently in our OLA Car Park and to remember that the safety of all in our community needs to be the focus of this space. If you are pushed for time I would encourage you to come up with Plan B. Over the holidays we have been meeting with line marking companies and car park experts to see what we can do to help make our OLA Car Park as safe as possible. We have also been speaking with local residents and families who are parking in our car park and walking to the station or simply leaving thier cars onsite in spaces that need to be available for our community so that we can move cars through more easily and find spaces.

Key enrolment dates for Grade 5 students in 2024 starting Year 7 in 2026 :

Monday 29 January 2024 – Applications will open for students commencing Year 7 in 2026.
Friday 16 August 2024 – Applications will close.
Friday 30 August 2024 – Date by which principals must exchange their full list of applications with neighbouring colleges, including parish of residence.
Friday 13 September 2024 – Date by which principals must exchange their full list of applications with neighbouring colleges, identifying proposed offers and non-offers.
Friday 11 October 2024 – The Principals and Registrars Enrolment Briefing will be held at the Catholic Leadership Centre from 12.30 to 3.00 pm.
Friday 18 October 2024 – Offers will be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants.
Friday 8 November 2024 – Final date for parents/carers to accept an offer made by a school.

Attendance and school start/finish times

Please ensure that your child/ren arrive for school on time (between 8.30am and 8.40am - not before 8.30am) each day and that you are at school to collect your children at 3.15pm. There are staff members on duty from 8.30am – 8.50am each morning and after school until 3.30pm. If you are running late to pick up your child (after 3.30pm) please contact the office as soon as possible. Please try and arrange appointments and activities around school times to minimise distractions in the classrooms and please do not be taking children out of school during assembly on a Friday afternoon - the children presenting are using all the courage they can so they do not need any other distractions.

It is important that your children are on time every day. Children who are late miss out socialising with their classmates and can have trouble settling in and mastering routines. Being late can throw off their whole morning or even their day, especially if the late commute to school was stressful. Children arriving late also interrupt their teachers and the learning and teaching of all the other children in their class.

On those occasions when you are running late to school, parents or guardians need to accompany their children into the School Office where they sign in their child on the Pass Tab iPad for each child. Parents taking children early prior to 3.15pm must also enter via the School Office and complete the same process.

Reporting absence and late arrivals

If your child will be absent or late for school you will need to advise the office of an explanation for your child’s absence by 8.45am. This can be done by email to attendance@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au or by calling the school 9584 9488 and leaving a message as prompted. This is a legal requirement and should be attended to as a matter of priority.

Attendance Guidelines - Follow up any unexplained absence

Recently a review of school Attendance Guidelines was undertaken resulting in a new requirement that schools must advise parents/guardians of unexplained absences, on the same day, as soon as practicable. We are required to contact parents/guardians to follow up any unexplained absences. Please support the school by notifying us before 8.45am.

2024 Plans

We politely ask all families to notify the school should your child/children not be returning to OLA in 2024. We have had a number of enquiries in recent weeks and have waiting lists for 2024 across most year levels. Having an accurate indication of our enrolment numbers for next year ensures we are able to plan accordingly and access appropriate funding i.e. staffing and resourcing. We thank you for your cooperation.

Last day of 2023

2023 Grade 6 students will graduate and celebrate their last day on Thursday 14 December and Prep to Grade 5 will finsih on Friday 15 December at 1pm.

Being Safe Online

As a school community the safety and wellbeing of our students is always our priority.

An issue has been brought to our attention from a number of sources, in regards to some senior level students using Snapchat groups. Students love to chat to their friends after school hours and how the students use internet and technology in your home is your decision. We know a lot of you have already set in place clear rules and guidelines for your children and this is fantastic. Please use this as a teachable moment to have a conversation with your child about their communication and accounts. We also encourage you to have a conversation with your child about what to do if they see something online that upsets them or if they feel someone is being treated unfairly.

All social media platforms (including Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Discord and Tik Tok) have a minimum age of 13 that is clearly outlined in the terms of service. Irrespective of the age rating mentioned in the App Store, 13 years is the mandated minimum age whether or not they have parental permission.

Please also be mindful that our past experiences have also seen examples where students have multiple accounts (one that parents are aware of and one or more you may not be aware of). Further information about specific social media platforms, as well as games and apps, can be accessed via the parent eSafety Guide (Australian Government eSafety Commissioner).

Please reach out to us if you have any further questions or concerns. We thank you for your support.

Security of OLA grounds and buildings

Over the last couple of years we have seen an increase in visitors onsite at Our Lady of the Assumption both in the evenings and over the weekend. While many visitors enjoy our beautiful grounds we do have some visitors engaging in unsafe practices. In consultation with the police, our neighbours and members of our community we have decided to lock the pedestrian gates at the close of business each weekday as well as over the weekend with the gates being opened at the start of each school day and for Mass. We apologise for this inconvenience but please know that this decision has been made for the safety and wellbeing of all in our community. Thank you for your understanding and support.

School Routine Reminders

Drop Off between 8:30am and 8:40am. Children must only access the playground or classroom from 8:30am, as the playground is unsupervised before then.
Pick-up between 3:15pm-3:30pm. If you are running late please contact the office.
Late arrivals to sign in using PASSTAB at the front office before heading to class.
Bike/Scooter Shed - if the shed is locked at the start or end of the day please collect the gate key from the front office. A reminder that bikes and scooters are to be pushed/walked when entering and departing the school grounds/car parks.
Emails/Communication are always welcome, however, we find a brief exchange at drop-off or pick-up can often address any matters promptly. The priority for staff members at OLA is the welfare and education of all students at our school. Staff are unable to respond to emails and telephone calls instantaneously. They will, however, ensure that they attend to all correspondence within a reasonable timeframe (24-48 hour turnaround). Parents are also reminded that a response to communication should not be expected outside normal working hours, or during school holidays, unless it is an emergency. Thank you for your support and understanding with these expectations.
Ways of Working - At the beginning of the school year and throughout the school year we provide reminders to our community on ways of working at OLA. This is one way that we work together to create a respectful, inclusive and safe environment for all at OLA. These reminders are provided at parent workshops, assemblies, newsletters and in Operoo communications. Our OLA website is also a great platform to locate important documents and Policies and Procedures for OLA. These policies can be found under two tabs on the website: Our School and Child Safety. These documents were updated on 1 July 2022 with the guidance from MACS to include all Child Safety Standards.
Important reminder to families that when there is a friendship/relationship issue or any kind of issue between your child and another child or family at school that you are to contact the school directly via a phone call or email. We ask that the emails be two sentences or less and we will be back in touch within 24-48 school working day hours. For example, “Dear X, My child has come home today feeling really sad about a friendship at school. I am available on xx to meet or speak with you about this. Kind regards. X” The school will then manage the situation. The following is reiterated in the Parent/Guardian/Carer Code of Conduct (see attached): Unacceptable conduct includes, but is not limited to:
approaching a child that is not your own with a view to disciplining that child for their behaviour (such matters are only to be dealt with by school staff)
approaching other school parents to resolve issues arising between students at school (such matters should be referred to school staff)
any form of threatening language, gestures or conduct
language or conduct which is likely to offend, harass, bully or unfairly discriminate against any student, employee, contractor, volunteer or other
WWCC - Working With Children Check - OLA is committed to providing a child safe environment and takes active steps to ensure any person authorised to conduct ‘child connected works’ or ‘child related works’ does not pose a risk to their safety or welfare. To achieve this, the school requires a Working With Children Check (WWCC), to assess and verify their suitability. It is the responsibility of non-teaching staff, volunteers and visitors to:
Apply for and receive a WWCC prior to expressing an interest to participate in ‘child connected works’.
Provide OLA with a valid WWCC card prior to commencement. This needs to be shown and registered at the front office upon receipt.

Thank you all for working together to keep OLA a safe and happy place to be.

Richard Jacques

Principal