Principal's Piece 

Term 4, Week 9

Dear Parents and Carers, 

As we enter the season of Advent, we are reminded of the importance of this special time in our Catholic faith. Advent marks the beginning of a new liturgical year and is a season of preparation, hope, and joyful anticipation as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. The season of Advent reminds us to  slow down amidst the busyness of life and focus on what truly matters. It is a time to reflect on the gifts of love, faith, and kindness and to share these with others in our community. The Advent wreath, with its four candles, helps us journey through the weeks leading up to Christmas. Each candle represents hope, peace, joy, and love — values we strive to instill in our students every day. On Thursday we celebrated our Advent mass and lit our first candle of hope. Our choir lifted the spirits of everyone in the church with their beautiful singing. Fr George has invited our choir to sing at Sunday masses!!! 

This year, we have the opportunity to make a difference by contributing to Christmas hampers for families in need. The donations will be given to our Parish to be distributed by St Vincents De Paul as well as to some of our own families within our school community who find this time of year quite difficult. Your generosity will go a long way in spreading the spirit of hope and kindness to those who need it most. I would also like to thank Fulton Hogan’s for their very generous toy donations. 

Last Wednesday 15 of our students were selected to work with an Indigenous artist, Alex Kerr in designing and painting pavers that have been installed at the front of our school. We would like to thank Fulton and Hogan for the opportunity they provided our students and our school. I invite parents to take some time to look at the new enterance of our school and the wonderful artwork of our students. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Learning Celebrations on Tuesday evening. It was great to see so many parents engaging with their child’s education and taking pride in their achievements. Your presence truly makes these events special and meaningful for our students and your children.

On Wednesday, we had our 'Meet Your Teacher for Prep 2025', welcoming our excited future students and their families. It was wonderful to see their enthusiasm and our Prep teachers were just as excited. 

Today our staff came together at the Catholic Leadership Centre for our annual Faith Formation Day. We listened to Fr Mark Reynolds who spoke to us about being faith filled leaders and what that means for us working in Catholic education. We were able to take time for self reflection and prayer. 

Student reports have been finalized and will be sent home next Wednesday, 11th December. I thank both teachers and students for their efforts in completing an excellent year's work, which is reflected in the students' report. Please take the time to read the comments and congratulate your child/ren for all their achievements and growth they have shown in their learning this year. These reports will also include information about your child’s teacher for next year.  Meet Your Teacher Day for 2025 will be on Friday, 13th December. This is always a highlight for our students as they meet their new teacher and begin building connections for a smooth transition into the next school year.

Organising 715 students into 28 classes is an important and complex task,  which we approach with great care and consideration. I ask that families trust and support the school's decisions on this matter. There are many factors that go into creating balanced and supportive class groups, including academic needs, social connections, individual learning styles, and the dynamics of each cohort. Our goal is to ensure the best possible learning environment for every child. I appreciate your understanding and support as It is not an easy task, but we are confident that with the dedication of our staff and your trust, we will create a structure that enables all our students to thrive.

Our whole-school Christmas performance practice will take place on Wednesday, 11th December, during the day. This is in preparation for our Christmas production on Wednesday evening. Please note that there will be no canteen on Wednesday due to the offsite rehearsal and different break times. 

Fees structures for 2025 have been finalised. Information regarding fees, concessions. CESF application and school saving bonus are in the office section of the newsletter. Please take some time to read through the relevant documentation. 

If your child is not returning to Our Lady’s next year and you have not yet informed the school can you please email principal@olps.vic.edu.au 

We  farewell  some of our remarkable teachers who will be leaving us at the end of the year.  We say goodbye to Miss. Sekiya, Miss. Cassar, Miss.Galati,  Miss. Asta, Mr Marc Nolan, Mr David Nolan, Miss Mikhael, Ms Fitzgerald and Ms Bednarz, who have been incredible contributors to our school community. We thank them for their dedication, passion, and commitment to our students’ growth and learning. We wish them all the best at their new schools. We are deeply grateful for the gifts you have shared with our school and wish you every success and happiness in the future. You will always be part of our school community. 

We also wish Mrs. Gianchino and her husband Dan all the very best as they prepare for the exciting journey of parenthood. Mrs. Gianchino will be heading off on maternity leave, and we look forward to hearing about this wonderful new chapter in her life.

Finally our end of year mass will be on Tuesday 17th December at 9:15am. All families are welcome to attend. We will be having an assembly at 3pm to farewell our Year 6 students as they end their years in Primary school and take on the next chapter of their academic journey. 

God Bless and have a lovely weekend

Cinzia Mancuso

Acting  Principal