God of heavenly wisdom, you have given us Mary, Mother of Jesus, to be our guide and counselor. Grant that we may always seek her motherly help in this life and so enjoy her blessed presence in the life to come.

Amen

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome back to Term 2. We hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter with family and that everyone is well rested after a very busy Term 1.

We commenced our term yesterday with an a whole school mass and next Wednesday we will commemorate ANZAC Day, our Feast Day and 100 years of education at OLGC. This term the students will participate in Debating, Gala Days, extracurricular activities, Cross Country, House Athletics, and much more. We will also be celebrating our wonderful mother’s with a Mother's Day Stall & Breakfast in Week 4. The staff have also been busy planning for the term and engaging in Cognitive Principles, Cognitive Load Theory and the Science of Learning/Reading.

WELCOME BACK

Welcome back to Christina Tierney (Office Manager) who has returned from 12 months leave. A huge thank you to Linda Mattioli for stepping into Christina's role for the past 12 months. Linda has done an amazing job and is currently on Long Service Leave for Term 2. Welcome also to Mrs Leah Blake who has taken over the role of Art Techer for Terms 2 & 3.

THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL

In the Alban Hills, not far from the city of Rome, lies the little town of Genazzano, where the miraculous image of Our Lady of Good Counsel is venerated. The story of the picture dates back to 1467. Pilgrims assembled on the feast of St. Mark, were startled by a mysterious rustling sound and strains of sweet music. Looking toward the sky, they beheld what seemed a soft cloud. Slowly it descended and rested in front of the unfinished wall of the church dedicated to the Mother of God under the title of Good Counsel. The picture rests suspended in the air without any visible means of support to maintain its stable condition, and this for five centuries! Although painted on a piece of plaster no thicker than egg shells, the image has withstood the ravages of time.

Over the centuries, devotions to Our Lady of Good Counsel grew among Saints, Popes and Catholics worldwide, and many institutions were named in honour of Mary under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel. Pope Pius V, for example, credited victory in the Battle of Lepanto (1569) to her intercession.

In 1884, a special Mass and Office of the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel was approved by Pope Leo XIII. Later, Pope Pius XII dedicated his term of office (1939–1958) to Our Lady of Good Counsel, and Pope John XXIII visited her shrine to pray for the success of the Second Vatican Council.

READY TO LEARN

It was wonderful to visit classes this week and see our children seamlessly ease back into their learning. They were so engaged and eager to share their knowledge. Here's to a wonderful term of in-depth learning.

STATE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

We are very proud and excited for Victoria Dang (Yr 6) as she prepares to participate in the State Swimming Championships this Friday at MSAC. We wish her every success.

SCHOOL PHOTOS - NEXT TUESDAY

School photos will be taken next Tuesday 23rd April. Winter uniform must be worn. Long or short school pants for boys. Captains & SRC please wear your badges.

If you have sport on this day please bring your runners in your school bag.

Please find below the link and the password to order school photos. If you are requiring a sibling photo, please ensure you add this to your order.

www.eliteschoolphotography.com.au

The password to be used once on the site, is ESP202515

OLGC HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY P - 6

You are invited to join in the spirit and fun at the OLGC House Cross Country event.

Date: Tuesday 30th April 2024

Time: 9:30am – 12.00pm

Venue: Deepdene Park, Deepdene

Students will walk to and from the venue at Deepdene Park and leave school at around 9:15am. Classes will need assistance walking - if you can help please let your classroom teacher know.

The Preps will run a 600m course around the soccer ground. The Year 1s and 2s will run a 1km course and the Year 3 – 6 students will participate in a 2km or 3km course (age appropriate).

Schedule of events:

9:15am Depart OLGC

9:30am Settle into houses and house chants

9:40am 9/10 Boys 2km

9.45am 9/10 Girls 2km

9.55am Preps 600m

10.00am 11 Boys 3km

10.15am 11 Girls 3km

10.30am Year 1/2 Boys 1km

10.35am Year 1/2 Girls 1km

10.45am 12/13 Boys 3km

10.50am 12/13 Girls 3km

11.20am Walk back to school for dismissal

All students will need to wear their sports uniform and house coloured top on the day. Students also need to bring a water bottle, healthy snacks and afternoon play snack.

Volunteers are required to assist at the House Cross Country. If you are able to assist, could you please email - gmontalto@olgcdeepdene.catholic.edu.au

Please come along and cheer for our enthusiastic and spirited Cross Country competitors. Each participant will earn valuable points for their house. The event will go ahead unless there are extreme weather conditions.

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.

PARENTS ASSOCIATION MEETING

The PA will be hosting a meeting next Monday 22nd April at 2pm. All parents are welcome to attend.

CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

A big thank you to all the parents that have helped sort through our archives in preparation for our community Centenary Celebrating in Term 3. We are still working out how this celebration will look, and are very open to suggestion.

Next Wednesday will be a very busy day. We will start the morning with an ANZAC Commemoration which all parent and families members are welcome to attend. This will then be followed by a tabloid sports program for all the students, a sausage sizzle and ice-cream lunch, then our Centenary Mass a 2pm (again all are welcome) Students are asked to wear their sports uniform.

STAFF NEWS - TERM 2

Please note that Mr. Stu Andreous-Mill will be taking leave from 6 May as he welcomes his 2nd child into the world. We wish Stu, Catherine and older sister Imogen every happiness during this very special time. Stu will return on 11 May.

Mrs. Cecily Kerr will be taking Long Service Leave from 6th May and returning on 3rd June. Ms. Shauna Leacy will be replacing Mrs. Kerr in 3/4KM during this time.

AIR CONDITIONING IN THE ATRIUM

I am very pleased to inform the community that air conditioning split systems were installed in the atrium over the holidays. I thank our parent community for their ongoing support and contributions to the PA over the past few years. Your contributions funded 50% of the atrium air-conditioners costs.

CLASS ASSEMBLIES - FRIDAYS

Class assemblies will remain at 9am on Friday mornings in the atrium.

Term 2 Class Assembly dates:

3 May = 3/4TM

10 May = Prep

24 May = 3/4KM

31 May = 3/4M

PUPIL FREE DAYS

A reminder that next Friday 26 April there will be a Pupil Free day as the staff engage in a day of professional learning on the Science of Reading. (TheirCare will be operational on the day). There will also be an additional Pupil Free Day on Friday 7th June. On this day staff from OLGC, OHR and OLPS schools will be working with Fr. Brendan on Sacraments. (Again TheirCare will be operational on the day).

OLGC RUNNING CLUB

Commences next Wednesday morning at 8am for students in Yrs 3-6. Please accept the Operoo if your child will be attending. Also, we would love parents to join in this time with the staff and students. From Week 3 students are expected to change back into the school uniform after running club.

EXTRA CURRICULA CLUBS - TERM 2

There will be a number of new Extra Curricula clubs running from next week for Yrs 1-6 students.

Clubs on offer this term are:

Chess: Tuesday Lunchtimes - in the atrium

Running Club - Wednesday morning 8am (Operoo)

Street Dance: Wednesday Lunchtimes - in the atrium

Robotics - Thursdays after school - in the STEM room. Student to leave the school through the atrium not through the front main door.

Please see flyer under Extra Curricula Tab

TERM 2 EVENTS	DATE
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

7th June - Combined Parish School PD Day

10th June - King's Birthday

TERM 3

15th July - Parent/Teacher Interviews

TERM 4

4th Nov - Report Writing Day

5th Nov - Melbourne Cup

29th Nov - 2025 Planning Day

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 preschooler's. 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

2025/2026 ENROLMENTS

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 to increase our enrolments 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.

CANTEEN

Canteen is open on Mondays and Fridays. 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 2 - 15 April – 28 June

Term 3 - 16 July – 20 September

Term 4 - 7 October – 17 December

Congratulations to Amy and Tory Angele on

the safe arrive of the beautiful daughter Sienna.

Kind regards,

Erin Macdonald - Principal

Birthdays and Awards