Principal's News
Dear Parents & Parishioners,
Last week's media outlets announced that students at Victorian state schools will all be taught reading using phonics from 2025.
ABC News reported:
All Victorian state schools will embrace phonics from next year as the government tries to improve reading levels in prep to year 2 students across the state.
The government has announced an updated Teaching and Learning Model for all government schools to be implemented from next year that focuses on what's known as "explicit teaching".
Students from prep to grade 2 will be taught reading using synthetic phonics, which helps students break up words into individual sounds.
At OHR, this is nothing new as we have been implementing the Sound Waves program since 2017. Over the past seven years our teachers have taught Sound Waves, as a systematic synthetic phonics approach to literacy instruction, from Foundation (Prep) through to Year 6. Sound Waves covers the four key areas of instruction required for reading and spelling success: phonemic awareness, synthetic phonics, morphology and etymology.
In addition, this year Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) has launched the Vision for Instruction. The Vision for Instruction is aligned with the MACS 2030 strategic plan. The Vision for Instruction is firmly grounded in the evidence of how students learn most effectively and efficiently, offering explicit guidance for MACS schools on instructional best practice.
A cornerstone of the Vision for Instruction is the emphasis on explicit intruction. The explicit instruction model recognises that 'effective teachers design lessons that begin with teacher-guided instruction and gradually shift responsibility for learning to the student with modelling and guided practice. This leads to student independent practice only after foundational knowledge is established (Clark, Kirschner & Sweller 2012).'
In alignment with the Vision for Instruction, the staff at OHR are undertaking regular professional learning around explicit teaching, which really is an affirmation of the approach to teaching we have taken for many years.
Save the Date: OHR School Fete
Remember save the date of Saturday 26 October in your calendar. This is the date of the OHR School Fete, branded as the OHR Spring Carnival. This will be our first fete since 2019 ... it's been awhile.
Our organsing committe has been meeting regularly on a fortnightly basis. Look out for regular communications from the committee throughout the course of next term.
Public Speaking Competition Final
Once again, Monday's Public Speaking Final highlighted the capacity of the students' oral language development at OHR.
Every student that partook in this term's public speaking season was a winner in terms of the fact that they prepared and delivered a speech before their teacher(s) and peers.
Public speaking empowers students to form connections, influence decisions, and motivate change.
During Monday afternoon's final it became apparent that each student's presentation contained a valuable message or life lesson. Their talks were captivating and showcased the confidence that each student has developed.
Please refer to the Learning & Teaching News page for a list of our grand finalists.
About Real Life: Years 3 - 6
Information regarding this year's About Real Life program for parents and students, in Years 3 - 6, can be found in the Learning & Teaching News.
School Closure Day - Term 3
Our only school closure day for Staff Professional Learning during Term 3 will be held on Monday 29 July. The staff will be engaged in further work surrounding the MACS Vision for Instrucation.
Parent Portal Access- Student Reports
Our Holy Redeemer uses a Parent Portal through nForma for parents to access all school reports while students are attending OHR.
Yesterday you should have received an email from ' no-reply@nforma.com.au'. It contains your temporary login to the Parent Portal and instructions on how to change your password.
If you have any questions please email Mrs Josephine Harrison. jharrison@ohrsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au
Save the Date: Michael Ymer is Coming Back to OHR!
We are excited to share with you that due to popular demand, Michael Ymer - a highly
regarded Maths consultant - will soon be returning to OHR following a very successful parent session held earlier this year. Michael's time was limited when he was last with us in February, but this time we are planning a longer session to support our parents support their children in Mathematics.
Michael will be back at OHR on Wednesday 14 August 2024. More details about the live event will be sent out early in Term 3.
End of Term 2 & PFA Sausage Sizzle
Don't forget that the students will be dismissed at 1.00pm next Friday to commence their school holidays. The end of term PFA Sausage Sizzle will be held prior to dismissal time. The cost for a sausage in bread is a gold coin donation.
Wishing everyone a great weekend,
Frank Dame