Principal's News

Dear Parents & Parishioners,

Well, there is only one more week until we conclude Term 1. I am sure it is difficult for our Prep parents to wrap their heads around the fact that their children have almost completed their first full term of formal schooling.

There are a number of special events which will bring the first term to a close. On Wednesday morning all students and parents are invited to witness and reflect during, what has become, an OHR tradition - The Senior School Passion Plays. In recent weeks, our Year 5 & 6 students have been studying the Gospel of St Matthew, where they have been encouraged to reflect deeply on the last week of Christ's life. In groups they have composed scripts, with each script depicting a scene from Holy Week. Each group has then rehearsed their scene. The Passion Plays will be performed throughout various locations in the school grounds. The students in Years Prep - 4 will make their way, in their class groupings, through each scene. Parents and relatives are encouraged to journey with us. This is a sombre and reflective occasion.

Next Thursday, we will conclude the term with the annual OHR Sports Day at the Box Hill Athletics Track. All parents and relatives are warmly invited to come along and spectate on the day. Important things to note:

Where? Box Hill Athletics Track
The students will be transported to and from the venue by bus,
Students need to bring a full water bottle and a snack. Lunch is not required as students will be dismissed early on the day.
Students wear their sports uniform, runners, a school hat and sunscreen. They may wear a t-shirt in their house colours, if they have one.
There will be no sausage sizzle to conclude the term as the students arrive back at school shortly before dismissal.
The school term concludes at 1.00pm.

Holy Week

Next week is Holy Week , which is an important time for Christians throughout the world. Holy Week, the final week of Lent, begins on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. Holy Week is a time when Catholics gather to remember and participate in the Passion of Jesus Christ. The Passion was the final period of Christ’s life in Jerusalem. It spans from when He arrived in Jerusalem to when He was crucified.

The single celebration of the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season, and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil.

The liturgical services that take place during the Triduum are:

Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Thursday)
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord

Lord, as this Holy Week begins,

help me focus on You.

Quiet the noise in my heart.

Open my eyes to see Your sacrifice

and Your love.

Walk with me through these seven days

and lead me toward resurrection joy.

Amen

Thank you

On behalf of the staff and students, I would like to thank the OHR Parents & Friends, and all parents for that matter, for the invaluable contribution of $25,000. This dontation has enabled the recent purchase and installation of two new shade umbrellas, along with 30 new Chromebooks for student use and an additional Chromebook charging trolley.

Years 5 & 6 Parent Gathering

The final Parent Gathering for this term will be held at the home of Lisa and Michael Wilson. This function is for parents who have children in Years 5 or 6, and will be held tomotrow Friday 27 March.

An invitation was emailed to all Year 5/6 parents earlier last week.

Thank you to Lisa and Michael for offering to open up their home to host this gathering.

Easter Colouring Competition

Congratulations to all the students at OHR who particpated in the 2026 Easter Colouring Competition hosted by Jess Wilson MP. I would like to share the following feedback provided by Jess: "We were absolutely delighted to receive so many incredibly creative entries this year - the standard was outstanding and made judging extremely difficult! the imagination, colour and effort from all students was truly impressive."

Congratulations to the following students from OHR whose entries were selected:

Winner - Elle F

Runners Up - Josephine Y and Joshua Y

These students and their families have been invited to this afternoon's Award Presentation at the office of Jess Wilson MP.

Caldwells

Sadly, at the end of this term, we bid farewell to Emma and James Caldwell, and their children Jack and Zara. As many of you know, the Caldwells are relocating to Sydney. During their years at OHR, Emma and James have been acitve members of, and contributors to, our school community. Most recently, Emma has built up her reputation of maintining the fitness of many parents through initiating the OHR Strength Squad.

We will miss the Caldwells and wish them well for their next chapter in Sydney.

Working Bee

Thank you to all the parents and children who rolled up their sleeves to help our with last Sunday's working bee. We had a terrific turn out on the day and warm, sunny conditions.

All the jobs on the list were ticked off, leaving everyone with a great sense of satisfaction.

A big thanks to Laura for successfully coordinating her first working bee, and to her husband Brodie for flipping the sausages!

Science Talent Search

For details of this year's Science Talent Search, head to Mrs Axon's article on the Science and STEM page.

Student Wellbeing

Please refer to the Student Wellbeing page where Mrs Jackson has written in detail about how we are supporting student mental health and wellbeing.

School Closure Days

We will have two school closure days for staff professional learning during Term 2. Therefore, there will be no school closure days during Term 3. The dates of the two school closure days are:

Monday 4 May
Friday 5 June (leading into the King's Birthday long weekend)

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank