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Dear Parents & Parishioners,

The concept of the “eight-minute catch-up” has emerged as a practical application of critical research, championed by individuals like Simon Sinek. Simon advocates for dedicating short, focused periods of connection with friends or loved ones. This approach not only cultivates a sense of closeness and well-being but also addresses the common issue of conversations dragging on past their welcome or abruptly ending.

By mutually agreeing to an eight-minute time limit beforehand, both parties can engage in a meaningful exchange without overstaying their welcome. This ensures that the time spent together is both beneficial and respected.

In a recent episode of “A Bit of Optimism,” Simon went deep on this topic with his long-time friend, celebrated chef and author Christina Tosi. They explored the significance of asking for help and being there for friends in need. Their conversation shed light on a simple yet powerful lesson: the act of reaching out for support is not only normal but also an essential part of our shared human experience.

According to Simon, he had a moment of realisation when he encountered a friend and asked how they were. To his surprise, the friend revealed that they had been struggling with depression. Simon’s immediate response was, “Why didn’t you call me?” It sparked an eye-opening realisation about the subtle ways in which people ask for help.

“There is no greater honour than to send them a text message that says, ‘Do you have eight minutes?'” said Christina.

This phrase has become a code between Simon and Christina, symbolising a safe space where one can openly express vulnerability and seek comfort.

At the end of the day, eight minutes of a friend’s time can make all the difference in the world. Best of all, it’s only eight minutes. “Eight minutes! When somebody texts you ‘Do you have eight minutes?’ Any of us can pause a movie, step out of a meeting, or leave a room to talk to a friend in need for eight minutes,” says Simon.

Acknowledgement: Simon Sinek's Optimism Company

New Synthetic Turf

Despite some of the setbacks posed by the weather over the school holidays, the men from EasyTurf made steady progress as can be seen by the images below. The students should be able to play on these new surfaces as of this Monday.

Holiday Maintenance

During the holiday period a variety of maintenance tasks were completed around the school, including:

painting of the external stairwell leading from the Undercroft to 5/6CM
repairs to the Undercroft carpet
reposting and repairing the entrance gate leading from Barton St
repaving the entrance pathway from Barton St
repairs to rubber compound at the base of the Junior and Senior fixed playgrounds

Deepfake Incident Response and Resources

The eSafety Commissioner has observed a dramatic increase in the misuse of AI-powered image-based apps to generate non-consensual and illegal explicit images of students and staff in schools.

An online safety advisory has also been published to alert parents and educators to the escalating availability of AI tools that can create abusive deepfake content.

OHR School Concert

As communicated previously, the OHR School Concert is back again this year. Mr Bode has been working on the concert for many months. We are now at the stage where class teachers will soon be rehearsing the songs in their classrooms.

Over the following weeks more details about this event will be coming home.

If you haven't already done so, make sure that you mark the evening of Monday 8 September in your calendar now. The concert will commence at 7.00pm, so students will need to arrive by 6.30pm.

This year's concert will be held at the Madeleine Centre at Genazzano College.

Congratulations Jaden!

Last weekend, Jaden Q (3/4JH) achieved an outstanding result at the 2025 Victorian Junior Chess Championship. He placed third in the Under 10 category, which comprised 94 players from across Victoria. This was a long format competition with some of Jaden's matches lasting over one hour. He only lost one game against one of the top players in the country and drew another game, ending with a score of 5.5 over 7 games.

Well done, Jaden!

Is your Working With Children Check up to date?

Parents have been notified by the school when their Working With Children Check is due to expire. Upon expiry of the Working With Children Check, legislation requires that you obtain a new card and bring it to the Office in order that it can be verified and photocopied.

The Card MUST be displayed at all times when volunteering at School in any capacity. Thank you for your support.

Parent-Teacher Conversations

Parent-Teacher Conversations will be held on:

Wednesday 30 July: 3.30pm - 4.30pm
Thursday 31 July: 1.30pm - 4.30pm

Therefore, the students will be dismissed from school at 1.00pm on Thursday 31 July.

On Monday, Nick Byrne sent an email to all families enabling parents to book their preferred time/s.

About Real Life

The About Real Life Progrm commences next week with the Parent Information Night. Please head to the Student Wellbeing page for further information.

Term 3 School Closure Day

There will be one school closure day in Term 3 enabling the OHR staff to continue their work on fine-tuning the implementation of pedagogical practices detailed in MACS Vision for Instruction. The school closure day will fall on Monday 4 August.

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank Dame

Library News

Reading is Magic

Chess club will began next week 30th July at lunchtime