Principal's News
Our Holy Redeemer School
Dear Parents & Parishioners,
What a Day! OHR Spring Carnival Fete Recap
Looking back at the wild weather on Sunday, I think it’s fair to say we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. We absolutely dodged a bullet on Saturday; thank goodness the skies were relatively clear for the OHR Spring Carnival Fete!
Everything just seemed to align perfectly. Months of thorough planning and hard work behind the scenes truly paid off, resulting in a day that our community will remember for a long time.
The energy across the grounds was incredible. Our magnificent sponsors and stallholders brought so much life to the event, while the rides, police and fire brigade visits kept the kids smiling and entertained all day long. Inside, the hall was absolutely buzzing with competitive spirit at the arcade games and a fantastic turnout for the silent auction. A huge shoutout to James, too, for keeping the tunes pulsing and the atmosphere high from start to finish.
One of the absolute highlights of the day came around 2:30 PM. The entire fete came to a standstill as we gathered to watch our boys participate in the World’s Greatest Shave. It was a proud, brilliant moment for a fantastic cause, and a perfect snapshot of what makes our school community so special.
Equally impressive was the clean-up crew. By 5:30 PM, the school grounds had returned completely to normal without a single visible sign that we had just hosted a massive fete.
To everyone who cooked, planned, set up, packed down, sponsored, donated, or simply came along to support—thank you. The festival grounds might be clear, but the memories of a truly spectacular day will live on.
Make sure you head to the PFA News page for more details.
Mrs Hautot
As many of you would be aware, Mrs Tina Hautot (1/2HK) recently had to fly back home to Canada to care for a family member who was gravely unwell. Fortunately, Tina did arrive home in time to see, and care for, her mother prior to her passing.
I am sure that you join the staff in conveying your condolences to Tina. 2026 has been a difficult year for her, as she also lost her father in January.
Tina will return to school in just over 1.5 weeks.
Farewell
Having engaged our students in the Performing Arts program since 2022, Mr Jon Bode has decided to take his performace business in another direction. Jon is currently teaching Performing Arts at two other schools, having only recently notified all the Principals that he will be finishing his time teaching at our schools at the end of this current school year. We will certainly miss Jon's creative energy, his engaging lessons, and the ability he has to bring out the performer in every student. We will have the opportunity to formally farewll Jon at our Christmas Carols evening.
Over the past five years, Mrs Aria Karagiannis has been teaching in a part-time capacity at both OHR and Emmaus Junior School. As of next year Aria will continue working at Emmaus in a part-time capacity as it is far closer to where she resides. She will be very sad to conclude her time working at OHR but has decided to wind back her hours of teaching. Aria has been a valuable and compassionate staff member who will be sorely missed by both staff and parents.
2027 Staffing
Maree Violi has been appointed as OHR's new Physical Education teacher from the beginning of next year. Maree is excited to join the OHR team and comes to our school brimming with enthusiasm. Maree is currently teaching at St Brigid's Primary School, Healesville. Maree has a deep sporting background having coached and trained both students and adults.
Maree will meet with the Gorgeous Mrs Golds this term to ensure a thorough and comprehensive handover, supporting continuity and a smooth transition.
As our school continues to grow, we have employed Mrs Julie Widuckel to join next year's classroom teaching staff. Julie comes highly recommended, and is also known by some of our staff who speak highly of her. Julie is currently employed at Sacred Heart Primary School, Croydon. She is thrilled to join the teaching staff and will join us during our 2027 Planning Day.
OHR History Expo
You are invited to join our students for our History Expo on 26 and 27 November. For further details and session times, go to the Learning & Teaching News page.
Food Donation Bin for Whitehorse Emergency Relief
Whitehorse Emergency Relief and Support Inc are a volunteer organisation located at the back of Box Hill Town Hall that provides assistance to people experiencing financial difficulty who live in the City of Whitehorse. Many people in the community experience financial difficulty for a variety of reasons. Homelessness and domestic violence are major issues. Some people are temporarily out of work and need help to get over a hump in their lives. Whitehorse Emergency Relief and Support are not just a hand out organisation. The intention is for people to take active steps to improve their situation and move on so they don't need assistance any more. The organisation helps these people to do this by putting them in touch with various agencies who can help them as well as by providing material aid.
Whitehorse Emergency Relief and Support would be grateful for any assistance our community might be willing to offer. In anticipation they have left one of their donation bins in the foyer leading to our Library.
Suggested items for donations can be found by clicking on the following link:
We Value your Input: Masterplan Survey
Here, at Our Holy Redemeer, we have decided to take a fresh look at the school Masterplan and would really value your thoughts. We have a quick questionnaire for you to fill out and would appreciate it if you could spare us a few minutes to provide your feedback. The survey should only take 5-10 minutes to complete and you can do it as a family or, if you wish, each family member can do it separately.
In addition over the coming weeks we will be conducting a number of consultation sessions, which will guide us into the future. We will keep you posted and look forward to all your ideas and comments.'
Please click the following link to start the questionnaire.
OHR Swimming Program
Please refer to the P.E. News page for details about this year's Swimming Program which will commence in November.
Child Safe Standard 9
During the month of October, Catholic schools cast a potlight on Child Safe Standard 9 - "Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed."
Detials can be found on the Child Safe Standards page.
Your ideas can help shape the PFA's fundraising priorities!
Go to the PFA News page to learn how your ideas can help shape the PFA's fundraising priorities.
Term 4 School Closure Days
- Melbourne Cup Weekend - Monday 2 & Tuesday 3 November
- 2027 Planning Day - Monday 30 November
Wishing everyone a great long weekend,
Frank Dame