Dear Parents & Parishioners,

Remembrance Day in Australia commemorates the noble sacrifices of armed forces and civilians during times of war. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, one minute of silence is observed across the country to mark the cessation of hostilities on the Western front during WWI after over four years of gruesome warfare.

The moment in 1918 when hostilities ceased was originally named Armistice Day, becoming a time when allied nations honoured the brave sacrifices made by all who fought and lost their lives during the First World War. At the end of the Second World War, the Australian and British governments renamed November 11 Remembrance Day to mark and remember all who have fallen in times of war. The ritual of observing one minute of silence was first proposed by Australian journalist Edward Honey in 1918 and continues to be universally practiced on Remembrance Day each year.

Unlike ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day is not a public holiday in Australia but services are held at 11am at War Memorials and cenotaphs in suburbs and towns across the country. Traditionally, the Last Post is sounded by a bugler followed by one minute of silence. After the minute of silence, flags are raised from half-mast to masthead as Rouse is played.

Since Federation, Australian units have served in the Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion, World War I, World War II, Korea, the Malayan Emergency, the Indonesian Confrontation, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the War against Terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq, and in many Peace Keeping Operations around the world.

With thanks to the RSL Victorian Branch

Image: Courtesy of the City of Boroondara

Preparing for Transition to OHR

We currently have 35 students from St Bridget's Catholic School who have enrolled at OHR. Each of them will commence at OHR from the beginning of the 2024 school year. The students are spread across all levels of the school. Additionally, we have a number of students enrolled from other neighbouring schools.

While this is a very difficult final term for the St Bridget's community, at OHR we will do everything we can to welcome and include our new families. This will prove to be a great opportunity for our students to extend their field of frienships and, no doubt, new relationships will also emerge amongst our parents.

I have been meeting regularly with Robyn Thomson, the current Principal of St Bridget's School. Robyn has been extremely generous in sharing her time and knowledge of the students and their families. This sharing of information, including personal strengths and needs of students, will support us in drawing up balanced class lists for next year.

We have two Transition Events planned at OHR:

The Nudel Kart company has been engaged to base themselves in the OHR Hall to run three spaced interactive sessions throughout the day on Wednesday 22 November. During each session we will be combining small groups of St Bridget's students with small groups of OHR students. Each group will be given a series of STEM-based construction challenges designed to encourage creativity, social skills and well-being. Our aim is for the students to get to know one another.
On Thursday 7 December, OHR students will be joined by the St Bridget's students during a transition session between 11.15am – 1.15pm. The purpose of this session is for the students to spend time in their 2024 classroom with their 2024 teacher and peers. All the students will eat lunch together prior to the St Bridget's students returning to their school.

Prep & New Families Welcome Mass

All OHR families are invited to mass in the OHR Church on Sunday 19 November at 10.30am. This is a special mass to welcome 2024 Prep families and any other new families to the parish and school.

At the conclusion of the mass there will be an opportunity to partake in a free sausage sizzle hosted by our PFA.

Calling for PFA Nominations - 2024

Being a member of the PFA is a wonderful opportunity to be involved in your child’s school community, as well as play a part in initiatives that support the education and welfare of the children of OHR.

Please jump to the PFA News page for further details.

Colour Explosion Fun Run ... It's on Tomorrow!

Well, the big day is almost here! Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to help out tomorrow to ensure the afternoon event is a real success.

The students will conclude lunch a little earlier on Friday to enable the parents ample time to set up for the event. If you are helping out, please plan to arrive no later than 1.30pm. The Colour Explosion Fun Run is scheduled to commence just after 2.00pm.

Tomorrow, the students are able to wear their sports uniform to school but in place of their sports top they can wear their white T-shirt for the entire day. Please ensure their T-shirt is named so that it does not get mixed with someone else's during the swimming program. Each child will also need to bring their clearly named drink bottle. Consider carefully how you will transport your child home, as they will be covered in colour!

Please note that the Barton Street Car Park will not be able to be used for drive-through following school on Friday, as the area will still be in the process of being packed up.

2024 Parent Gatherings

As has become an OHR tradition, we invite families to open up their homes to host one of three parent gatherings that are spaced throughout Term One on Friday evenings. These are warm and low key social events. All Parent Gatherings were very well-attended earlier this year.

We have currently set aside three dates for 2024:

Prep - Yr 2 Parent Evening: 16 February 2024
Yrs 3 & 4 Parent Evening: 1 March 2024
Yrs 5 & 6 Parent Evening: 15 March 2024

If interested in hosting one of these evenings, please let either Heather or myself know.

Formation of Classes

The teaching staff are commencing the process of developing class placements for the 2023 school year. The construction of class lists is a process that requires teaching staff to give consideration to a great variety of factors in an effort to create a social, emotional, behavioural and academic balance within any given class, as detailed in the Rationale of our Formation of Classes Policy:

“At OHR we believe that learning is influenced by a diverse range of factors. The professional knowledge, judgement and discretion of all teachers is critical to the placement of students. The class allocation process should follow protocols which address the balance of social, emotional and academic needs of each child.”

A copy of the Formation of Classes Policy is attached below for your reference. Please take the time to read through the Policy carefully, as it clearly articulates a range of considerations that need to be factored when placing every individual child into a class. The Policy informs the decisions of staff as we collaboratively construct class lists over the coming weeks

OHR Twilight Christmas Celebration

The PFA have planned an exciting OHR Twilight Christmas Celebration to fall on the evening of Friday 1 December. The evening will commence with Christmas Carols sung by the OHR students. There are also many other events planned for the evening which the PFA will communicate over the coming weeks. So save the date!

Term 4 School Closure Days

Melbourne Cup Weekend - Monday 6 & Tuesday 7 November
2024 Planning Day - Monday 27 November

If you wish to book the Camp Australia service on the 27 November, please refer to the School Community page in this newsletter.

Wishing everyone a great long weekend,

Frank

School News

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