Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

Wishing our wonderful students, families and staff a very Merry Christmas. 

Advent is such a joyous time as we await in hope for Christmas and the birth of Jesus. This beautiful story was brought to life by our amazing Prep children last Friday in front of their proud families, caring Grade 6 Buddies and the whole school. We have very much enjoyed conversations in classes about how different families prepare for Christmas and what plans are in place for this Christmas Day. 

We invite all our OLA community to enjoy the Advent and Christmas Masses at this special time as well as throughout the year.

Christ Our Light Parish Christmas Mass Times

Wednesday 24th December – Christmas Eve

6pm Mass St Agnes’ Church, Highett  

8pm Mass OLA Church Cheltenham [Carols from 7.30pm]   

Thursday 25th December - Christmas Day

9am Mass OLA Church Cheltenham  

11am Mass OLA Church Cheltenham 

End of Year Thank You

At our Grade 6 Graduation Assembly on Monday we had past student Peter Gourlay return to school to present one of our special awards. Peter was in Prep exactly 67 years ago and has loved his reconnecting with us at OLA over the last few years. He emailed us sharing his observations and gratitude:

Just a short note to say how pleased (and proud) I was to be at this afternoon’s Graduation Ceremony. On a day when there was so much to feel sad about in Australia, the smiles, the achievements and the excitement of the OLA students and staff were an inspiration. All staff have a right to feel proud of the positive educational community they have created and built upon at OLA. 

Richard, I wish you and the team a well-earned break.

One of our Grade 6 parents wrote:

Thank you for everything you have done for our family we have loved being a part of this community.  Our children have thrived.  We are ready for high school thanks to you. Thankyou for always being welcoming, for caring for our boys like you would your own.  Graduation yesterday was a highlight - it was beautiful.  Thank you.

Merry Christmas and enjoy your break.

Staff

My sincere thanks to our staff for their calmness, positivity and passion for learning and teaching. 2025 has been a great year for OLA and I thank the staff for going the extra mile everyday. Thank you for your work in planning and organising engaging learning opportunities and more recently for your report writing and for being so professional in your handover to the 2026 classroom teachers.  Thank you also for helping create special and memorable events, such as the School Production, Expos and learning celebrations, Sacraments, Incursions and Excursions, Prep 2026 Orientation Program, Grade 4 Camp Experience, 2026 School Leaders Program, the Big Day Out, Graduation, Advent liturgies...

Amongst it all I thank the staff for supporting each other and for their ongoing care for our beautiful children. This level of care can be witnessed by the manner in which staff cater for the wellbeing of our children and importantly for their academic growth. We have been most delighted to see that the collective efforts in the targeted delivery of curriculum positively impact our children.

We thank Ann Arthur, Lara Berley and Emma Tiberi for their contribution to the OLA community.  We wish each of them all the best as they explore wither retirement, new opportunities for personal and professional growth in new locations. On behalf of the staff and past and present children and families we thank you all for your individual roles in developing the children that you have taught and cared for. We also wish Emilie Bradey all the best as she takes 12 months leave from her teaching duties at OLA while she enjoys the opportunity to travel Europe in 2026. Thank you to John Bardon (one of our new Co-Chairs of the P&F in 2026) for joining in the thank yous for our departing staff and giving each of them a card and gift on behalf of the community.

Thank you to each and every staff member, may your Christmas holidays be full of peace, joy and restful days. 

School Families

On behalf of the staff team I thank each and every family for your support of the staff and your children throughout the year. We thank you for working with us and for being beside your children in their learning journey.  A sincere thanks to our parent community who have supported our school in so many ways this year; listening to children reading, assisting with PMP, supporting staff on excursions, working bee attendees, second hand uniform volunteers, library helpers, helping on the Parents & Friends Association and School Advisory Council and helping support our OLA Fete. I thank you all for giving of your time and talent to make a difference to our community.

Enjoy a wonderful Christmas with your families and we look forward to you joining us again for the commencement of the 2026 school year. 

Children

As we conclude the school year we reflect on all that has been achieved. I continue to be amazed at how much we can fit into the school calendar. There have been many wonderful opportunities for the children to engage in purposeful learning and the experiences have been rich and varied. We thank our children for bringing joy to our daily work, for being kind and always giving their best. We congratulate our children on the level of engagement that they have demonstrated throughout the year as well as the sense of pride they take in themselves, their work, their belongings, the school buildings and grounds.  We also thank you for the respect that you show each other and all the adults in our community.

Congratulations to the graduating Grade 6 class of 2025! 

We thank you for being great role models and leaders. We wish you all the very best as you journey into the next stage of your education and life. We hope that your secondary school years are full of reward, great friendships and learnings that set you up for positive futures. 

Bless our Grade 6 children and touch them with your love.

Help them to know themselves and enjoy the person you created them to be.

Help them to use their gifts to serve you.

Help them to love you above all things.

Help us to guard them without our possessiveness.

To be firm and to protect them when we must.

Help us to be patient while they strive to find themselves.

To respect them for what you made them to be.

Help us to guide them with your wisdom and love.

A big thank you to Steve Pertz, Michael Glennon and Melissa Bien for their organisation of such memorable graduation events. The children, parents and staff enjoyed it all. Thank you also to Sanchia, Lauren, Yvonne and the Grade 5 parents for hosting such a wonderful graduation celebration. The food, drinks, music, cupcakes and decorations all added to help create a special atmosphere and a great night.

We look forward to our Grade 4 and Grade 5 children stepping up to be our new leaders in 2026 and our 2026 Preps bringing their own sense of joy to our community.   

I congratulate all the children on their efforts this year and hope that the Christmas break will offer them rest, and refresh them for another productive year in 2026. 

Parish Team

I thank Fr Alan for his ongoing support for our parish and in particular our school. We thank him for welcoming our classes to Mass and for celebrating the Sacraments. I thank Vino who works in the Parish Office for her gentleness and kindness and the Parish Team for partnering with the school.  

A Personal Note of Thanks

My thanks to Sharan and Maria for their daily support for myself, Caitlan, Josy, the staff and school community.   We thank Sharan and Maria for their many hours of work and their sense of warmth and welcome.

I also acknowledge the work of Lee Vaessen, who continues to maintain our school grounds and buildings in an outstanding manner. 

Thank you to our Level Leaders, Michela, Eliza and Steve who continue to model being good human beings, positivity and professionalism. Thank you to Shelby for leading Literacy and a love of reading and writing, especially through intervention and extension. Thank you to Josy for your lead and support in Learning and Teaching, Learning Diversity and Wellbeing. Thank you Josy for sharing your passion of meeting children’s individual needs in learning and wellbeing. We also thank Nicole Collins for leading Mathematics at OLA and for sharing her passion and knowledge in this area with us as a staff and in turn the children. 

I thank Caitlan Taig for her significant role of making OLA a better place to be for our children. I thank Caitlan for her ongoing leadership, for the many unseen weekend and evening hours dedicated to the school and children, for our regular conversations centred on school improvement and of course for the good humour and the daily banter. 

At our Graduation on Monday night we said thank you to our Grade 6 Class of 2025 and we also honoured the many families who completed their time as a parent with a child in the primary school years.  Please know that you always hold a special place in our OLA community. We have 16 families leaving whose time at OLA total an amazing 174 years.  Thank you to all of our exiting families for being part of our OLA family and thank you for all you have given to our community.

We also acknowledge the following departing families for their commitment over many years: Wicken and Sherwood. We have loved being a part of your journey and thank you for your contributions to OLA. 

Grade 6 Awards

At the Graduation Assembly on Monday we were delighted to recognise some remarkable Grade 6 graduate achievements. Congratulations to these students on receiving the following awards:

Community Spirit & Kindness Award (presented by past student Peter Gourlay): 

Lachlan

Young Achievers Award (presented by Josy Reeder): 

Alfie and Louisa

Lorraine Francis Award (presented by Nick Staikos MP): 

Jack

OLA Sporting Award (presented by Caitlan Taig):

Jess G

School Sports Victoria Sporting & Academic Award (presented by Caitlan Taig):

Ollie M

House Shield

Students from all 4 teams have worked hard to help their team accumulate points over the year. No matter the placing in any event, students earn points for participating along with the points collected for earning Gotchas on the playground and in the class when caught doing great things. 

OLA Cross Country Carnival Trophy - Brigid 

OLA House Athletics Carnival Trophy - Brigid 

The overall winners of the 2025 OLA House Shield:

4th place - Mackillop (Gold) House 

3rd place - Lourdes (Red) House 

2nd place - Fatima (Green) House 

1st place - Brigid (Blue) House 

2026 School Leaders

Congratulations to our Grade 6 student leaders for 2026. We were proud to announce the leaders at the final assembly today and to present them with their Class of 2026 jumpers. Congratulations to our new school captains for 2026 - Charlotte, Cleo K, Rishon and Noah! We are absolutely delighted for you and know that you will serve our community well next year. All Year 6 students will work in various leadership groups across the year, supporting important school events and initiatives and we congratulate each and every one of you as you become role models and leaders of our school in 2026. These roles include:

Social Justice Leader 

Sustainability Leaders

Arts & Culture Leaders

Sport Leaders

Congratulations Grade 6 Leaders

School Captains: Charlotte, Cleo K, Rishon and Noah

Social Justice Leader: Michael

Sustainability Leaders: Sam, Avacyn, Annabelle and Ava

Arts & Culture Leaders: Poppi, Matteo, Brigitte and Issy

Sport Leaders: George, Brody, Bailey, Matilda, Zoe, Kate and Phoenix

Congratulations

Principal Awards

We all love to receive a visit from extra proud students sharing their best work. Thank you Grade 3/4s for sharing your writing with us and for reading them to the Grade1 students. You have put so much effort and care into them. We are so proud of you all.

Thank you

OLA Crossing Guards

As the school year concludes, we wish to say thank you to our incredible crossing guards, Jaffa, Mohammad, and Alba. Thank you for your friendly smiles, warm hellos, and dedication to keeping us safe each and every day! Jaffa sends her best wishes to all:

I would like to let the kids know I'm sending them and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

And I also would like to wish the same to you and all the staff.

Looking forward to seeing you next year. Jaffa

OLA Giving Tree

This week we received a lovely letter from our OLA St Vincent de Paul Conference thanking our school families and staff for responding so generously to their appeal for Christmas. Thank you for all the Christmas gift cards and festive foods. Last weekend SVDP packed and delivered Christmas Food Hampers to 86 needy and disadvantaged families (129 adults and 90 children). Between the school and the church we raised $6,700 approximately in gift cards With the support of the school and the church SVDP were able to give gift cards to each of these children so they could choose their own Christmas gift.

We are all looking forward to Prep 2026!

This is one of the gorgeous advertisements being prepared for early 2026 when we begin school tours again for 2027 and beyond.

School Production DVD and Photo Orders

Encore Videography recorded our school production and sold it in the form of DVD/USB/Digital Download.  These orders were delivered to the school TODAY on Tuesday 16 December and handed out to the students. Please check your child's bag.

Photographs

YOUR OLA PRODUCTION PHOTOS ARE READY!

Your OLA Production 2025 images are ready to be viewed. Get your orders in by Monday 5 January. CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Password: Jcu6*

Postage or Delivery Print orders will be delivered to OLA in the new school year. For earlier delivery, you are welcome to pay for postage.

Our Photos Look Better in Print Our Australian Professional Lab partner brings your memories to life with vivid colour and stunning detail not available at consumer labs. Designed to last generations, these prints stay vibrant displayed in an archival frame or album. If cropping images, we recommend retaining 1/3 of the image for a quality print. Please check that your child is in focus before ordering.

Navigating the gallery Click on 'Gallery' and search for your child in the scene/s they starred in. Tag your favourite photos by clicking the heart icon. Then, head to the 'SHOP' menu to select your preferred product or package. Use the 'My Favourites' feature to quickly select images for your products.

Prints, digitals and packages Savings begin when you purchase 4 5x7” prints/digitals and get 1 free with further saving available. Or choose from one of our collections: 8x12” print with matching digital or [5] 5x7" prints with matching digitals.

Reminder - Please order byMonday 5 January. 

One on One Teacher Meetings in 2026

On Wednesday 28 January and Thursday 29 January 2026, all teachers will have appointments available to meet one-on-one with students in their 2026 class. This is a valuable time for the students and teachers to get to know one another, as well as complete some assessments to plan for future learning opportunities.

All students Prep - Grade 6 will have 30 minute time slots. You will be able to book a time for your child using the School Interviews online site.

To book an appointment please follow the steps outlined below.

1. Visit www.schoolinterviews.com.au 
2. Enter the event code - ejypa
3. Enter your details
4. Select your child’s teacher 
5. Select a date and time for each child

When you finish, your interview timetable will be emailed to you automatically (please check your junk mail folder if not). You can return to www.schoolinterviews.com.au at any time and change your interview until bookings close. 

Bookings will close on Tuesday 27 January at 9am.

Calendar

Please open the ‘Key Dates and Events’ tab in this newsletter for important dates or access the OLA Calendar here. 

School Term Dates - 2026

Term 1, 2026

Wednesday 28 January - Thursday 2 April (10 weeks)

Term 2, 2026

Monday 20 April - Friday 26 June (10 weeks)

Term 3, 2026

Tuesday 14 July - Friday 18 September (10 weeks)

Term 4, 2026

Tuesday 6 October - Tuesday 15 Dec (11 weeks)

Prayers and thoughts

In light of the the tragic event that occurred at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday evening, each one of us will be feeling the shock and sorrow at this shattering of our shared sense of freedom and harmony, and this is surely echoed right across our country.  

We hold in our hearts all those most impacted. Our deepest prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones, for the many who are injured and for the first responders and bystanders who acted with such courage.   

We stand with members of the Australian Jewish community at this time of enormous pain and suffering. Our thoughts and love are with our Jewish friends, families and colleagues. We hold them in love and solidarity. 

May we be beacons of hope and people of light in our communities. People who welcome all faiths and all people to live their truth.  

May we be accepting of self and open to others and the world. Lets live and act not out of fear, but solely from love.  We know that Justice is sourced in right relationships with others - in the search for equality, the protection of human rights and the valuing of human dignity. May we model this in our words and deed so the dignity of all is celebrated.  

Let us pray together, for peace, understanding and hope.  

Best Wishes and Thank you

We look forward to building upon the successes of 2025 and creating even more memorable moments together, as we continue to strive for excellence in education and community engagement. 

Thank you for the lovely cards, treats, online vouchers, eCard and gifts presented to us as a staff and for sharing your gratitude on what has been a great year. 

We also wish each of you a joyful, safe, and very Merry Christmas. May your holiday season be filled with love, laughter, and cherished memories.

Richard Jacques

Principal