Dear Parents & Parishioners,

Back in the mid1980’s when John Paul II was Pope, he visited Lima, Peru, where a massive crowd of two million people met him. Instead of the usual greetings from the President and the Cardinal, two people from a shantytown stepped up to the microphone. As the huge crowd went quiet, they began to speak to the Pope: “Holy Father, we are hungry, we are sick, we lack work, our children die before their time. Yet, Holy Father, we believe in the God of life. And we hunger for bread.”

Before the hushed crowd, the Pope replied in his best Spanish: “You tell me you hunger for bread. You tell me you hunger for God. I want this hunger for God to remain; I want your hunger for bread to be satisfied.” The Pope then turned to the generals and the wealthy politicians gathered there and said very bluntly: “I won’t simply say share what you have. I will say give it back! Give it back; it belongs to the poor!” At that time the economy had a ridiculously high rate of inflation, reduced growth, and a high public sector deficit. Poverty was widespread due to the desperate measures taken by the then-Government.

The highlight of the Pope’s visit to any country was the celebration of an open-air Mass. In contemporary language, Christ says to us at every Mass: “Here I am, poured out in love for you. Take Me; I’m one with you.” St Augustine in 413 wrote that the Mass was about three things: goodness, unity and charity. Augustine taught that if we were not better people working for unity and loving each other once away from the Eucharist, then, the Mass fails to achieve its purpose.

Walk for Tiwi Update

The Catholic primary schools in our region raised a grand total of $8,388 as a result of our Walk for Tiwi campaign. This money will be well received by Sister Anne and Sister Amelia who will put this money towards the restoration of St Therese's Church on Bathurst Island.

Thank you to everyone at OHR for making a difference to the Catholic community on the Tiwi Islands.

You may like to click on the following article that is currently on the MACS website:

Sister Anne Gardiner has one wish while she's still alive – to see the first church where she served as a nun on the Tiwi Islands, off the coast of Darwin, restored to its former glory.

At 92, the retired nun looks to the run-down Catholic church, that sits on land overlooking the pristine waters of the Aspley Strait on Bathurst Island, with a mix of fondness and angst, fearing time is running out.

"At 92 I'm knocking on God's door, and I guess I'm tempting God because I'm running around on my bike trying to get money to fix the church," she said.

Inside the church, local Tiwi paintings and storytelling adorn the sanctuary and altar, and stained glass — typically found in traditional Catholic churches — has been replaced with hundreds of wooden louvres to suit the tropics.

Sister Anne said the church was ahead of its time in fusing Aboriginal culture with Christianity, which was made possible when Pope John XXIII "opened the gates for culture in the church" in 1973.

She remembers when Tiwi singing and dancing was allowed in and said the church adapted to local Tiwi customs, including the way Aboriginal men and women engaged in public.

ABC News

Student Absences

Whilst ensuring student attendance at school is the legal obligation of parents, supporting students to attend school each day is the shared responsibility of all parents, students, the school, and the wider community.

School attendance is important as it maximises life opportunities for children and young people by providing them with education and support networks. Positive engagement with schooling enhances academic and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people.

All MACS schools must document their school-based procedures for monitoring and recording attendance. To meet legislated requirements and discharge a school’s duty of care, school staff must record student attendance twice per day in primary schools. Attendance must be recorded, including the reason given for each absence. All schools must maintain attendance records, identify, and follow up unexplained absences and develop procedures to support and maintain student attendance.

I encourage you to read the attached Attendance Policy for MACS Schools.

Our Deepest Condolences

On behalf of the staff, I woul lkie to extend our deepest sympathy to Daniela Ventura whose father passed away on Tuesday. Her dad is grandather to Alessia (3/4PK) and Isabella (Prep DE).

2024 Class Structures

In 2024, Our Holy Redeemer will be offering eight classes. The fact that we have 39 enrolments from the St Bridget's community, coupled with enrolments from other schools, ensures that our school is well placed for a secure future. Nonetheless, we are not prepared to rest on our laurels, with the OHR School Advisory Council making it our business to work on growing our reputation within the broader community.

During recent months, I have been meeting with staff to plan for the 2024 school year. As always, careful consideration is given to the most suitable teaching combinations that will benefit the children’s learning and development.

With 19 students enrolled in Foundation (Prep), we will be offering one class of students who will be taught by Mrs Michelle Hollow. In a concerted effort to retain small class numbers in the Junior school, we will be offering three Year 1/2 classes. You will also notice that we will return to offering two classes in Year 5/6. In acknowleding that our classes in Years 3/4* will house the largest numbers of students, we will be offering both Literacy Intervention and Maths Intervention (including extension) groups at these levels. These programs will be further supplemented by the work of our Learning Support Officers within these classes. In other words, there will be occasions during the week when up to three educators will be working in the one class.

*The numbers of students within the Year 3/4 classes have now been capped. We currently have a waiting list for these year levels.

The following class structures will prove to be of the greatest benefit to our students, parents, teachers and learning support staff in 2024:

Foundation (Prep) x 1

Year 1/2 x 3

Year 3/4 x 2

Year 5/6 x 2

2024 Classroom Teaching Staff

Some changes in the line-up of teaching staff include the return of Mrs Danielle Willis (formerly Danielle Busuttil), the return of Mrs Penny Hansen to the classroom, and the introduction of Mrs Margaret Maher to OHR.

The classroom teachers in 2024 comprise:

Prep: - Michelle Hollow (5 days)

1/2: - Tina Hautot (4 days)/Penny Hansen (1 day)

- Lana Gill (3 days)/Lisa Canty (2 days)
- Mary Dening (5 days)

3/4: - Carmel Pettinato (3 days)/Aria Karagiannis (2 days)

- Esther Jackson (3 days)/Danielle Willis* (2 days)

5/6: - Cara Mitchell (4 days)/Nick Byrne (1 day)
- Kate Mackay (3 days)/Margaret Maher (2 days)

Next week's Newsletter will contain a full list of both teaching and non-teaching staff for the 2024 school year.

Prep & New Families Welcome Mass this Sunday

All OHR families are invited to mass in the OHR Church this 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.

OHR Twilight Christmas Celebration

Don't forget that the OHR Twilight Christmas Celebration will be held on Friday, 1 December, commencing at 5.00pm with our students singing Christmas Carols. Food and refreshments will be available. There will also be a jumping castle, balloon creations, face painting, and a visit by Santa. Refer to the PFA news, further in today's Newsletter, for details. The PFA encourages pre-purchase of tickets for food and activities to help minimise lengthy queues - Purchase tickets here

We encourage the children to dress up in something Christmassy!

We also ask that children arrive by 4.45pm in order that the carols can commence at 5.00pm sharp. Please allow ample time for car parking as the roads around the school will be busy.

2024 Parent Gatherings

Recently we invited families to open up their homes to host one of next year's Parent Gatherings, which are traditionally held during Term One. Thank you to the following familes for quickly responding to the invitation to host one of the evenings.

Prep - Yr 2 Parent Evening: 16 February 2024 at the Lewis' home
Yrs 5 & 6 Parent Evening: 15 March 2024 at the Love's home

We now only require one family to open up their home to host the Yrs 3 & 4 Parent Evening on 1 March 2024.

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

Term 4 School Closure Days

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.

Commencement of the 2024 School Year

The following dates will assist families in planning for the commencement of the new school year:

School Staff Resume – Monday 29 January 2024
Students in Years 1 to 6 resume – 8.40am on Tuesday 30 January 2024
Students in Foundation (Prep) attend Individual Testing Interviews – Tuesday 30 and Wednesday 31 January 2024
All Foundation students commence school – 8.40am on Thursday 1 February 2024

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank

School News

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