Principal's News

Dear Parents & Parishioners,

Our children’s belief in their own ability to do things is of great influence on their motivation, perseverance and success. Self-belief can motivate our children more than their actual skill level. If they truly believe they can succeed at a test or write a poem, they may be more likely to achieve it than other children who have better ability, but who don't believe they can achieve it. The more our children believe they can do, the more likely they are to generalise that self-belief to other areas of their life. They then believe they have the ability to attempt, persevere and succeed in a whole range of activities. 

Self-belief is about being aware of and valuing your true self. It is not about how others see you or how you think others see you. Self-belief is different from self-esteem because self-esteem generally means how you feel about yourself in comparison to others and so can fluctuate according to circumstance. Self-belief is more like an inner light that comes from within you. It is not about how we behave on the outside but rather about our inner feelings and how they make us optimistic about life. “Promise yourself to live in the belief that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.” Christian Larson. 

Parents can help children to believe in their own ability by teaching them to take the initiative to make things happen, instead of waiting for them to happen. Likewise, parents can help children to be proactive by helping them – not telling them – to think about options and solutions instead of problems and barriers. “Your mind can think of only one thought at a time; make it a positive one.” Author Unknown. 

When we, as adults, evaluate our lives, we are more likely to regret challenges we did not confront, risks we did not take and contests we did not enter as a result of self-doubt or lack of self-belief. We are less likely to regret actions we took as a result of innovative self-belief or being too optimistic or even foolish. As least we made the attempt and knew the result. 

Prep 2023 Transition Program

Yesterday afternoon we welcomed the children (and their parents) that will form our  Prep class in 2024.  This proved to be a very enjoyable afternoon for the children and their parents.  The second Transition Afternoon will be held on Thursday, 16 November, commencing at 2.15pm.  

Of the 19 children enrolled in Prep, 13 come from new families.

Mrs Michelle Hollow will be the Prep teacher in 2024. 

OHR Kids' Disco

Thank you to the PFA for organising the kids disco and to the parents who volunteered their time in helping out last Friday evening.  The success of an event like this is always dependant upon parent helpers.  

DJ Jesse did an amazing job on the night to ensure the children had a night to remember.

Safety Day

Safety Day will be recognised at Our Holy Redeemer next Friday, 27 October.  Male sure that you go the the Student Wellbeing page to learn more about why this is such an important day.

And ... remember to wear a touch of red.

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

2023 Swimming Program

Make sure that you go to the PE News page to obtain details of this year's Swimming Program, which commences next week.  

Drop off and pick up

In the morning, there is a teacher on yard duty in the school grounds from 8:25am. If you wish to drop your child off before 8:25am, please use the Before School Care service provided by Camp Australia.  In the interest of child safety, we would not like for your child to arrive at school and no-one be here to care for them. Whilst there are usually staff around 8:00am, it’s important to remember that they are busy preparing for the day ahead or involved in meetings. 

Following school, two teachers are on duty until 3:30pm,with one being in the school grounds and the other supervising the Barton St car park. After this time students who are yet to be picked up will be taken to the office.  We will attempt to phone their parents to make sure everything is ok.  If, for any reason, you are running late, please contact the office and let us know so that we can assure your child that everything is fine.

Working Bee

Our last Working Bee for this year will take place this Sunday 22 October.  The Working Bee is scheduled to run from 8.30am – 10.30am. We have had good attendances at all Working Bees throughout this year and are hoping that this trend will continue. If you have not attended a Working Bee this year, you may consider attending this one.  For task planning and catering purposes,  please indicate your attendance by emailing either: 

Luke: luke.torpey@jrtpartnership.com.au  or

Justin: justin.trees@hotmail.com 

The school has a limited supply of tools, so we request that you bring a variety of tools along on the morning , including: hedge trimmers, gloves, wheelbarrows and shovels.

We plan to address the following tasks:

• Trim hedges in Barton St
• Weed and prune bushes around carpark 
• Weed corner of York St and Mont Albert Rd
• Tidy gardens to left and the right of hall
• Weed out garden along York at (Orchard Garden)
• Clean out gutters above sport shed
• Clean out drainage pits in front of Hall and Undercroft
• Mulch garden beds - 4m3

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 (Mr Bode has already commenced preparation with our students). There are also many other events planned for the evening which the PFA will communicate over the coming weeks.  So save the date!

Colour Run ... Two Weeks to Go!

There are only two more weeks to go until OHR's Colour Explosion Fun Run.  We plan for this to be an exciting and memorable afternoon for our students.  We need many parent helpers on the day. Details can be found on the PFA News page in today's newsletter.

Remember, your child will need to wear a white T-shirt on the day.  The students will be provided with sunglasses and a headband. 

Term 4 School Closure Days

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

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank