From the Principal 

Dear Families

PFOL, Volunteers and Classroom Helpers

The last couple of years we have had many interruptions and changes to how our school engages with parents and families.  We value your support and partnership with building school community spirit, assisting to raise funds and developing all the children of OLHC to be the best they can be.

Being involved in any of the three ways described below, helps you to contribute to your child’s education, provides an avenue to make new social connections, assists in creating a vibrant community spirit and it can be a lot of fun too!

There are three main ways you can be involved:

1. Parents and Friends of Our Lady’s (PFOL)
2. Classroom Helper
3. Volunteer

If you are interested in assisting in any way please complete the short survey at the bottom of this section.

PFOL

The Parents & Friends of Our Lady’s (PFOL) association is designed to be the group charged with coordinating many of the school fundraising efforts, social occasions and to assist at school events throughout the school year. It is also a wonderful way to make your own new friendships and social connections in a friendly, purposeful and fun environment. 

This year there will be a new PFOL Constitution to implement, which will outline the guidelines for the PFOL committee.  At the first meeting, we would like to formally appoint a PFOL Coordinator and treasurer.  Beyond those positions, we welcome as many parents as possible to become involved and assist in a variety of ways. If numbers warrant it, we may be able to include other positions as required; e.g. a secretary, class representatives etc. Typically the PFOL would meet each month, usually twice each term. 

We already have someone who is interested in being the PFOL Coordinator and we welcome people to commit to as much or as little as they can. Hopefully knowing that you don’t have to commit to key roles or to every event or function will encourage you to join the committee or to sign up as a general helper, or volunteer in ways described below.

Classroom Helper

Many parents also like to volunteer to help out in classrooms. This usually requires a commitment at predetermined times of a week over a period of time.  Please refer to Annie Facchinetti’s article in the newsletter (on Literacy News Page) for more information.

Volunteering

There are many opportunities to be involved as a volunteer. Typically these happen periodically, as needed or when the opportunity presents itself.  Examples of these include PFOL events and initiatives, excursions, assisting with specific events and special occasions, working bees or similar activities such as gardening assistance, mowing, ground maintenance etc. If you are interested in offering some assistance, likewise please complete the short survey below.

I would like to invite you to respond to the survey below to indicate if you are interested in being a member of the PFOL, a Classroom Helper or volunteer (you can be all three if you like).  Thanks in advance for all the support you provide to our school community.

(Current Working with Children Check and current Vaccination Certificate is required for any helper or volunteer.)  

PFOL, Class Helper and Volunteer Survey

Twilight Sports Carnival

We are excited to announce our School Twilight Sports will be held on March 10 at Catholic Ladies College Eltham (CLC).  The event will commence at 4.30pm for the younger students with the older students to follow. Please see details in our newsletter and via Operoo email. 

On this day, students will finish classes at 1pm however we will make provision for those students that need to stay and be collected at the usual finishing time.  This allows our staff time to finish their day here and go to CLC to help set up for the event.

SWELL Day

Please see the Wellbeing Page for information about our SWELL Day coming up on Tuesday February 22.

Ash Wednesday

We have our first whole school Mass with the Parish community on Ash Wednesday March 2nd at 9.30am. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent as we prepare for Easter.  Parents are welcome to join us for this important faith event in our liturgical year.

3 ways parents can foster eSafety

Online safety is a critical element to your child’s education.  We are all drawn to a variety of online connections and children are accessing more than ever before.  CatholicCare has shared an article to assist parents with online safety.  It provides some handy tips and provides an opportunity to join a free online workshop.

Counselling

We are pleased to inform you that once again, Our Lady Help of Christians will be able to offer an accessible, free counselling service at school, as part of the funding we received for 2021/2022 from the National Schools Chaplaincy Program. Kathy Toomey is a qualified and registered Counsellor and Psychotherapist and will continue providing this intervention within our community in 2022. This service will enable therapeutic intervention of psychoeducation through counselling services and emotional support for the most vulnerable across our community.

Should you believe your child would benefit from a free counselling service and is not currently under the care of a Mental Health Practitioner (Counsellor/Psychologist) for anxiety, depression, bereavement, grief/loss, childhood or family illness, trauma, family violence, obsessive compulsive disorder, adjustment difficulties, interpersonal and relationship issues. 

All applications are reviewed and prioritised according to needs. In the event that there is an excess of applications children may be placed on a waiting list. All children accepted into the program will benefit from at least 6-10 consultations.

Warm regards

Patrick Green

Please refer to our School google calendar for events throughout the year.   

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