From the Acting Principal

Parents and Carers,   

Even at this early stage of the year there is always so much going on. The students and teachers are settling back into school life. All classes are working on developing a shared understanding of classroom expectations and establishing strong learning cultures. 

We had our first School Advisory Council meeting on Tuesday night which began with a briefing from our Regional Leadership Consultant, Peter Vanstan. He outlined the process that will be followed to find an ongoing replacement for the position of Principal at OLHC. Thanks to the members of the team, Mary Karyoli (Chair), Kate Lewis, Mark Lafferty, Sharon Walker, Catherine Donoghue, and Kris Williams. The School Advisory Council (SAC) plays an important role in the life of the school in providing parent voice and perspectives to school initiatives.

An initiative of the Advisory Council for this year has been to organise a Parent Information Night. We have locked in Wednesday 22nd February for this session and we invite all parents to attend. We anticipate this evening being a great opportunity for parents to not only get general information about what is happening at Our Ladys this year, but also to work in groups to contribute suggestions on how the parent body can help foster and support new initiatives. 

Next week, parents have the opportunity to come in and share some information about their child with the class teacher during the Parent Teacher Conversation sessions on Thursday 16th February commencing at 1.50pm. With so many new staff at OLHC, this is a great opportunity for parents to have time to share some insights into their own child. So early in the year, it is not time for teachers to be talking about student progress but it will help them gain a more personalised knowledge of your child. Bookings for these sessions have been opened via the school interviews link.

To enable teachers to be free to meet with parents during the afternoon, we ask that parents who are able, to please collect children at 1.00pm on the day. Children who can't be collected early will be supervised at school, but there will be no formal classes taking place. Access to the school for interviews will be via the front office. The yard gates will be open between 12.50 and 1.10 for early pick up, then between 3.00 and 3.30 for standard student dismissal.

The students attended our beginning of the year mass where they were welcomed by Father Michael to the 2023 school year. During the mass our individual classroom prayer cloths and the candles were blessed. The prayer cloths which have been decorated by the students over the last week are used during daily prayer and meditation sessions.

The school sporting calendar has also already begun with some students nominating to try out for the school swimming team. We have also locked in Thursday 9th March for our annual Twilight Sports event which will be held at Catholic Ladies College in Eltham. As always, this is first and foremost a community gathering that should involve lots of laughing and plenty of opportunities for parents to have a chat. More information will be coming out about the night over the next few weeks so keep it free. 

There is plenty going on at the school, at the moment so keep your eyes open for communications from the school.

Regards,    

Mark    

Tuesday March 14 - School Closure - (Staff PD, First Aid, CPR, Anaphylaxis update)

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

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