Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

It is wonderful that our students are all back at school. They are to be congratulated for how they have transitioned back to school life. Many thanks to you for your support in this successful transition. We are all most appreciative of your efforts.

It has been an exciting couple of weeks of getting back into life at school with simple things like the Canteen opening up again, being able to play on the yard at break times with friends and getting to sit and learn alongside friends during class time.  We have also enjoyed memorable moments like Confirmation on Tuesday, beans and parsley are being harvested, Bike Ed, hockey during PE and the ability to host the 2022 Prep Information Evening last night with parents onsite rather than Zooming!  We also have so much to look forward to in terms of our OLA Art Show, Christmas Hip Hop Concert and Grade 6 Graduation!  It has also been gorgeous to have some little visitors sharing their work with us - such pride is wonderful to see.

School Tours

On Monday morning I led some school tours with families for 2022, and they were amazed and impressed by the sense of calm in all classrooms.  Children were working independently, in partners or in small collaborative groups.  There were Teacher Focus Groups and Student/Teacher Conferences happening right across the school P-6.  We could not have asked for a better experience for our prospective families.  A big well done and thanks to students and staff.

We Will Remember Them

On the ‘eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month' in 1918 the Armistice was signed. Yesterday at OLA we had a moment of silence as an act of Remembrance of all those who have served and sacrificed.  We thank Caitlan Taig and the Social Justice Leaders for recording a special Prayer Service that each class was able to view and participate in.  It was also lovely to see the poppies being made and worn across all grades of the school.

Prep Parent Information Night

What a joy it was to host our new and current Prep families for 2022 last night.  We have 36 students enrolled for next year of which 7 are from current families and the remainder are new families.  We are so grateful for the great turn out of Mums and Dads alike and we are also very grateful for the dedicated staff who gave up their time and shared tips for children and families starting school.  A highlight of the night was the way the staff spoke of their love of OLA.  We are also grateful to Adam Solomon and Jaime Picinic for hosting the night on behalf of the parents at OLA.

2022 Class Formation

After considered discussions with the school leadership team, along with the staff team and OLA School Advisory Council, we have set a new class groupings structure for the 2022 school year. 

2022 Enrolments per level:

Class Structure for 2022

Sacraments

We congratulate our Grade 6 children who celebrated their Confirmation on Tuesday evening. Over the next few weeks we also look forward to celebrating the remaining candidates making their Confirmation and Eucharist. We wish them well and ask all families to join us in praying for these candidates. We thank all families, the middle and senior school team, Caitlan Taig and Father Alan for working in unison to prepare each child for the Sacraments.

COVID Safety

One of my important responsibilities as Principal of OLA is to provide a safe environment for our students, staff, families and our OLA community. I feel grateful for everyone’s efforts in contributing to this safe environment. Further to this, in these times where positive cases are part of our broader community, it is important that I am notified if you suspect or know that your child, or close contacts to your child, are needing to isolate as a close contact, or have tested positive.  Please email me via principal@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au

For families who have had to have someone tested because of a close contact or the like, it has been lovely also to hear and see the joy when the test results have come back negative.

With the support of the Department of Health and Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) I am able to continue to respond quickly and with confidence to ensure that the steps are put in place that will ensure everyone is safe, whilst maintaining the privacy of those individuals.

Please be assured that if there is any need for us to pass on information regarding a COVID case, we will do so as soon as possible and we have a COVID Safety Plan ready to enact.  As we continue to navigate these COVID times we will more than ever need to draw on our compassion, care and support for one another.

We request that any children who show signs of being unwell must remain at home.   Parents please note that children will be isolated in the sick bay and we will call parents if we identify that your child is unwell.   This protocol is in place for the safety of all children and members of our community.  

Bike Ed

Liz Thompson and Kelly Herat are leading the Grade 6 Bike Education Program as a part of our school curriculum at OLA this term. Bike Ed aims to provide experiences, which will increase the riding competency of the children. They will gain knowledge of the road traffic environment, relevant road laws, and develop responsible behaviours and attitudes towards riding safely. We thank all families for helping their children have their bike and helmet at school during this program.

OSAC

I take this opportunity to thank Virginia Derricott and Adam Solomon for their service to the OLA community as active members of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Primary School Advisory Council over the last 3 years. The experience and expertise that you both have provided OLA is very much appreciated. We especially appreciate you both being at the end of the phone for advice and support during these lockdown times. Thank you Adam for your exceptional role as Chair of OSAC for the last 2 years. We know you will both continue to be the best of advocates for our wonderful school and that you will find new and exciting ways to remain connected.

As two vacancies have become available on OSAC, we are calling for nominations to fill these positions. Please find attached on page 10, the OSAC Membership Nomination Request, which contains detailed information regarding the role. Also please note the application closing date of Monday 15 November. We look forward to your responses.

OLA Building Project

Unfortunately our building project has been delayed by 6 weeks with it taking longer to gain planning approval from council.  We will now see our exciting works beginning in February 2022.

Families not Returning to OLA in 2022

If your child/ren (Prep-Grade 5) will not be returning to OLA in 2022 please click here and fill out the form as soon as possible so that we can plan for the year ahead. 

Social Justice in Action

At OLA we hear so many great stories about children at our school doing acts of kindness for others.  Zoe and Pia recently shared their story with us and I'm proud to pass it on for others in our community to enjoy.

During Lockdown Zoe S, Pia Mc, Jack S and Lily Mc raised money for breast cancer and the Royal Children's Hospital. We came up with this idea when we were bored and we had nothing to do.  We made cold drinks and paper snowflakes to sell. This is the best idea we have ever had! We raised $202.85. Our parents were so proud of us for coming up with this great idea. We were surprised how much money we made in just 3 days of lockdown.

By Zoe S and Pia Mc

Thank You

We once again thank all families for your understanding and responsiveness with the COVID Operational Guidelines.  In the meantime, please be assured we are making the most of this precious time together.

We hope you love this new set up for our newsletter.  We understand from feedback from our community that we needed a platform that was easier to navigate on a phone and on a variety of devices.  We thank the amazing Alica Roberston for her work with this new set up.  

Have a great weekend everyone.

Richard Jacques

Principal