Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

What an amazing time of year!  We are so proud of our OLA students and the respect they showed today as we acknowledged Remembrance Day and prayed for peace in our world. In addition to this we are super excited about our OLA Fete, preparing acts for the OLA Talent Quest and dancing our hearts out in readiness for the End of Year Dance and Community Event.  

Building Project

We are now enjoying so much extra space here at OLA following the recent renovations and building project. The additional outdoor space has really helped to open up our school. Many in our community have commented that they love the connection and flow of the school. 

One of the many highlights of our building project is the bright and colourful mural.  Justine McAllister has been our artist in residence and she worked with children who are passionate about art from every year level and incorporated their images within the mural.  The theme is what we love about learning and life at OLA. Sebastian’s 5/6MB image of three children celebrates the diversity and sense of community that we enjoy at OLA so we have taken this image and also placed it on the main sign as you enter the new Community Hub. 

We are working with the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools and the Victorian Government to determine when we can officially open our newly renovated buildings and open spaces.  We are waiting on the majority of outstanding furniture which is due to arrive on Thursday 24 November and the remaining items on Friday 2 December. We also have a plumbing issue where we have a blockage in the sewage line so we are digging up some recently concreted works and look forward to a positive solution as soon as practical.  We thank our staff and students for their patience with this.

Our current thinking is to have our official opening during the school day at a time yet to be confirmed and have a parent night to celebrate the opening on the night of the 2022 Parents and Friends Annual General Meeting (6.30pm) and OLA Christmas Drinks (7.00pm) on Friday 9 December.

Remembrance Day

On the ‘eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month' in 1918 the Armistice was signed. Today 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 organising such a special Whole School Prayer Service.  Our Social Justice Leaders sold every Remembrance Day Poppy available to them and we thank everyone for their support of this cause. A big thank you to Savy’s Dad, (1/2MV), Chad Cooper who was in attendance today to officiate in our Remembrance Day Service and who also spoke with our Junior classes about the importance of this day.  

End of Year Dance & Community Event

It has been a joy to see students Prep - Grade 6 engaging in dance lessons over the past three weeks with Kyle and Bree from Kinect 2 Dance. We are working hard to perfect routines, learn our lines and position changes and gain confidence before our performance on Wednesday 30 November at 6pm. We are aiming to enjoy this night outside where families are invited to bring a picnic.  Each level is also learning a special routine to invite a special guest to join us… mums, dads, grandparents, siblings… dust off those dancing shoes in case you get chosen!

Talent Quest

This week we have seen Classroom Heats take place for the OLA Talent Quest. How exciting to see the many and varied talents within our student community. We have had everything from magic tricks, to comedy routines to gymnastics, to dancing to singing to twirling in a circle!  We look forward to a few acts from each class going through to the Level Heats next week and then some will be chosen for our Whole School Talent Quest on Wednesday 23 November 2:30pm. It is wonderful to see the confidence in our students and their keenness to shine in front of their peers.

Fete - 15 Sleeps and Counting

15 more sleep to go!! We can't wait to have our OLA community all together on Saturday 26 November from 9am to 3pm.  Thank you all for your support in the lead up to this exciting event.  We hope each and every family can come along and bring friends, family and neighbours with them too.  We are grateful for donations for things like: the various hampers, cake frosting/icing for the cupcake making stall, lollies to decorate the cupcakes, preloved books, toys and clothes, jams and preserves, jam for scones, plants to be sold and the list goes on…   We hope you are able to get online to book your early bird wristbands for the rides.  

We thank our sponsors…

2023 Prep Parent Night

What a joy it was to host our new and current Prep families for 2023 last night.  We have 45 students enrolled for next year of which 11 are from current families and the remainder are new families.  This shows amazing growth over the last three years where we have grown from 18 to 36 and now to 45. 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 Eli Dunlevie for hosting the night on behalf of the parents at OLA and thank you to Rachel Martin, Dominique Monotti, Stacey Straford and Dian Kett who attended and ran the very popular Second Hand Uniform Shop.

OSAC

As advertised previously we have two vacancies available on OSAC and we are calling for nominations to fill these positions. Please find attached on the OSAC tab, the OSAC Membership Nomination Request, which contains detailed information regarding the role. Please note the application closing date of Monday 14 November. We look forward to securing two new members for our Council.

OLA Parents & Friends Association

We thank our 2022 P&F and Fete Committees for their support of our great school. We especially thank our outgoing Co Chairs of the P&F, Mel Power and Claire Melican and Secretary Susan Wixted.  This year has seen a large focus on the Fete and we are grateful for everyone’s work as we lead up to the big day.  Please know your active support is very much appreciated. We have also loved the social events organised in the different year levels and the support the P&F representatives give their level when there is a need for support for a family, a child or a staff member.

If you would like to be part of helping our school community next year and adding to our wonderful sense of community, please consider joining the 2023 P&F Committee. It is a great way to contribute to the development of the school and meet other parents.  We are excited to announce that Andy Wright will be our Chair in 2023 and he will be supported by Stacey Straford as Deputy Chair.  Rose An will be our Treasurer and we are looking for a Secretary to complete the P&F Executive.

Each year level requires two parent representatives, who are responsible for updating the parents in their year level with important information/reminders, and organising a couple of events throughout the year. For example, the Grade 1 P&F representatives host the Morning Tea for new and current families on the first day of school.

Feel free to chat to this year's P&F members if you would like some more information or, better still, if you would like to get involved. You can also speak with me in person or email any questions or ideas to principal@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au

Thanks again for your support and commitment to our school community.

Working Bee

Our next Working Bee will be held on Saturday 19 November, 10.00am-12.00pm. Job lists will be provided outlining the various tasks to be covered that morning and we will be focused on preparing the school grounds and buildings to look their very best for our Parish Fete. We encourage parents with wheelbarrows, shovels, brooms, rakes etc to bring them along for the morning.   The following families are rostered on for this term (please note if you are not able to attend you are welcome to make a donation to the school for maintenance):

School Closure Days  

Please note the upcoming School Closure Day as scheduled for Term 4, 2022.  

Thursday 1 December - Staff Planning Day for 2023

Key Dates for the End of School Year

2023 Dates

Congratulations - We are so proud of our…

Students Outstanding Work

1/2MV Class Prayer Service

Having our faith is so special and there is nothing quite like coming together to pray. Thank you to all our children and their families for being part of our beautiful Grade 1/2MV Prayer Service.

Grade 5 Bike Ed

It has been a treat to have Liz Thompson with us to lead the Grade 5 Bike Education Program over the last week and we look forward to the Big Bike Ride next week. It has also been a delight to see the smiles on the children's faces as they have fun and build on their skills and safety knowledge.

Thank you all for another great week at OLA.

Enjoy the weekend. Take care.

Richard Jacques

Principal