GRANDPARENTS’ & SPECIAL FRIENDS’ DAY IS TOMORROW.

PLEASE ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 8.45AM FOR A 9.00AM START IN THE CHURCH

Dear Parents & Parishioners,

Tomorrow we will begin Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day with the following reflection. If a grandparent is unable to make it to tomorrow’s special day, you may wish to share this reflection with them.

Narrator: Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. The child asked God,

Child: They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?

God: Among the angels, I will choose one for you. Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.

Child: But tell me, here in Heaven I don’t have to do anything but sing and smile and be happy.

God: Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will

feel your angel’s love and be very happy.

Child: And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don’t know the language?

God: Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear,

and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.

Child: I’ve heard on Earth there are bad people. Who will protect me?

God: Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its own life.

Child: God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.

God: Your angel’s name is not important. You will simply call your angel, Grandpa or Grandma.

We are all looking forward to tomorrow which promises to be a very special morning. Thank you to Chelsea Moore, Kelly Xie and Mandy Dominello for coordinating all aspects of the hall set up and tomorrow's morning tea.

Pentecost Sunday

You may recall that some years ago there was a reality series entitled “Extreme Makeover”, in which people were given the opportunity to undergo cosmetic surgery to help them “look better”. This makeover process promises to make people happy and to feel better about themselves.

Many people today seem to be not satisfied with themselves and the way they are. They want a change for the better and procedures such a cosmetic surgery, botox injections and body piercing offer change, happiness and above all transformation. While appearance may be important, it is not what life is about.

Two thousand years ago a small group of Jewish people was very much wondering what life was all about. They were hiding in a small house, anxious, perplexed and in fear of their own lives. Their leader, who had been their inspiration, had been executed, had come back to them in a mysterious resurrected form and then, left them once again. Their lives were in turmoil. Things had been going so well for the past three years and now disaster. And what were they to make of Jesus’ words to them, “I am going to the Father but I will send you the Holy Spirit”?

Little did the Apostles realise they were about to have their very own “Extreme Makeover”. When the Spirit did come to them they heard the sound of a rushing wind, and the warmth of fire above their heads; but what they felt was a total internal transformation. From their mouths came words they had never heard before and understanding that came from a source beyond their means. They were filled with joy, their fear was gone, all negativity had vanished and they were completely unconcerned about themselves. They were flabbergasted but totally inspired. They left their hiding place and relished the crowds that came to them; by the end of the day they had baptised three thousand people. They had become Christ-like in this world and would continue to do His work against great odds.

This was the first Pentecost, occurring fifty days after Easter.

Pentecost Sunday concludes the Easter season.

Parent Teacher Conferences and Semester One Reports

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held during the last week of this term on Thursday 22 June. The Parent Teacher Conferences will provide the opportunity to discuss your child’s Semester One Report and set goals for the forthcoming term.

You will be able to access your child’s Semester One Report online via the nForma Parent Portal Thursday 15 June. Students will be dismissed at 12.00pm to enable teachers to commence their online conferences. As nForma has had an upgrade this year, the current links to the Parent Portal will not be valid. All families will be sent new links via an email from 'no-reply@nforma.com.au' to email addresses that have been previously supplied to the school, so it is important that you have updated your email addresses with the school office: ohradmin@ohrsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au . This email will also contain instructions on how to access the nForma Parent Portal.

COVID-19

Thank you to parents who have been vigilant in testing family members who have developed symptoms of COVID -19. Advice from the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) states, "Students who report a positive result are recommended to isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school unitl their symptoms have resolved."

If we all play our part and keep children at home when they are unwell, the risk of spread is reduced. It is our aim to retain a healthy student and teaching staff population this winter. No one wishes for a return to remote learning.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)

The NCCD is an annual collection of information about Australian school students with disability. The NCCD enables schools, education authorities and governments to better understand the needs of students with disability and how they can be best supported at school. The definition of ‘students with disability’ applies broadly to any student who has received adjustments over 10 weeks within a 12-month period.

Information pertaining to the NCCD can be found in today’s Newsletter under the Learning Diversity page.

About Real Life: Years 3 - 6

Information regarding this year's About Real Life program for parents and students, in Years 3 - 6, can be found on the Learning & Teaching News.

Kids' Movie Night

Thank you to Emma-Kate Hermans, Siobahn Crawshay and Cam Jackson for organising and coordinating the Kids' Movie Night held last Friday night. This event could not have proceeded without the help of all those parents who volunteered to assist. So, on behalf of all the children who attended - 'Thanks for all your effort!'

Lamont Book Fair

The Lamont Book Fair is currently open to the school community for these two weeks. For details of the Fair, please go to the Library News page in this newsletter.

Please note that visitors on Grandparents & Special Friends' Day will be able to visit the Book Fair in the LRC (Library) from 8.30am - 8.45am and again between 11.00 - 11.15am.

OHR School Production

Following a long hiatus brought about by the pandemic, the OHR School Production is back again this year. Make sure that you mark the evening of Thursday 14 September in your calendar now.

This year's production will be held at the Madeleine Centre at Genazzano College.

2022 Annual Report to the School Community

Schools must publish an Annual Report to the School Community (ARSC) to meet state and federal government accountability obligations. Schools must publish the report on their website within 6 months of the end of the previous school year. Almost 500 Catholic schools across Victoria publish a report each year. Reports are publically available and published on the State Register.

The ARSC covers a range of organisational and educational aspects of the school, making specific reference to the achievements across Five Key Spheres of Schooling, not to mention the school's response to Child Safety. The purpose of this report, therefore, is to communicate a retrospective summary of the 2022 school year at Our Holy Redeemer School.

OHR's 2022 ARSC will be published on the school website this Monday and will replace the 2021 ARSC. A hard copy may also be accessed at school reception.

School Closure Day

Our next school closure day for staff professional learning will take place on Tuesday 13 June, which immediately follows the King's Birthday long weekend. The staffs from our three parish schools will gather together at OLGC where the focus will be on Religious Education. We will be exploring what it means to be a Catholic Dialogue School.

Wishing everyone a great weekend,

Frank