Newsletter

Strategic Intent:

At Our Lady’s School, we aim to strengthen our Catholic community through: fostering respectful relationships; clear, strategic faith-filled leadership; and our commitment to professional pedagogical excellence that is founded upon our deep knowledge, collegiality, effective teamwork and our Gospel inspired dedication to the learning and wellbeing of each child.

Education in Faith

That students understand and make more meaningful, relevant connections between the Catholic story and their own lives.

That staff develop their capacity to design and implement a contemporary RE curriculum.

Leadership and Management

That staff teamwork and ownership of the Vision and educational priorities of the school will improve

Learning and Teaching

That student learning outcomes will improve.

Student Wellbeing

That the wellbeing of all students will improve.

School Community

That the home/ school partnership is strengthened to the benefit of student learning outcomes. 

I hope you have all enjoyed the long weekend, a timely opportunity to take a breath as we mark the midpoint of the school term. It has been a  fortnight of celebration at OLPS which began last week with our Commissioning Mass. It was on this occasion that we welcomed our 2021 Prep students with their guardian angel badge and presented our Yr 6 students with their long awaited bomber jackets.

The Boroondara District Swimming event showcased our talented swimmers last Wednesday. Thank you to our amazing PE teacher Mrs Jane James for coordinating our attendance at this event and to the staff and parents who were able to help out on the day. Unfortunately we were unable to open the event to all families as we have in the past due to the venues COVID Safe plan.

Last week all our students began their participation in a Gymnastics program. The program will run for 3 weeks and has been made possible by a grant from Sporting Schools. This is a wonderful opportunity for all our students.

Thank you for your attendance at our Parent/ Teacher chats recently. The staff find this to be a very valuable opportunity to meet and talk with you about your child and how they have settled into school this year. As we continue to work together, I encourage you to contact your childs teacher if you have any concerns or questions about their wellbeing and/or academic progress.

I remind you also that you are able to come into the classrooms now. The only condition of entry is, if you are going to be onsite for longer than 15 minutes you are required to sign in using our QR Code.

As we continue to experience Melbournes unpredictable weather we ask that students bring both their school jumpers and hats to school.

Have a great week.

Annie.

 We remind all families of the importance of these longstanding expectations at OLPS and ask that you please reinforce a consistent approach from Prep - Year 6. I bring to your attention variations, such as branded socks and runners that are worn not on designated sports days do not meet our expectations. If unsure of these requirements please contact the office or refer to the school website. Please also check to ensure your child’s hat is in one piece.

Sacramental Program

Students receiving their Sacrament of Reconciliation have begun classroom preparation, and will continue to prepare for the expectations of the Mass throughout the school week. Our Year 4 students will receive their Sacrament of Reconciliation on the 10th of March at Our Lady’s Wattle Park Parish at 7:30pm, and Year 3 students will receive theirs on the 25th of March at 7:30pm. Any families who wish to combine siblings together, are asked to email Emily Nicholson (esnicholson@olsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au) to organise attending a Mass. As our Year 4’s have had some preparation it is preferred that those who wish to combine siblings join for the 25th of March Sacrament date, to allow time for our Year 3’s to prepare.  All bookings for this must be made through the trybooking link, which is shared with you here.Try Booking Link - Please click

The student receiving the Sacrament is able to bring two guests alongside them for support, due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

Year 3 students will have a Reconciliation Reflection Day at Our Lady’s Surrey Hills on Friday the 19th of March, alongside students from Our Holy Redeemer. Students will be supported by Year 3/4 teaching staff and Sacramental Coordinator, Nanette Giovanini. Year 4 students were able to actively participate in a reflection day in 2020, prior to COVID-19 Stage Four Lockdown. 

Emily Nicholson

Religious Education Leader

Our Lady’s QR Code

We have introduced an “Our Lady’s QR code”.To support contact tracing, if you are at school for more than15 minutes,we must record your;

• first name

• phone number

Families can scan the QR code by opening up their smartphone’s camera and allowing it to focus on the code. The smartphone will then generally identify the code and say what to do next. If this does not work, download the Service Victoria app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

Classroom Helpers Workshop 2021 - Please open this link to view the presentation.

Our Literacy Leader Kimberly Chin has put together a presentation that outlines ways in which you can support the literacy program of our junior students in our school. We invite you to take a look at the presentation and email Kimberly if you would like to know more. Thank you to our parents that have already expressed interest.

kchin@olsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au

Please contact the school office if there are any medical issues that we should be aware of. It is most important that all medical forms, asthma and anaphylaxis plans, are updated for the 2021 school year and returned promptly. We are advised that children may need to be excluded from school if they do not have the required medical information or medication available at the school eg. Epipens, with the correct ‘use by dates’. 

Do I have to complete an Action Plan, if the child only has seasonal asthma, or asthma symptoms when they have a cold? 

Yes, any time asthma medication is prescribed and expected to be taken at school or the children's service, it must by law be accompanied by a medical management plan. If the health professional is concerned about diagnosing the child with asthma, it is recommended that they put a shorter review date on the action plan, and write a covering letter to the school or children's service explaining the expected time frame the child will need reliever medication.

Schools were advised at the beginning of 2018 of the following changes to Attendance Guidelines - ‘Schools must advise parents/guardians of unexpected absences, on the same day, as soon as practicable….’ of the absence from school of all students. As a result, it is essential that parents contact the school by 9.00am either by phone, 98987655 and leave a message, via email olsurreyhills.caqtholic.edu.au, if your child will be absent from school. Parents who do not contact the school will be phoned throughout the day seeking clarity on the whereabouts of their child. As a means of saving our administration team from making multiple phone calls we ask that parents contact the school to advise of student absences. If a child is to be absent for a number of days then parents are asked to advise the class teacher of an extended time of absence. This may be applicable to family holidays, extended periods of illness etc. This process has been put in place as a matter of safety for the children in our care. We thank parents for your support of this procedure

As many of you know, the school nature strips and grounds are maintained by the school Dads, with fortnightly mowing & leaf blowing.This year, we are seeking some more volunteers for the list.It is just two 90min sessions per year, working in a group of four.Please text Chris Gazzola on 0411 221 475 if you are available to help out.

The school fee accounts are currently being arranged for the 2021 school year. The 2021 school fee statement of account will hopefully be issued by the end of next week. Thank you for your patience at this time.  

Camps, Sports and excursion Fund ( CSCF)

The CSEF provides payments to assist eligible families to cover the costs of camps, sporting activities and excursions. Camp, Sports and Excursions Fun (CSEF) Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. A Special Consideration category also exists. Schools can receive applications from families over term one and two. Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school. 

Who can apply? 

Parents/carers wishing to apply for CSEF payments for 2021 must submit their application form to the school office before the last day of term 2 (25 June 2021). Applications available at the school office and are also available here: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/csef.aspx 

Key Enrolment dates for Year 5 students in 2021 starting Year 7 in 2023 

The key enrolment dates for students who will be starting Year 7 in 2023 are:

• 27th January 2021- Applications will open for year 5 students 

• 20th August 2021- Applications will close 

• 22 October 2021- Offers will be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants 

• 12th November 2021- Final date for parents/carers to accept offer made by school The key enrolment dates for students who will be starting Year 7 in 2023 

Many of our families have welcomed puppies over the recent months which is wonderful because we know the benefits of having a dog as part of the family. I do wish to bring to your attention some safety protocols that we must abide by for the wellbeing and safety of our school community. 

• Any dog or other animals brought onto school grounds must be appropriately restrained at all times. This must be on a short (non-extendable) lead and restrained by a person at least 16 years of age who is able to restrain the animal. 
• Owners of dogs and/or other animals on school grounds must comply with all relevant local council regulations & other statutory provisions such as the Victorian Domestic Animals Act 1994. 
• Always be mindful that children are the first priority in a school environment and that some children are unfamiliar and/or afraid of dogs & other animals.
• Assess the temperament & demeanour of their animal before entering the school grounds and are requested not to enter the school grounds if the animal is not suited to an environment where children are present.
• Animals with a difficult temperament and who are fearful, timid or dominant should not be brought onto the school grounds at any time.
• Take responsibility for the care of the animal.
• Not leave dogs or other animals tied-up and/or left unattended at any time.

Thank you for your cooperation.

‘Watch this space! New tuckshop system coming to Our Lady’s in a few weeks!’

Thank you to our parents that have voluntered to be class reps this year. 

Prep: Lisa Grant, Kat Brosolo, Joanna Kelly

Year 1 /2 C: Kasia De Costa, Emma Ryan

Year 1 /2 L: Jess Campbell, Laura Edgcumbe

Year 3 /4 L: Rach Voshege, Melissa Pellegrini

Year 3 /4 N: Marjie Langford, Rach Glass

Year 3 /4 L: Emma Lynch, Elaine Hanlon

Year 5 /6 H&L : Daniela Greening, Cath Bergan, Steph Johnson

Please see attached below information regarding Our Lady's School Uniform, including how to order online and the uniform price list.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Uniform Orders are filled on Mondays.
• Please order Uniform Orders thru CDF.
• To keep costs low we are only stocking limited quantities across the Range. If items are not available please allow a 2 week turn around to allow time for items to be ordered and delivered from our Supplier.
• If you need to try on Uniforms for size this can also be done on Mondays unless other arrangements have been made with Krista.
• If you have any queries, please email Krista on uniformshop@olsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au

All students attending Our Lady’s Primary School have the right to feel safe and be safe. The highest possible standard of care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a fundamental responsibility of all within our school community.