Newsletter

Our Lady's Primary School - Friday 26th April, 2019

Our Lady's Primary School Surrey Hills


Guided by the life of Jesus Christ

Inspired by the Spirit of Mary

Our Lady’s Primary School is a place of growth and challenge.

Where we seek to ignite imagination and promote a lifelong passion for God and learning 

Learning together in Faith Hope and Love


Principal: Mrs Annie Engellenner - principal@olsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au

Office Manager: Mrs Julie Leung - jleung@olsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au

Parish Priest: Fr Mark Reynolds - wattlepark@cam.org.au 

Hours of Supervision of Students: Monday – Friday 8.30am -3.45pm

School Office Hours: Monday to Friday - 8.30am – 4.00pm

Reflection

Make Us People of Peace

 

God of love and liberty, we thank you for the peace and security we enjoy. It was won for us through the courage and devotion of those who gave their lives in time of war. We pray that their labour and sacrifice may not be in vain, but that their spirit may live on in us and in generations to come.

We ask this prayer in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen. 

Leadership and Management

Dear Families and Friends of Our Lady’s Community,

 

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful term break and Easter season. It has been lovely to hear lots of stories about holiday travels and to see the students full of energy ready to start the term. A gentle reminder that all students should be in their correct uniform by Monday 6th April. 

We are very delighted to welcome back to Our Lady’s, Mrs Rose Urquhart this term. 

Over the break the building team have been working in earnest on our playground, and as we can see it is really coming along. We are all watching with great excitement and feeling very grateful.

In Inquiry learning this term, we are using the redevelopment of the playground to help us explore the following question: How are living and non living things evolving, adapting and changing?

From a learning and teaching perspective, we are making the most of what is happening in the real life of our students and supporting them in their understanding of science, design and creativity.

National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy - NAPLAN 

I am pleased to advise that ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) has identified Our Lady’s school as having demonstrated substantially above average gain in reading achievement, as measured by NAPLAN in 2018. The recent email from ACARA read: 

 "On behalf of ACARA, I would like to extend my congratulations to you and your school community on this achievement. Improvement in student literacy and/or numeracy of this magnitude, as measured by NAPLAN, is significant and worthy of highlighting and acknowledging."  (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) 

Congratulations to all the staff from Prep to Year 6 for providing a rich and deep sequence of learning for all our students.

NAPLAN testing will once again take place this year in the week beginning May 13th.

Social Media

We are excited to announce that from May, Our Lady’s Primary School will be using social media to promote our wonderful school to local families and surrounding communities. 

As the next step in our online marketing strategy, the aim of our social media accounts will be to show prospective families all the wonderful activities and learnings happening at Our Lady’s. We envisage launching on Facebook and Instagram by the middle of May. 

As social media platforms become increasingly visual, we would like to use the opportunity to post photographs and videos of our students (students names will not be used) at school events. Examples might include the recent fun run, Sacramental events, sports day, book parade, awards etc…       

Before launching on social media, we would like to ensure appropriate consent is received from each of our families. Families provide Video and Photo permission at the beginning of each year as a matter of process but as this is a new platform for us, you are invited provide permission or not once again.

The consent form will accompany the students home on Monday. Please return the permission forms to school by Friday, 3rd May. 

School Vision and Logo

I am really pleased to announce that the we will be  ready to launch our new school logo and vision statement at assembly in week three. This has been the culmination of reflection and inspirational thinking over a many months. The new vision statement clearly articulates the aspiration of our school community to be a place of acceptance, optimism, success, growth and challenge. A learning community that ignites imagination and promotes a lifelong passion for God.

I am very grateful to the Parish Education Board, our staff and school families for the feedback and participation in this project. We have so much to be proud of at Our Lady’s and so much to look forward to. 

Confirmation Reflection Day

Next Thursday, May 2nd our Year 6 students will be attending a Retreat Day at the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Lysterfield.

Please keep our Year 6 students in your prayers as they continue to navigate their way through the final year of primary school. It is a very exciting time for them but it can also be tinged with some trepidation. The chance to participate in a retreat day will allow them time to be together in reflection and gratitude.

I take this opportunity to thank Clare Hicks, Lucy Ludescher and Brendan Hawke for preparing the students to receive the sacrament.

The sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated Friday, May 10th at Our Lady’s Church at 7.00pm. 

Assessment and Reporting

This year will be sending students reports home via the Parent Portal on our reporting database - nForma. This will streamline the process and also reduce the cost of printing etc. It also means that you will have an electronic copy of your child’s report for future reference.

For this process to be successful, it is very important the school has your correct email address. If you email address has changed and you have not communicated this to the office, could you please email Julie at jleung@olsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au.

The office will contact you if we do not have an email address included on your child’s enrolment record. 

Reading Recovery

Next week we welcome Carolyn Hibbard back to Our Lady’s School. Carolyn will be working in the role of Reading Recovery Teacher whist Mrs Bern Potter is on pilgrimage in Israel. We welcome Mrs Potter back on May 20th. 

Parent - Conduct in the Playground

Our Lady’s Primary School is committed to providing a respectful learning environment that is safe, positive and supportive for all students, staff, parents and other members of the school community to visit us.

We believe that parents are valuable contributors in the life of our school and play an important role in the education of their children. As such, it is imperative they act, at all times, in the best interests of all our students and their families.

It is important to be very mindful about conversations you are having in the playground about any students in our school.

As we are teaching the students to be people of kindness and love, so too must we be models of this behaviour for our children.

When visiting our school, parents are required to:

●     Not discipline any child, or speak to any child about their behaviour. This is the role of the staff members.

●     Treat all others in our school community with courtesy and respect. 

I thank you for working with us to make Our Lady’s a place of acceptance for all.  

School Fete

Whenever you talk to families that are new to our school, or families that are considering enrolment, one of the things they always talk about is the reputation of our school as being a place of welcome and hospitality.

The annual school fete is famous and has for many years enjoyed a positive reputation in Surrey Hills and surrounding communities.

The success of this event has only been possible due to the families that make up our school community.

Families that have volunteered their time to take on a role of coordinator, all the way through to simply volunteering some of their time on Fete day to work on a stall for a couple of hours. 

We now need to enlist the help from our new families to ensure the continuation of this great tradition. If all contribute a small amount of time, the load will be eased. Please visit the Our Lady’s Facebook Page and sign up to help on this great day. I particularly appeal to the families in Prep and Year One and Two.

My youngest daughter Charlotte helped out on one of the food stalls last year. She signed up for one hour - but stayed most of the day - she was having so much fun!

Fundraising is a wonderful outcome of events such as these and we certainly would not have been able to have the playground design we have, without the money that was raised from the Fete.

But the Fete is so much more!

Primary schools are in the unique position to be able to provide families a place where they can come together in community. We want our children to come to a school where they feel loved, cared for and extended in their learning. Primary school can become a second family. Being involved in the Fete is an opportunity to foster friendships and make connections with others that may last a lifetime. In times when a strong sense of belonging could never be more important, I urge you to see getting involved in our school fete as investment in positive wellbeing.  

Looking forward to seeing you at Assembly on Monday. Please note that student awards will be given out in Week 3 - Monday May, 6th.

Quote

"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." – Coretta Scott King

Thank you for your continued support of our school community,

Annie Engellenner

Principal

News from the Office

Year 7, 2020 Placement Forms

This week all Year 6 Students received an application form, for enrollment to attend a secondary government school in 2020. All completed forms must be returned to Our Lady's school office by Friday 17th May. 

Please note that if they will be attending a private or catholic secondary school, it is not necessary for this form to be completed.

Religious Education Dates 2019

Dates Ahead 2019

Surrey Hills and Wattle Park Parish Sacramental Program

Surrey Hills Wattle Park Parish provides sacramental preparation, catechist classes for children within the parish who do not attend the parish schools. 

EUCHARIST classes, for children who have been Baptised and received First Eucharist (First Communion) will begin Thursday, 13 June. 

For Reconciliation and Confirmation class enrolment details (Eucharist enrolment in Term 2) please contact:

Nanette Giovannini,

Parish Sacramental Coordinator. nanette.giovannini@cam.org.au Tuesdays & Wednesdays, Parish Office, (excluding school holidays) 9890 2510.

Mother's Day Stall

Our annual Mother’s Day Stall is being held on Friday 10 May 2019 from 9am to around 11.30am. Each child will have the opportunity to purchase 2 beautiful gifts for their mother, grandmother or other significant carer in their lives. Examples of these home made and wrapped gifts include scented candles, jewellery, bag tags, aprons, vases with chocolates, and baked goods. Younger siblings will be accompanied by older siblings so they can select their gifts together. Would you please ensure that each of your children has $10 to bring on the day and a bag to bring their carefully selected gifts home? If your child will be away on that day please contact Aime on 0412107083 to organise an early purchase of their gifts so that they do not miss out. If you are available to help with wrapping the gifts, baking cookies or rocky road, or manning the stall on the day please contact Aime on 0412107083.

Mother's Day Stall Co-ordinator

Aime.

Awards

From week 10 Term 1

1/2JL

Cooper A - for his commitment to every task this week. 

Matthew T - for trying his best in all tasks and showing enthusiasm while learning.

Charlize B - for being an enthusiastic class member who is keen to share information with the class.

3/4C

Georgia F - for having a positive attitude towards learning. 

Liam C - for collaborating with his peers during learning time.

Angus C - for being a kind and caring friend who always looks out for others.

Tuckshop

Tuckshop will operate on the following dates for Term 2:

May 3rd, May 10th, May 17th, May 24th, June 7th, June 14th and June 21st .

Many thanks,

Luisa

PFA Dinner - Save the Date

Details are as follows:

Save the date 2019 PFA Dinner, Box Hill Town Hall, 20th July. More details to come. Please save the date.

Fete News

Fete sponsorship and donations 

The school fete attracts a number of generous sponsors each year, including parents and local businesses from around the area. If you would like to find out more about this year’s sponsorship opportunities, please contact James Patterson on 0420456414 or Matt Hawking on 0438295578. Or, if you would like to donate an item for the major raffle or the silent auction please contact Elaine Hanlon on 0420401000.