Dear parents and members of the OLSH community and extended OLSH community,
COVID-19 UPDATE
Learning from Home Packs
OLSH is open for our core business: highest quality learning-teaching every day except when there are public holidays or emergency closures mandated by the NIP Department of Education. Parents please send your child/children to school every day. Missing school does negatively impact learning. We are confident that our COVID-Safe measures are of a high standard. Hence, if you decide to keep your child/children home for whatever reasons, please be informed that OLSH will be unable to provide Learning from Home Packs for your child’s learning at home. Under our Every Child Under the Microscope initiative, OLSH teachers are working very conscientiously to prepare and deliver high quality lessons every day in every classroom to the students who are attending school and to whom we owe our first Duty of Care. We trust in your understanding and support.
COVIDSafe from home to school
Parents please support us by ensuring the daily COVIDSafe measures at home, complement the enhanced hygiene measures that OLSH is taking every day. In addition, please ensure the following:
- your child/children if older than 12 years, bring a face mask to school every day
- you do not send your child to school if she/he shows signs of cold, cough, fever or flue symptoms.
These are basic yet vital steps all parents are being asked to follow, in order that we may do the right thing for the health and safety of every student, teacher and staff member at the school.
We are all in this together and together we will overcome the COVID-19 health challenge.
Cancellation of OLSH Term 1 events
Please note that for COVIDSafe reasons the following events are cancelled for Term 1. We will do our best to reappoint them in Term 2 or later in the year, depending on the COVID-19 situation in New Ireland Province which we are monitoring very closely on a daily basis.
- SRC Quiz Night – 18 March
- Year 8 Retreat – 24 March
Parent-Teacher Interviews
Again, keeping COVIDSafe in mind and given we have 3 Year Levels preparing for the National Examinations, the Leadership Team has decided that we will only have Secondary Parent-Teacher interviews on Wednesday 31 March. As we are guided on a day to day basis by the Department of Education (NIP) on the COVID-19 situation prevailing in New Ireland, please look out for further confirmation in the Week 9 newsletter.
Primary Parent Teacher Interviews will be reappointed to early in Term 2.
The Importance of Sleep
“Time and tide wait for no one”. Only 10 counted school days left to the end of Term 1.
In the past 7 weeks, I have focused mainly on the daily rigour of Learning-Teaching, on which OLSH prides itself: the 3 As, good study habits, Every Child Under the Microscope Year Level Teacher Meetings, Parents As Partners Evenings.
In this edition, I would like to focus on the importance of adequate rest for a sound mind in a sound body. In addition to good nutrition and daily exercise, every person requires adequate sleep. This is most true for our students from the smallest to the oldest, as they cope with the challenges of their learning, taking in so much new information and learning so many new skills each day. The link below makes for interesting reading and reflection on whether your child is getting adequate sleep each night, in preparation for the next day of rigorous learning.
Year 10 Retreat
Year 10 students attended their annual Year 10 Retreat on 3 March. I thank Fr Julius Poniu for facilitating thought-provoking sessions through the day. My thanks also go to Mr Raymond Rangatin for organising the Retreat and to the Year 10 Pastoral Care teachers, Sr Joan Takin msc and Mrs Esther Sipaleu for accompanying the retreat and facilitating the opening session. Our students reflect below on their retreat experience.
On Wednesday the 3rd of March 2021 we went on a retreat to Kopkop MSC Center. The theme of being on earth the Sacred Heart of Jesus of God was the reason why we went to the retreat; mainly to know our self, our strengths and areas for improvement. Despite the downpour at midday, it was a wonderful experience for us.
The main message was taken from the parable of The Good Samaritan, about how we should help others rather than neglecting them. By helping others we can create a better society. As the saying goes, love your neighbours as you love yourself. This leads to Social Justice which is also a point from the parable. In my own point of view, Social Justice means doing what is right for others. In the world today the 5 biggest problems are poverty, hunger, war, lack of access to education and inequality of opportunity. We are blessed that our country has all the necessary resources. In many parts of the world people are suffering. So with Social Justice we can change the world to be a better place.
The other message given by Fr Julius was about making the right choices. Year 10 is a very important year as we prepare for the National Examinations. He emphasised five main points which were: knowing yourself, Human Integral Development, Basis of all things, achievements, your choice determines your future and God is always the final option. He also shared his experience as a Year 10 student and the challenges that people are facing today.
Mainly the word that would describe the Year 10 retreat would be Choice. It is a word that determines your performance in any organisation. Many a time, we are not making the right choice. Your choice determines your future, or in other words, your future is in your hands. It is mainly the alternatives from which you have to choose, that could be beneficial for yourself in future. Christopher Lavarabin
The event that we all enjoyed the most, were the activities we played on the day. The activities were in line with our theme “Choices on Earth”. Everyone had a lot of fun mingling with each other and the activities helped us get to know each other well.
The part I remember the most is the second session we had with Fr Julius. We stated off with a prayer and then he started talking about accepting who we are as a Papua New Guinean and to stop copying other peoples’ lifestyle. That part really touched me because it is so true. If you want to be successful, then you must be yourself and follow what your heart says, to make a better choice in the future. Also Fr Julius advised us to always think as an individual and plan what we are trying to achieve. Joylin Rikis
I enjoyed mostly the games that we played at the beginning of the retreat. This is because we had to mingle with each other even though some of us don’t often talk to each other in class. One of the messages of the day was, the choices that you make must be beneficial for your future and it must not affect your close ones negatively.
The day was a privilege as we are an examinable year level and it taught us to make the right choices so we can benefit from in the future. What I will remember the most about the Year 10 Retreat is the paraliturgy where we were asked to pick something that attracts us, as we arrived at the venue and we found a heart of Jesus at the centre of the church. Christine Thomas
Daily Home Study Expectations
- Prep – Daily sight words, phonics and numbers to 20, addition and subtraction facts to 10.
- Years 1 & 2 – Daily sight words and reading, multiplication tables
- Years 3 and 4 - Daily sight words and reading, multiplication tables and assessment tasks
- Years 5 and 6 – at least 45 minutes each evening –reading, multiplication tables and assessment tasks
- Year 7 –1 hour
- Year 8 – 1.5 hours
- Year 9 – 2 hours
- Year 10 – 2.5 hours
- Years 11 - 3 hours
- Year 12 – 3.5 hours
As it is possible that 3 to 3.5 hours each evening may not be achievable due to fatigue, Year 11 & 12 students are strongly advised to clock up a total of 10 hours of study time each weekend, broken up in short blocks of 1.5 – 2 hours.
