Newsletter

Dear parents and members of the OLSH community and extended OLSH community,

We are pleased to announce that OLSH is oversubscribed at Year 9.  Our numbers at Years 10, 11 and 12 are also closer to full capacity, since the start of the year.  Our Boarding House is full with only 1 more space in the girls’ dormitory.   It is a good feeling that OLSH continues to be trusted as a provider of consistently high-quality Catholic education in Kavieng.  

We endeavour every day to fulfil this trust and we ask parents and members of the extended OLSH community to have regular and honest conversations with members of the Leadership Team, with a view to continued school improvement. 

Every day is Open Day at OLSH.   If you would like to book a tour of the school to see how our students learn, please feel welcome to contact Mr Patrick Baiwan, Acting Principal on 9842128 or Digicel 79532680 or at admin@olshinternational.org to arrange a tour.

At its first 2021 meeting on 18 February, the OLSH Board of Management gave the school approval for one of our long-held aspirations: the establishing of the Early Learning Centre with the hope of providing parents with a “one stop facility” for their child’s learning and future education. 

We have the capacity to enrol 10 students at an annual fee of K 3000.00.  Interested parents please contact the school at admin@olshinternational.org or call Mr Patrick Baiwan, Acting Principal at 9842128 or Digicel 79532680. 

Mr Baiwan will be happy to answer your questions and offer a tour of the school.

Thank you to all parents who made the time to attend each of the earlier events. 

In order to permit all parents who were unable to attend the earlier evenings, we offer a second round with details below.  On behalf of both Heads of School, I encourage you to make the time to attend the above evenings for that vital, early face-to-face contact with your child’s teacher.  We need your support to do the best we can for your child’s education.

• Primary: Wednesday 3 March - 4.00 to 5.00 pm
• Secondary:  Wednesday 10 March – 4.00 to 5.00 pm

• 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
• Year 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.

Next week we conclude the Year Level Teachers Meetings.  These meetings have provided the invaluable opportunity for teachers to carefully scrutinise student achievement in the data from Semester 2,2020 and to compare it with current performance in class.  I thank Mr Patrick Baiwan and Mrs Rachel Baiwan for their dedication and time in facilitating these meetings over a 3-week period, in addition to all the other staff meetings and Professional Learning sessions.  Mrs Baiwan reflects below.

Every Student under the Microscope

‘Every student under the microscope’ may seem an odd expression to many, but this is what has been happening here at OLSH since 9 February with the first of the Year Level Teacher Meetings. We are very focused on every student’s academic achievement and their ‘growth through learning’ as our school motto states. In the past two weeks the secondary school teachers have been tirelessly working at each Year level meeting, starting with the National Examinations year levels 12, 10 and 8, scrutinizing every student’s past academic performance, their attendance to school and their application to studies both in school and at home.

In each of the year levels, students have been identified as those of serious concern (students with unsatisfactory attendance and application and lowered results in Semester 2 of 2020). Others have been identified as students of concern (capable students whose application does not reflect their ability) and those students who can tend to fly under the radar (capable students who can drop their grades and need close monitoring). Students of serious concern are being interviewed and guided to make a fresh start this year. Some of the parents and guardians of these students have been present for the interviews.

Year 11 Teachers Meeting took place on Tuesday 23rd while Year 9 and 7 will follow next week.  Students at these 3 “springboard” year levels are being prepared for optimum success at their National Examinations in 2022.

We are unrelenting at OLSH to help each student from Years 7 to 12, achieve the best results possible. We need constant support from parents as well, to see that your child works towards their goals and achieves pleasing results. We ask all parents to partner with the school through our initiative ‘Parents as Partners’, to ensure that your child does ‘grow through learning’ in all aspects of his/her life.  

Mrs. Rachel Baiwan

Acting Head of Secondary

Ms Norah Sevian has given the Resource Centre a fresh look with many exciting activities planned for the upcoming weeks.  I commend and thank Ms Sevian for her efforts to encourage our students to begin and/or keep up their love of reading.  Good readers make good writers.

Opening its doors in 2008, the school’s Resource Centre, formerly known as the Jubilee Library has assisted many students and staff. They have been very fortunate to have had access to a wide variety of resources that enhance teaching and learning experiences at all levels.

This year we would like to encourage a wider use of the Resource Centre by the students and staff of OLSH. We plan on enhancing education through various displays and arranged activities that will make the place a comfortable and fun place to come and learn.

The month of February is “Library Lovers Month.” During this month, staff and students have been encouraged to come and use the Resource Centre to their advantage. A suggestion box has been created and placed on our counter for any positive ideas that would be beneficial to all users of the Resource Centre. A response will be given to all suggestions at the end of February.

Also, at the end of February, various students (P-12) will be awarded certificates for their use of the library and for displaying appropriate behaviour whilst using the library. A lot of students use this facility but there are still many students who do not. Please encourage your child to borrow books to read and use the library for study purposes as much as they can. We try our best to keep the Resource Centre open before and after scheduled class time.

Many books borrowed remain outstanding from 2020. Please assist your child to locate and return their borrowed book(s). Failure to do so will result in an invoice being raised requesting payment for the replacement of the lost resource.

The Jubilee Resource Centre is a whole world of discovery on its own. There is a thought-provoking quote about a library, books and learning: “Reading takes you places”. 

Ms Norah Sevian

Resource Centre Manager

Chairman’s 2021 Address to the OLSH staff

OLSH as standard bearer of educational excellence in New Ireland Province

“A school is a place of respect and wonder. The search to create, discover, reveal, and share is an unending journey that should happen in a school”. Those were the words to describe the OLSH Board of Management Vision by the Board Chairman Mr. Douglas Tsang who addressed the OLSH Staff at the weekly Thursday staff Professional Learning Session on 18 February. In order to achieve that, the staff was encouraged and challenged to demonstrate ethical leadership - leadership that is directed by respect for ethical beliefs and values and for the dignity and rights of others. It is related to concepts such as trust, honesty, consideration, charisma and fairness in school.

We thank the Chairman and the School Board for their sound leadership and support in making sure the students’ dreams of receiving a quality education are realized at OLSH International.

Term 1 Fees 2021

Term 1 2021 fees are due latest by 1 April 2021.  Please contact the school office at the earliest possible, to arrange a payment plan, if you have difficulty in meeting this deadline.  We need the steady income from regular fee payment, in order to offer your daughters and sons the best education possible.

We regretfully inform parents that if Term 1 fees are not settled in full or a payment plan not arranged by Thursday 1 April, your child/children will not be able to return to school on Monday 19 April, for the start of Term 2.

Mr Patrick Baiwan

March

3 – Primary Parents as Partners Evening/ Year 10 Retreat/ Year 7 Teachers Meeting

10 – Secondary Parents as Partners Evening

18 – SRC Quiz Night

24 – Year 8 Retreat

31 – P-12 Parent Teacher Interviews

 April

1 – Holy Thursday.   End of Term 1.   Boarders depart for home

CATHOLIC CHURCH CALENDAR: 1stweek Lent in the ordinary Year ‘B’ 2021         

WEEK REFLECTION

READING FOR THE WEEK: Mark 1:12-15

The Temptation of Jesus Christ in the desert

Message: Temptations

Welcome to the first week of lent.

Is temptation good? Certainly it’s not a sin to be tempted. Otherwise our Lord could never have been tempted Himself. But He was. And so are we. As we enter into the first full week of Lent, we are given the opportunity to ponder the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert.

Temptation is never from God. But God does permit us to be tempted. Not so that we fall, but so that we grow in holiness. Temptation forces us to rise up and make a choice either for God or for the temptation. Though mercy and forgiveness are always offered when we fail, the blessings that await those who overcome temptation are numerous.

First, enduring a temptation and conquering it helps us see the strength of God in our lives.

Second, temptation humbles us, stripping away our pride and our struggle of thinking we are self-reliant and self-made.

Third, there is great value in completely rejecting the devil. This not only robs him of his ongoing power to deceive us, but it also clarifies our vision of who he is so that we can continue to reject him and his works.

Fourth, overcoming temptation clearly and definitively strengthens us in every virtue.

Fifth, the devil would not tempt us if he were not concerned about our holiness. Thus, we should see temptation as a sign that the evil one is losing hold of our lives.

Overcoming temptation is like acing an exam, winning a contest, completing a difficult project or accomplishing some challenging feat. We should take great joy in overcoming temptation in our lives, realizing that this strengthens us to the core of our being.

Nothing is too great. Nothing is too difficult. Humble yourself in confession, seek the help of a confidant, fall on your knees in prayer, trust in the almighty power of God. Overcoming temptation is not only possible, it is a glorious and transforming experience of grace in your life.

There will be the Stations of the Cross every Friday afternoon at 4pm at the cathedral. All are most welcome.

Friday school mass for this week will be led by the Year 8 class here at the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Cathedral at 8:30 Am. It will be the Commissioning Mass for the SRC. Please be at school before 8:00am and bring something for offertory.

Thank you and God bless you all.

Mr R. Rangatin