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World Teachers' Day
World Teachers' Day will be celebrated this Friday 30 October 2020.
In a year unparalleled by challenges, we are extremely grateful for the essential service provided by our amazing teachers who, with the support of parents and carers, have ensured that the education of our students has been able to continue.
I encourage you to take an opportunity to express your gratitude to our wonderful teachers. Through their work, your children experience growth in their understanding of the Catholic faith and improvement in learning.
Please never underestimate the power that simple words of gratitude can have on the life and work of a teacher.
1. Parent class placement input for Years 3, 5 and 6. Written requests need to be received by Friday 13th November.
2. With the exception of Year 6 leavers, could any family, who knows they will not be returning to OLHC in 2021, please inform the office.
We fulfil the commandment to love our neighbour when we exercise good stewardship - joyfully sharing our gifts or life, abilities and resources to meet our neighbour's need.
The Gospel on Sunday contained the much loved and well-known verse ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength’ and ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself! There is no other commandment greater than these.’ These words comprise part of the response of Jesus to a question put to him by one of the scribes of Jerusalem asking, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’
The question was placed in the context of the law of the Ten Commandments, which is contained in the book of Jewish law known as the Torah. This book comprises the first five books of the Bible (Pentateuch) and is the code that still forms the basis of much of Judeo-Christian law and morality today. We often think of a law as something that is externally imposed upon us. However, the Hebrew word for law ‘torah’ has its derivation in the verb yara, which means ‘to throw.’ Instead of laws being seen as something imposed upon us they could be seen as tools to cast us in the right direction.
Jesus was able to condense the wisdom of the commandments into one word: Love - the love of our God and the love of our neighbour.
Essentially it is this commandment of Jesus that forms the fabric of life here at Our Lady Help of Christians. It is our communal hope that our school is a place founded in love and one that allows the experiences of love to come to fruition.
Underpinning all our actions and emotions, is the pre-eminent response of Jesus - to love our God with all our heart and all our being. It is the desire to seek oneness with our God that makes a school such as Our Lady Help of Christians truly different. To become a place where this love is truly realised in our daily interactions.
Dear Parents and Carers,
It is very difficult to believe that we will soon be in the month of November. This year has been an unprecedented time due to the bushfires at the commencement of the year and the pandemic which has had a significant impact on the lives of many due to change in work circumstances, the need to home school and the impact on daily life. We continue to keep in our prayers those who have been directly impacted by the pandemic and ask God to continue to support and bless them during this time.
In preparation for the 2021 school year, staff are now in the process of constructing class lists. This is an important and lengthy process. This process involves the current class teachers preparing draft lists for next year’s classes. This process takes into consideration the academic, social, emotional and physical needs of each individual student. Decisions are made to establish balanced, equitable class groups with the potential to work well together. As the teachers know the students within the school environment exceptionally well, the best interests of each individual student is always considered during the discernment process.
Parents are invited annually to contribute to the process of class formation by informing us, in writing, of any special needs that may affect class placement. Written requests could be submitted either through the class teacher or via an email to "info@olhcdow.catholic.edu.au".
Parents are asked to have these written requests completed by the end of Week 5 – Friday 13th November. Please write Class Formation 2021 in the subject line and address the email to Mrs Webb.
All requests are considered when classes are constructed and must be provided prior to classes being finalised. Please note that these requests are valid for Years Three, Five and Six in 2021 as the other grades will be single stream (one class) in 2021.
As a school community we would like to extend our congratulations and best wishes to Mrs Emma Cotterill and Mrs Danielle Dew on the exciting news that they are both going to welcome a baby in early 2021.
We ask God’s continued blessings on both Emma and Danielle at this exciting time. We thank both Emma and Danielle for their continued contributions to our school.
We also congratulate Miss Alana Stroligo who has accepted a transfer to Holy Family, Ingleburn for the 2021 school year. We wish Alana every blessing for the 2021 school year and thank her for her contributions to the OLHC school community.
Kindergarten Orientation
It is wonderful to be able to share with you that we are able to go ahead with play-based orientation sessions for Kindergarten 2021 over the coming weeks.
We will welcome the 2021 Kindergarten students to their two orientation sessions over the following dates –
Group A: 9.00am - 10.30am: Wednesday 18th November and Monday 23rd November
Group B: 9.00am - 10.30am: Thursday 19th November and Tuesday 24th November
Please contact the school office if you require any further information about these sessions. It will be very exciting to welcome our Kinder 2021 students on these days.
Families not Returning to OLHC in 2021
If you are looking at relocating and your child attending a different school in 2021, can you please inform the school office as soon as possible.
We are required, by the Catholic Education Office, to provide the number of students in each grade for the 2021 school year.
This information will help us to complete this process. There is also some paperwork required if you intend on leaving the school which is also available by contacting the school office.
Jane Webb
Principal
This week the focus for PB4L has been afternoon dismissal. On Monday afternoon we went out as a whole school and students went to their afternoon dismissal point to practice the expectations for how we leave the school. Procedures were clarified and re-explained to the students and have been followed up this week by teachers on duty.
There are only five dismissal points for the students of an afternoon, these are: Pick Up, St Anne Gate, John Therry, Bus and After School Care. Please be aware that if your child goes on the Pick Up line they are to be picked up by you when you drive through the pick up zone. Please do not park in our school car park and get out of the car to collect your child from the Pick Up zone. If you would like to park your car to collect your child please use the St Anne gate and your child can meet you there. We thank you all for your continued support of these procedures.
Mass
This term students will continue to attend the parish Mass on a rotational basis. Most classes will attend Mass twice throughout the course of the term and Years 4-6 will also attend Reconciliation.
In line with the Parish’s COVID safe plan students will sit away from other parishioners and staff will sanitise pews students have used before leaving. All students attending will have their name and family contact number recorded by the Parish Office.
We ask that you please contact the school office if you have any concerns about your child attending Mass or if you prefer they did not attend.
Mission Month - Socktober Fundraiser - Friday 30th October
During break time, students from Year 6 will run a range of games and competitions that students can participate in for a gold or silver coin donation.
All money raised will go towards supporting the important work of Catholic Mission.
Confirmation
This Sunday a number of our Year 6 students will be making their Confirmation. We wish them all the best as they affirm their commitment to our Catholic faith and beliefs.
All Saints and All Souls Day
All Saints' Day is a solemn holy day of the Catholic Church celebrated annually on 1st November. The day is dedicated to the saints of the Church, that is, all those who have attained heaven. On Friday afternoon, students will participate in a liturgy, in their classroom, to acknowledge this important day in the church's calendar.
All Souls' Day is observed on 2nd November and is dedicated to those who have died and not yet reached heaven.
Natasha Ferderer
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Found
A child's chain bracelet was found on the school grounds. Please contact the school office on 4626 5655 if you think you know the owner of this bracelet.
Kindergarten 2021 Orientation
Letters have been sent home to the parents and care-givers of our 2021 Kindergarten students. The Parent Information Evening will be held on Wednesday 4th November, via Zoom. New families to the school will have their session at 6.00pm and existing families at 7.00pm.
When students exhibit positive behaviour, by following our school rules, their name is written on a raffle ticket and is entered into a draw where two winners are selected at flag-raising on a Monday morning. The students receive a voucher for the Canteen which can be used for treats or put towards a lunch order. Congratulations to these winners:
Mary Camilleri (5W - Sarkis), Jackson Marten (3W - Sarkis).
Assembly
Congratulations to the following students who will be receiving a Principal's Award at our next Assembly on Friday 6th November. Merit Awards will also be presented.
Anabel Martin (6W), Andre Meoushy (2M)
Luke Siroki (5W), Carrington-Ann Slatter (6M).
Water for Students
The bubblers remain closed at school. Please ensure you send your child with a plastic drink bottle filled with water each day - the bottle can be re-filled at our drink bottle re-fill station.
Zero Touch Sign In for Staff, Parents/Carers and Visitors
The attached flyer explains to parents and care-givers how to download the CEDoW app to your phone that will assist you in registering your presence if you need to come onto the school grounds.
Student Absence
Letters to request reasons for a child's absence will be sent home on a weekly basis. Please provide an explanation for the absence and sign off the letter and return it to the office as soon as possible. If you think the absence is incorrect please note this on the letter.
Parents may also open the Compass app and provide an explanation through there.
Just after 10.00am, on a school day, an alert will automatically be sent to you to advise your child has been marked absent. You can provide an absence reason via this alert as well. Thank you.
School Banking
We will advise you when school banking is once again available to our students.
Celebrations and Sharing of Food
In light of the current environment that we are living in, we ask that you please do not send in birthday cakes or food to share with the class. I understand that this is something that the children enjoy, however, we need to maintain controlled safety and hygiene procedures in the school. If you would like to send in something to acknowledge and celebrate your child’s birthday, you are able to send in packaged goods only (eg, packets of Maltesers, small wrapped chocolate bars etc such as a Freddo Frogs). We will notify you when these restrictions are lifted.
Compass App
This app should be downloaded so you can be kept up to date with the latest events and information from the school. This app is also used for distribution of the Newsletter. Please download the app from your relevant store. For more information please see the attached flyer "Accessing the Compass App".
eSafety Website
Seesaw
Next week, students will share a sample of work via Seesaw. Parents are encouraged to provide feedback to your child. Giving feedback to your child can be challenging. It is important that when you are trying to support your child’s learning, you do it in a positive way. It is important to listen to your child and ask them questions about where they may be struggling.Here are some tips that may help you:
- Identify something they have done well in the task.
- Discuss the area where they could improve and suggest ways to achieve this. Focus on the skills and strategies, for example, in Writing, look at their use of capital letters and spelling, in Reading, concentrate on the strategies they use when reading when faced with an unknown word.
- Finish by mentioning how they have improved or how hard they have worked.
Mental Health Month
Over the last two weeks, students have participated in organised activities that have allowed them to tune into their senses, their community and how important it is to be present.
November P&F Meeting
There will be no P&F Meeting in November. We hope, with changing restrictions, this December meeting can be held.
| DATE | EVENT | EVENT |
| Friday 30th October | Socktober Fundraiser - coin donation |
4M Reconciliation, 9.00am |
| Year 6 Spirituality Day | Year 6 grade visib by Father, 10am | |
| Confirmation practice (Sashes and medals), 4.15pm | ||
| Saturday 31st October | Holy Communion lessons, 4.15pm | |
| Sunday 1st November | All Saints Day | Confirmation, 10.00am |
| Monday 2nd November | All Souls Day | |
| Wednesday 4th November | 5W to Mass, 9.00am | Kinder 2021 Parent Information evening |
| Thursday 5th November | 4M to Mass, 9.00am | First Confessions, from 4.15pm |
| Friday 6th November | Y3 Benediction, 11.40am | |
| Saturday 7th November | Holy Communion lessons, 4.15pm | |
| Wednesday 11th November | Remembrance Day | 5M to Mass, 9.00am |
| Thursday 12th November | 6W to Mass, 9.00am | |
| Friday 13th November | 4W Reconciliation, 9.00am | Kinder grade visit by Father, 10.00am |
From Tuesday 20th October, the Canteen will be open for over-the-counter sales of snacks and treats at Break 1 (11.00am - 11.30am). A price list is attached. Please support the Canteen in their endeavours to support our school community.
Lunch orders need to be at the Canteen by 9.00am. Please write your child's name, class and what they wish to order on a paper bag and enclose the correct money, if possible.
The Canteen is run by Made Fresh. Should you have a need to contact the Canteen, please email Maria at "made.fresh@yahoo.com" or telephone 0422 469 489.
Please find attached an article regarding Building Resilience in Children.
Grace Barton
School Counsellor.
- Monitors will be present to assist and ensure required protocols and health requirements are fulfilled. Once Mass starts, the doors will be closed.
- Temperatures will be taken, as well as other protocols and health requirements.
- Face masks are not compulsory but are highly recommended.
- After Mass you will be provided with a disinfectant wipe to rub over surfaces where you have been sitting or come in contact with.
- Toilets will not be open.
- You cannot gather outside the church after Mass.
- If you have attended any of the hot-spots listed on the notice board in the foyer, you must immediately self-isolate for 14 days and get tested even if you have no symptoms.
School Travel 2021
Please find attached information from the NSW Government regarding 2021 school travel applications.