Stewardship Thought ....

November - Month of the Holy Souls ....

As we enter the month of November, the eleventh month of the year, the Church invites us to pray for and remember those who have gone before us, the Holy Souls.

The feast days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day celebrate the communion of saints and remind us that we have access to a massive list of prayer partners who pray with us and pray for us. The list includes the official 'greats' of our church history, but it also includes family and friends whose holiness and love directly touched and enriched our lives.

We need both heavenly models of holiness, as well as earthly models of holiness. Saints are all around us. They are the women and men whose generous spirit reflects the Gospel’s call to love and service. Some do it by making the ordinary holy through a spirit of simplicity and humility. Some do it by showing extraordinary courage in sickness and adversity. Some do it by railing against injustice and working to bring equality and dignity to all.

One of the messages from these feast days is a call to holiness. This sounds overly simplistic and obvious, but it is at the basis of all we do as a church and as the ‘People of God’.

On All Souls Day we remember, in a special way, all those who have died.   We believe that all who have died in Jesus will rise again with Him.   May all souls rest in peace, especially those loved ones in our families who have gone before us.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in eternal peace -

AMEN.

Welcome Return of Students

Over the past two weeks, it has been wonderful to see the return of our students to school. It was lovely to see the students after such a lengthy period, who were so eager to return to school and to see their friends and teachers.

I wanted to pass on my sincere thanks to our parent community who have truly supported your child/ren in learning from home for a significant time-frame. I also wanted to show gratitude towards our hard-working staff who continued to go above and beyond in supporting students' access learning at home - through hosting ZOOM check-ins, supporting with technical difficulties and creating engaging online learning.

As the children successfully returned to face-to-face learning we have concentrated on their social emotional learning and the re-adjustment to school routines.  The children had a really good week last week with obvious signs of enjoying being back and learning  together with their friends.

Responding to a Positive COVID Case

As parents would have no doubt heard in the local media, a number of schools in the community have been impacted by a member of the school community testing positive to COVID- 19.

If a member of the school community was to test positive, the following arrangements would be put in place-

• Mrs Webb and/or Mrs Fazio will be in contact with CEO personnel and/or the Public Health Unit to inform of positive case.
• Parents will receive an alert via COMPASS on phone to notify of a positive case- this alert would encourage parents to come to the school to collect their child/ren
• Further information provided via COMPASS of pick up processes
• Leadership team staff will  be on duty at pick locations (Demetrius Rd and JTCC)
• Students would remain in classrooms and would be dismissed from classroom.

• Students with initial from A-K would be picked up via Demetrius Road and students with L-Z would be collected via car pick up at John Therry Catholic College.

• The school would be closed for the following day/s and students would be learning remotely.

• Once the school has been deep cleaned it would be cleared to be opened for staff and students
• Students would not go to Camp Australia if a positive case is identified in the school - they would be provided with supervision until they can be picked up by a parent
• Contact tracing would proceed and close contacts identified.

Parents can be assured that all measures are in place, including increased cleaning daily, students only playing within stage cohorts and the option to wear face masks to ensure that the school is a safe environment for students.

Quick Tips to Help Children with Sleep

As students adjust to the return to face-to-face learning, it is important to remember that children require an average of 8 - 12 hours of sleep per night to ensure that they have rejuvenated and are ready for the coming day.

The best way to achieve this is by having a healthy sleep routine. By having this routine, we tell our bodies that we are preparing for rest. This will assist in staying asleep and having a full night's rest.

Creating a healthy sleep routine doesn’t need to be hard. Some tips include - 

• Set a regular bedtime at the same time each night
• Turn off electronic devices one hour before bed
• Try using noise cancelling headphones if you are easily distracted or woken by noise
• Using guided meditations help to promote a relaxed mood before sleep
• Ensure that the bed is for sleep, not for watching TV, playing games, messaging friends

Healthy sleep sets everyone up for a great day.

Class Formation 2022

Term 4 is the time when we complete the 2021 school year as well as prepare for 2022.  One of the major tasks this term is to prepare classes for 2022.  Teachers and staff members utilise their professional expertise in making decisions, seeking to create equitable class groupings considering all student needs. Please note - this applies to Kindergarten, Year Four and Year Six that will be regrouped for 2022. All other grades (Year One, Year Two, Year Three and Year Five will remain single stream for 2022). 

Optimising the learning environment is the prime focus when forming new class groups for 2022, not forming friendship groups.  The aim is to provide classes in which each child is able to continue to develop to their full potential.  

If there is a particular issue regarding your child’s optimum learning for 2022, please write to Mrs Webb, via email, stating your concerns and requests.  You are invited to be proactive rather than reactive.  Please note that this is not an opportunity to request individual teachers, but an opportunity to state a particular issue that might impact on your child’s learning in 2022.  All requests will be considered but NOT NECESSARILY GUARANTEED. Please send your email requests to info@olhcdow.catholic.edu.au , using Class Placement 2022 as the subject line, marked to the attention of Mrs Webb by Friday 19th November 2021.  Further requests regarding class placement will not take place after this date.  Please note that because we are committed to the belief that each child begins each school year anew, we do not retain information regarding these requests from previous years.  

This is the time to raise any issues regarding your child’s optimum learning for 2022.  After all requests have been considered the school will make the final decision regarding all placements.  

If your child is not returning to Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Parish Primary School  in 2022, could you please notify the School Office as soon as possible.   There is a ‘School Leavers’ form that needs to be completed. 

Staffing 2022

It is hoped that staffing for the 2022 school year will be finalised over the coming weeks. More information will be provided in the next newsletter as to staffing appointments for the 2022 school year.

Library Returns

Due to the current restrictions no library borrowing will take place this term.

All library books that are currently being borrowed are now due for return.

Thank you for having a look at home and returning these library resources ready for the final stock-take of the year.

Clothing Pool

If you require any uniform items from the Clothing Pool, parents are requested to make contact with the school office and advise the size and type of the uniform you require. This will be sent home with your child.

Jane Webb

Principal

School Banking