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IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY - DIOCESAN FEAST DAY
Last weekend, the Diocese of Wollongong celebrated the Patronal Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We honour Mary in her whole-hearted devotion to God and the Son entrusted to her maternal love. We imitate her as the one above all who pondered in her heart the life and mystery of Christ. More than this, in her standing by Jesus at the Cross, Mary inspire us to live the most tender attitudes of the Christian heart — mercy and compassion for those who suffer and need our kindness and |attentive support. In her love for Jesus, Joseph, Elizabeth, the Apostles and early Church as they gathered in prayer, Mary is the pattern for knowing the importance of the person before us.
Mary teaches us to treasure the importance of women in our families, friendships, workplace, and church communities, especially in their capacity for love of others, nurturing and protecting children, and enjoying personal relationships of mutual affection, trust, and care. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us, that we will contemplate the mystery of Jesus’ love for us and give that love to those in need of our welcome
Dear Parents and Carers,
Last week, the staff of Our Lady Help of Christians gathered together to consider the mission of the school and the important role that Catholic educators play in bringing about this mission. As a staff, we get this important opportunity to gather, reflect, pray and retreat once a year and develop our own spiritual growth and formation, which forms an important aspect of our work.
As with any organisation, it is important to consider what the mission of a Catholic school is and how we each contribute to the realisation of this mission. OLHC was established in 1989 and the mission statement was formed soon after this. As you can appreciate, with staff changes it is of high importance to ensure that all staff have an understanding of the purpose (mission) of OLHC. As a Catholic school community, the mission of the school is closely aligned with the Christian values that promote justice, compassion and love.
Thank you for making the necessary care arrangements for your child last Friday 16th June so that the staff could engage in this professional learning opportunity.
As this will be the final newsletter for the term, I would like to thank you for all your support during this second term. We have much to be grateful for at OLHC.
Over the last few weeks, there have been a number of staff and students who have been unwell. We understand that sickness among staff and students may cause disruptions to the consistency of classes. We are committed to providing a supportive environment and ensuring that learning continues smoothly. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during such times.
I hope that the upcoming July school holiday period can provide time to rest, rejuvenate and replenish as we return to school for the second half of the school year.
Jane Webb
Yesterday the Semester One reports were released through Compass. Please take the time to celebrate the successes and discuss the areas to focus on for improvement with your child moving into Semester Two. You also have the opportunity to discuss this report with your child’s teacher next week. The bookings for these Parent Teacher Meetings are now open on Compass and these bookings will close on Saturday night at 8pm. The Semester One Parent Teacher Meetings are 10 minutes in length.
The benefits of attending these learning conferences can never be underestimated. They provide an essential opportunity to set goals and targets for continued learning in Semester 2, as well as, strongly reinforcing the notion of partnership between home and school, which research indicates is a strong indicator of student success. Students from Stage Three are welcome to be part of these conferences.
PB4L
The PB4L focus for this week has been the expectations for Playground 3, we had a whole school practice of these expectations with the students and the teachers will be awarding playground tickets to students following the rules of how to be safe, respectful and an active learner on Playground 3.
Next Monday, at Flag Raising, the winning House for the term will be announced. Congratulations to Ingham House for currently leading the house points. Next week, there will be a mufti day reward for the winning house and arrangements for this will be posted on Compass.
Alison Fazio
Assistant Principal
Reading your child's Semester One Report
As mentioned above, Semester One Academic Reports were sent out to families via COMPASS yesterday, Wednesday 21st June.
Before reading your child's report we invite you to take a couple of minutes to watch the clip below from Michael Grose who is founder of Parenting Ideas and one of Australia’s leading parenting educators.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQcsjQTyhs8
Michael says that the last report may be used as a benchmark. This is true not necessarily to compare the grades from previous reports (remember they are a point in time report) but rather the broad view of the report - specifically: socially, attitudes to learning and behaviour.
Be mindful that your child will operate differently to his/her siblings or friends. It is important to take a broad view of learning - not all learning is academic and your child’s commitment to their learning is extremely important to their success.
When giving feedback to your child try to ensure that they take on some of the responsibility of learning. You can’t learn for them and neither can their teacher/s.
So:
Be mindful of their confidence levels
Be honest with them and positive about what they have achieved
Be constructive - make plans with them about their improvement. Ask them where they feel they need to improve. They will surprise you!
Be inclusive: make sure they are involved in the conversation. Children need to be challenged in their learning but with high support.
Parent Partnership Framework
"We must take note of the changes that have affected both the family and the school, and renew the commitment to constructive collaboration – for the benefit of children and young people” — Pope Francis
Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) strives to create vibrant Catholic communities of faith and learning and believes this is best achieved when there is a genuine partnership between home and school.
The Lighting the Way Together Parent - School Partnership Framework has been developed to support the creation and maintenance of this partnership. It outlines for parents* and school the principles and expectations of the parent-school partnership so that together we can create:
identifiably Catholic communities, inspired by the person and teaching of Jesus Christ, where all strive to act with hope, integrity, justice and compassion; and
effective schools which enhance student learning and wellbeing.
When parents enrol their child/ren at a Catholic school in the Diocese of Wollongong, they agree to uphold and support the principles outlined in the Parent-School Partnership Framework.
These principles are based on mutual trust and respectful relationships.
Parents are encouraged to take the time to read through this framework and ensure that all interactions are supportive of upholding and maintaining these principles.
You can also download the Framework in English and the following languages -
Staff News
Our CatholicCare school counsellor, Laura Russell will be leaving us next week as she eagerly awaits the birth of her first child. We look forward to welcoming our new CatholicCare counsellor Emma next term. Those parents and carers who have a child who is seen by the school counsellor will hear from Emma early next term.
This term, we would like to extend our congratulations to two staff members who have recently become engaged. We congratulate Miss Megan O’Sullivan (REC) and Miss Jess Mudie (Year 3M) and their respective partners. We wish them both many blessings at this exciting time.
Miss O’Sullivan will be travelling to Portugal next term, to participate in World Youth Day 2023. We are looking forward to her sharing many reflections from this trip. She is representing the Diocese with other staff members, from the Catholic Education Office Wollongong.
Mrs Michelle Cantrill, from the school office will soon be taking some Long Service Leave (LSL). We extend our best wishes to Michelle. Mrs Skillen and Mrs Williams will be both supporting in the school office during this time.
New Sports Polo Shirt - Available now from Lowes
As previously communicated, the design of the school sports polo has been modified after parent consultation that took place last year.
It is very pleasing to be able to inform the school community that this new sports polo is now available for purchase at Lowes Macarthur Square.
We will have a transition period of two years for students to transition over to the new sports polo.
An image of the design selected by parents in included below for your information.
Parent Attention: COVID Roll Marking procedures update
In accordance with Catholic Education Office policy, it is no longer necessary to explicitly record students absent with COVID-19 under 'Exemption - Direction of public health'.
When a school is informed that a student has tested positive for COVID-19, their absence can be recorded in Compass as it would for any other medical illness. Therefore, this absence will be recorded as Medical - Illness/Injury.
Students late to school - Please report to the school office
For any late arrivals to school and in order for students to be marked present, please accompany your child/rens to the school office. Parents are to provide a reason for being late and office staff will sign them in electonically in Compass. Student will be provided a late pass to take to class.
We thank you for your support.
School Holiday Vacation Care repeated - MISSION X PROGRAM
We are very excited to share the news that Camp Australia will be offering a school holiday vacation care program for the upcoming July school holidays.
This will be held each day of the school holidays and further information is provided in relation to the activities that will be offered.
Care will be provided from 5:30am - 6pm each day of the school holidays.
If you need further information, please make contact with Sam or Sharon from Camp Australia at the St Anne hall.
ASSEMBLY
As mentioned in the last newsletter, our next Assembly will be held on 30 June 2023. Merit and Principal Awards will be presented. Congratulations to the following students who will be receiving a Principal's Award.
|
Principal Awards |
|
|
1W Jeremy CHANHDARA |
5M Lea CAMOIN |
|
1W Rosa MCDONAGH |
5W Riley TABONE |
|
3M Ethan LAZAR |
5W Lincoln HICKEY |
|
4M Jessica TRAN |
6M Hannah MACDIARMID |
|
4M Emily KONNECKE |
6M Amelia FAYKA |
POSITIVE BEHAVIOURS FOR LEARNING (PB4L)
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:
COMPASS
Having trouble getting on to COMPASS? - try installing the updates on the App. Another idea is to uninstall the App and reinstall. If you are still experiencing access issues, please call the school office.
To visit the school Facebook page, please click on the link below. When you see something you like on our Facebook page, please "like" us
www.facebook.com/olhc.rosemeadow
eSAFETY WEBSITE
This website provides online safety basics. Help your children safely navigate their digital world and educate them to avoid harmful online experiences. Explore websites, games, apps and social media together and set some rules. We urge parents to take the time to look at this site by visiting:
| Friday 23 June |
Year 6 - Parish Mass 9.00am Winter Woolies Mufti Day - gold coin donation |
| Friday 30 June |
Year 6 - Reconciliation Assembly - Merit & Principals Awards - 2.00pm in the hall Last Day of Term 2 |
| Saturday 1 July to Sunday 16 July |
School Holidays |
| Monday 17 July |
Term 3 Commences |
| Wednesday 26 July |
St Anne & Joachim Feast Day |
| Friday 28 July |
Soccer Gala Day (further details closer to event) Assembly 2pm |
| Friday 4 August |
Western Region Athletic's Carnival (respresentative students) |
| Tuesday 8 August |
St Mary Mackillop Walkathon (more details shared in Compass closer to the event) |
| Friday 11 August |
Assembly 2pm |
| Monday 11 September |
School Photo's (more details closer to event) |
| Thursday 14 September |
Basketball Gala Day 1, Minto - Year 3 and Year 4 |
| Friday 15 September |
Basketball Gala Day 2, Minto - Year 5 and Year 6 |
| Thursday 21 and Friday 22 September |
Year 5 Canberra Excursion |
| Saturday 23 September to Sunday 8 October |
School Spring Holidays |
| Monday 9 October |
Term 4 commences for Students |
Mr Nick Hailes, parent of Chloe and Sophie, has stepped away from the executive position as Treasurer of the Parents and Friends. We thank Mr Hailes for the support that he has shown to the P&F - as treasurer for the past twelve months.
As this position on the executive committee was declared vacant, at the recent P&F meeting on Monday evening nominations were called for.
We thank Ms Ebonie Martin, parent of Adelaide (2M), for nominating and accepting this role on the executive committee for the remainder of the year.
The Canteen is open for lunch orders and 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 are required 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.
CATHOLIC CARE COURSES
Our range of groups focus on strengthening relationships, parenting, post-separation, supporting parents with children in care, managing challenging emotions and loss and grief. Click on the link below for the current courses available.
WHAT'S ON IN CAMPBELLTOWN