OLHC News Issue 33 Term 4 Week 4 - 1st November 2024

Our Lady Help of Christians is a Child Safe School and is committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We acknowledge the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, and Japagulk peoples as the traditional custodians of the land upon which our school was built. 

Principal Report

Dear Parents and Friends of Our Lady's,

I draw your attention to the following items in the newsletter: no lunch orders next Friday (8/11), no buses next Tuesday (5/11) and a tentative date for our end of year Graduation Mass (16/12- TBC).

It has been a busy week at Our Lady's, with pre-works for the upcoming build taking place, arborists felling and tidying up trees in preparation for bush-fire season, a visit from Mons and the Bishop, transition day for Murtoa College, and an excursion for the seniors! Busyness is part of school life, but we do our best not to let extra-curriculars detract from teaching and learning, and I am pleased to say they usually don't. In my teaching and classroom visits this week, I have seen great inquiry lessons for outer space in the Junior Room, fantastic whole school writing about fables, reverent participation in whole school prayer for the month of the Rosary, and quality research skills being practised in the Senior Room. Keep up the good work teachers and students!

I continue to extend a warm invitation to you all to attend a parent information evening on Wednesday 6th November from 7pm. The purpose of the meeting is to speak about the current and future practices of the school in relation to teaching and learning. We’ll have an opportunity to share the successes of our school as well as speak about the changes and ongoing growth required for continued improvement. Parents will be given the opportunity to ask questions and take part in the conversation, which I hope will make our school’s future bright and positive. We will be joined on the evening by Sarah McKnight, Education Officer Teaching and Learning from DOBCEL who assists our school in this area. In the meantime, as always, please make arrangements to speak with me if you have any concerns about your individual child.

All the very best, 

Chris McCumstie

principal@olhcmurtoa.catholic.edu.au

Resignation of Tanya Mock

Earlier this week I received the resignation of Ms Tanya Mock. Tanya joined our staff as a tutor in 2023, and then as the Junior Room teacher in 2024. Tanya has a great passion for education and student wellbeing and has done a lot of work to build a positive, calm, and ordered school environment. Her skill set in the arts brought joy to our students and showcased their talents on multiple occasions. Tanya's experience, dedication, and positive influence will be missed. We will acknowledge her more formally at the end of the year, but I am sure you will all join me now in thanking Tanya for her hard work at Our Lady's, and in wishing her the very best for the future.

Year 6 St. Brigid's College Experience Day

On Monday 28th October, the Year 6 students spent the day with other students from Catholic Schools in the Wimmera. The students participated in the experience day offered by St Brigid's College in Horsham, cooking, playing sport, and enjoying the company of their peers. Bishop Paul Bird visited the College while they were present, so our students did not miss out on seeing the Bishop when he came in visit Our Lady's. 

Thanks to Mr. Gerard Raven, principal of St Brigid's, for running out to pick up and drop off the students. A great day was had by all, the highlight unanimously being the cooking class.

Sacrament of Confirmation - Hunter

Congratulations to Hunter on receiving the sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday. Bishop Paul was able to time his visit to the parish to coincide with two children receiving the sacrament.

Confirmation confers special gifts from the Holy Spirit on the candidate, enabling them to live a noble and good life. These gifts are: fortitude, reverence, wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, and piety. Confirmation also completes the initiation of a candidate into the full life of the Church.

To celebrate with Hunter and to offer him congratulations, we had a small party at school. Hunter shared about his experience and what confirmation meant to him.

Bishop Paul Bird visit

Bishop Paul Bird did our school a great honour by visiting with Mons Glynn, our parish priest, on Monday, 28th October.

We were privileged to receive a visit from the Bishop of our diocese. Bishops are the successors of the Apostles and have a special role in the Church to govern and to shepherd believers. Bishop Paul is visiting every school in the diocese as part of 150 years for the Ballarat Diocese.

During his visit, the Bishop toured our school, received an update on the upcoming build, and discussed the importance of Catholic Education and the offering that Our Lady's provides families in and around Murtoa. 

The Bishop spoke with the children about his job, how he came to be the Bishop, and what he thought of our school. Children shared the many places they came from, including one great answer "The Middle of Nowhere!"

Thanks for Bishop Paul and Mons for the visit- it was a great blessing!

Aurora Project - Structured Literacy

In our literacy classes at Our Lady's we implement structured literacy, which is informed by the wide body of work known as the Science of Reading. If you follow the news, you may have seen articles and stories from educational leaders promoting structured literacy across all schools. We are definitely on this journey ourselves, and each day in the classrooms we explicitly teach phonics, revise spelling rules and patterns, unpack vocabulary, check for comprehension and promote fluency in reading. We reflect on our practice and have great discussions about how we can improve our teaching to bring about the best educational outcomes for all our students.

It was fitting that I came across some artwork of auroras that Ms. Mock and Mr. Collie did with the students in the last few weeks (pictured below), because in 2025, we will take part in the Aurora Program. This program connects us with experts and leading academics from La Trobe University, to build our capacity as a staff and to explore in greater depth the science that underpins our literacy practices. I'm very much looking forward to this journey as a school, continuing the good work done in the past, and focusing as a whole community on the same thing- the learning and flourishing of our students.

New Build in 2025- Plans for Classrooms

We are at an exciting stage with our plans for a new school. Swanbuild, the company that the school have employed, have commenced work and at this stage we are looking forward to the whole project being completed by mid-2025.  

When the original and main school building is demolished, learning will take place in the Library and Multipurpose Room. Our Junior Class will move to the Library for their day-to-day learning, and Seniors will move to the Multipurpose Room. Because the build is modular and largely occurs offsite, we are hoping for our time in temporary learning spaces to be short and swift.

Message from Mrs. Dalgleish

A reminder that Mrs. Dalgleish has asked for all library books to be returned so that stocktake can occur this term.

Please ask your children to look far and wide and return all books that they have borrowed this week.

Thank you to the students who have returned books.

Year 3 & 4 Camp Adekate

Photos from the 3/4 Adekate Camp are below!

Well done to the students on their behaviour and particpation at camp.

Activities included:

- A day at Sovereign Hill, prospecting, attending 'old' school, touring a mine and making candles

- zip lining

- possum gliding and milk crate stacking

- a camp fire with damper and billy tea

- gaga ball and giant checkers

- archery

- a night bush walk

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State Track and Field Primary - State Championships

Eimer came 2nd in her Triple Jump event (Greater Western Regional Athletics, Ballarat) and will now compete at the State Level on Wednesday, 6th November at Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park.

This is the first time for many years that a student from Our Lady's has made it to State Level Athletics, and we wish Eimer all the very best!

Child Safety

Our Lady Help of Christians is a Child Safe School. We implement the 11 Child Safe Standards, and work to embed these in our school culture. Our newsletter is just one place among a number where we educate our community about Child Safety. Below is a concise and helpful guide to the Child Safe Standards. The Child Safety Officer at OLHC is Chris McCumstie, and he can be contacted for information at any time.

principal@olhcmurtoa.catholic.edu.au

To start Term 4, the staff and students revisited the Child Safety Wall, where clear information is displayed about what to do if a child feels unsafe, and who our Child Safety Officer is (Chris McCumstie, the Principal.) Feedback from students was that the revision of this material was helpful, which is positive to hear. 

School TV

The SchoolTV initiative at Our Lady Help of Christians School aims to help parents to navigate the often complex issues they face in raising their children.

Expert advice, helpful tips, and other resources, are available to all our parents and caregivers. Explore the wide range of topics at SchoolTV by clicking on the link below. 

Important Upcoming Dates:

November:

• Friday 1st November - School Day
• Monday 4th November - School Day
• Tuesday 5th November - Melbourne Cup Day - School Day, but NO BUSES
• Wednesday 6th November - Parent Evening 7pm
• Wednesday 6th November - State Athletics - Eimer
• Friday 8th November - No lunch orders
  
• Thursday 21st November - Year 7 2025 Murtoa College Transition Day 3

December:

• Tuesday 3rd December - St. Brigid's College Year 7 2025 Transition Day
• Thursday 5th December -Year 7 2025 Murtoa College Transition Day 4
• Monday 9th to Wednesday 11th December - Year 5/6 Camp Melbourne 
• Monday 16th December - Graduation Mass St. Mary's Murtoa (date TBC)
• Wednesday 18th December- Last Day for Students
• Friday 20th December- Last Day for Staff

Mass Times & Parish Information

Sunday 3rd November Mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church 8.30am.

Parish Bulletin

Calendar Dates

Please click on the link below to take you directly to our School Calendar.