OLHC News Issue 15 Term 2 Week 4 2022

Principal Report

Dear Parents, Friends, and Carers,

Catholic Education Week
Catholic Education Week 2022 will be celebrated from 22-28 May. The theme for Catholic Education Week this year is “Share the Good News!” This theme is based on scripture from the Gospel of Mark
-“Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” – Mark 16:15
Our communities are beautiful places that can and do enrich the mystery of Christ’s identity and enable his way to be continually raised up in and by community. “Go into the world and proclaim the good news to the whole of creation,” is an urgent invitation to our community to comprehend the meaning of Jesus’ life to grasp what this looks like in following and enacting God’s dream for the world. We pray that our communities inspire from within to be people of peace, hope, and love in these times of displacement, anxiety, and concern for Earth as our common home: to realise each unique community’s intimate connection in proclaiming who Jesus is and what it means to follow in the light of the gospel for these times. Catholic Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate and enhance the reality of this identity, to dialogue with the Catholic faith tradition and the world in which we live to interpret and proclaim the good news.
St Mary’s School Warracknabeal is hosting us for Catholic Education Week celebrations this year next week on  Friday 27th May. We will also be joined by students and staff from St Patrick’s School Nhill and St Joseph's School Hopetoun.
We will be leaving at approximately 9 am and returning at 3 pm. Students are to wear their sports uniform and take their drink bottle, fruit snack, and recess snacks. Lunch will be provided by the parents of St Mary’s School.  Students have already informed us of what they would like for lunch.  There are a few students who did not want either beef or chicken roll for lunch therefore they will be required to bring a packed lunch. Please ask your child or ring Mrs. Lane-Storey in the General Office as she has the list of every child's choice.   If your child has different dietary requirements please have them bring their own additional food. 

Our day will begin with Mass, followed by activities based on the theme of Catholic Education Week. We look forward to a beautiful day celebrating our Catholic schools! 

Please check the SIMON platform for event details and the permission form to be signed online.  If you require support with the online permission form, please contact the General Office.

Foundation Enrolment 2023 – Principal Tours
We invite all prospective families to come to Our Lady's school for a visit to see for themselves our great school and learning in action. New and existing families are invited to contact principal@olhcmurtoa.catholic.edu.au or phone 5385 2526 to arrange a personal tour of our school and learn more about how Our Lady's Primary school can be your first choice for your child’s primary education.

Until next week.                                                                                                                                                                

Kind regards

Mrs. Cathy Grace                                                                                

Our School Feast Day

Tuesday the 24^th May is a special day for our school.  It is our school’s Feast Day – "Our Lady Help of Christians" Feast Day. We are having a special breakfast of Egg/Bacon Muffins or muffins with breakfast spreads plus coffee/tea/Juice.  We would love you to join us from 8.30 am onwards until 10.00 am. RSVP Monday, 23rd May.

This is also an important Feast in our country because Our Lady, under the title 'Help of Christians', is a spiritual Patron of Australia, along with St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

Catholics believe and understand that Mary was a woman who was very obedient, faithful, hopeful, and very charitable.  She was a mother, a protector and she was full of grace.  She cared for many, especially her son, Jesus.  Throughout her life, through the midst of dangers and difficulties, Mary encouraged and guided people (of faith and no faith) to find happiness within themselves and their world.  We often pray to Mary asking her spirit to guide and protect us and led us to happiness; a life full of grace.

There is so much that we can understand from Mary as a person and connect with our lives and how we need to be in our community and in our world. Mary was inclusive of all peoples and all of us at Our Lady’s school live by this no matter what faith or culture.  We are inclusive of all philosophies of life and together we continue to learn, care and grow with each other to be the best version of ourselves.

Junior Excursion - Tuesday 24th May

Students in Year 1 & 2 will be going on an excursion to the Murtoa Water Tower Museum, next Tuesday, 24th May. They will be walking to the Museum at 12.50pm and returning by 3.00pm.

Students have been learning  about History in Integrated Studies and will be discovering what 'old' means. They will apreciate items used in the past and compare them with items used today.

Student Teacher

We welcomed Ms. Charlotte Hird to our school last week.  Ms. Hird is a student teacher from Australian Catholic University (ACU).  Charlotte will be completing her four week placement in the Junior classroom. Charlotte has been teaching the students lessons in Maths, Literacy and Digitech throughout the daily timetable.

NCCD....National Consistent Collection of Data

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992This link will open in a new window (DDA) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005This link will open in a new window (the Standards), Australian students with disability must be able to access and participate in education on the same basis as their peers. To ensure this, students with disability may receive adjustments to access education, based on the professional judgement of teachers, in consultation with the student and/or their parents, guardians or carers.

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) gives Australian schools, parents, guardians and carers, education authorities and the community information about the number of students with disability in schools and the adjustments they receive. The Australian Education Regulation 2013 requires all schools to report the data collected for the NCCD to the Australian Government on an annual basis.

Please see the NCCD sheet for parents below for further information.

Free School TV...

Today parents face a multitude of modern-day challenges in raising happy, well, and resilient young people. Whilst there is a great deal of information available, this can often be confusing and overwhelming for parents looking for guidance.

SchoolTV addresses this as a new online resource designed to empower you as parents with credible and sound information with realistic, practical ongoing support strategies.

The recommendation is to have a menu item on your school’s web page for easy access as well as the parent portal. We have placed a link under the 'For Parents' icon across the top menu bar of our school website. This will give you easy access to the site whenever you require it. Having the SchoolTV link on our webpage also promotes a well-being focus by your school for prospective families as well.

Scroll further into our newsletter for the latest School TV report.

Below is the direct link to our School website and our School TV Portal page.

https://olhcmurtoa.schoolzineplus.com/

Free SchoolTV: SPECIAL REPORT: Friendship & Belonging...

“The ability to obtain, maintain and retain friendships is, according to all the childhood psychologists in the whole wide world, the greatest predictor of wellbeing. Having a rich repertoire of friends is a true indicator of whether your child is travelling ok.”

It is not always easy for children and teenagers to always know how to manage friendships. Learning how to make new friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. These skills will come very naturally for some, allowing them to easily move between different friendship groups, share their experiences, and open up to new people. For others, this can be much harder to navigate. Belonging to a like-minded group with similar interests is highly beneficial to a child’s well-being. Friendships are full of ups and downs and it is better for kids to learn how to manage and build their own friendships, even though as an adult carer you may be tempted to interfere. 

(written by Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg)

Mass Times & Parish Information

Mass: St Mary's Church, Murtoa
Sunday 22nd May  9.00am   LLA                                                                                                                                                         

St Paul VI Parish Wimmera-Mallee Position Vacant Administration Officer

Calendar Dates

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

Updated COVID-19 information

Face masks

From 11:59 pm Friday 22 April, face masks, while recommended, are not required in any school setting. This means students in grades 3 to 6, staff and visitors in primary schools are no longer required to wear face masks. Any student or staff member who wishes to wear a mask may do so, including those who are medically at-risk.

RAT screening program changes

RATs will continue to be distributed to you as they have been throughout this school year for the remainder of this term.  However, from Monday 23 May 2022, we do not recommend that your child complete a RAT twice a week as previously advised.

RATs however will continue to be required by students who are household contacts to attend school (5 negative tests over a 7-day period) or who have symptoms.

The ongoing supply of RATs to families in our school will ensure that parents and carers will have them should they need them if their child is a household contact or has symptoms.

Families must continue to notify the Department of Health and the school if their child returns a positive RAT result. Additionally, you should inform us if any of your children are household contacts.

Thank you also to all families who has got their child vaccinated. Vaccination continues to remain the best way to protect students and staff in our school.

Getting vaccinated is easy and bookings can be done via the coronavirus website. If you have any questions about the vaccines, I encourage you to speak to your GP or a health practitioner.

Rapid antigen test screening requirements

Students who have tested positive for COVID-19, and have completed their 7-day isolation period, now do not need to undertake rapid antigen test (RAT) screening for 12 weeks after their release from isolation. This was previously 8 weeks.

Household contacts

Students who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are not required to quarantine. They may return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) 5 times during their 7-day period. They are required to notify the school that they are a household contact.

Students aged 8 years and above who are household contacts are required to wear face masks when indoors at school unless they have a valid exemption.

If a student household contact returns a positive RAT result, they must isolate for 7 days.

Vaccination requirements for visitors to schools

Parents, carers and other adult visitors (not performing work) are no longer required to show evidence of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

As we approach winter and flu season, the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 and booster shots for students 16+ remains the best way to ensure protection for students and staff.

If you have any concerns about getting your child vaccinated, please get in contact with your GP or another health professional who can answer your questions.

Thank you for your ongoing support in keeping our school safe.

Active Kids Voucher program

Round 4 of The Get Active Kids Voucher Program is now open.

Victorian families with a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card can apply for up to $200 to support their child's sport and active recreation activities.

This can be used to support uniform or registration fees, and is valid for Auskick, NetSetGo, junior netball, footy and hockey registrations.

Applicants can apply for one voucher per eligible child between the period Monday 21 March 2022 to Tuesday 31 May 2022.

https://www.getactive.vic.gov.au/vouchers/