Our Lady Help of Christians School Murtoa eNewsletter

WELCOME TO COUNTRY...

Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School acknowledges that God has been walking with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, making God's presence known through a continuous living culture over many thousands of years. We pray in thanksgiving for these ancient peoples who have enriched and sustained our continent over all that time. In particular, we praise God for the people who nurtured the lands where our schools are built and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families who continue to support Catholic schools.

As partners in Catholic Education and open to God’s presence, we pursue the fullness of life for all. Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School is committed to the safety and well-being of all students.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria and pay respect to the ongoing living cultures of First Peoples. This newsletter comes to you from the lands of the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, and Jupagalk Nations.

Principal Report

Dear Parents, carers, families, and parishioners,

Welcome back for the final term of the 2023 school year. I can't believe how fast this year has gone with only 10 weeks of school left. Mrs. Newton is on Long Service Leave for the first three weeks of this term and we welcome Mrs. Sue Tyler into the Junior Class for the three weeks.

Staffing 2023

You may have already seen the job advertisements posted in the many Wimmera newspapers, Facebook pages, and other online websites. Applications for the full-time teacher and part-time teacher close next week. I will keep you posted on the 2023 staffing decisions once the employment process has been completed.

Fashions on the Field & Murtoa Big Weekend - a huge thank you to everyone who helped out with the Murtoa Big Weekend events. Your support and generosity mean a lot to the Murtoa Community and especially our school. A special thank you to Sophie Delahunty for her organizing the Fashions on the Field at the Murtoa Races. This was a great fundraiser for our school.

Important Dates for your diary for Term 4

Pie Drive - Pre Harvest. Date for actual Delivery/pick up, end of October
Friday 28th October - OLHC P&F Family Trivia Night
Saturday 29th October: Jung Market - 8:30 am-12 pm; 4 parent volunteers are needed to sell tickets at the Jung Market. The times of the two shifts are 8.30 am (set up) to 10 am and 10 am to 12 pm (pack up). The raffle will be drawn at 12 pm. Raffle tickets will be sent home with kids to sell to their families, friends, and neighbours. Tickets will also be for sale at Foodworks Supermarket & the Murtoa Newsagent. If there is somewhere you would like to take a raffle book, please let us know. The prize for the raffle will be a Spring Garden Hamper. Donations are very welocme for the hamper. Items can be dropped off to the General Office at school. Below is a list of possible items for families to donate. Items we are looking for, but not limited to Bag of Soil/Compost, Trowel/Hand Spade, Watering Can, Seeds/Seedlings, Sunscreen, bug spray, Gloves, Secateurs/Snips, Kneeling Pad, Fertiliser/Seasol, Hand Sprayer, Wheelbarrow, Gift Card, Sprinklers, Hose fittings, Watering Heads and hoses.

Monday 31st October - Pupil Free Day: Staff Professional learning on SWPBS (School Wide Positive Behaviour Support)
Thursday 8th December - School Christmas Concert - at 6:00 pm BYO picnic tea for a 6:30 pm start. The concert is called ‘The Night the Angels Danced’. This will be held at school in the Multi-purpose Room.
Wednesday 14th December - Graduation Mass at St Mary's Church, Murtoa at 6 pm
Friday 16th December - Last day of school for students

Uniform Price Increase

Thank you to Tania for the amazing work she has done in reviewing the current prices of our school uniform items. Due to an increase in prices from suppliers, postage, and embroidery, uniform prices have increased. Updated Uniform Order Forms will be sent to each family in due course.

Kind regards

Mrs. Cathy Grace

Trivia_night.pdf

Friday 28th October at Murtoa Mechanics Hall a music family trivia night with a Halloween theme will be held. Please mark the date in your diary as it will be great to have every family represented plus extended family, friends, and community people. The cost is $10 per ticket (Child and Adult). This cost will cover the hall rental, the Trivia company costs, decorations, and prizes.

All Our Lady's families are asked to provide one or more of the following:
• Slices and/or Sandwiches and/or Sausage Rolls/Party Pies and/or bag of lollies. These can be dropped off at the General Office the week of 24th October.

We need some helpers after school to meet at the hall to set up a few decorations. Black table cloths and some decorations will be done by the children and help is needed to set up the supper table. Supper will be served at intermission, which will be approximately 45mins after the trivia starts.
Payments for tickets can be directly deposited to P&F Account with the first initial & Last name as the reference. Names can also be registered and paid for at the General Office at school.

Details of the Trivia Night in a nutshell:

• Friday, 28th October at Murtoa Hall
• Doors open: 6pm, Start time: 6:30pm
• Cost: $10 per person
• Prizes for Best Costume: Child, Adult & Teacher
• Supper provided
• No Alcohol (Family friendly event)
• BYO soft drinks and any extra snacks for your table
• Please call Carling to book your spot on 0429 001 415. Table reservations are welcomed (8-10 people)

Greater Western Athletic Sports

Charlotte, Sienna and Navraj qualified to compete in the Greater Western Region Athletics at Ballarat today. We were very proud of their effort at the Black Ranges Athletics last term, to gain selection for today's next level meet, and wished them well for today.

Despite cold, wet conditions the event went ahead. Navraj came 5th in Triple Jump. Charlotte finished 3rd in 100m Sprint.

Murtoa Show

All students were very busy during Term 3, preparing entries for the Murtoa Show, which was held on Friday, 3oth September with fine spring weather (such a welcome relief after lots of rain.) Students had entered their work in the School section of the Murtoa Show and also had a magnificent display, along with Murtoa College and Murtoa Kinder, at the Football Change Rooms.

Our students did very well with their show entries. They are now on display in our Multipurpose Room. Families are very welcome to view at any time.

Murtoa Show Entries

Enrolments are open!

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse. It is a hands-on way for you to bless children in need across the world by filling shoeboxes with toys, hygiene items, school supplies, and fun gifts. The boxes will be collected and distributed in the name of Jesus Christ to children living in vulnerable situations.

The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to provide God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

11
MILLION SHOEBOXES PACKED AROUND THE WORLD

Shoeboxes are packed by people globally, and they are sent to children in over 100 countries.

Our school has decided to help make a difference in the lives of many children (and, for many, this will be the only gift they will get in their life time), for the ‘Common Good of all’.

Information on how to pack your SHOEBOX gift and the shoeboxes were sent home before the school holidays.

Please returned filled boxes to the school so we can send them off to the Operation Christmas Child Project.

Acts 20:35
^" In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive."

What is happening in the Senior Room?

This week we have been busy learning about dinosaurs. Our resident palentologists (Hunter, Nathan and Mrs. Curran), have been teaching us about different dinosaurs, fossils and how to pronounce different dinosaur names. We researched different dinosaurs and made our own fossils.

In Religion we discussed and defined what the word origin means, sharing our family names and discovering where they came from. We created a theme song for our classroom to the tune of, We Are Geelong. It goes like this,

We are the Seniors

The greatest class of all.

We are the seniors

We’re always on the board

We, do the math how it should be done

And story writing is fun

Our hands work hard from 9 to 3

Down at O.L.H.C.

We are also very proud of all the hard work that we displayed at the Murtoa Big Weekend. Some of us even won prizes for our art, colouring and handwriting along with craft pieces. This is currently on display in the Multipurpose Room.

Our Year 5 and 6 students are counting down for camp in week three. We are looking forward to visiting ScienceWorks, the Melbourne Zoo and MSAC (the Melbourne Swimming Aquatic Centre).

What's happening in the Junior Classroom?

I am delighted to be back at OLHC working in the Junior Room for 3 weeks.

Mrs. Newton has left a comprehensive work program for me to follow so rest assured it's "business as usual."

For Literacy we have been studying the book "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs." (You might like to ask your children if the wolf really was the bad guy!)

We have completed

storymaps
compare & contrasts
raps
art work

Numeracy has involved

finding patterns in counting
dividing objects into equal groups
worded money problems

We are also looking at giving and receiving invitations in R.E. and sustainability for Science.

The children have coped extremely well with being "trapped" inside due to the weather.

Keep up the great work everyone.

Regards,

Sue Tyler

Child Safe Standards - Commitment Statement

Below is a link/file attachment that is the updated Statement of Commitment to Child Safety from the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV). This statement has been updated in light of the revised Child Safe Standards that came into effect on July 1st.
Please take the time to read the updated statement.
We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further
strengthen our child safety policies, procedures, and practices.
If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions, please contact Cathy via phone or email..

Standard_2_Child_Safety_Commitment_Statement_CECV_1_.pdf

Mass Times & Parish Information

Mass: St Mary's Church, Murtoa
Sunday 9th September LLA 9.00am

Church Bulletin SunCOrd28

SunSmart

Just a reminder that our SunSmart Policy is now active. Therefore everyone needs to wear a hat whilst outside - 'no hat, no play'.

Any child who doesn't have a hat on will need to stay on the verandah in the shade.

Calendar Dates

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

School Calendar

UPDATED COVID-19 information

Change to COVID-19 Isolation Rules Effective 9 September 2022

The Victorian Government, in step with the National Cabinet, announced changes to isolation rules for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Those changes come into effect today, Friday 9 September 2022. CECV is working with the Department of Education to ensure alignment in communications and any amendment to the School Operations Guide; we will share the updated advice with schools as soon as it is available.

In the interim, schools can refer to the updated resource https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/, which notes:

Report your result and isolate for at least 5 days.

If you tested positive using a rapid antigen test, you must report your result to the Department of Health online, or by calling 1800 675 398. You don’t need to report your result if you tested positive from a PCR test.

Your isolation period begins on the day you took your positive test.

How long your isolation period goes for depends on whether you have symptoms, which include a fever, sore throat, runny nose, cough, or shortness of breath.

If you have tested positive for COVID-19, you must isolate for at least 5 days from the date you took your rapid antigen test or PCR test. For example, if you took your test on Monday, you can leave isolation on Saturday if you have no symptoms.

You must isolate whether you have COVID-19 symptoms or not.

When you may leave isolation.

If you are in your 6^th day of isolation and you have symptoms – no matter how mild – then you must continue to isolate. If you have a sore throat, runny nose, cough or shortness of breath, you may still be infectious and you may infect others with COVID-19.

If you have no symptoms on the 6^th day of isolation, you are free to leave isolation on that same day. You do not need to take a test to leave isolation. For example, if you tested positive on a Monday, you may leave isolation any time the following Saturday.

If you are in your 7^th day of isolation and you have symptoms – no matter how mild – then you must continue to isolate. If you have a sore throat, runny nose, cough or shortness of breath, you may still be infectious and you may infect others with COVID-19.

If you have no symptoms on the 7^th day you are free to leave isolation on that same day. You do not need to take a test to leave isolation. For example, if you tested positive on a Monday, you can leave isolation any time the following Sunday.

If you leave isolation after 5 days, there are important rules you must follow for those two days:

you cannot visit a hospital or aged care facility
you cannot attend work at a hospital, residential aged care facility, disability care facility and in-home care premises (including disability and aged care in the home).

For more information about isolation rules for COVID cases click here: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/checklist-cases

Thank you for your support as we continue to make these adjustments.

9 Dec	Snr (Year 5 & 6) Camp 09 Dec 2024 - 11 Dec 2024

20 Dec	Term 4 ends TBC All day

OLHC News Issue 28 Term 4 Week 1 - 7 October 2022