OLHC News Issue 7 Term 1 Week 8 - 17th March 2023

Statement of Commitment to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples...

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,

NAPLAN

This week Years 3 & 5 students completed the writing and reading NAPLAN tests. Tests are all online for Year 5 students. Year 3 students completed a pencil and paper test for writing but all other tests are online for them. Language Conventions (spelling, grammar & punctuation) will be on Monday 20th March with Numeracy on Tuesday 21st. Any students who are absent will undertake catch-up tests on their return to school. Tests will usually commence at approximately 9.45 am so please ensure your child is at school in time to be ready for their test and that they have a good breakfast before coming to school to help their concentration. 

Free Parent Session - The Resilience Project (TRP)

Martin and the TRP Team are so looking forward to presenting a free online Parent & Carer presentation (with other schools) on Thursday 23rd March from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm (90 minutes) AEDT.
Through emotionally engaging stories and practical strategies, this session will help parents and carers understand the benefits of letting go of shame, perfection, ego, and control. It will combine powerful research with candid storytelling, along with a few laughs to help support what is arguably the toughest job in the world... being a parent or carer!

Why a Parent & Carer presentation?
When building positive mental health in schools, we know the best impact happens when we work together.
The ‘Authentic Connection’ presentation helps do just that by sharing those same evidence-based strategies being taught in the classroom, so they can be also practiced at home and beyond. Attendees will also be reminded of the importance of their own well-being - we bring the best versions of ourselves to our family and community when we make time to look after ourselves.
Parents and Carers will need to register for the webinar using the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkfuipqD8qE9W3e5ySVSZgpLSwgmocjYTi
Upon registration, registrants will receive a link to attend the webinar, along with a reminder the day prior.  Please note that this presentation will be recorded for those who are unable to attend or would like a recap.

Kind regards

Mrs. Cathy Grace                                                                                

Happy St Patrick's Day...17th March

Today our whole school celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. There are many schools in our Diocese that are named after St. Patrick eg. St. Patrick’s Primary school in Nhill and we work closely with them in our MurNhill Cluster.

Children were encouraged to come dressed in green and they spent the day learning about St. Patrick and engaging in St. Patrick’s Day activities.

Saint Patrick is a saint of the Catholic Church, and his holy day is the day of his death. He is the Patron Saint of Ireland although he was born in Britain. At the age of 16, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders who took him away and sold him as a slave. At the age of 22, he managed to escape and made his way to a monastery in England where he spent 12 years growing closer to God and became a priest. He returned to Ireland to teach people about God and Jesus. St. Patrick used the shamrock to preach about the trinity and how The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit could be separate entities, yet one in the same. St. Patrick is known for driving all the snakes from Ireland which some refer to as pagan religious beliefs and practices. 

Why do people wear green on St Patrick's Day?  Green is Ireland's colour for being the Emerald Isle, as well as the three-leaf clover that St. Patrick used in his teachings about Catholicism. Traditionally, a shamrock is a three-leaf clover. Why three leaves and not four? According to legend, St. Patrick used a three-leaf shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, with one leaf representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, respectively.

However, not everyone in Ireland is Catholic, and the Irish flag highlights the differences. While Catholics were associated with the color green, Protestants were associated with the color orange due to William of Orange – the Protestant king of England, Scotland, and Ireland who in 1690 defeated the deposed Catholic King James II. Therefore, on St. Patrick's Day, Protestants protest by wearing orange instead of green.  Orange is also one of the three colours of the Irish flag. Apparently, no one wears white; the placement of the white stripe between the green and orange stripes on the Irish flag is supposed to symbolize the peace between the Catholic majority and the Protestant minority.

Take some time with your child tonight and ask them what they discovered about St Patrick today.  Some very interesting research was undertaken today and our students had some great questions and wonderings about St Patrick.

Celebrating St. Patrick

Important Upcoming Dates:

March

• 20th March - Language Conventions NAPLAN test
• 21st March - Numeracy NAPLAN test
• 27th - 29th:  Year  4 Camp to Cave Hill Creek, Beaufort:  Mr. Collie attending with Year 4s.  Mrs Joy Quarrell will be teaching Year 5/6 on these three days.

April

• 6th - End of term 1 - school finishes at 2.15 pm.
• 24th - Pupil Free Day - no school for students.  Staff PD
• 25th - ANZAC day - school closed - no school for staff or students
• 26th - First day of Term 2 for students

June:

• 12th - King's birthday - school closed - no school for staff or students.
• 23rd - End of Term 2 - school finishes at 2.15pm

July:

• 10th - Term 3 begins

September:

• 15th - End of term 3 - school finishes at 2.15pm

October:

• 2nd - Term 4 begins

November:

• 6th - Pupil Free Day - No school for students - Staff PD
• 7th - Melbourne Cup - school closed - public holiday.  No school for staff or students.

December:

• 15th - Last day for students.

Media Team News...

This week on Wednesday, Addison brought her Ragdoll kitten for show and tell. It was very curious and it inspected the cupboards. It was a bit scared to start with since there were so many kids. However, the kids had so much fun!

We also welcome back Hunter this week after being away, recovering from a broken arm. We were all very worried about Hunter, but he is going to have his arm in a plaster cast and it will be healed in around six weeks. 

On Friday it was Saint Patrick's day. Most of the students dressed up in green to celebrate Saint Patrick's day. Saint Patricks day was originally celebrated in Ireland with religious services and feasts in honour of Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick’s day is celebrated on the 17th of  March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. To celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, the students had some green cordial and some MINT AERO chocolate, this was delicious!

This week on Wednesday and Friday, the Year threes and fives had to do NAPLAN. On Wednesday they had their writing test and on Friday they had their reading test. Next week they will have two more sessions of NAPLAN and then it will all be finished.

Harmony Week 2023 -"Everyone Belongs"

21st  March - All day.

The theme for Harmony Week 2023 is: “Everyone belongs”.

Harmony Week was first celebrated in 1999, to help celebrate Australia’s diversity and promote a sense of acceptance and inclusivity. 

Australia has an incredible history of multiculturalism. There are many different Indigenous Australian languages spoken across Australia today. However, many people still face racism. Whilst Harmony Week is a celebratory event, it also serves to campaign against discrimination.

It’s a day for us to come together and celebrate all of our differences and diversity in Australia as well as across the world. Australia has a rich and varied culture, but we can’t ignore the racism and cultural discrimination that is part of our history.

On Harmony Day, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in particular are a focus point for discussions and celebration.  

Harmony Day is a great opportunity to educate others on the value and importance of other cultures such as these. The event as a whole encourages us to continue to build bridges between the many wonderful cultures and ethnicities that make Australia what it is today.

Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect, and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values. Held every year on 21 March.

Our school will be celebrating this special day by working together, showing that we work in harmony, we belong and we respect each other.  This is actually a big part of our vision in pursuing fullness of life for all (no matter what culture or linguistic background a person has).

Mass Times & Parish Information

Mass: St Mary's Church, Murtoa
Sunday 19th March Mass 8.30am

Sacramental Program 2023

St Paul VI Parish

St Paul VI Parish is pleased to announce that over the course of 2023, children will be able to again choose to progress in being part of the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church. The Parish will offer a new program of preparation to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Confirmation. Parents are the first teachers of the faith to their children and are therefore encouraged to play an active part in helping their child prepare for the Sacraments.

To give parents, teachers, catechists and children time to discuss, absorb, and appreciate the fundamental truths and gifts of each Sacrament offered to us from God, the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion will be encountered in the Year 4 (and above) age group. Then, in the Years 6 & 7 age groups (primary & secondary) the Sacrament ‘confirming’ our place in faith (Confirmation) will be offered. This time line allows better opportunity for families to make the faith journey across these important Sacraments.

Registration forms for the Sacramental Programs are available at the Parish Office, as well as the front office of all Catholic schools within the Parish. Forms will also be available at each Information Session. Please return your completed form to your local school, the Parish office, or Parish Clergy by 3rd April 2023.

Families are invited to attend an Information Session in one of the following locations, where further details will be provided, and any questions can be answered.

Calendar Dates

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

Bread Bags and Bread Tags Collection

Collect bread bags and earn sports equipment for your school!

We have registered our school for bread bag collection to help with recycling and to earn sports equipment from RHS Sports.

Help us collect bread bags which we can exchange for points to redeem for new sports equipment!

Bring you used, crumb free bread bags into school, and we will get busy collecting!

Further details are available on - https://wonder.com.au/wonder-recycling-rewards

Bread Tag Collection

Along with the bread bags we have decided to collect bread tags.

We will collect only plastic bread tags, not cardboard tags or N95 mask clips.

"Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs collect plastic bread tags nationally in Australia. The tags are recycled locally, raising funds to buy wheelchairs for disadvantaged people, mainly in South Africa"

Read their story on the following link - 

https://ozbreadtagsforwheelchairs.org.au/

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗯𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻

Yarriambiack Shire Council and ROSS Planning will be hosting a Community Consultation Session for the Rabl Park Masterplan next Wednesday 15th March from 6 pm-7 pm at Rabl Park and you’re invited to attend.

Come along and have your say on the development of the area including the toddler playground, skate park, pump track, and landscaping.

If you would like your voice to be heard and are unable to attend, you can still have your say by submitting a response to the survey - please click on the link below.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Rabl_Park_Master_Plan