OLHC News Week 5 Term 1 2022
Principal Report
Dear Parents, Friends, and Carers,
Effective from 11.59pm tonight, Friday, 25 February 2022, in education settings, face masks will only be required indoors in limited circumstances. This includes;
- students in year three and above at primary school
- workers at early childhood centers and primary schools; and
- for anyone on public transport, in taxis or rideshare services.
Premier Andrews has said that masks are still required for primary school children in grades three to six because the vaccination rate is still too low.
It is strongly recommended that only surgical masks or P2/N95 masks be worn. Our school has received a delivery of surgical masks which are 3 ply. If your child requires a surgical mask, we will provide them with one.
Continuity of Learning & Rapid Antigen Tests
Our Lady Help of Christians School community has been fortunate that we have not had staff numbers impacted by COVID such that we have continued to provide quality learning and teaching and student care. I remind families that this could change quickly and the school may be required to ask some classes or year levels to stay home if we do not have adequate staff numbers onsite. We hope that this is not the case, but if it does become a necessity, we will work hard to minimize any disruption.
With COVID in our Murtoa community, I remind you all to closely monitor for COVID symptoms. With the supply of RATs to all students, families are asked to test their child/ren twice a week. If your child returns a positive result, please notify the school immediately.
A reminder to anyone who may need to come onsite, to continue good hand hygiene practices, wear an approved mask and continue to physical distance.
If your child is unwell please do not send them to school. Thank you to the families who have taken precautionary measures and followed the COVID-19 guidelines. Everyone in our school community is appreciative of all you are doing to keep us as safe as possible.
School Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting
Last night our first School Advisory Council meeting was held. It is with great pleasure that I announce and welcome a new member to the team - Carling Henderson. Carling is the mother of Axel in Grade 2. There is still one parent vacancy which we are hoping to fill in the very near future.
SAC dates for the year are:
- Wednesday 11th May
- Wednesday 8th June
- Wednesday 10th August
- Wednesday 26th October (SAC AGM)
- Wednesday 23rd November
A date for all your diaries is Sunday 27th March. We will be holding our annual working bee. The working bee will start at 10am and be for 2 hours. Lunch (finger food) will be provided. Last year, every family was represented one way or another. Even the families that could not make the Sunday, were able to help out on another day that suited them. It was amazing what we achieved in tidying up the yard. Closer to the date, a list will be compiled of the necessary jobs and equipment needed. So please watch this space.
Building update - Capital Project - I am currently in the process of applying for a Capital Grant to support the building of our new school. Our architect has drawn up plans for the necessary learning spaces and we are currently waiting on the documentation from the quantity surveyors. The Capital Grant application will be submitted by Friday 11th March. Schools are usually notified around November as to the success of their application. At this point in time, there is a lot of work that is going on behind the scenes but please be reassured we are still going through the process. Come November, we should have a clear indication of the next step. Once I have more information to share, I will endeavour to do so.
Parents & Friends - There will be a Parents and Friends meeting in the very near future. We need to have a representative from each family at this meeting. The purpose of the meeting will be to sort out office bearers (as this group is a sub-committee of the SAC). At this meeting, there needs to also be a brainstorm of possible family events we can hold to reconnect families and allow people to get to know each other. Let's move the focus of the Parents and Friends to one of having fun, families engaging and interacting rather than fundraising all the time. Our relationships with each other are far more important, especially since the impact of the global pandemic. Please keep an eye on the P&F Facebook messenger group for meeting details. This will be a night time meeting and let's aim for 100% attendance from each family.
Important Dates for your diary:
- Working Bee - Sunday 27th March - 10am start.
- Grade 3/4 Camp - Sunny Stones Camp Term 3 – Wk3 on Wednesday 27th July, Thursday 28th July, Friday 29th July.
- Grade 5/6 Camp - Melbourne Urban Camp Term 4 – Wk3 on Wednesday 19th October, Thursday 20th October, Friday 21st October.
- School Athletic Sports - Friday 1st April at Murtoa Recreation Reserve. Our school is hosting the Sports this year so we will be asking our Parents and Friends to run the Canteen.
- School Cross Country - Thursday 28th April beginning at Rabl Park.
More information about the above events will be in the newsletter once details have been finalized.
Until next week Kind regards
Mrs. Cathy Grace
Calendar Dates
On our old newsletters, we had a page that was devoted to upcoming events and important dates. It was called "Dates to remember at OLHC". With this new newsletter format, we don't need to allocate a dates page because there is a link called 'School Calendar'. All dates will now be here and you can access this from your device at any time. Depending on which device you use to read the newsletter, will depend on where the menu with the School Calendar link is situated. If you are on a desktop/laptop the menu will be on the left. If you are on your phone or a smaller device, there will be 3 horizontal lines up the top (this is called a hamburger icon) and if you click on this, there will be a drop-down menu. Then you will scroll down to the School Calendar link.
Lent - Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday – 2 March 2022
(Week beginning Monday 28th February)
This week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.
The theme of Project Compassion 2022 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues. We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box and/or a set of envelopes for their donations or you can donate online via the Caritas Australia website at: lent.caritas.org.au
Wednesday 2nd March at 11.45 am. Ash Wednesday Liturgy: OLHC School, Murtoa in our Multipurpose room.
All are welcome - Proof of (double) Covid Vaccination required upon entry.
Mass Details
Mass: Livestream viewing
Sunday 26th February
10:30 am
Wednesday 2nd March at 11.45 am. Ash Wednesday Liturgy: OLHC School, Murtoa in our Multipurpose room.
All are welcome - Proof of (double) Covid Vaccination required upon entry.
Lunch Orders - Monday and Fridays
This term lunch orders will be on Monday and Fridays. These will be provided by the Murtoa College Canteen. Below is the updated Canteen list. To order your child a lunch order, please write your child's name, class, and lunch order items. The correct money needs to be placed in the envelope. It would be appreciated if you could put some sticky tape around the envelope to keep the money secure. Children then need to place their lunch order envelope in the green lunch order basket in the hallway before 9 am.
Schoolzine App...SZapp
To make it easier for parents to access the newsletter and other communication you can download the Schoolzine App. It's called SZapp and it's available from the App store (Apple devices) or Google Play store (Android devices).
Please click on the link below for instructions on how to set it up on your device.
https://www.schoolzine.com/szapp-installation
The above link has step by step instructions on how to install the app on your chosen device and how to register yourself as a user so then you can find our school.
COVID-19 reminders...
Our school continues to monitor and abide by all COVID safe regulations and recommendations issued by the State Government and the Catholic Education Office.
Rapid Antigen Tests - RAT Tests have been handed out to families. Thank you to the families that have tested their children and let the school know the result. These tests are voluntary - It is suggested children are tested twice weekly (eg. mid-week and end of the week). We will continue to distribute RAT tests to students when they arrive.
Face Masks - Students in Year 3 and above must wear a facemask indoors, unless a lawful exemption applies - Students are not required to wear a mask outside - School staff must wear a face mask in all indoor settings, except where removal of a mask is necessary for effective communication of teaching. All visitors to the school-aged 8 or above must wear a mask unless a lawful exemption applies. Students in Prep to Grade 2 a strongly encouraged to wear a mask indoors at school. A face mask must cover the nose and mouth. Face shields, scarves, or bandanas do not meet these requirements. (Please see information above in the Principal report).
COVID Safe requirements for visitors and volunteers performing work on school site
Visitors and volunteers performing work on school sites (both inside and outdoors) are required to have received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by 25 February 2022 if they became fully vaccinated on or before 25 October 2021. For those that became fully vaccinated after 25 October 2021, the deadline is 15 March 2022, or have a valid medical exception.
This requirement applies to:
- a person contracted to work at an education facility and who will or may be in close proximity to children, students, or staff, whether or not engaged by the education operator including casual relief teachers, NDIS providers, and auditors (but does not include delivery personnel).
- the diocesan education office staff who attend an education facility (such as allied health personnel)
- the staff of any other entity who attends an education facility
- volunteers that attend an education facility and that work in close proximity to children, students, or staff (including parent helpers)
- students on placements at an education facility.
Schools must advise visitors and volunteers they must adhere to COVIDSafe requirements –
including vaccination, physical distancing, face mask requirements, cough etiquette, and good
hand hygiene.
Other visitors to schools (not performing work)
Service Victoria QR code check-in is not required at schools. Routine school visitor record
keeping arrangements will continue to apply.
In Victorian Catholic schools, parents, carers and other adult visitors who enter school buildings must be able to show evidence of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine or have a valid medical exception.
The following limited exceptions also apply:
- when attending to administer medical treatment to their own child when the treatment
cannot be administered by the school - when attending to collect their child who is unwell and cannot leave the school
building unaccompanied by their parent/carer - when attending for a momentary period that does not involve any sustained contact
with staff or students, for example, to collect a completed art project, collecting a
packet of rapid antigen test or similar.
Proof of vaccination can be checked by a COVID-19 digital certificate (Service Victoria app or smartphone wallet) or printed copy of a digital certificate or immunisation history statement.
Community News from Yarri Yarns....
TANYA KERNIGHAN HEADLINING SENIORS CONCERT
Join Tania Kernaghan for a very special ‘up close and personal’ performance as she shares with you the stories behind her hit songs which have been instrumental in shaping her stellar career.
You’ll love hearing, The Verandah, Where The Murray Meets The Darling, Nine Mile Run and everyone’s favourite, Boys In Boots, along with a couple of old favourites Tania has handpicked to perform especially for this Seniors Festival concert..
Save the Date!
Yarriambiack Seniors Concert
Monday 28 March
Concert: 10:30am -11:30am
Lunch: 12pm (BBQ meat and salads)
FREE event for the Over 50s
Warracknabeal Racecourse
More details to follow in coming weeks.
For more information contact Lisa on (03) 5398 0100 or linkster@yarriambiack.vic.gov.au.
