Our Lady Help of Christians School Murtoa eNewsletter

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.

Statement of Commitment

Principal Report

Dear Parents and Friends of Our Lady's,

Welcome back to Term 3!

My family and I have been warmly welcomed by the community at OLHC and we are very excited to be a part of this school and parish. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new principal, and I look forward to supporting all the families and students at our school.

I am conscious that there has been a lot of change. The staff, students and families farewelled Mrs. Cathy Grace and Mrs. Anne Newton, both of whom are taking leave for the remainder of the year. Mrs. Bridie Curran also left Our Lady's, taking on an important role in Catholic Education at the Horsham office. All of these staff members will be missed, and their vast experience and dedication to Our Lady's community will be remembered. I would like to thank Mrs. Grace and Mrs. Newton for their kindness and generosity to me, giving me plenty of support and important information in the lead-up to my start date. I would also like to thank all three staff members for their tireless efforts in educating and caring for our students. I wish them well in their new endeavours and while taking leave from the school.

Miss Jessica Bedford has taken on the full-time role in the Junior Room and Mr. Jordan Collie continues to work with our Senior Class. Both teachers have made excellent beginnings to their Term 3 work programs. I have observed quality teaching and learning and high levels of care being offered to our students. Mrs. Melissa Evans has taken on a part-time role, teaching some specialist subjects, and is a welcome addition to our staff.

We are blessed at OLHC to have dedicated Learning Support Officers. I am so impressed by the support offered to our students by Mrs. Maher and Mr. Anderson. They know the students well and work hard to support the teachers in delivering an excellent education. We are further blessed to have Mrs. Mary Dalgleish join our staff, working in the Library and classroom.

Despite the many changes, our core business at Our Lady Help of Christians continues. We are dedicated to providing an excellent education to the children in our care, and carrying on the good work done by the fantastic teachers and leaders I mentioned above. It is a privilege to work in Catholic Education. I look forward to growing my understanding of the community and getting to know the students and their families better. Do feel free to come and see me at any time.

One date to keep in mind is the Gifting Mass this coming Wednesday 19th July. It would be great to see as many families present as possible, and it provides an ideal opportunity to gather as a community at the start of the term.

All the very best,

Chris McCumstie

New Staff and Students

It is great to see Our Lady's school growing! This term we welcome:

Mrs. Mary Dalgleish- Learning Support Officer and Librarian
Mrs. Melissa Evans- Specialist Subjects
Mr Christopher McCumstie- Principal

Therese McCumstie- Year 2
Joseph McCumstie- Year 2

All the new members of our community have made excellent starts. It is a credit to our children that they make new students and teachers feel so welcome. That is truly living the Gospel!

Gifting Mass

Remember- The 'Gifting Mass' is on the 19th July, 12 noon, at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Murtoa.

Please clean out your kitchen and bathroom cupboards for any non-perishable items that you can give to help the poor, who are finding it difficult during these cold, Winter months. It would be wonderful to fill as many washing baskets as possible.

Permission Forms will be available on Simon, please give your consent for your child to attend.

Winter School Uniform

As you are all well aware, Winter is here! Winter uniform should be worn, not Summer uniform. Please ensure that your children come to school with a jumper, coat and if they need it scarf, beanie and gloves. It’s very cold outside during recess and lunch break. Please make sure all items of clothing are clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Our students understand and have embedded it into their practice that if they have muddy shoes, they take them off and leave them outside the classroom. Students can bring slippers to put on when inside the classroom and when going outside will put their school shoes on. Slippers can be left at school in student’s lockers over the winter season.

Student Media News

This week we got to meet our new principal, he is really nice and fun to play soccer with. We are happy that he and his kids (Therese and Joseph) came to our school and we hope that the McCumstie’s will have a good time here.

In other related news, we welcome Mrs. Dalgleish to the position of LSO and Library Tech, who is replacing Mrs. Curran who has transitioned to a new job role with Dobcel.

Mrs. Newton has gone on long service leave for an extended period of time but Miss Bedford is taking over Mrs. Newton's class. We also got a new teacher called Mrs. Evans who does Digi-Tech and Art. She is currently teaching us about the first nation people and we are also doing Art “inspired” by the Aboriginal people.

Wednesday was Joseph’s Birthday and we celebrated by Joseph bringing some mini cupcakes that we all shared and enjoyed.

Eimer and Maeve are still on holiday in NT for about another 2 weeks and Kaden is off on sick leave and we wish him a speedy recovery.

On Wednesday the Juniors had some technical issues so they couldn’t do their Auslan session with Buffy, so they joined the Seniors on Thursday so we all had a lesson together

Charlotte and Hunter

Kinder Visit

The students from the Junior Room ventured to the kindergarten on Tuesday, to meet with the children so when Kinder visit Our Lady’s a little later this term there will be familiar faces. They took books to read to the kinder kids and also enjoyed playing lots of games with them.

Important Upcoming Dates:

July:

19th - Gifting Mass 12 noon at St. Mary's Church, Murtoa

August:

11th - Pupil Free Day - Staff PD. NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS.

September:

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

October:

2nd - Term 4 begins
6th - Murtoa Show: School Closure Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STAFF OR STUDENTS

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.

Mass Times & Parish Information

Mass: St Mary's Church, Murtoa
Sunday 16th July 2023 Mass at 8.30am

Sacramental Program 2023

St Paul VI Parish

St Paul VI Parish children have begun their sacramental program sessions as part of the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church. The Parish is offering this 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 children prepare for the Sacraments.

This program will 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.

Parish Bulletin

Calendar Dates

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

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/

Horsham - ADHD & Demand Avoidance Seminar

Subject: Horsham - ADHD & Demand Avoidance Seminar - 23 July 2023

Hi Everyone,

The Strengthening Parent Support Program at Uniting Wimmera is excited to be hosting the Rebecca Challoner & Christine Keeble for a seminar educating us around ADHD and Demand Avoidance.

The seminar will be held on Sunday 23 July in Horsham and run from 10am - 3pm (Venue to be confirmed based on numbers).

This is a free event, however registration is required to attend. Registering ASAP would be appreciated if you plan to attend, please follow the link below (if you have already previously RSVP can you still please complete this link):

https://forms.office.com/r/PLTyexXVAJ

We would be grateful if you can promote this free event within your organisation in your upcoming newsletters and make contact with any parents/carers who may benefit.

Everyone is welcome to attend and we encourage any professional in the field to come along too!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.

Kate Janetzki | Strengthening Parent Support Program Coordinator