OLHC News Issue 7 Term 1 Week 7 - 15th March 2024
Our Lady Help of Christians is a Child Safe School and is committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We acknowledge the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, and Japagulk peoples as the custodians of the land on which our school was built.
Principal Report
Dear Parents and Friends of Our Lady's,
Thank you to all those from our community who joined us for the Mass to open our school year. It was later than we would have liked, but a joy to commend our year to the help of God and Our Lady Help of Christians. Thank you to Fr Matt for celebrating the Mass.
I spoke with the students before the Mass began about the virtue of Reverence. Reverence is like respect- it is behaving towards a person or a place in a way that is fitting. For church, that means sitting still, being quiet and peaceful, and joining in the parts that pertain to us. It is often difficult for any child to sit still, be quiet, and speak only when it is their turn, so to see our students rise to a challenge and participate reverently in all the prayers and elements of the liturgy was wonderful.
Approaches to teaching reading in Australian primary schools have been widely discussed in the media in recent weeks. In particular, the Grattan Institute released a report entitled - The Reading Guarantee: How to give every child the best chance of success on 11 February. This report calls for all schools to adopt a more direct and instructional approach to teaching reading. This recommendation is supported by a wide and credible body of evidence.
Many families may already be aware that here at OLHC we have already adopted this recommended approach to teaching literacy in our classrooms. Along with many other Catholic schools, our teachers have begun working with the Diocese of Ballarat (DOBCEL) Structured Literacy Project, under the guidance of Professor Pamela Snow from La Trobe University. This work of our staff team, supported by DOBCEL, reinforces evidence-based approach to learning and teaching we aim to adopt at Our Lady's.
We all know how vital reading skills are to the success of our students across all areas of the curriculum, and we thank you for continued support as this work continues. One simple way to ensure the home and school are cooperating in this good work is to read aloud to your children, and have your children read aloud to you. Not only is this good for their education, it is truly one of the best ways we can spend time with a child!
All the very best,
Chris McCumstie
principal@olhcmurtoa.catholic.edu.au
2024 School Leaders
It was a pleasure to hear the announcement of our school leaders for 2024. The Yr 6 children delivered speeches in the weeks prior to the announcement, highlighting their thoughts and ideas about our school. It was pleasing to note that all the students viewed leadership as a responsibility, not a reward, and that they listed numerous ways they would serve our student body and look after our school.
Congratulations to the following students on their appointments:
School Captains: Eimer Delahunty & Eddie Frost
Sport Captains: Kaden Thomas & Charlotte Boussac
President of the Junior School Council: Hunter Stephenson
Thank you to Fr Matt for blessing the school badges and commissioning our young people. Thank you to the students for carefully considering our candidates and voting for them with maturity. We look forward to seeing our senior students flourish in their new roles.
Opening Mass & Leadership Presentation
Project Compassion - 4th Week of Lent Reflection by Michael McGirr 2 Chronicles 36:14–16, 19–23 I Ephesians 2:4–10 I John 3:14–21
We have all lived through a great deal of change. Even young people have seen plenty. ChatGPT is a recent development and so are electric cars. Older people can remember having a phone plugged into a socket that you couldn’t carry around with you. Sometimes we have discussions about the good old days. They are often tinged with nostalgia for things we miss and gratitude for improvements. We no longer need to buy film for our cameras or change typewriter ribbons. Climate change is deeply troubling. Many medical improvements are inspiring.
Change can certainly be frightening. It can also be an occasion of great hope. Jesus seems to have
understood this. Nicodemus comes across as a character who is looking for change in his life, but
he is nervous about it, so he comes to see Jesus under cover of darkness. Earlier in the chapter,
Jesus uses the image of being born again. Of starting all over again. It is a dramatic description
of change.
Jesus says that the light has come into the world and that people prefer the same old darkness.
They are set in their ways.
Every Lent, through Project Compassion, Caritas Australia asks us to help bring light into the
world and to make positive change. An example is presented to us this week in the story of Memory,
a young woman from rural Malawi, the eldest child in a family living at the level of subsistence
farming.
Listen to some of Memory’s words: 'Growing up in the village was not easy. My parents don’t have a
job, so they depend on farming. When the season goes wrong, we suffer a lot and become food
insecure. Sometimes we need to bathe without soap. Sometimes we need to walk without shoes.’
With the support of Caritas Australia and its partner the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi
(CADECOM), Memory was able to enrol at a technical college where she learnt practical skills in
carpentry. A new life became possible. She can now realise her full potential and offer more to her
family and her community.
Today, the letter to the Ephesians reminds us that every person is ‘God’s work of art.’ God is the
artist who never signs off on a painting but is always trying to make it better. Perhaps we can see
the world in the same way.
PRAYER
We pray for all people who make things. We thank God for their skill. May our support of Project Compassion help people around the world find the opportunity to use their talents to support their families and communities.
Amen
School Wide Positive Behaviour
Moving around our school, and going on excursions, involves careful planning and deliberate behaviour choices. We were so proud of the way the students prepared for our walk to church, their participation in Mass, and their walk back to school. Well done!
To reward and encourage good behaviour, we use positive reinforcement systems. One you may have heard your child mention is dojo points. These are points awarded to students who follow rules, set a good example, participate in class, or show other positive behaviours. Once a student receives 20 points, they are entered into the dojo raffle, which gives them a chance to win a prize at assembly. 100 points gives the child a separate ticket into a bigger raffle. Thanks Eimer for organising the raffle, and Eddie and Hunter for drawing it at assembly.
Important Upcoming Dates:
March:
- NAPLAN continues until Friday 25th for Yrs 3 & 5
- Thursday 28th - Last Day Term 1 Early Finish 2.15pm
- Thursday 28th - Holy Thursday
- Friday 29th - Good Friday
- Sunday 31st - Easter Sunday
April
- Monday 15th April - Term 2 starts
- Friday 19th April - Dunmunkle Cross Country Rabl Park - Year 4/5/6
- Thursday 25th April - ANZAC Day
May:
- Friday 10th May - DSSA Athletics at Rupanyup Oval
June:
- Monday 10th June - Holiday - No school for students
- Friday 21st June - School Closure Day - Teacher PD Horsham
- Friday 28th June - Last Day Term 2 Early finish 2.15pm
Mass Times & Parish Information
Sunday 17th March 2024
Mass at St. Mary's, Murtoa at 8.30am.
Parish Bulletin
Calendar Dates
Please click on the link below to take you directly to our School Calendar.
