OLOG eNewsletter Term 1 Week 4

Dear Parents

I am sure all children enjoyed Shrove Tuesday and the tasty and yummy pancakes this week. We didn’t have many pancakes leftover as they were well enjoyed. Thanks to the following parents who generously helped with the cooking and serving all classes: Lily K, Patrick C, Laura-Anne H and Lisa K.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, which is a time to prepare for Easter. It is a time to stop and reflect. It’s a time to think about the people we are becoming and how we can make a difference to the people around us.

It’s a time for us to pray, to do good deeds and to give to others in need. Lent is like a journey.....as we journey through Lent we want to focus on how we can become better people, how we can make a difference to those around us, how we can be more fair and just so that everyone has a happy future. The marking of ashes on Ash Wednesday in the sign of a cross is a symbol of the beginning of the Lenten journey.

Lent is a time for change, a time to become a better version of ourselves, and to become more like Jesus. The ashes remind people that they are called to ask forgiveness and believe in the Gospel. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (giving to others) are ways that help us prepare for the celebration of Easter. 

2023 OLOG House Captains

Congratulations to the following House Captains:

MACKILLOP- Liam Heinrich & Ashlyn Stevens

AZA- Molly Floreani & Alice Gallagher

SIENA- Maggie Raymond & Tommy Warnes

DOMENIC- Levi Cook & Lily Palumbo

School Board

Encounter is a massive part of who we are as a school community and the chance to listen and learn from each other is provided in many different ways.

The School Board meets twice a term throughout the year and provides a strong voice in strategic planning, finance, policies, and future directions. As a School Board we have also been working through the OLOG Master Plan and we are hoping to share the development of the Master Plan with the OLOG Community shortly.

Our School Board members are: Fr John Herd (President), Donna Stevens (Chairperson), Josette Charles (Principal), Debbie Scuteri (APRIM/Leader of Laerning), Kerri Rowell (Co-opted Member- Finance Member), Sarah Cooper (Chair of Finance), Drew Coward (Secratery). Pat Murphy (Parish Rep), Shane Heinrich (P&F), Raewyn McIntosh (Staff Rep), Stephen Fossey and Kelly Newbold. 

The School Board and Parents and Friends Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 20 March. There are two vacancies for the School Board and we encourage you to consider nominating for the positions. Further AGM information will be sent out next week.

Our Parents and Friends is another way to encounter and support each other as we work to provide the best educational environment for our students that we can.  All parents at OLOG are automatically a part of the P&F and we would love you to be a part of our meetings each month.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 15 March.

2023 Class Parent Reps

The following parents have generously volunteered as Parent Class Reps:

REMT: Madeline S.
RE/1SB: Bec T.
1MS: Class Rep Needed
2/3CS: Class Rep Needed
2/3:GM: Class Rep Needed
4/5RM: Kelly E. and Natalie C.
4/5TF: Lisa W.
6SJ: Cindy W.
6LL: Class Rep Needed

Have a wonderful week

Peace and Blessings

Josette Charles
Principal

Shrove Tuesday

This Tuesday we celebrated Shrove Tuesday with delicious pancakes for all children.

Shrove Tuesday is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday.

People used up the food that couldn’t be used during Lent. This included eggs, fat and milk, which were made into pancakes and eaten on that day. Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter was traditionally a time of fasting.

Thank-you to our volunteers; Lisa Keatley, Lily King, Patrick Cox and Laura-Anne Hams who cooked and served over 200 pancakes for us!

It was lovely to see the children enjoying eating their pancakes.

Ash Wednesday Mass

Yesterday the Year 2-6 children participated in Ash Wednesday Mass.

The children’s foreheads were marked with ashes during the mass.

The Ash Wednesday ashes are created by burning palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration. The ashes symbolise our mortality- “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and as Pope Francis says, “Lent is a time of believing for welcoming God into our lives and allowing him to make his dwelling among us”.

Ash Wednesday Liturgy

The Reception and Year 1 students Participated in an Ash Wednesday Liturgy.

We were reminded that Lent is a time for the friends of Jesus to prepare for Easter. Easter is the time to celebrate how much God loves us and that God is the giver of life. It is the most important feast that Christians celebrate. During the 40 days of Lent, we prepare for Easter by taking time to be quiet in our hearts, by praying, by doing good deeds, by being forgiving and asking for forgiveness. We received ashes on our foreheads yesterday to remind us that we need to try to be more like Jesus. On Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent let us ask ourselves, “What can I do to renew my heart and bring me closer to God who loves me so much?”

We also launched the 2023 Project Compassion Appeal.

Project Compassion

Ash Wednesday – 22 February 2023

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 allow 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 2023 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good we do today extends to 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 prayer, fasting and almsgiving in support of Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box and for their donations or you can donate online via the Caritas Australia website at: www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion

Term 1 Masses

1st March @ 9.15am- Year 6 Mass

8th March @ 9.15am- Year 4/5 Mass

22nd March @ 9.15am- Year 2/3 Mass

Parents are most welcome to attend.

NAPLAN

During week 7 students in Years 3 and 5 will sit the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing. A schedule for OLOG students is attached.

There is a catch up session if children are absent for the test.

In the next couple of weeks, the classroom teachers will begin to prepare the children for the tests, familiarising the children with the log in process, question types, language features and general expectations of the test.

Please note that if you wish to exempt your child from the tests, this will need to be done in writing by Monday 27th February. Please speak to your teacher or contact myself; dscuteri@olog.catholic.edu.au

Further information is also available at www.nap.edu.au

NAPLAN Schedule for 2023

Wishing you God’s Blessing

Debbie Scuteri
APRIM/Leader of Learning

Who is part of the Committee? 

Chairperson
Shane Heinrich - Children in Reception, Year 4 & 6

Standing Members  
Kate Peel – Children in Years 4 & 6
Toby Raymond- Child in Year 4
Billy Willoughby- Children in Years 1 & 4

A big welcome to our new members:
Kaara Gracin- Child in Year 5
Jo Cox- Child in Year 4
Natalie Camilleri- Children in Years 1, 2 & 4
Peter Garang- Children in Years 2 & 4

What is the role of P&F?

First and foremost, we aim to raise money to enhance the facilities and resources for our learners, but we also aim to engage with all parents and caregivers to make them feel part of our community.

What is the P&F committee working towards this year?

We will have a lot of our usual events on during the year, Mother’s and Father’s day, Special lunches and the Disco to just name a few.

What events are you looking forward to?

This year we are looking to grow our quiz night, it was a successful evening last year and we hope to grow it into something bigger and better.

We also have a few new ideas in the pipeline so please watch this space.

Share your ideas: To submit your idea, please email olog@olog.catholic.edu.au

SAVE THE DATE

Cheese & Wine Night- Saturday 18th March
Coffee Morning- Friday 31st March

On behalf of the P&F Committee, thanks for all of your support. If you have any questions, please reach out to a Committee Member or contact our front office.

Our Lady of Grace School is always looking for volunteer helpers. 

If you would like to help at school excursions, sporting carnivals or co-curricular activities, we invite you to email the school for an application pack.

sports@olog.catholic.edu.au or olog@olog.catholic.edu.au

The 'Green Team' student representatives have been selected for Semester 1 and we would like to welcome and congratulate the following students. 

REMT- Sam Hayton and Lily Prasai
RE/1SB- Emily Cooper and Chayce Parsons
1MS- Hunter Scheepens and Isabel Mathews
2/3CS- Mila Knight and Chelsea Duncan
2/3GM- George Humphris and Isabella Long
4/5RM- Clara Floreani and Brodie Malone
4/5TF- Ollie Jesser-Taylor and Lucy Taylor
6LL- April Leitis
6SJ- Jack Fanning

'Green Team' representatives learn about sustainability and our environment by practically implementing ideas and initiatives around the School. This year students have harvested produce from the school garden beds which were planted late last year. Carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, parsley and even a few peaches have been taken home by students to families. There are some exciting projects on the horizon for this group so be sure to keep an eye out for future developments.  

Clinton Alleway
Green Team Teacher

On Wednesday 15 February Year 2/3CS visited the residents at Charles Young Nursing Home. In Religion, they have learnt about connecting to community, what it means to love thy neighbour and what is kindness. The students made Valentines Day hearts and learnt a song which they performed on the day. What a wonderful way to share love, faith and kindness with our community.

What is Mini Vinnies about ?

Mini Vinnies empowers primary school students to become advocates within their school and local community by putting their values into action. Students meet regularly to learn about social justice issues, develop leadership skills and engage with the wider St Vincent de Paul Society.

We will be joining hundreds of primary schools across Australia working alongside Vinnies to build up the next generation of social justice advocates, and caring, compassionate members of society. It also gives us the opportunity to recognise and respond to the needs in your local community. We will empower you to create a more just and compassionate society today, and to build the foundation for a more equitable future.

Our Year 5 and 6 students took part in their Aquatics Day at Port Noarlunga and West Lakes Aquatic Centre. Linked in with the Australian Curriculum of Physical Education, students participated in canoeing, Kayaking and beach awareness using surf boards and wave skis. Couldn't think of a better way to take advantage of this beautiful weather.

A friendly reminder around our process for Student Absenteeism. 

Informing the school of absences
If your child is not going to be at school due to illness, or will be late due to an appointment, it is imperative that you inform the school by:

• Phoning the 24-hour student absentee phone number: 8177 9191 before 8.55am; or
• Completing the absentee form in the Skoolbag app; or
• By emailing the class teacher or olog@olog.catholic.edu.au

PLEASE ADVISE THE SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY IF YOUR CHILD HAS COVID OR IS A CLOSE CONTACT. 

Advance Notice of Absence / absence of more than five (5) days
For advance notice of your child’s absence, please complete the Application for Exemption from School Enrolment/Attendance Form, which is available from the Front Office.

Unexplained absence
If a child is not present and the school has not received an absentee call or email by 9:30am, the office will contact parents (generally via text) to ascertain the student’s whereabouts.

Should you have any queries regarding this process, please contact our office on 8177 9100.

As we start the new year it is a good idea to refresh ourselves with the rules and procedures surrounding the safe arrival and collection of our students.

Students arriving at school in the morning are to wait in the front area of the school.  No child is to be on site before 8:30am unless they are enrolled in Before School Care. Teachers are on duty from 8:30am.  Classrooms open from 8:40am

Drop off and go in the morning: Parents or caregivers are not to leave their car for drop off and go in the morning in front of the school Front Gate.

In the afternoon, there is only one drive through area for parents which is on Agnes Street outside the Front Gate. 

Family signs are to be displayed and parents are not to leave their car.

The bike gate is for students exiting and entering with their bikes. Students are not permitted to wait for parents in the drive through at the bike gate.

When using the Drop Off Area

The Drop Off Lane is for short drop off and pick up only please. 

You cannot hop out of your car to help your child, say goodbye, watch them walk in etc.

• PLEASE  Be Careful when turning LEFT  from Agnes Street onto Beadnall Terrace and the school crossing.
• You are not permitted to exit the car in the drive through area.  Students may only enter the car from the supervised Front Gate.  If this does not work for your family, please park your car and collect them.  Students will not be allowed to wait on the footpath. Students are to wait behind the white line inside the Front Gate
• Feel free to come a little later to pick up if you can.
• Smile…and breathe…we are doing all we can to keep your children safe.