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Thank you to everyone for the success of the Art Show 2019! What a brilliant evening, the weather against all odds held off and the turn up was magnificent, nearly every family was represented. It was a really atmospheric and lovely evening. We thank the mighty P and F for hosting the event and everyone who volunteered on the evening to make it such a success. It was lovely to be able to use the newly improved East-side for a significant portion of the evening. It shows how the money we raise in our fundraising efforts are poured straight back into school improvement and ultimately it's not just the students who get to enjoy the benefits. We came straight off the back of the Art Show into an absolutely smashing Multi Cultural Day which reflected what the students are studying this term. There is more on that in this newsletter.
If you think about the school in terms of the front foyer … Friday a week ago it was all about the Art Show which was quickly replaced by the Multi-Cultural Day display and then straight into a Remembrance Day tribute - I hope you have stopped to admire Miss Jackson’s Poppies on the entrance doors - she made them!
This school moves at an incredible speed which keeps students engaged and gives families lots to talk about. I hope you as parents pause to reflect on how hard your children’s teachers and ESO’s work to keep the school moving from lesson to lesson, event to event and joy to joy.
Thank you for your continued support,
Francine
Last week we had a fantastic Multicultural Day. The children had an absolutely wonderful day where they were able to celebrate various cultures from around the world through a variety of activities. These activities included, Chinese lantern making, origami paper folding, Virtual Reality (VR) excursions, Hindu Diwali candle pot (pinch pot) making, African drumming, Zorba dancing and Bollywood dancing. The children also had a delicious lunch and recess consisting of a MASSIVE croissant and two rice paper roles.
We would like to thank Ammy (Claudia from F/1D's mother) for the beautiful photos she took of the day!
If you would like to see these photos you can find them on her website, https://ammy.shootproof.com/
The password to get in is OLOL2019.
Did you pick a winner over Cup weekend? Mr Costa did! OLOL congratulates Adrian Costa on his engagement to Shay Middlemiss and wish them all the very best for their life together.
Thank you to Mrs Gaylor and our wonderful SRC who have done a brilliant job selling poppies in the front garden over the past couple of weeks. Thank you also to those of you who have supported our local RSL and purchased a poppy.
2/3R will also be holding a Remembrance Day Service on Monday 11th November at 10:30am. Due to this being Remembrance Day and at the 11th hour, assembly will be held at this time. There will be NO assembly at 3pm on this day.
Important Dates for 2020 Foundation Families
Parent Information Night (Parents Only to attend)
Tuesday, 12th November 2019 : 7.00pm - 8.30pm
Orientation Days (Children Only)
Thursday, 14th November 2019 : 9.30am - 11.45am
Thursday, 21st November 2019 : 9.30am - 11.45am
Thursday, 28th November 2019 : 9.30am - 11.45am
"Welcome Mass" for 2020 Families
Sunday, 1st December - 11.00am
Our Lady of Lourdes Church,
631 High Street, Prahran East
First Day of School
Thursday, 30th January 2020 : arrive 8.30am - 8.45am
Outstanding Camp and Excursion Forms
As we are moving towards being completely digital with all of our correspondence and permission forms we ask parents to please assist us by completing their camp and excursion forms via the Schoolzine App (SZapp).
To do this simply open your SZapp. If the information is not automatically on your screen, click on the 'feed' button and then scroll down until you find the information that is relevant to your chid/rens class. Thank you.
Food for Friends is an initiative of the Toorak Ecumenical Movement and involves three Parishes, St Peter's and Our Lady of Lourdes, St John's Anglican Church and the Toorak Uniting Churches.
Together these parishes provide volunteers for this very worthy program. Food for Friends is celebrating their 30th year of volunteering and OLOL are happy to support this project. It's easy to be philosophically 'Social Just' but opportunities to model action for our children are not easy to come by.
The aim of the program is to provide non-perishable foods to those in need at Christmas. Non-perishable food is being collected over a number of days at Woolworths Supermarkets in Toorak and Hawksburn Villages.
Your contribution involves volunteering one or two hours of your time to sit or stand with your children next to a trolley, handing out flyers to explain what the program does. Thanking people is also a big part of the role.
By the end of the program the items collected are generally in excess of $50,000. The food is then distributed to charities nominated by the group.
The 2019 campaign runs from Friday 29th November until Sunday 8th December. If you and your child/ren are able to volunteer for an hour or two during the ten days, please sign up at the School Office where the roster will be available from tomorrow. We ask that parents remain with their children for the whole time. Children are to wear their OLOL sports uniform.
What we love about this Christmas program is that it gives the students and families of our school the opportunity to really participate in an authentic Social Justice action. The feedback from the families who participated last year was phenomenal - everyone one got a huge buzz from being part of this valuable program.
Please consider volunteering as an act of giving this Christmas time. Do not underestimate the value of your family's involvement with this exceptional program. Each two-hour slot enables approximately $200 of food collection.
If you are able to help or would like some more information please come and see me or send me an email iarcher@olprahraneast.catholic.edu.au.
Please get behind this wonderful and innovative program.
Below is a note from Rose Maguire who organised the appeal last year:
'I want to thank you all for the help you gave to the Food For Friends 2018 Project.
I saw every child who participated and I can honestly say they are a credit to OLOL and their parents. I have fond memories of them eagerly approaching customers but engaging them with respect. The public response was phenomenal. They warmed to the children and walked away smiling. Each child collected between two to three overloaded trolleys of goods. The Christmas spirit was evident.
I believe the children benefited from the experience and learnt a powerful life lesson.
I hope we can grow on this experience next year.
Thank you again. Christmas Blessings for you all.
Kindest Regards,
Rose Maguire'
Swim Squad training for the 2020 Holt Swimming Carnival begins on Wednesday 27th November at 7am at the Prahran Swimming Pool. Training will continue for the following two Wednesdays (4th and 11th December) and then recommence in Term 1, 2020 in preparation for the HOLT Sports District Swimming Carnival. The dates for Swim Squad training in Term 1 are the 5th, 12th and 19th February.
The total cost of Swim Squad is $70.00. The payment can be made in full or in two instalments of $35.00, however money must be received prior to the commencement of Swim Squad each term. This fee covers lane hire and breakfast as well as contributing toward the bus to the Carnival.
We will be travelling by tram together at the conclusion of training back to school. No child is to return to school independently by car. Students will need to bring a Myki card (with credit on it) for the tram.
We will be offering breakfast upon returning to school as long as we have parents committed to the preparation and serving of the food. If we do not receive enough parent support for the valued and enjoyed breakfast program, we will need to reconsider this aspect of the program.
Swim Squad training is not a guarantee of qualifying to compete in the Holt Swimming Carnival. Schools have to follow a code of entry levels for events and so OLOL students who reach the appropriate level will be in a position to compete.
Swim Squad training is however a great opportunity to strengthen your child's swimming ability as well as adding to their wellbeing, so we encourage participation regardless of qualifying for the carnival.
Reminder School Closure - Monday 2 December 2019
As mentioned at the end of last term, there will be a school closure day on Monday 2nd December. Please contact Extend if you would like to book care for that day.
Welcome Mass for Foundation 2020
Sunday 1st December is the First Sunday of Advent - it is also our Welcome Mass for next years Foundation Families. Although this year’s Foundation and Year 1 families are hosting the Mass and Morning Tea which follows, it would be a great thing if the whole school was present in order for all these new families and students to feel that they are truly becoming part of a very special community. Please remember that all of our school leaders should absolutely be present at this Mass.
The Partnered Parishes of Armadale and Toorak would like to invite you to
Please join us for 3 weeks of FREE 1 hour Christmas Preparation Classes
for all school aged children, aged 5-14, as we prepare to celebrate the
‘Reason for the Season’
The three classes will run on:
Tuesday 19th November 2019 – 4:30-5:30pm
Tuesday 26th November 2019 – 4:30-5:30pm
Tuesday 3rd December 2019 – 4:30-5:30pm
All classes will be conducted at St. Peter’s Parish Centre
(583 Toorak Road, Toorak, 3142).
Children and their families are then invited to join in us for an Advent Celebration at 11am Mass on Sunday 15th December 2019, at Our Lady of Lourdes, Armadale.