Filter Content
- Our Lady of Lourdes Feast Day and Leadership Positions
- Welcome Disco
- LOTE 2021
- Smart Watches
- School Uniform Service
- Calling All Aspiring Class Representatives!
- On the playground
- UooUoos
- Baptism
- Classroom Refurbishment
- Sacramental Update - Years 2, 3 and 4
- Project Compassion
- Head Lice
- Letter From the Archbishop
- News from Extend ...
- What's on at Stonnington Youth Services ...
- Australian Girl's Choir
Our Lady of Lourdes Feast Day and Leadership Positions
We have had a lovely Our Lady of Lourdes Feast Day today. We listened to our impressive leader's speeches, we had icy poles at lunchtime and our Year Fours led us in a beautiful liturgy just before assembly. There were some technical issues with the zooming of the Y4 OLOL Feast Day Liturgy. We have recorded it and invite you to watch it here. LINK HERE!
Tomorrow at 9.30 we are delighted to be able to celebrate a 'Beginning of the School Year Mass'. We are grateful to Fr Hayes who is saying this Mass for us especially. Due to restrictions unfortunately no parents will be allowed to attend. We will be live zooming the Mass. After the Mass (and part of the live zoom) we will be announcing the leadership roles that the students voted on today. Please find the link for tomorrow's Mass and Leadership announcements here. This zoom link will be the link for all school based assemblies and events so please bookmark it.
As the state seems to be falling over again we need to be in Dan's words "ABUNDANTLY CAUTIOUS" tomorrow evening.
Please be vigilant with following the guidelines below and any others that make you and others as safe as possible:
- We have ample outdoor space for the intended number of guests BUT please stay a safe distance apart
- There are QR codes everywhere, at the entrances, at the bar and many spots upstairs - YOU MUST CODE IN.
- You have been invited to bring food - please don't share food
- Adults are not allowed into the hall where the disco takes place, staff will be supervising the students
- Any adult entering the school must wear a mask
- There are sanitising stations around the yard - please use them
And then our regular rules of no photography or filming,
No students in the designated alcohol area.
Thank you to the P and F for organising tomorrow evening so that we can finally meet together, have a fun evening, and revel in the joy of our lovely, welcoming community.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
After our Italian teacher retired last year, we set about trying to find a suitable replacement teacher for our Languages Other Than English (LOTE) program. It transpired that after every attempt to find an Italian teacher we were actually unable to find a suitable replacement. As it was too late in the year to launch any substantial changes to our program (i.e. a different form / structure of LOTE) we decided to use that time as an extra Maths session.
The inability to find a teacher did however force us to look at different ways of teaching LOTE and even different languages. One of the programs we looked at and will be further researching this year with the intention of implementing it in 2022 is one of a type of immersion program. Rather than the students having a ‘language’ lesson once a week for 45 minutes they would be exposed to a mini lesson everyday and then the expectation would be they would use that small acquisition at every opportunity that presents itself to be used. The great beauty of this method is that the classroom teacher is also present for the mini lesson and also uses the language. That way the students and the teachers all learn and grow together accompanying each other on a very powerful learning journey.
I have presented this idea to the School Education Board and the staff and both groups were very excited with the prospect. We would also like to take this opportunity of new beginnings to change the language we teach to French. Although I love Italy and Italian and value the language and its obvious links with Latin, it will be refreshing to experience something new with this new style of methodology. The reasons we have chosen to pursue French are many. The main reasons are:
- All the secondary schools that our students go to carry French as a subject
- We have two local Kindergartens that also run French programs and it might help our school with increased enrollment and
- Finally but most importantly Lourdes is in France. To teach French in a school which has a French charism will be a really authentic and beautiful thing. For the children to recite the Hail Mary in the language of Bernadette is a lovely image.
So as a staff we have a long way to go before we implement this exciting new phase at OLOL. We will visit schools with the program already underway, and learn from them. We will receive professional learning to enable us to shape our program in the most valuable way for our school. I would like to thank the board for their enthusiasm in exploring this ‘new way’ of teaching LOTE and I really want to thank the staff upon whom its success rests for their whole hearted support when I was just feeling out how they might feel about this program.
And so to the eagle eyed parents who picked up that Italian seemed not to be on the timetable this year - well done, but you can see why in the thousand page newsletter that was our last one I decided to keep this explanation until this week.
LAST YEAR I WROTE THE ARTICLE BELOW ...
A new device has appeared on the scene 'Vtech watches'. These are essentially a smartphone type watch and as such can do almost anything. The elements we are most concerned about however are the camera, recording, and video aspects of these watches. It is completely unsafe to have these devices at school. As you know we have a NO PHONE rule at OLOL. Some senior students do bring phones to school as a safety device for when they are walking home by themselves. These phones are checked in at the office before school do not appear out at school or school events at all. They are collected from the office at the end of the day. If these procedures are not followed the phones are confiscated and parents and the school make arrangements to have them collected. I am afraid the same phone rules will have to apply to the Vtech watches. We had a brief assembly this morning where this was raised and the students were most understanding about why these rules are in place. If you have any questions about this please just let me know.
AND NOW THIS YEAR ...
So since that article was written there are new models and styles of smartwatches on the market. Our school Child Safety protocols however remain the same. None of these watches are allowed on the premises for the protection of students.
As a side issue. Our data is showing that our students are struggling to tell the time on an analog watch. This is such a problem in our school that the year 2 and 3 teachers have bought a class set of watches that they are loaning out in order to support this difficult concept. It would be $15.00 well spent to buy your child an analog watch from Target, Kmart, etc to use at school. Plus as a side bonus - they never need setting to 'School Time!'
We have probably given our school community the wrong idea about how the Uniform Shop works because we call it a ‘shop’. We probably should rebrand it as a ‘service’.
We run a uniform shop from the school premises because
- It is convenient for parents not to have to travel to purchase the uniform
- We deliberately only cover costs, it is not a profit making arm for the school. This serves to keep the cost of the uniform reasonable
But it presents a fairly big challenge for us especially as the school continues to grow. Providing a uniform service for 70 students is far less demanding than the same service for 150+ students
It has fallen to Tones (in the office on Thursday’s and Friday’s) to order, monitor and facilitate the uniform purchasing process but this is a lesser priority than her major roles of office administration and the safety and wellbeing of the students i.e. sickbay, scrapes and scratches.
So as you will understand we are unable to run ‘a shop’ in the traditional sense where you rock up to a counter and someone serves you immediately, charges you and you walk out with your items.
What we do is provide you the ability to order your uniform requirements online and then during the day on either Thursday or Friday the order is filled (in between all the other roles) and sent home with your child. There is a uniform order sheet on our app and also on the webpage.
We also run a uniform shop on the day before school begins (this year it was on Thursday 28th January) in case you need to actually look at the sizes of the uniform. We offer many opportunities for the new prep parents to purchase uniforms during the orientation program so that they have their children with them to measure them.
We are also very happy to exchange an undamaged, unworn, label-attached item for a different size.(This happens fairly frequently)
The next Uniform Shop will be before the end of the first term as the students will require winter uniforms for the following term. We will have two dates for you one at the end of term one and one at the beginning of term two: Thursday 25th March (Week 9, Term 1) and Thursday 22nd April (Term 2, Week 1).
I know this isn't a perfect arrangement and it requires more organisation on behalf of parents than being able to pop into a shop and buy what you need - but at the moment it's really the best we can do. If the school were to change to a uniform provider we would lose over $40,000 in current stock and that is a hit we cannot afford to take.
Thank you as always for your support and understanding in this matter.
Calling All Aspiring Class Representatives!
- Do you have a little more to give the OLOL Community this year?
- Are you ready to use your communication skills to support your child’s school?
- Have you been wondering how to get more involved?
Well, now’s your chance!
We are calling for ALL interested Parents and Carers within the OLOL Community to nominate themselves for Class Rep positions for 2021. We require one or two Reps per class, so we’d love to hear from you.
What’s involved?
The role of a Class Rep includes, but is not limited to…
Communication, Communication, Communication! By that we mean:
- Stay in touch with your class teacher to understand all messages he/she would like sent out
- Communicate all class specific messages to the parents and carers in your class (you will be provided with an email list)
- Send out reminders of upcoming school events to your class
- Coordinate casual catch ups for the parents/carers/children in your class to get to know each other better. (Optional. But examples include coffee, park dates, or evening drinks)
- Coordinate class gifts/presentations for teacher birthdays, significant celebrations, Easter/Christmas etc. (Again, optional, but nice to do)
- Liaise with the P&F to help coordinate your class when rostered to host school events, typically one All School Mass morning tea, and a stall at the Art Show and End of Year Disco.
Essentially, if you have access to email, you’re right for the job. Bring your talents to the table and make the role your own!
New to the game?
A member of the P&F will always be on hand; whether it be via email, phone or a casual chat in the school yard; to help you out.
Ready to act?
If you would like to learn more, or are ready to nominate yourself as a Class Rep for 2021, please click on the following link: Class Rep sign up sheet 2021
We’re very much looking forward to hearing from you!
The OLOL P&F (Parents & Friends Committee)
It takes a village…
To mark the 150th anniversary of The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne, the RCH Foundation is bringing colour and creativity to the streets of Melbourne and Geelong with a spectacular public art trail.
Mrs Vivarelli has been using the UooUoos for the basis for some of her art classes. We have some gorgeous examples. Families are also sending her photos of them in front of UooUoos that they find. There is a growing gallery of these delightful photos on the art room window - as they are facing outside feel free to pop up and have a look!
If you would like more information on celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism, please contact Delisa, the Pastoral Associate at Our Lady of Lourdes and St Peters, for more information.
Delisa.Gonsalves@cam.org.au
Sacramental Update - Years 2, 3 and 4
Sacrament of Reconciliation
This year students in Year 2, 3 and 4 will be celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation. All preparation classes will take place during school time. The Sacrament will be celebrated on one of two dates:
Wednesday 28th April at 10:15am
Thursday 29th April at 7:00pm
Due to restrictions in the numbers allowed at Our Lady of Lourdes Church we ask that you choose one of the dates and complete the form indicating your preferred date. Dates will be assigned on a first come, first served basis. Please complete one of the two forms below as soon as possible or before Monday 1st March.
Sacrament of First Eucharist
Students in Year 3 and 4 will also be celebrating the Sacrament of First Eucharist. There will be a Sacramental Information Evening held at St Peters Church on Wednesday 14th July at 6:30pm and we ask that both students and parents attend.
The Sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated on one of two dates:
Saturday 31st July at 6pm at St Peters Church.
Sunday 1st August at 11am at Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
Again, due to restrictions, we ask that you choose one of the dates when completing the form. Dates will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.
Sacrament Form - Year 2 only
Sacrament Form - Year 3 and 4 only
Every year, countless people turn Lent into a demonstration of faith, love and generosity. You can be a part of this incredible community, who believe that there are simple actions we can all take to “be more” for our world.
Tomorrow each child will bring home a Project Compassion box. Please donate whatever you can to support Caritas Australia to help end poverty and injustice in our world.
Project Compassion boxes will be collected in at the end of Term 1.
Thank you.
There has been a reported case of head lice in Year 4 therefore I would ask that all parents examine their child’s hair for signs of lice infestation. These usually first appear as eggs or nits, tiny silvery white specks attached to the hair shaft near the scalp.
If you find eggs in your child’s hair please treat immediately and do not send your child back to school until the eggs have been removed as well as treated.
Please note that you do need to check the hair for any eggs and remove them either by using the supplied comb or by pulling the egg off the hair strand with your finger nails.
Please make sure that you do regular checks on your child’s hair. If eggs are left, the lice will reinfest. It is also advisable to retreat the hair 7 days after the first treatment. It is also very important for all girls with long hair to wear it tied back.
One wonderful and considerate mother has sent me this product for your information. “I just wanted to share with you the details of the product I had talked about, as I find it very clever for our children’s heads”
http://www.danielgalvinjunior.com/product/dubble-trubble-detangling-lice-repel-spray/