OLR News Term 4 Week 6
Principal's Update
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Week 6. I hope you are having a great weekend.
Building Update:
Our building journey began with the recent installation of two demountable classrooms and the next big step is the establishment of the building site. On Monday morning the site fences will be brought in and this will be set up.
As part of this we will lose the courtyard area which will impact our morning assemblies and where the Kinder and Year 1 leave their bags when they arrive each morning. We have asked the Kinder and Year 1 children to move straight to the oval and leave their schoolbags on the silver seats. We will hold our Monday morning Assembly in this seating area.
It’s exciting to finally see it starting but we are aware that the building process will pose challenges that we will have to deal with as they arise. We have to just remind ourselves that the time will go quickly and we’ll have a beautiful new learning environment for our children.
Kinder 2024 Transition:
It was wonderful to have our 2024 Kinder children and their families with us over the past four weeks. We are really looking forward to having them join our community next year.
Have a fabulous week and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Kind regards
Yvette
In The Loop - School and Office News
From the Office
Fees
Please continue to use the Bpay details found on your past statements, until you receive your new statement.
Please note, the school no longer has access to your fee statements, if you have any questions, please contact schoolfees@dbb.catholic.org.au or 7256 2888.
Compass Entries
Away for the whole day - Please ensure you enter your child's sick days/full day appointments etc on Compass the day they are away - you only have 7 days to enter these absences.
Arriving Late/Leaving Early - Please only enter this on the kiosk in the school foyer when you arrive/picking up. Do not enter this on Compass. You can certainly send the teacher a courtesy note on Seesaw to let them know, but not on Compass please.
Sick Bay - If you receive a call asking you to collect your child from Sick Bay, please note that we will sign them out.
A gentle reminder - we ask that pick ups during Recess (10.55 - 11.35) and Lunch (1.35 - 2.15) be limited as it is difficult for students to hear on the playground when we call them.
Change of Address
Can you please notify us of change of address, emails and mobile numbers as soon as this occurs so that we can update our system?
Medication at school
Please ensure the attached form is completed by your doctor prior to bringing medication into school for your child. It must be signed and stamped by the doctor.
Light Up the Day for Kay
Light Up the Day for Kay - Mufti Day
Tuesday 14th November!
Wear your brightest colours!! Caring for those less fortunate and giving to others was always something that was close to our beautiful Ms Taylor’s heart. As a tribute to her and her tireless work we are starting a special charity drive starting on Tuesday 14th November with a Colour Day and a dance-off. We invite parents to come along at 2.45pm to watch/participate in a whole school dance-off. As part of her giving Ms Taylor worked with those less fortunate. To celebrate the amazing work she did we are asking each family to bring an item for us to donate to Central Coast Kids in Need. These unwrapped gifts will be wrapped and given as Christmas gifts to children in need.
Year 6 Mini Fete
Year 6 Annual Mini Fete
Monday 20th November
On Monday 20th November Year 6 will lead the school in the annual Mini Fete.
The students look forward to this day every year. The cost is $5 per student for unlimited fun! Tickets can be purchased via Qkr!
The cost is $5 per student for unlimited fun! Tickets can be purchased via Qkr!
Parent Engagement Coordinator (PEC) Update
Thursday evening the 9 November. Jenny Grindall-Kruf (PCN Secretary) and Stephanie Wilson (PCN Events Coordinator) accompanied myself and Yvette Owens (OLR Principal) to attend our Broken Bay Catholic Schools Parent Leadership evening held at the Caroline Chisholm Centre, Pennant Hills (CSBB School head office).
We shared a meal and the evening opened with prayer from Fr David Ranson (Vicar General) who repesented Bishop Anthony in his absence. The Director of Catholic Schools, Danny Casey then gave a review of what has been happening in 2023 and further plans into 2024.
Sean van Wyk introduced the new Complaints Resolution and Feedback flyer, and how to access the Complaints Resolution and Feedback Form which can now be accessed on the CSBB website. Parents are encouraged to use and follow this process for complaints and feedback. He also gave an update on the Parent Charter and articulated the partnership and ways that schools support parents as the child’s first educator. Events and fundraising guidelines were discussed and will be in place for 2024.
Karen Pezzuto gave an update on the Religious Educaton curriculum and how well the new model is working in the classroom after completing surveys of both teachers and students and comparing results to those taken in 2020. Which reminds me to mention there are still many wooden dolls to be painted and this happens at the Parish Hall on Friday mornings from 9:30am – 11:30am. There is plenty of room and if you have toddlers they are welcome but please bring something to entertain them as they are not able to use the paints etc.
If you would like more information about the doll painting or any topics from the Leadership night please phone the school office and ask for me.
Blessings,
Colleen
Canteen News
Dear Parents and carers,
Please see attached the fortnightly roster for canteen.
Thank you
Amber
PCN News
Spring Carnival wrap up
To all our OLR families
We really wanted to say
We hope that you had fun
On (our wet) Spring Carnival Day
We had it all planned out
To best use all the space
There was room for everything to go
The plans were locked in place
You’d be greeted at the silver seats
Three tables in a row
Your envelopes lined up and ready
To grab, then off you’d go
The vision oh so clear in our heads
There would be so much fun
Raffle tickets to try your luck
And space on the oval to run
You could set up on the grass
Lay out your picnic rug
Meet up with friends and family
Drink your beverage from a mug
We had banners and balloons all set
To make the school look great
Bollards and ropes were ready
To show you where to wait
The signs we’d made looked pretty
They’d show you where to go
The arrows would direct you
And keep up the steady flow
Market stalls on the basketball court
Sausage sandwiches at the canteen
Art gallery in the library
And cupcakes in between
One finger from a paper hand
Was all that it would take
To trade in for a novelty
In the fun you could partake
We had carnival games and hair spray
Fairy floss and zooper doopers to eat
An inflatable obstacle course to run
Face painting was a wonderful treat
In front of the demountables
The performance stage was set
For the choir and the dance troupes
And the staff band we’ll never forget
Unfortunately the rain dropped in
And decided it would stay
It meant all our well laid plans
Just vanished right away
We tried our absolute best
To use the spaces that we had
We made sure that the show went on
So families wouldn’t be sad
With the spare rooms already gutted
And ready for demolition
The library was all we had left
And became our primary mission
Market stalls and face painting
Were moved inside the space
Cupcakes, envelopes, tickets too
Made entry a crawl rather than a race
Fairy floss was popular as always
So made for a lengthy wait
We appreciated your patience
And hope it tasted great
Coloured hairspray made kids happy
Our art gallery rivalled the Louvre
The inflatable disco dome was there
So the kids could jump and groove
Carnival games were pretty great
There was fun and treats to be had
The stands should be around a long time
They were made by a student’s dad
Rumours say the staff band were spotted
And approached by a talent scout
So if some staff are missing next year
Watch the Grammys and keep an eye out
I’ll finish this off with a great big thanks
To the wonderful people who helped out
Especially to the teachers who stepped in
Without even so much as a pout xx
As always, so much goes on behind the scenes to make these events happen. I would hate to leave anyone out - plus I know most people don’t read this anyway ;) - so I won’t mention names here. We’ve tried to personally thank each and every one of you but if we missed you, you know who you are, and we are now saying “thank you so much” from Jen and Stef xx
Cupcake Competition
Congratulations to all the talented bakers who participated in our cupcake competition! We were truly overwhelmed with the incredible amount of entries we received. It was a tough decision, but we were thrilled to present our winners with their medals at assembly last week.
Your creativity and hard work did not go unnoticed, and we are grateful for your participation. We hope you had as much fun baking as we did tasting your delicious creations. Thank you for making this competition a huge success, and we look forward to seeing what you come up with in future competitions!
Cupcake Competition!
Sponsors and Raffle Winners!
It's always great to see local businesses getting involved in community events like Spring Carnivals. A huge thank you to all the businesses who sponsored our raffle.
We has so many amazing prizes that were donated and are extremely grateful.
So once again, a huge thank you to all those who sponsored the Spring Carnival Raffle. Your generosity and support is greatly appreciated, and your contributions will surely make the lucky winners very happy.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Term 4 PCN Meeting
Thank you to those who attended our meeting on Monday night, which was held at the earlier time of 6.00pm.
Discussions at Monday’s meeting
Here are the main topics we discussed and the actions for each:
Topic | Action |
Building | Finally! As Bill Lawry would say: “It’s all happening!” |
PCN | The Spring Carnival was a huge success, despite the weather: |
Shirts | * Design phase commenced today |
Suggestion | * A box will be placed in school office foyer for families/children to leave suggestions or feedback, anonymously if they wish |
Meet and | Large scope events are not possible |
Nursing | OLR has a long involvement, but had to stop during Covid |
Separate | School is not large enough to have dedicated separate areas |
Timing of | OLR understands it is difficult for families to arrange time off work to attend events |
More | OLR strives to ensure efforts of all students are acknowledged and recognised |
“Just One | Colleen discussed plan to launch campaign |
Get in Touch!
We can’t raise your issues or concerns unless we’re made aware of them, so please get in touch - feel free to email us at olrpcn@gmail.com - and let us know.
If you’d prefer to keep concerns confidential, please send an email to Jenny at olrpcnsecretary@gmail.com and I will raise them on your behalf.
PCN for 2024
Keep an eye out early next year for details of our first meeting, when the PCN Executive Committee will be elected.
Please come along if you’d like to get involved!
Best wishes,
Jenny and the PCN Team
Around the Grounds
Kindergarten 2024 Orientation and Teddy Bears Picnic.
The last few weeks we have welcomed our 2024 Kindergarten students and their families to school to prepare them for Kindergarten next year.
This week, we celebrated a Liturgy with our 2024 Kindergarten students and their families. It was a beautiful way to welcome them into the OLR community and ask for God’s blessings for them. We ask you all to keep them in your prayers as they begin their school journey.
We finished the morning with a teddy bears picnic on our school oval.
Key Dates
Term 4, Week 6
Monday 13th November ~ Awards Assembly K-2 at 2.20pm in the hall
~ Year 5 Excursion
Tuesday 14th November ~ Light Up the Day for Kay Mufti Day and Dance off!
Thursday 16th November ~ Parent Coffee and Catch up at 9am
Friday 17th November ~ St Joseph's Orientation Day
Term 4, Week 7
Monday 20th November ~ Year 6 Mini Fete Day
Wednesday 22nd November ~ Kinder Family Bush Dance and Picnic
Thursday 23rd November ~ St Edwards Orientation Day
~ Little Learners Storytime Christmas Extravaganza