Term 1 Week 1 Newsletter 03.02.2023
Principal News
Gracious God,
We come to you at the beginning of this school year with many feelings, expectations, fears and hopes.
Help us to remember we have the comforting assurance from you: "I will always be with you."
Help us to accept the challenges of this year as we continue to learn and grow together as a faith community.
We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Welcome Back
Welcome back to the beginning of a new and exciting school year. I trust that you all enjoyed a relaxing and enjoyable break with your children and found some downtime to escape the hectic pace of school terms, lunches and washing of uniforms.
We have had an extremely positive start to the school year with students returning with a clear intent on meeting expectations for their learning and behaviour and I am extremely impressed with how settled and positive the feel is in the school for the start of the new year. We are working incredibly hard to continue improving as a school and it is extremely rewarding to be part of such a vibrant faith learning community.
There is always a sense of excitement for our staff, students and their families in the anticipation of returning to school and settling back into daily routines and learning expectations. During the holiday break we have commenced numerous works to improve our facilities for our school community.
- Our new fence is complete and certainly adds to ensuring a safe and secure school environment. All entry points have self-closing gates and require staff keys to gain access.
- Our new sensory play area at the front of the school is coming along beautifully and will be close to completion in the next 2-3 weeks. This play space will reflect the winning design from Nahri Jenson and will combine with a number of features from our Rhodes Street site to create an amazing space for our children.
- Our new classroom footings, plumbing and electrical work has been completed and we are now waiting on the delivery schedule from the Department of Education. I am hopeful that this will be finalised in the coming week.
- Our student toilets and bubblers will be replaced as soon as the parts arrive. Unfortunately, we have experienced delays in accessing products from suppliers and as a result we have been unable to complete this work during the holidays.
I thank all parents, guardians and grandparents for assisting us and ensuring all students made their Mathematics Assessment Interviews. This was a wonderful opportunity to spend quality one to one time with their class teachers, begin developing a positive relationship and demonstrates the emphasis placed on learning at our school. Any students who has yet to complete their interview will do this during the first two weeks of school.
We will be holding a Parent Partnership Night on Monday 13th February commencing at 5:00pm with a welcome BBQ. An invitation will be sent home next week with all the details. This will be a great opportunity for our parish school community to come together, strengthen relationships and for you to meet with your child’s teachers to continue to develop our strong parent partnerships.
Welcome Kindergarten
As we welcomed our new kinder students and families this morning, you could certainly feel the excitement, love and sense of belonging in our parish school.
It was beautiful to see so many smiles and it is a wonderful reminder of why we are called to this incredible vocation that we call, Teaching.
Welcome to our school family. All are welcome. All belong.
2024 Kindergarten Enrolments
It is extremely unusual to be talking about enrolment for next year already, however, we have many enquiries and online enrolments already for our kindergarten classes for 2024. We currently have a waiting list for the majority of classes across the school and due to the demand from prospective families, I am encouraging any new families and current families with siblings entering kindergarten in 2024 to complete the online enrolment form.
This can be found at www.lisslism.catholic.edu.au
Interviews for prospective students will start on Monday 1st May and offers of placement for 2024 will be made early in Term 2. If you know of anyone who might be considering our school, I would be grateful if you could let them know that enrolments are open now and limited places will be available. Please contact the school office if you have any questions or concerns regarding the enrolment process.
There is a big difference between, “I can’t do this!” and “I can’t do this, YET!”
As parents and teachers the most important message of all for our children is to encourage a “growth mindset” – let your children know that they have unlimited potential for learning and that being successful is all about working hard … use growth praise such as,
“It is great that you have learnt that. Can you show me how to do that?”
“I really like your thinking about that.”
“You have worked really hard to learn that. I’m so proud of you!”
We found that students’ mindsets—how they perceive their abilities—played a key role in their motivation and achievement, and we found that if we changed students’ mindsets, we could boost their achievement. Students who believed their intelligence could be developed through hard work (a growth mindset) outperformed those who believed their intelligence was fixed (a fixed mindset). Dr. Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology.
What Can I Say to Myself?
Instead of…. | Try Saying…. |
I’m not good at this. | What am I missing? |
I’m awesome at this. | I’m on the right track. |
I give up. | I’ll use some of the strategies that we have learned. |
This is too hard. | This may take some time and effort to learn. |
I can’t make this any better. | I can always improve, so I will keep trying. |
I just can’t do this. | I’m going to train my brain to understand this. |
I made a mistake. | Mistakes help me learn. |
They’re so smart. | I’m going to see what they do and give it a try. |
It’s good enough. | Is this really my best? |
Well that didn’t work. | What can I do differently to do this? |
Children and adults can often learn the most when they fail the first time. Let them know that mistakes are a big part of the learning process. There is nothing like the feeling of struggling through a very difficult problem, only to finally break through and solve it!
The harder the problem, the harder you work and the deeper the level of learning.
2023 Pupil Free Days
Professional learning is an important part of our learning culture here at OLHC and reinforces that we are all life long learners no matter our age, experience or position held.
Please find below our professional learning dates for this year which will be Pupil Free Days.
Term 1- Monday 6th March
Term 2- Monday 24th April and Friday 9th June
Term 3- Friday 22nd September
Term 4- Monday 9th October
Year 6 Leadership
Our Parish School is a vibrant faith community inspiring our learners to make positive decisions that will help shape a better tomorrow.
We are committed to empowering students to grow and develop in their leadership skills in authentic and life giving ways, to enable all students to experience the Fullness of Life. Students will engage in various roles of leadership within the school and experience opportunities to have their voice heard and contribute to school improvement. Student Leaders are representative of the school in both the modelling of expectations for their peers and younger students as well as the proactive development of initiatives that represent the school community.
The development of student leadership skills involves opportunities which encourage students to:
- act in roles of responsibility with integrity and honesty
- foster a sense of vision and contribute to achieving our Ideal School
- work with others to determine and achieve collective goals
- take on responsibilities and use decision making skills in order to carry an initiative through to a successful conclusion
- be active, reflective listeners who respond effectively
- earn the respect of others through their actions.
School Captains - (two students)
School Captains represent the beliefs and values of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish Primary School. The role involves leadership in representing the school at formal events, community events, greeting visitors, mentoring junior students and fellow leaders as well as organising and supporting school events. School Captains also have the opportunity to meet with the Principal to discuss school improvement, student led initiatives and provide voice for student feedback.
Leaders of Ministry - (two students)
Leaders of Ministry will work with Staff to lead the school community in keeping the teachings of Jesus and the Catholic Faith at the heart of everything we do. The role involves leading and promoting Making Jesus Real initiatives, engaging in the faith life of the school and parish and provide opportunities for students to model and act in ways that bring about the Good News.
Leaders of Social Justice - (two students)
Leaders of Social Justice know that Social Justice is more than raising money for the “poor". They recognise the importance of equality and fairness in our school, in our own communities as well as in other countries. They will lead initiatives through MacKillop Youth to build up our knowledge of the injustices that occur and help us to understand how we can do something about it at a school level.
Leaders of Sustainability - (two students)
Sustainability Leaders will promote sustainable practices within the school around our use of energy, recycling, waste and water and school gardens. They will help implement practices that will ensure that we are all "Stewards of Creation' in how we care for the environment.
Leaders of Sports – (two students)
School Sports Leaders promote sporting events and look for opportunities to engage fellow students in healthy lifestyle choices at a school level. They encourage and motivate teams as well as assist our Leader of Sport (Mrs Haylee McCarthy) and school staff in sports related events. They will exercise sportsmanship and responsibility when leading whole school sporting events or representing the school in sporting teams.
Action Teams - (three to five students per team)
All Year 6 students are seen as leaders within our parish school. Students who are not elected for formal positions above will elect to be part of leadership action teams to lead and support a variety of areas within the school. This may include but not be limited to Library Monitors, Assembly Team, Media Team, Happy Helpers Team, Office Monitors, Flags, Technology Team, Lost Property Team, Sports Team, Making Jesus Real, Waste Warriors and Environment Team.
Selection Process:
All students in Year Six are eligible to apply for leadership positions. Each student will complete a leadership preference form indicating which leadership positions they are applying for along with a written statement regarding their reasons for applying. Students will also present a speech to the Principal and staff, as well as the students in Years 3-6.
Staff and students will vote for their choice of leaders in an anonymous ballot using Google Forms. All leadership positions will be finalised under the approval of the Principal.
Leadership Speeches will be held at 1:45pm on Wednesday 8th February. Parents are most welcome to attend and share in the learning opportunity with your child.
School Uniform
I would like to congratulate all students for returning to school wearing the correct school uniform. We would like to offer a big thank you to our parents and guardians for supporting our school in this area.
The wearing of our school uniform encourages pride and confidence in your child as an individual and identifies them as a member of the Our Lady Help of Christians Parish School community. The way in which the uniform is worn says a great deal about who we are as a community and how we value our school to which we belong.
Our Student Dress and Presentation Code outlines the expectations we have of our students in how they dress and present themselves at Our Lady Help of Christians or when in uniform outside of school hours.
The below image highlights our school uniform and there is an expectation that all students wear this uniform correctly and with pride.
In the case that your child is unable to wear the correct unifrom, for example, lost school shoes, it is expected that parents provide a simple letter of explanation. This letter should be sent to school with your child and students should be back in school uniform as soon as possible.
If a pattern of incorrect school uniform or personal presentation develops, parents will be contacted to discuss any concerns to find a solution to address any issues.
Mission News
Learning & Teaching
First Week of School 2023
Sports News
School News
Community News
Our school photos will take place with the School Photographer on Friday, 3rd March 2023 (Week 5). Envelopes will be available soon and are personalised for each child. Sibling envelopes will be available at the school office.
Envelopes should be returned to school before photo day for processing. Please contact Mrs Hague with any questions.