Term 2 Week 1 Newsletter - 28.04.23

Principal News

God's Grace

Unintentionally eating spaghetti with a spoon is a common occurrence in the lunch room. We all know deep down that there are a number of people guilty of accidentally placing an office fork in their Tupperware as they exit the lunch room. Eating spaghetti with a spoon is just like living life without grace. You know there is something fit for the intended purpose but you have the suspicion that the thing you're using isn’t it. This is where grace comes in, as it is  as the unmerited favour of God that enables us to live out our purpose in life.

It's a gift which we can't earn, no matter how hard we try. As the famous theologian St. Augustine said, "Grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them." Grace is what empowers us to do good in the world, even when we feel like we're not capable of it.

St. Thomas Aquinas, another renowned theologian, defined grace as, "a participation in the divine nature." When we receive God's grace, we become more like Him. We become more loving, more merciful, more forgiving, and more generous. It's like when we're driving on a dark road at night, and we realise we haven't turned on our high beam. It helps us to see more clearly the path that we need to take. The scope of our vision increases and we see not just what's right in front of us but what's in the distances, path ahead. 

In the same way, God's grace illuminates our lives, guiding us on the path that He has set out for us. It's like a compass that helps us to navigate through the rough waters of life. As the author Anne Lamott once said, "I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us." God's grace transforms us into the people that He created us to be.

So how can we cultivate grace in our lives? It starts with prayer and seeking God's guidance. We can ask Him to pour out His grace upon us, to help us become more like Him. We can also seek out opportunities to serve others, and show them the same kind of grace that God has shown us. When we experience grace in our own lives, we can share that with others. We can offer forgiveness when it's hard, extend mercy when it's not deserved, and love when it's least expected.

In a world that often feels harsh and unforgiving, grace is a beacon of hope. It's a reminder that we are not alone, that we are loved, and that we have a purpose. Let's embrace God's grace and share it with those around us.

The Soul

Welcome to Term 2

As we finish Week 1 of Term 2, it is fitting to congratulate the students on their return to school. Their behaviour, responsibility, respect and the positive attitude they are demonstrating towards their learning and each other is to be commended. As a school, it is so rewarding to receive emails or phone calls from people both inside and outside of our school community acknowledging how well behaved, polite and respectful our students are here at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish School. It is a credit to our students, their families, our staff and our school.

Building Resilience

Supporting our children to know that they are loved, cared for, belong, can learn and overcome challenges and have the resilience to move past setbacks and disappointment is part of the work we all do as parents and educators.

Last week I reread an old article and it made me reflect on not only my responsibility as a dad but also my work as a principal and what we are working towards as we guide our children to become responsible young men and women, to enjoy life to the full, use their gifts and talents and make valuable contributions to society in later life. 

Resilience, School and Parenting- What happens when we try to protect our children from experiences of failure, frustration, disappointment and struggle?

The children we teach and the children we’re raising are going to have to face the real world at some time. They’re going to experience feelings of disappointment, frustration and upset throughout the course of their life.  As parents and educators, we cannot – and we should not – continually rescue them from potential hurts, not getting their own way, losing a game, blaming everyone else and disappointments. If they’re constantly rescued they’ll never learn to draw on their own resilience.

Resilience doesn’t mean abandoning our children or asking them to detach from their feelings. Resilience is about putting life’s everyday events and adversities onto a scale of importance. We need to show our children that certain moments are inevitable, upsetting and frustrating, but in order to succeed in this world, we need to be able to manage these moments, accept responsibility and move on.

As parents and educators, at times, we’re nursing our children’s hurts and disappointments as though they’re truly suffering some kind of hardship. The trouble is, we are over protecting our kids so much; we aren’t allowing them to experience real life and giving them any room to grow. Life can be tough at times, but we’re strong enough to manage it.

I think it might be time that we ask ourselves if it’s really working for us. Are we stopping our children from growing when we try to protect them from experiences of losing, failure, frustration, disappointment and struggle?

When our littlest learners first arrive at school, they should already know what it feels like to lose when they play a game, not get your own way or not be invited to a party. They should be familiar with the experience of being told no. Adults provide boundaries of behavioural expectations and consequences. Our children shouldn’t be shocked or offended when a parent or teacher gives direction on a task or discusses what is expected from them.

Raising and educating our children certainly take a village. Wouldn’t it be much easier if there was a simple manual for getting it right.

ANZAC DAY

Thank you to students, staff and families who supported our school at the local ANZAC Day march. It’s always special to come together as a school community to support those who have served our country. I was incredibly proud of all our children for the way in which the represented themselves and our school. In particular, a small sign of respect as our students all removed their hats for the National Anthem. It was noticeable that we were the only school to do this.

They sacrificed their tomorrow so that we can live our today! 

Parent Forum

We will be having our next Parent Forum meeting on Monday 22nd May at 6:00pm at the school. This meeting will also be available for parents via a Zoom link to allow parents to join the meeting from home. There are many different ways to be involved in your child’s education and the Forum is one way of supporting school initiatives, being part of school decisions and developing a stronger sense of community.

Draft Agenda

1. School Imporvement and Performance                                                                                                                          2. School Disco Night                                                                                                                                                                  3. Tell Them from Me-School Data Analysis                                                                                                                     4. School Building Updates

I thank you in advance for everything you do to support your child’s education and I look forward to seeing you on the 22nd May. 

Kevin Hogan Leaders Day

On Tuesday 11th April, a number of our Year 6 school leaders were able to attend a School Leaders Event, hosted by Kevin Hogan. It was a wonderful opportunity for our young leaders to hear an inspirational message from a local community leader, Naomi Moran. Naomi spoke to the students about accountability, responsibility, courage, self-belief, the need to develop good communication skills (for both listening to others and articulating your own ideas and beliefs), and the importance of surrounding yourself with friends and people who lift you up and support your dreams for the future.

“I was honoured to have the opportunity to meet Naomi Moran, the General Manager of Australia's only indigenous newspaper, the Koori Mail. Her story was so inspiring, she told us about her childhood growing up and dropping out of school at the young age of 14, the determination, dedication, commitment and courage that she used to make her life as successful as it is now. She gave us great advice on how to achieve our goals and follow our dreams, and told us to make sure we always had a plan. Overall, it was a great experience, Naomi even gave us an opportunity to ask questions. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to participate in the day, and I would do it all again if I could.”

Maggie

"On Tuesday, 11th of April this year, 7 leaders from our school went to the Kevin Hogan leadership event at the SCU. The speaker at this event was an Indigenous community leader, named Naomi. She spoke about how she left school at a young age to pursue an internship at Australia’s only indigenous newspaper, the Koori Mail, in Lismore. She talked about her responsibilities, when travelling to talk to other aboriginal communities and collect information from them for the newspaper. She talked about how the floods impacted her work and community so much that she opened a recovery centre to help people get back on their feet. She was telling us to try to have a plan for the future and to always believe in ourselves. I found the talk really inspiring, and I think everyone else did, too. It was a really amazing experience.”

Claire

Child Protection

Our updated Child Protection Policy is available on our school website and the School Office.

Children and young people have a fundamental right to grow, develop and feel safe in
environments that are free from violence, exploitation and harm. The Catholic Schools Office and
our parish school have clear expectations that all students in will be protected from all forms of
harm including sexual, physical and psychological harm as well as ill-treatment and neglect.

The Catholic Schools Office and our parish school have certain responsibilities and expectations to
ensure the safety and protection of children in their care, including supporting measures to
ensure that children and young people will be taught how to protect themselves, and to seek help
if they are concerned about their safety.

This document aims to:
I.    Clarify the expectations of employees who work in child related employment;
II.  Provide a safe and supportive environment for children and employees; and
III. Build and maintain a contemporary Catholic workplace that is safe, respectful, professional and legally compliant.

The care and protection of children and young people is paramount. All staff at OLHC are Mandatory Reporters and are required to report if they have any concern regarding the safety, welfare or well-being of a student.

Parents are also reminded that our Concerns and Complaints policy is available on the school website and can be located via the link below/

https://olhoclismore.schoolzineplus.com/_file/media/13/concerns_and_complaints_policy.pdf

Pupil Free Days

It is important that all members of our school community are learners and continually striving to improve.  Our Professional Learning Days are aligned with our School Improvement Plan with the goal of improving  student outcomes and driving school improvement and performance. 
Please see reminders below for the dates.

Term 2
• Monday 24th April
• Wednesday 31st May- Postponed (new date is now 24th November)

Term 3
• Monday 17th July
• Friday 22nd September

Term 4
• Monday 9th October                                                                                                                                                              • • Friday 24th November                                                                                                                                                                  

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING

The safety of our students, families and staff is our highest priority. In order to best ensure this, the OLHC leadership and staff, supported by the Catholic Schools Office, plan for a number of possible incidents, emergencies or natural disasters that could take place at school or during the school term. The events of recent years have reinforced how important this planning is and we all have a role to play when it comes to emergency management, including families.

Our students participate in various safety drills and staff participate through training and safety drills. We’d like to share with you the role of parents and families in emergency management.

School Lockdown

A number of the situations we plan for include a school lockdown as one of the immediate safety actions to ensure the safety of our students and staff. We understand that some may understand the word ‘lockdown’ to mean there is an immediate safety risk to all students. It is important to understand that when a school initiates a lockdown this may not be the case.

Depending on the situation, the purpose of a school lockdown will differ. A school lockdown may be a preparation step for an evacuation, or a school lockdown may allow emergency services access to an area of the school without having to navigate past students. Regardless of the purpose of a school lockdown, no one can be admitted to the school grounds other than emergency services.

Should we initiate a school lockdown, parents and families will be informed via text message and Schoolzine App notification. We will also inform parents and families as soon as the school lockdown has been lifted or if there are any actions required of parents and families. It is important that you do not attempt to attend the school during a school lockdown. We understand that you may be concerned however attending the school may also add risk to a possible emergency situation, block emergency services or impede an evacuation.

Natural Disaster

In the event of a natural disaster, such as flood or bushfire, the school leadership, supported by the Catholic Schools Office, will determine if it is safe for the school to open. If there is a probability the school may have to close part way through the day, the school will not open for that day as it is extremely difficult to evacuate a school site and ensure all students are able to go directly home safely.

In a bush fire or flood event it is important that parents and families have a plan to get your child/ren home from school, or into your care, at short notice. Please be aware that school buses may not be running and the school can not allow your child/ren to go home to an empty house or home with another parent without your permission.

Family Preparedness

How can you help us prepare for emergency situations? Please ensure that:

• You have downloaded our Schoolzine App and have allowed notifications.
• Any changes to your contact details or custodial arrangements have been updated with the school.
• [for schools in bush fire or flood prone regions] You have a bush fire/flood plan in place that all members of your family understand.
• In the event of a school lockdown or evacuation, directions are in the parent notifications.

It is always our hope that these measures will never be needed but it is also our responsibility to ensure our school community is prepared and informed should the need arise. We thank you in advance for your support and cooperation.

Michael Piccoli and Nigel McIntyre, Work Health and Safety Manager, Catholic Schools Office

Mission News

Anzac Day 

We ended Week 1 together the way we began, honouring our servicemen and women and the legacy of our ANZAC’s. Year 6 prepared and led us in a beautiful liturgy where we prayed for all those who gave their lives so that we can enjoy peace and freedom, today. We were encouraged to remember that peace in the world begins with each one of us building strong and trusting relationships based on Jesus’ message of love.

Thank you Year 6 and Mrs Innes for preparing and leading our moving school ANZAC Commemoration and to the families who were able to join us. 

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Learning & Teaching

Kindergarten - InitiaLit (Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP))

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Stage 1 - InitiaLit (Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP))

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3P Sport fun

3L Maths

4P Fractions work

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4L Fractions work

Year 5- Learning about point of view in English

Year 6- Learning about point of view in English

Sports News

Term Two -  Athletics focus

This term the children will participate in a range of Athletics skills that will prepare them for the Athletics Carnival on Friday the 9th of June.

Students in Years 4, 5 and 6 will walk to Neilson Park in Weeks 2, 4 and 6. There they will complete some Athletics Skills that will require more space. Notes for this went home this week. Could you please ensure you return the notes by Monday the 1st of May.

This week our Sports Captains, Tully and Hugh, interviewed Hamish and Harriett about their favourite sport.

School News

Bookclub Term 2 2023

Bookclub catalouges went home earlier in the week, please make sure that all orders are placed before 11th May 2023.  We do not accept cash, online payments only as per above instructions. Any issues please contact Jenette in the office.

Community News