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A Week enriched by Catholic Tradition
On Tuesday 16th February the OLOR students got to enjoy a pancake with a simple topping to celebrate our Christian tradition of Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins. Long ago this was a day for feasting and having a good time. The name Shrove Tuesday comes from the idea that people were shriven on this day. People would go to church to confess their wrong doings and they would be would be 'shriven' or forgiven before the start of Lent. Since rich foods such as eggs, flour and milk were forbidden during Lent, one way of using them up would be to make pancakes.
As Tuesday’s weather was quite warm, students could also purchase an ice block as well. Preparing one hundred and thirty odd pancakes was quite a task, however, it was achieved through the terrific help of staff and parent helpers. I wish to thank them for generously giving up their time so that our students could experience, our long standing tradition of enjoying a pancake on Shrove Tuesday.
On Wednesday the Church commenced the season of Lent. Traditionally, many Christians receive a cross of ashes on their foreheads, this year it was a sprinkling on our heads, a sign that has been used by God’s people for many hundreds of years, to show that we are sorry and we wish to be better.
The OLOR community gathered for our annual 7am Mass, distribution of Ashes, school/sport captain badges presentation, welcoming of new families and concluded with an egg and toast breakfast. Thank you Fr Paul, special guest Nathan Hayes Principal of St Francis of Assisi, the staff who assisted, our parent/student helpers in the kitchen. Thank you also to everyone for their attendance, each year our gathering grows, it was heart-warming to share our Catholic story with you.
During the season of Lent Catholics are encouraged to do three things:
- give to the poor,
- pray to God and
- fast
One of the ways the Church promotes giving to the poor is through the Project Compassion Appeal.
Each classroom has a Project Compassion box on their prayer table and we ask that parents remind their children about donating to the poor by dropping a coin or two into the box. Proceeds from ice-blocks sold on Shrove Tuesday will be donated to Project Compassion.
The money is sent to Caritas Australia who works to provide better levels of education, health care, and housing to people who live in countries that do not enjoy the same high levels of living as we do in Australia.
May God’s peaceful Spirit be with you always,
Rosemary Perre
APRIM
Please click on the link below for the latest issue of the Southern Cross.
Dear Parents, Grandparents, Carers and Friends,
We are well and truly into the term now, and the students are settling into routines and procedures positively and responsibly. I am pleased with how things are going but wanted to let you know of a few routines that have been introduced or reinforced by myself so that we are all on the same page.
Our Lady of the River School has a 'Safe Hands (body) and Safe Words' policy for all students to follow. This message aligns with our wellbeing activities taught and practised in our classrooms and schoolyard. It is essential that we develop strategies to calm ourselves down and not react impulsively when we feel upset, frustrated or angry, and assist our peers during these times. Learning and practising these phrases, 'Safe Hands, Safe Words' daily, using words to express our feelings, telling others how we are feeling, giving clear messages to others, and understanding ourselves and others is important. It is also crucial that students assist their peers by speaking up and supporting each other during these times. I'm pleased to say that we have minimal incidents; however, teachers will inform parents if their child has been involved in unsafe behaviour events.
I draw your attention to a couple of date claimers coming up. The School Board AGM is set for Tuesday, March 16, at 6 pm in the Multipurpose Room. If you are interested in helping to realise Our Lady of the River School's vision and be involved in the school's important decision-making processes, please contact Karlie in the front office for a nomination form.
Families, a reminder that on Thursdays, including and from February 25, the school will conclude at 2.30 pm for students. The School Board recently approved this along with student free days on Monday July 19 until Friday July 23 (Week 1) Term 3. Please contact me if you have any concerns regarding care for your children?
Parents are to meet with teachers in Weeks 6-8 between Monday, March 1 and Friday, March 19.
Due to the restrictions of COVID19, teachers will individually contact families and arrange for the best possible time for a general discussion. Teachers will be discussing the set goals their child has for numeracy, literacy and learning behaviours and will share this information with their parents.
Remember that we are a team. We need you to join us on your child's educational journey. We can't do it alone. Together we can ensure that your child will experience high-quality learning in a supportive, encouraging, and safe environment. We are on the same team. Let's ensure that we act that way by being positive, encouraging and supportive of one another. Let's be Jesus people who will make a difference, especially during this Lenten season.
Enjoy your week ahead,
Ros Oates
Over the year Catholic Education encourages us to share summaries of specific documents. Below are this term’s documents.
Bullying and Harassment Procedures and Concerns
The school will provide a positive culture where harassment/bullying is not accepted, and in so doing, all will have the right of respect from others, the right to learn and to teach, and a right to feel safe and secure in the school environment. At Our Lady of the River School we celebrate our individual talents, skills and differences. We will all try to live as God wants us to.
“Love one another as I have loved you.” John 13:36
- To reinforce within the school community what bullying is, and the fact that it is unacceptable.
- Everyone within the school community to be alert to signs and evidence of bullying and to have a responsibility to report it to staff whether as observer or victim.
- To ensure that all reported incidents of bullying are followed up appropriately and that support is given to both victims and perpetrators.
To seek parental and peer-group support and co-operation at all times.
Policy for the Care, Wellbeing and Protection of Children and Young People 2017
South Australian Catholic schools place the highest priority on the care, wellbeing and protection of children and young people. In South Australia Child Protection policy and practices support a proactive role in the care, wellbeing and protection of children and young people, the provision of child safe environments and intervention procedures for responding to abuse and neglect.
These responsibilities include:
- a duty of care to students
- responsibilities as mandated notifiers of child abuse and/or neglect the provision of child protection curriculum for every student
- a code of conduct to promote respectful and caring relationships
The full document can be viewed below;
Due to unforeseen circumstances, school photos were cancelled on Thursday, February 18. The school will notify parents and carers soon of the new rescheduled date.
All schools have been provided with and are now be using a QR code specific to their site.
All adults, including staff and parents, are expected to use COVID SAfe Check-In when entering classrooms/buildings on site. At this stage it is not necessary to check-in at the school gate to enter school grounds.
Please note the COVID SAfe Check-in is purely for SA Health contact tracing purposes and does not replace your normal visitor sign-in process. All guests should continue to sign in at the front office/reception on arrival.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the School Board has decided to cancel our annual Chocolate Carnivale. It was agreed that this event would be replaced with an Easter Auction Night (for adults) towards the end of this term, and children will be involved in other fun fundraising events throughout the year.
We will also continue our tradition of having a 'Monster' Easter Egg Raffle and announce winners before we break for Easter at the end of the term. We ask each family to donate a chocolate product to the value of $15 - $20. The chocolates (Cadbury preferred) can be dropped at the front office from the beginning of March. If you wish to help with the organisation of the Easter Auction night, please contact Ros or Karlie in the front office. The first meeting for this event's organisation is Friday, February 26, 5 pm in the Multi-purpose room. Nibbles and drinks supplied.
2021 has begun with progressive learning and dynamic teaching opportunities at Our Lady of the River School. Staff have been working together to continue to improve our practice and ensure that all students are thriving and capable learners. In my role this year as Leader of Learning I will be working closely with the school leadership team and teaching staff to strengthen student outcomes in literacy, numeracy and wellbeing. In future newsletters I look forward to sharing with your some amazing learning that is happening around our school.
Over the summer holidays Ros and I completed the iheart facilitators training and have started teaching these lessons in the middle and senior classes once a week. iheart is a wellbeing program that helps young people uncover their innate resilience and wellbeing. The iheart Principles describe how the human psychological system is an intelligent system based on a clear logic that explains the source of all feeling states, emotions and felt experiences. I encourage you to ask your child about their iheart workshops and share their learning with you.
For further information I have included the website link below.
Pat Perre
Don’t forget to pay fees in full by the 9th of April 2021 to receive the 5% early bird discount.
If you have any questions please contact the school on 0885821128 or email info@olor.catholic.edu.au
Hello everyone,
This week OLOR had 12 students participate in the SAPSASA Swimming Carnival held at the Loxton Swimming Pool. Expectations were high coming off a successful 2020 campaign and the students more than lived up to those expectations. OLOR retained both the Uzzell Shield for the 4x50m medley relay and the Appleton Shield for the 4x50m freestyle relay.
We also set an impressive 6 new records for the event. Special mention goes to Max Schubert for breaking the 11 year old boys 50m freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly record respectively. Another special mention goes to Ella Rothe who broke the 11 year old girls butterfly record. Both swimmers were also apart of the record-breaking medley team that included fellow students Emma Schubert and Oliver Sims.
6 students have been selected from the event to represent the Riverland SAPSASA District Swimming Team in Adelaide at the Country Swimming Championships in week 9. Well done to Ella Rothe, Max Schubert, Emma Schubert, Wavely Marsden, Slater Marsden and Oliver Sims.
Most of all, it was fantastic to see each student try their best and have fun at the event. We are fortunate to have so many capable swimmers at OLOR and it appears we will be more than competitive again next year.
Finally, I would like to thank Sarah Rothe and Kelly Storer for helping transport a number of students to and from the event. Your help is much appreciated by the OLOR community.
Awards will be given to each swimmer at our next assembly on Thursday 25th February. Hope to see you there.
Kind regards,
Mr Thomas Charlton
Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 |
Tues Week 4 – SAPSASA Swimming @ Loxton |
Wed Week 4 – Cross Country @ Waikerie | Fri Week 1 – Basketball @ Loxton | Fri Week 1 – School Cricket Cup @ Berri |
Wed Week 9 – Athletics @ Waikerie |
Fri Week 5 – Soccer @ Renmark | Sun Week 2 – Golf @ Berri (students only) | Fri Week 6 – Softball (Year 5/6/7) @ Glassy Park |
Tuesday Week 11 – Football (Berri Districts)/Netball (OLOR) @ Loxton |
*Fri Week 8 – SANFL 9-aside football (TBC) | Thurs Week 5 – Tag Rugby @ Berri | |
Tues Week 9 – Hot Shots Tennis @ Berri (Year 3/4 |
The Year 3s were lucky enough to have the first assembly of the 2021. We shared swimming experience writing through the 5 senses, our beautiful artwork and a melodical choral musical performance. If you were not fortunate enough to make it we have shared some photos.
Nicolette Roberts - Year 3 Teacher