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Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff, Students and Friends,
On November 2 and during the whole month of November, the Catholic Church prays especially for those who have died. If children would like to, they will be asked to prayerfully share the name/s or bring along a photo of relatives or friends who have passed away and for whom they would like to offer a prayer.
You may like to pray together as a family to commemorate all the departed:
Merciful Father,
On this day, we are called to remember all people we loved who have died,
particularly those who have passed from this life in the past year.
Thank you for our memories of them and for the blessed times we shared.
We pray for their joyful reunion with you, their loving creator.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day) is a Memorial Day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. On Thursday, November 11, we commemorated this event and remembered all those who have died in wars with a special service of prayer, reflection and silence. The service of prayer took place in the children's classrooms.
Christmas Concert Night
All families, relatives and friends are invited to our outside Christmas Concert, set for Thursday, November 18, starting at 6 pm till approximately 8 pm. Currently, the classes are practising concert items, which will be performed on a simple stage near the cricket pitch, so family and friends can sit (COVID-19 safe) outside on deck chairs to watch the students perform. If we have inclement weather, the backup plan for the concert will be in the school gym. Mishes Kitchen – Vietnamese Food and Mr Super Soft Ice-creams will be available for purchase on the night. A pre-order form for Mishes delicious food will be sent home this week. Please return if you would like to reduce your waiting time on the night. Bring your own drinks and food for your family. Each class will also have a Christmas gift stall with items for families, friends and guests to purchase outside their classrooms. Monies raised will go towards the St Vincent DePaul Christmas appeal.
Student Well-being
Supporting our children's mental health is becoming a more important consideration for parents in this modern-day and age. We know that when we make children feel connected to and welcome in our family or school, we support their positive adjustment, self-identification, and sense of trust in others and themselves.
When we support our children to achieve reasonable levels of academic success and help them develop their talents and interests, we are helping them feel competent and more able to deal with any stress they may have or experience as they grow up. Helping them be socially competent, having friends and staying connected to them can enhance mental wellness. As adults, we also need to promote healthy participation in activities.
However, there are some activities that we need to discourage from too much engagement- particularly a child's use of technology, the internet and too much screen time. Supervised use of technology from a very young age is vital if parents are the leading influence in their child's development. It seems that many children of all ages are watching things on Netflix or Youtube that are highly inappropriate for their age group and often are accessing technology in their bedrooms, out of sight of parents. As convenient as this may be for some 'quiet time', checking in with your child about what they are accessing is just as important as making sure they cross the road safely or wear a helmet when riding their bike. Recently, we have had reported incidences of our senior students communicating after school hours using inappropriate language and unkindness on Snapchat and similar communication apps. More disturbingly, we have heard a small number of very young students commenting about 'Squid Game', a Netflix show rated MA+.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/blog/squid-game-shows-need-check-what-your-child-watching
For more information about using technology and ways to have a healthy engagement with it, click on this link. https://raisingchildren.net.au/.
This website also offers a wealth of information on other topics for families.
School Survey
This week the link for our annual survey has been sent to families. The information collated through the survey will inform our strategic direction for 2022. Please click on the link posted on Seesaw or below to complete the survey.
Enrolments 2022
Our 2022 enrolments are filling fast. Would you please let extended family and friends know to contact the administration office to make an appointment to speak to the Principal if they intend on enrolling their child in any year level in 2022?
COVID 19 Updates
1. Parents and visitors on site
Parents, volunteers and visitors are welcome in schools providing COVID safe measures are in place and followed.
All parents and visitors are required to COVID-Safe check-in when entering buildings and practise physical distancing from other adults.
It is recommended that parents and other visiting adults wear masks when entering school buildings.
Masks are not required outdoors if adults can physically distance.
2. End of year events
- recommended density and physical distancing requirements are to be met by all attending adults
- all attendees COVID-Safe check-in
- appropriate hygiene provisions (e.g. sanitiser stations) will be in place
- attendees are advised that they must not attend if unwell, even mildly.
Please remember that health advice and pandemic conditions can change at any time, and it's important to check our Seesaw notifications of any sudden changes.
'Never see a need without doing something about it.' Blessed Mary Mackillop.
Ros Oates
Principal
Hi all,
Over three days, Our Lady of the River held their 2021 Sports Day at Berri Oval No. 2 and the OLOR oval. A combination of strong winds and hot temperatures on Thursday, October 28th resulted in the postponement of the team games and track events. Team games were completed the following Monday, 1st November on the OLOR oval while the track events, including the 400m and 100m races, were run the next morning back at Berri Oval No. 2.
Despite the setback, all students, staff and families demonstrated fantastic resilience, support and overall sporting spirit. It was gratifying to see each child have the opportunity participate in physical activity and try their best for their house colours. Sports Day is such a special event at OLOR and so it was imperative that we finished off what we started.
In other news, several new records have been set this year. A special mention goes to Slater and Wavely Marsden of St Joseph’s, who broke the high jump records for their respective year levels. Slater jumped an impressive 1.36m in the Year 7 boys event while Wavely cleared 1.16m in the Year 5 boys event! Also, to Elysia Cresp of St Patrick’s, who equalled the record for the Year 5 girls high jump with a height of 1.12m. On the track, Max Schubert of St. Patrick’s broke the Year 5 boys 100m record with an impressive time of 15.97 seconds. Charlize Camilleri of St. Joseph’s ran an 11.67 second 70m sprint, breaking the previous Year 4 girls record of 12.07 seconds. Finally, well done to Charlie Kregar of St. Mary’s, who broke the Year 3 boys 70m sprint record with a time of 11.00 seconds. Outstanding work!
I would like to thank all staff, students and families for helping make Sports Day 2021 a success despite the tough circumstances we faced. I would like to especially thank Luke Cotter for his guidance in preparing and initiating Sports Day this year. I learnt a lot and can’t wait to get stuck into a bigger and better OLOR Sports Day in 2022!
|
Sports Day 2021 Champions |
|
|
St Joseph’s |
1706 |
|
St Mary’s |
1462 |
|
St Patrick’s |
1435 |
|
Sports Day 2021 Spirit Award |
|
|
St Patrick’s |
361 |
|
St Mary’s |
292 |
|
St Joseph’s |
233 |
Mr Tom Charlton
Year 7 Teacher/Sports Coordinator
Term 4 - SAPSASA
Week 6 – Friday - Softball (Year 5/6/7) @ Glassy Park
For the rest of the year I will be team teaching with Tom and Ros in the Senior Unit. I must say it is such a privilege to be spending the last 5 weeks with the last group of Year 7's to graduate from OLOR and the very first group of Year 6's to be moving into Secondary education. Our literacy focus is preparing a graduation speech that reflects memories from the past but also shares dreams of the future. It has been fun going back in time remembering the teachers, the camps and excursions, the concerts and the funny little stories that stay with us. These speeches will be presented to their peers and the audience at Graduation night. As challenging as it can be to speak in front of a crowd of people these are skills needed to be successful in the future. We are working with our senior students on being 'more comfortable with being uncomfortable' and embracing change as an opportunity improve yourself or try new things.
Leader of Learning
Our Lady of the River Graduation Mass (only) is planned for Tuesday, November 30 at 6 pm in the school gym. All families are invited to attend, wishing our Year 6 and Year 7 students all the best as they graduate from primary school. After this Mass, we will thank and farewell families and staff leaving the school in a small ceremony.
Two official Graduation Speech Ceremonies will be held on Wednesday, December 1, starting at 6 pm at the Berri Hotel. There will be two separate sessions (see below) to accommodate family and friends attending during the current COVID-19 conditions. Each student is restricted to 7 people on their table, and a booking-in system will be set up closer to the date.
Wednesday, December 1 Timetable
Year 6 Graduation Ceremony and Awards - 6.00 pm till 7.15 pm (families may choose to book for dinner at the Berri Hotel afterwards).
Year 7 Graduation Ceremony and Awards - 7.30 pm till 9.00 pm (families may choose to book dinner at the Berri Hotel beforehand).
St Francis of Assisi
Year 7 (current Year 6) Students 2022
Week 7 Thursday 25 November and Friday 26 November 2021
Year 8 (current Year 7) Students 2022
Week 6 Thursday 18 November and Friday 19 November 2021
Venue: Renmark Football Club. All transition days will run from 9 am – 3 pm. Students will need to bring food and drink for a recess and lunch break, there will be no canteen facilities available.
Berri Regional Secondary College
Week 8
Thursday December 2 [Full day] - 8:50am – 3:20pm
Friday December 3 [Full day] - 8:50am – 3:20pm
Loxton High School
Year 7 into 8 Parent Information Evening,
7.00pm Tuesday 16 November in the Theatre
Year 7 Back to Back Transition Days,
Wednesday 17 November and Thursday 18 November
Congratulations to the following students who are having a birthday in November:
Foundation - Mia
Year 2 - Grace, Jack
Year 3 - Grace
Year 4 - Jack, Ishmeet
Year 5 - Tom, Eli, Will
Year 6 - Connor
Year 7 - Emma, Tatam, Issac
| Topic | Term | Week |
| Circus Classes now at OLOR! | Term 4 | Week3 |
| Graduation Events 2021 |
Term 4 | Week 3 |
| Footy Colours Day | Term 3 | Week 9 |
| Quick Writes | Term 3 | Week 9 |
| Book Week | Term 3 | Week 7 |
| Alexander Hill visit | Term 3 | Week 7 |
| Staffing | Term 3 | Week 3 |
| Sacraments | Term 3 | Week 3 |
| School Attendance | Term 2 | Week 3 |
| Canteen Price increase | Term 2 | Week 1 |
| Transition Students | Term 2 | Week 1 |
| SAPSASA Timetable | Term 1 | Week 8 |
