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Lenten Focus
Last Wednesday we enjoyed a cool Ash Wednesday service with our community at 7am on the artificial turf adjacent the Middle/Senior primary classrooms. Our thanks to Fr Paul for celebrating this Mass for us. I also extend our appreciation to Miss Roberts for coordinating the Mass and to Roger for arranging the breakfast. It was terrific to have our families back on our school site, particularly those that are new to our school community. During the day, our teachers led a class Ash Wednesday liturgy which focussed on using the next six weeks as an opportunity to be kinder to ourselves, each other and our God.
I congratulate the following children for being elected to a range of leadership roles at Our Lady of the River School:
- School Captains - Claire Strong & Elysia Cresp
- Vice School Captain - Will Cresp & Kenzie Street
- Community Outreach Leaders - Tom Colligan & Harsimran Singh
who we introduced last week.
This week we have the house captains introducing themselves:
HOUSE LEADERS
St Joseph's:
House Captains:
Layla Vallelonga: Hi I’m Layla, I am a house captain for Joey’s this year. I like to play hockey and basketball. I am also looking forward to leading Joey’s with Charlize, Evelyn and Siri. Fun fact: I’m also the most awesome person ever. Layla V out!
Charlize Camilleri Turner: Hi my name is Charlize, and I am captain for Joey’s. I like hockey and soccer. I’m looking forward to with my buddies, Layla, Evie and Siri.
Vice Captains:
Evelyn Isaacs: Hi my name is Evie, I do fit to fly, futsal and basketball. I am looking forward work with the rest of the house captains this year. I am excited to be following in my brothers footsteps.
Siri Gudipati: Hi I’m Siri, I’m 10 years old and I’m looking forward to being your vice house captain for Joseph’s because I love working with others.
St Mary's
Bailey Exarheas: Hi, my name is Bailey and I am Team Captain for Marys. I love to be friends with everyone.
Vice Captains:
Latesha Darvill: Hello, my name is Latesha and I am Vice Captain for 2022 with Mackenzie for Marys. I really enjoy running and high jump. I’m looking forward to being house captain because I really enjoy sports day. Go Marys.
St Patrick's
House Captains:
Hi, I’m Annasia and I’m one of the House Captains for Patricks. I’m in Year 6 and am 11 years old. My favourite sports are hockey and basketball but I do play some other sports too. I like to hang out with my friends outside of school as well. I am very excited to be a house captain for Pat’s in 2022. I can’t wait to see you all have fun and enjoy learning and experiencing this years changes and new things, the sports day and the spirit cup.
Vice Captains:
Whilst we have formal leadership roles, there is an expectation at OLOR that all our senior primary children demonstrate the qualities of being responsible, respectful, optimistic, compassionate and kind. We look forward to providing our Yr 6 students with other tasks during 2022 when they will be able to demonstrate these qualities to our wider community.
Lenten Program
A reminder that over the next 6 weeks we invite our families to access the 2022 OLOR Lenten Programme: PRAISE: So easy To Do. We have sent out the PDF on SZapp that you can download and use as a family. Alternatively, you can join online with Mr Bennett on a Thursday afternoon at 4.30pm for a 30 minute focus on the program. It is a wonderful opportunity amidst the busyness of our modern world to stop, reflect and find a few moments to experience God’s peace in our lives.
The Resilience Project
This year our staff are implementing The Resilience Project at OLOR. This Australian based program has a focus on three core pillars:
- Gratitude
- Empathy
- Mindfulness
Every child from Foundation to Year 6 has a workbook that they are using during their Resilience Project lessons.
Below are some resources which I encourage you to access to better understand the principles of the program and some practical things that you can do to support the development of your child’s social and emotional competencies.
Parent/Caregiver Information
Throughout 2022, we will be working closely with The Resilience Project to support the wellbeing of our school community.
The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programs and provides evidence-based, practical strategies to build resilience.
Our Partnership Program consists of online presentations and weekly lessons for students, professional development for staff, and Parent & Carer Hub (inc. digital presentations) for our parent and carer community.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing the Parent & Carer Hub with you. The videos are 5-10 minutes long and will walk through the key pillars of resilience: Gratitude, Empathy & Mindfulness. You’ll hear stories and be introduced to activities to show how these strategies can support our kids' learning and development, and also support you as parents and carers.
This program is an important part of our school’s effort to look after the mental health of our community.
View the first presentation of the series here: Part 1: Meet Martin and learn about The Resilience Project - https://theresilienceproject.com.au/parent-and-carer-hub/
We will be in touch fortnightly to share the remainder of the program, including research and wellbeing activities to integrate into day to day life.
For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.
PAT Testing & Pulse Check In
Over the last few weeks our staff have commenced a range of testing programs that provide a summary of your child’s current learning needs in Literacy & Numeracy. Also, the Pulse Check In allows your child to provide feedback on their level of connectedness to their learning, classmates and staff. The data generated from these tasks allows our staff to direct their teaching to cater for the diverse needs of each learner. Likewise, the Pulse Check In enables staff to follow up with children who may need additional support with their learning, friendships or relationships with teachers and ESO’s. It is a serious commitment from OLOR to enable our children to have a strong voice and agency in their learning.
Parent – Teacher Interviews
Our parent -Teacher interviews will be held in week 9 of Term One, Monday 28th March – Wednesday 30th March. Bookings with your child’s Teacher/s need to be made via our online ‘Parent-Teacher Booking Form’ tile on SZapp. Accessing this link will allow you to make a booking with Session Keeper. Like any new initiative, we are here to support you with this process. Bookings will be open from Wednesday 16th March and will close Thursday 24th March. We trust that you will make yourself available to meet with your child’s teacher/s to share your child’s growth and goals for 2022.
Our Lady of the River Students ‘ROCK’
Over the last few weeks we have been discussing the qualities that we want to witness at Our Lady of the River School. The anagram of these qualities spells out ‘ROCK’!
The first words reflect the qualities we want to witness with our social/emotional competencies:
Respectful
Optimistic
Compassionate
Kind
The second words describe the learner qualities we want our children to display:
Responsible
Organised
Capable
Knowledgeable
At lunch & recess breaks, children who demonstrate these qualities above and beyond our ‘expected behaviours’ will be able to obtain points for their House Team. They will also receive a sticker from the Yard Duty teacher. Ultimately, we are working towards our children being able to self-direct and manage their behaviour with scaffolding from our staff and families.
Sports Coordinator
Participation in the ‘Before School Fitness Circuit’ has been high once again over the last fortnight. It has been great to see many Skipping Club bronze members testing their skills and keeping active in the mornings. 216 laps were completed as part of the fortnightly lap challenge, equating to a total distance of 54 km. Year 4-6 students enjoyed participating in the minor games circuit where they played basketball in the hall. Keep up the good work!
In Physical Education, Year 3-6 students have been engaging in cricket lessons where they are learning skills and techniques such as bowling, throwing, catching, attacking/defensive fielding, the pull shot, the forward defence and the forward drive. Cricket is a form of striking and fielding game that is dynamic, exciting, challenging and most importantly, FUN.
SAPSASA will ramp up over the next few weeks, so keep checking for dates on the calendar below.
Sporting Quote of the Week: |
“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan |
Have a great weekend!
Kind regards,
Tom Charlton
OLOR Sports Coordinator
Term 1 SAPSASA Dates |
|
Event |
Date |
Riverland SAPSASA Swimming @Renmark |
Friday, 18th March |
Riverland SAPSASA Hockey Carnival @Berri |
Friday, 25th March |
Riverland Primary Athletics Carnival @Loxton |
Friday, 8th April |
Boys District & Girls Crows Cup Football Carnivals @Berri |
Wednesday, 13th April |
Leader of Learning
When I spent time this week in the Year 4/5 class we had lots of fun reading The Twits and The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl. We are so lucky to have such a great library space for our children to spend time in with new and updated books. Sandy has dedicated a lot of time to ensure we have a wide range of both non-fiction and fiction books for students to enjoy and borrow.
It is an expectation that all students will complete the Premiers Reading Challenge in 2022 - so get reading!
The PRC is now underway, and students have received their Reading Record form for 2022.
Students must read a total of 12 books, 8 from the Challenge Booklist (at their appropriate level) and 4 of their own free choice. They have until the 9th of September, to complete the Challenge and return their forms to either myself, or the class teacher. Certificates and Medal Awards will be presented to students in November.
For more information and to see what is covered in the Challenge, go to https://premiersreadingchallenge.sa.edu.au
Scholastic Book Club
This week, your child received the latest issue of Scholastic Book Club. If you would like to place an order, please fill in the order form and send with correct money or cheque (made out to OLOR) in an envelope marked with your child's name and class on the front. (OLOR receives a small percentage of sales which goes towards new books for our Library).
Please see Sandy if you have any questions regarding ordering. Thank you.
Foundation - Year 2 Art
The Foundation - Year 2 students learnt about why bees are so important. Not only do they make honey, but without them we would have far less fruit and vegetables too!
Students used bubble wrap and paint to create the patterns seen in a beehive and used paper collage to create their own unique bees. They look fantastic displayed together in the art room!
Choir and Wakakirri
Rehearsals begin this week (Week 6) for Choir and Wakakirri. These opportunities are available for students in Year 3-6.
This year, OLOR is going to be participating in Wakakirri, a national story-dance festival for schools. The Aboriginal word Wakakirri means 'to dance' according to the Wangaaypuwan people from Cobar NSW. Wakakirri is a great opportunity for students to work collaboratively to plan, choreograph and perform a dance that tells a story.
Wakakirri rehearsals will be held on Wednesday mornings from 8:15 - 9:00am in the Hall.
Students in Year 4-6 have the chance to be involved in the Riverland Primary Schools' Music Festival. Year 3's are welcome to join in for rehearsals but will not be able to attend the performance until next year.
Choir rehearsals will be held on Thursday mornings from 8:15 - 9:00am in the Parish Centre.
Covid 19
A reminder that our families are permitted to enter our school site, however, at present you are required to remain outdoors unless attending a formalised meeting and wearing a mask. Thanks for your understanding in following these guidelines. It appears that we are moving closer to less restrictions in the future – happy days!
Parish Mass & Picnic: This Sunday 13th March, Our Lady of the River Parish are holding Mass and a picnic at Kingston on Murray. You are invited to join the Parish community in celebrating these commencing at 11am. BYO food, drinks, deck chair, sunscreen & hat. Games will be hosted after Mass.
Participation in Waikerie Fringe: We wish Catie, Lily, Harriet, Charlize & Evelyn every success as they participate in the ‘Fit To Fly’ performance in the upcoming Waikerie River Fringe. It is terrific to see our children involving themselves in community events.