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Universal Prayer for Ukraine:
‘Catholics around the world are being encouraged to join their prayers with those of Pope Francis on March 25 when he consecrates Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The act of consecration places the warring countries under the protection of Mary, the Mother of Christ, trusting in the power of her intercession. Such an act looks towards God, the source of all peace, and seeks God’s peace through Mary.’
Our whole school gathered on the school oval this morning to do the prayer.
Lenten Focus:
During Holy Week, commencing Monday 11th April, our children will be participating in our annual Lenten focus.
Depending upon C-19 guidelines, we would love to have our families join us on Holy Thursday to witness the Easter Story being told by each class from Palm Sunday to Jesus being placed in the tomb. This is a wonderful way to enter the Easter season in a prayerful and reflective manner.
If families are not permitted to attend due to C-19 restrictions we will be videotaping the presentations and the link will be distributed via SZapp/Seesaw.
Foundation Class Mass:
Despite the ravages of C-19 impacting upon our youngest members of our school family, it was wonderful to have them join our Parish on Thursday morning to celebrate Mass. Fr Paul spoke very fondly of the reverence of our children and complimented Mrs Rayner on her preparation.
Jesus Blesses the Children
Matthew 19:13–15
Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them. But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
NAPLAN 2019 – 2021:
It is exciting to announce that Our Lady of the River School has achieved excellent Numeracy growth in NAPLAN between 2019 - 2021.
Catholic schools achieve significant NAPLAN gains
Six SA Catholic schools have been recognised by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) for the high gains achieved by students in their NAPLAN scores between 2019 and 2021.
Students in these schools who sat NAPLAN literacy or numeracy tests in 2019 and again in 2021 have shown increases in their scores that are significantly greater than both the national average gain and the gain by students from other similar schools.
The Catholic schools are:
School name |
Suburb |
Student Cohort |
Result |
Our Lady of the River School |
BERRI |
Year 3-5 |
Numeracy |
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College |
ENFIELD |
Year 7-9 |
Reading & Numeracy |
Our Lady Queen of Peace School |
ALBERT PARK |
Year 3-5 |
Reading |
St Dominic's Priory College |
NORTH ADELAIDE |
Year 7-9 |
Numeracy |
St Joseph's Memorial School |
NORWOOD |
Year 3-5 |
Reading |
St Margaret Mary's School |
CROYDON PARK |
Year 3-5 |
Writing |
“All of our schools are committed to excellence in learning and teaching and it is pleasing to see these schools highlighted for their significant gains in NAPLAN results,” said John Mula OAM, Deputy Director, Catholic Education South Australia.
“These results reflect our 103 schools’ overall approach to learning and a whole community commitment to improvement with staff, students and parents working in partnership together.”
John said that NAPLAN is only one measure among many as part of a holistic approach to education in Catholic schools.
“Our Catholic schools focus on the whole child, on their learning and their wellbeing. As a system, we collect a diverse range of data to support young people spiritually, academically, socially, morally and physically.”
“In saying this, great things are happening across our state with our schools committed to CESA’s overarching strategy to achieve improvement in student learning outcomes, and that commitment should be acknowledged and celebrated.”
I acknowledge and congratulate the work of the Principal Mrs Ros Oates, Acting Principal, Mrs Nanda de Winter and our Leader of Learning, Mrs Mel Steele, in working with our dedicated staff and whole school community in achieving this outcome. I have certainly been impressed with the educational rigour and passion that I have witnessed amongst the staff at Our Lady of the River School over the first eight weeks of Term One.
A proud day in the history of OLOR!
The Resilience Project – 2nd Presentation to Families
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.
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.
This program is an important part of our school’s effort to look after the mental health of our community.
This week’s presentation from The Resilience Project focuses on Gratitude.
Gratitude is paying attention to the things that we have right now, and not worrying about what we don’t have. We practise this by noticing the positives that exist around us.
Research shows that practicing gratitude rewires our brains to overcome the negativity bias (which can lead to anxiety and depression) and see the world for what we are thankful for. It is also shown to broaden thinking and increase physical health through improved sleep and attitude to exercise.
View the SECOND presentation of the series here:
https://theresilienceproject.com.au/parent-and-carer-hub/
There are many ways in which you can practise gratitude, including starting a Wellbeing Journal. In the image below are a few ideas to get started.
Source: Psychology Today
For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.
Parent – Teacher Interviews:
Our Parent -Teacher interviews will be held next week, Monday 28th March – Wednesday 30th March. Bookings should now have been made via our online ‘Parent-Teacher Booking Form’ tile on SZapp. 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
Due to ongoing implications of Covid-19, Parent-Teacher Meetings
will be held remotely. Our teachers will call you at your designated time slot.
OLOR Does is Again!
Hi all,
Our Lady of the River has once again taken out both the Uzzell Shield (4x50m Medley Relay) and Appleton Shield (4x50m Freestyle Relay) at the recent Riverland SAPSASA Swimming Carnival held in Renmark on Friday, 18th March. This makes it a remarkable 4-in-a-row for our school, an amazing achievement! Four students will also represent the Riverland District Swimming Team to compete in Adelaide in Term 2. Congratulations to Bode Gates, Ella Rothe, Wavely Marsden and Max Schubert. Finally, a special mention must go to Ella Rothe, who broke the record for the 12-year-old female 50m butterfly. Please see below for a full list of results.
Have a great weekend!
Kind regards,
Tom Charlton
OLOR Sports Coordinator
Sporting Quote of the Week:
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”
– Vincent Lombardi
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 |
Tuesday, 12th April |
Year 6 Students
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!
Funky Feet Friday :
To continue our commitment to Project Compassion, children are invited to wear funky socks to school Friday 1st April.
Playgroup:
A reminder that our Playgroup operates on a Tuesday morning between 9am – noon. It is located in the Parish building between the Church and OLOR Playground.
We welcome families with young children to access this opportunity to socialise with other parents and their little ones in a relaxed and informal manner. We acknowledge the commitment of Mrs Erica Kalman to coordinate this community activity at Our Lady of the River School and trust that it develops connections with people amidst the isolation of C-19.
Please consider joining our Playgroup and immersing yourself among the activities and conversations with a wonderful group who enjoy the company of each other and their beautiful children.
Bright Start:
If your child is four years old, we invite them to join our Bright Start program. This transition program operates on a Tuesday morning between 9am – noon this term. In Term Two, the Bright Start program is a full day between 9am – 3.10pm. If you have any questions about the program, please contact our coordinator, Ms Jade De Grigorio who can answer your questions. The focus of Bright Starts is to provide children with a safe and supportive introduction to our school environment and slowly increase their confidence and connection with our Foundation staff and children.
Healthy Habits
This is a FREE service available to anyone and can be accessed via a self-referral.
Please contact Focus One Health on 8582 3823 to find out more.