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Confirmation
On Sunday 4th September five of our students celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation at St Albert’s Church in Loxton. Fr Hau presided over the service and the students were joined by 6 others from St Albert’s school and the parish. Well done to Eli Cresp, Will Cresp, Mackenzie Pitt, Kenzie Sweet and Layla Vallelonga, who were filled with the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and became adult members of the church. It was a special celebration and a great opportunity to come together with the Parish in a Sacramental way.
The Season of Creation
The Season of Creation has special significance for the Catholic Church, particularly since Pope Francis established September 1st as the annual World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation. It is a time marked throughout the Christian world from 1st September to 4th October (Feast of St. Francis of Assisi) and celebrates the joy of creation as well as encourages awareness-raising initiatives to help us to heal and protect Our Common Home. The theme this year is Listening to the Voice of Creation.
We celebrate in the awareness that our world is suffering deeply from numerous environmental crises as well as conflict in many regions. These global crises are interconnected and affect millions of people but are experienced most deeply by the poor and vulnerable. The earth is crying out to us, but are we listening now to the Book of Creation? May this Season inspire us and strengthen us in our efforts to protect our common home.
See this video for more information:
What is the Season Of Creation 2022? https://youtu.be/Q7VNncdIC4E
As the weather warms up and Spring finally starts to settle in, it is a reminder that things are always changing. Blossoms on trees are being joined by new leaves, magpies are swooping and plovers are chasing people away from their nests, and the weather goes through stages of warmth and Spring rains. At school we constantly see changes every day, from students finally ‘getting it’ in new learning, to tiredness settling as we near the end of term. We also see our Year 6 students heading off for transition visits at secondary schools, as well as holding interviews for new Foundation students looking to start school next year. It is a reminder that things always evolve and change, and that this is a good process for renewal, reinvigoration and new growth.
Sacraments are always special events in the lives of the people undertaking them, as well as those connected. From baptisms to weddings, we celebrate the connections that we make in life and with God through the sacraments. Last week we were very fortunate to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation with eleven young people in our parish, including five from our school. This renewal of their Baptism is one in which the students stood up for themselves and proudly said that this is who they are and what they believe. We wish the students and their families well in their ongoing faith journey.
This weekend we are proud to take part in the Riverland Field Days. We have combined with the other Riverland Catholic Primary Schools to create a stall celebrating all of our primary schools and what Catholic Education brings to the Riverland. We know that families love our schools because of the Catholic values that we live by and promote, the caring, community and family nature of our schools and the way that we focus on the education of the whole child, academically, socially, emotionally, physically as well as spiritually. At OLOR we are always looking at what we can do better and how to support students and families best now and in the years to come.
As a Catholic School hub in the Riverland, we are looking at how to be more collaborative and work together to share resources, structures, and priorities moving forward. We hope that greater collaboration will ensure all of our schools are able to provide high-class, well-resourced, high-quality and faith-filled Catholic education across all schools and all year levels from Foundation to Year 12, with St Francis of Assisi College now providing a secondary Catholic pathway in the Riverland. I look forward to keeping our community informed as we meet in the coming weeks to scope what this collaboration could look like going into 2023.
As always, I welcome feedback on how things are going at OLOR. If you have any questions or concerns, please firstly contact your child’s class teacher, then if you need more information or clarification, I welcome you to contact me to help with resolving the matter if needed. All of our staff are working very hard to cater to the needs of all of our students, and are doing a great job with this. Occasionally we need to adjust support in classrooms if a staff member is away sick, and we trust that families are understanding when this needs to happen. We have a great team of teachers and ESOs at OLOR who all work together to benefit all of the students in so many ways.
In the last couple of weeks of Term 3 we look forward to finishing off the learning happening in classes, as well as the last few events of the term. Next term we look forward to celebrating Sports Day, as well as end of year events like Concert and Year 6 Graduation. We also look forward to the ongoing learning as students progress through their learning programs in preparation for their next year level. It is a great time of the year to be able to see the improvement and growth that students have developed throughout the year.
R U OK Day
The Mission Statement for R U OK is to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them and support anyone struggling with their life circumstances. It was started in 1995 by Gavin Larkin who chose to champion just one question - “are you OK?” - to honour his father and to try to protect other families from the pain of suicide.
Asking R U OK is not just for one day in September, it’s a habit for all of us to cultivate every day of the year. Checking in on someone when we notice they might not be OK assists people to feel connected, supported and hopefully prevents them from spiralling downwards.
In addition to us as individuals checking in on the people around us, we can help create an R U OK workplace or family culture. An R U OK culture means that you feel comfortable asking your colleagues and family members how they are every day. Be ready to have a chat and if they say they’re not ok – take the time to be with them to listen. Also, if you sense someone isn’t OK – reach out to them and have a chat.
It might be that their behaviour changes in some way. They may seem withdrawn, not their usual chatty self, they may have taken a few days off work or school unexpectedly or seem irritable, and if this change in behaviour continues for a week or two maybe suggest that they see their GP or make contact with a counsellor. Asking someone R U OK might just make a positive change in the life of others as well as in your own.
Consider using ALEC to help you start the conversation:
- Ask: Pick the right moment and ask R U OK? in a way that feels right for you. Mention changes you’ve noticed and that you’re concerned.
- Listen: Listen without judgement. Don’t rush or interrupt but encourage them to explain what’s going on for them.
- Encourage Action: Ask what they've done in the past that has helped. There might be something practical you can do, or you could help them access professional support.
- Check in: Stay in touch after the initial conversation. Check in to ask how they're feeling and if things have improved. Stay connected so they’ll know you’re there for them.
If you haven’t seen it already, check out the video made by our students for R U OK day on our Facebook page.
OLOR Dance Troupe
Our OLOR Dance Troupe have had lots of fun over the past few weeks working collaboratively to choreography short sequences to suit a song or a theme. We have now chosen our Christmas Concert dance music and have begun choreography. It’s not too late to join us – new members are welcome until the end of this term and then regular attendance will be expected next to term to practise our concert dance.
Our Dance Troupe meets at 8:15am on Wednesday mornings in the Hall – hope to see you there!
On Tuesday 6th September we were lucky to have the Camp Quality puppets come and visit our school and give a performance. The students all enjoyed the show and it shared the story of dealing with cancer in a funny and moving way. We thank them for their visit.
Camp Quality’s cancer education program has been teaching kids about cancer with a fun and interactive puppet performance, for over 33 years. The program focuses on telling the broader cancer story, including how to support someone who is facing their own cancer diagnosis or that of a loved one. The free Cancer Education Program visits primary and preschools around Australia and is shown to reduce bullying, absenteeism and the need for mental health support services for kids impacted by cancer.
Hand Hygiene Experiment
In the Year 3 class, we have been exploring food safety in our Design & Technologies unit and recently conducted an experiment about hand hygiene.
We used 4 pieces of bread. The first piece was untouched; the second piece was touched by someone who washed their hands with soap and water; the third piece was touched by someone who had used hand sanitiser; and the fourth piece was touched by someone who had not washed their hands.
The majority of students hypothesised that the piece of bread that was touched with unclean hands would grow mould fastest – but we were shocked at just how much mould grew in 3 weeks! (Don’t scroll down if you’re squeamish!)
The Year 5/6 class celebrated International Chocolate day by baking chocolate chip cookies and muffins in Science with Mr Vowles.
Wild and Woolly Cricket
Hi all,
On Wednesday, 14th September, 18 Year 5/6 OLOR students made their way down to Berri Oval No. 2 to compete at the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) School Cricket Cup. With large amounts of rain forecast for the day, feelings were somewhat pessimistic before the event. In the end, students did manage to enjoy some cricket before the event was cancelled just after 11:00 AM. Overall, I was super impressed with our students’ communication skills, teamwork, cricketing prowess. I would also like to acknowledge the respect our students showed towards the opposition, umpires, event organisers and each other. Finally, I would like to thank Brad Krollig for all his help on the day; it is very much appreciated.
Congratulations to Layla Vallelonga, Mackenzie Pitt, Bode Gates and Charlie Kregar for making the Riverland SAPSASA Athletics Team, which will compete state championships at Bridgestone Athletics Centre on Friday, 23rd September.
Next Tuesday, 20th September, OLOR will travel to Barmera to compete at the Hot Shots Tennis Carnival. We look forward to another successful carnival with many strong players attending.
Please keep checking for sporting dates on the calendar below.
Have a great weekend!
Kind regards,
Tom Charlton
OLOR Sports Coordinator
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Sporting Quote of the Week: |
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“What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you have to lose.” – Andre Agassi |
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Term 2 SAPSASA Dates |
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Event |
Date |
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Riverland SAPSASA Athletics Carnival @Loxton |
Wednesday, 31st August |
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School Cricket Cup @Berri |
Wednesday, 14th September |
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Hot Shots Tennis Carnival @Barmera |
Tuesday, 20th September |
Congratulations to the following students who are having a birthday in September:
Foundation - Hudson
Year 1 - Braiyden, Sirat
Year 2 - Anna, Lucia, Jude
Year 3 - Judith
Year 5 - Georgia, Noah
Would you mind ensuring that your child's uniform and school items are clearly named to reduce the number of children looking for lost property? If your child does access spare clothes, please return these to the school.
A reminder that school uniform items are accessible through Tri-State Graphics, 216 Renmark Avenue, Renmark Ph: 8586 5815
