16 May 2018

Newsletter Articles

School Calendar

PRAYER

Principals Report

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students,

I hope all Mothers (carers) had a wonderful day Sunday 13 May. We say thank you for all that you are to your own family as you continue to be the guide, supporter and bearer of unconditional love.

Mother’s Day Mass

The Year 2 class presented our Mother’s Day Assembly on Thursday 10th May. It was lovely to have many mothers, grandmothers and friends of our OLOR community who came along and celebrated this special day with us.

Fundraising

A big thank you to all families who contributed food and monetary donations to support our canteen on Saturday in the gym. We hosted the grading day for the National Karate Academies who use our gym every Tuesday night for their trainings. It was a very successful canteen and fundraising event. A massive thank you to Annette Bilson (Co-ordinator), Rachel Gates, Kelly Storer, Dimitria Dale, Cilla Marsden and Year 6 student Tyler Wurth for working the canteen throughout the day. We raised just over $700 for just over 5 hours of work. Fantastic effort. Pictured are the OLOR students who were successful in their grading achievements on the day. Well done Jack & Luke Endemann, Latesha Darvill, Maddison & McKenzie Pitt, Bella & Charlie Gates.

We are hoping to gather a group of interested parents to join together as a sub-committee of the School Board to organise and assist with fundraising activities for the school. ' O L O R Helping Hands' is a group that will co-ordinate school fundraising events including our catering, cabarets, movie nights, raffles and future chocolate carnivals etc.

The aim of the ' O L O R Helping Hands' group is for parents and friends of our community to join together and have fun being involved in;

• Assisting in the planning and organizing of functions associated with the social, sporting, cultural and educational life of the school community.
• Fundraising for particular projects which assist or enhance teaching aids and equipment, or improvements to facilities within the school grounds, buildings etc.

We would aim to have a parent representative from the group provide a report to the School Board when needed and for the group to have a small executive that would communicate regularly with the Principal. If you are interested in taking part in this group, please inform the ladies in the front office.  

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy)
15 - 17th and 21st May

Students will be sitting these tests on the following days:

Tuesday 15th May – Literacy and Writing
Wednesday 16th May – Reading
Thursday 17th May - Numeracy

Cracking the ABC Code for Parents

Got a Newspaper? You’ve Got Learning! By: Reading Rockets

Just a few pages from your newspaper can be turned into lots of early learning activities. Here you'll find "letters and words" activities for the youngest, plus fun writing prompts and tips on how to read and analyze the news for older kids.

Most families have access to a newspaper. Either one arrives on your doorstep or a local community paper is available for free at the coffee shop or grocery store. Even just a few pages from the newspaper can be turned into lots of early learning activities. Grab your young child and a pair of scissors, and let's get learning with a newspaper!

Letters and words

Have your child cut out the letters needed to spell his first and last name. Have him glue these onto a piece of paper. Ask your child to find capital and lower case pairs of letters. Glue the pairs onto a piece of paper. Ask your child to find and cut out all the words in headlines that she can read. Paste them on a piece of paper and practice reading them together.

Writing

Cut out a few pictures from the paper. Ask your child to write a caption for each one. Compare their caption with the paper's caption. Talk about ways captions help readers understand one small piece of the story. Turn a recent family event into a newspaper story. Try to write a headline, the story, include a picture or drawing, and add a caption.

Ask your child to circle all the ads they can find in the paper. Discuss what makes a good advertisement and what does not. Discover what types of words and punctuation are often used in ads, and how those are tools writers use to capture a reader's attention. See if your child can create an ad for their favourite game or TV show.

Understanding the news

Help your child understand the structure of the newspaper. Browse through the different sections of the newspaper. Sort news stories into international, national, and local. Point out other sections such as sports, food and entertainment.

Talk about the difference between fact and opinion. Then, read one of the articles from the newspaper. Are there facts in the story? Are there any opinions? How can we tell the difference? What sorts of words are used for each? Within which section are opinion stories usually found?

Choose an interesting and age-appropriate story from the newspaper. Read the story with your child. After reading, ask your child if she can answer the "who, what, where, when, and why" questions about the story.

OLOR School Board

Thank you to the many parents and staff who attended our School Board AGM on Monday 7th May, at 7pm in the Multipurpose Room. Our next general meeting will be held on Monday 18th June.

Ros Oates
Principal

Religious Education News

‘Young Mary’ Performance

Picture and poster created by Alexander Foley-Jennings in Year 3 in Religion.

The play in our school gym on Monday 7th May introduced us to Young Mary (St Mary MacKillop) and we participated in her many fun filled and spirited childhood adventures. We had lots of fun playing games with Mary, and hearing about her pet cow Blorac and her dad Alexander. Then, as we watched her grow, we witnessed her determination of a hard working young woman who set out to eliminate poverty and provide a fair education for all. The play was funny and entertaining and involve the audience (students) in lots of acting and moral decision making. The play ‘Young Mary’ used humour and compassion to help the students enjoy and understand St Mary MacKillop, whilst appreciating her famous quote; “Never see a need without trying to do something about it.”

Deacon Hau le’s Ordination:

Deacon Hau will be Ordained in St Mark’s Cathedral Port Pirie Saturday May 26th at 11.00am. His first Mass will be in the Cathedral at 10.30am Sunday 27th. Everyone is welcome to attend.

St Vincent De Paul Society Visit

Recently, Mrs. Margaret Kayser, St Vincent de Paul Society, Regional President of the Riverland and Yorke Peninsula visited Our Lady of the River School to discuss with the senior school student leadership team, the ‘Vinnies’ history, values, logo, volunteer work, provision and services provided by the St Vincent de Paul Society locally and abroad. Mr. John Fewster also attended and engaged in the discussion around what help and services are provided in the Riverland and the important work he does as a ‘Vinnies’ volunteer.

The students engaged in conversation around what our school community is currently doing to support people in need as well as brainstormed other ideas and activities they could do this year and beyond to support the society through organising some local fundraising ideas.

Pictured above: Mrs. Margaret Kayser, Alex H., Charlie G., Gurshaan S., Macey E., Mr. John Fewster, Ella K. and Francesco V.

Please help to support those in need in our community by participating in our OLOR ‘Vinnies Blanket Appeal.’

Donations of good quality blankets, winter linen and pillows would be most appreciated. All donations can be brought to the school front office. At our final assembly for Term 2, we will present our donations to our local ‘Vinnies’ volunteers.

Vinnies 2018 Inaugural Primary Schools Art Competition.

Students are also encouraged to participate in the 2018 Inaugural Primary Schools Art Competition. There are categories in Reception – Year 2, Year 3 – Year 5 and Year 6-7. All interested budding artist need to see Miss Kayla Jones for entry details. The competition opened on 14th April and close on Friday 20th July.

SACRAMENTS 2018

There is a parent information session for Reconciliation and Eucharist on Monday 4th June at 5.30pm till 6.30pm for students and their families in Saint Mary's Church. Please come along to receive more detailed information about the Sacrament services to be held on Reconciliation on Tuesday 7th August and Eucharist on Sunday 19th August. There will be quite a lot of information at the meeting, about the expectations of parents to assist their children to prepare and participate in the respective Sacraments.

The latest edition of the Southern Cross features all the latest news and information on our Catholic community. Click on the following link below.

Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education Week 2018 will be held from Friday 25 May-Friday 1 June and will focus on the theme: OPENING OUR HEARTS AND MINDS. The Diocesan theme for 2018 draws on our call to bring to life, and explicitly name, how Catholic Social Teaching is lived out in each of our communities and how we need to have hearts that are open to future possibilities. By opening our minds we develop a greater understanding as to how these teachings can be a lived experience in each individual community. It is hoped that every member of the school community will experience an opportunity to open their heart and mind to a loving God so they can develop and foster a relationship with God in return.

Our Lady of the River staff and students will be involved in key Diocesan activities undertaken by all schools: These include;

• Wednesday 30 May – Riverland Schools Combined Mass/activities and Simultaneous Prayer activity using video conferencing
• Diocese of Port Pirie Switches Off
• Fundraising for the partnership with the Good Samaritan Sisters in Kiribati

SCHOOL NEWS & EVENTS

Playgroup

Come along to B.O.P.P.E.R.S. (Berri OLOR Planned Playgroup Early Readiness for School) on Tuesdays 9am till 11am. There are a lovely group of young children and their carers enjoying our opportunity for free play, structured games and craft activities. Please let friends and family know in the community.

OLOR Sports News

In the last couple of weeks, our students have competed at both the SAPSASA Cross Country and Hockey Carnivals.

Well done to the following students who participated at Cross Country yet were not eligible for Riverland selection as they were too young - Archie, Slater, Riley, Maddison and Amahli. Congratulations to Raahil, Tatam, Ryder, Alex (Riverland Team) Molly, Charlotte, Amelia (Riverland Team), and Ella (Riverland Team) for their participation.

In Hockey, OLOR finished second overall with our very own Francesco ending up finishing 1 point behind the winner of the MVP Award for the Carnival. Well done to all our students who participated and a big thank you to Dakota, Christian, Aby and Kiera from Barmera Primary, St Jos Barmera and St Alberts for joining our team.

Choir News

We have had an eventful week last week with our Soloist Auditions for the Riverland Schools Music Festival. William Heuzenroeder, Kiana Rundell, and Raahil Sowkath Ali were all selected to audition for their chosen solo at school at the end of last week. On Tuesday last week they went to Monash Primary School to audition for the official selection panel who choose soloists for our cluster at the concert in August. We had fantastic feedback for our Year 4 students, Kiana and Raahil, who were unfortunately unsuccessful in winning their solos, largely due to their age, but were encouraged to audition again next year. William Heuzenroeder was successful in winning his solo and will be singing a solo in the commissioned work, “Niina Wathangu”. We congratulate all of those that auditioned, both at school as well as at the cluster auditions, with extra accolades for our OLOR representative soloist, William Heuzenroeder. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up in front of people, even those you know well and sing. You should all be proud of your achievements.

Schoolzine Newsletter and Calendar

A reminder that the calendar is only available online through the School App ‘SZapp’. Having it online will ensure that it is current and always up to date. The Newsletter will continue to highlight upcoming events to ensure that parents and families are fully aware of what is on. The newsletter is every fortnight on the odd weeks, e.g. 1, 3, 5 etc. and will come to your email inbox or ‘SZapp’ on the Wednesday of those weeks. I encourage all families to install the ‘SZapp’ on your smart phone or Tablet. To ensure you receive the newsletter in your inbox each week, please ensure the front office has your correct email addresses. If you do not have an email address, please let the front office know (this week) so that we can send paper copies home with your eldest child.

Policy Documents

School Uniforms

With winter on the way, it is time to check on your winter uniform items and purchase new items from Tri-State in Renmark. I have approved a new style of tracksuit pant that matches the fabric of our new style hoodie jumper. The new tracksuit pant will be available in 4 weeks time. The older style tracksuit pant is still available for those families who prefer that particular style. I suggest parents visit Tri-State in the coming weeks to make sure you can purchase items or order what your child/ren need in readiness for the colder weather.  

Fortnight Reminders

Community News

Angel Gowns for Australian Angel Babies

Incorporated are in need of volunteers. We are a nationwide registered charity who supply parents who have suffered the loss of a baby with an Angel package transformed from donated wedding gowns and these packages are supplied free of charge. Sizes range from 16 weeks gestation to 1 year old.

We are looking for volunteers who could help with the following roles:

Area Rep, Seamstresses, Crocheters, Knitters, Beaded keepsake makers.

If you think you would like to help please head to our website at the link below and fill in a volunteer application form. I’m also happy for people to contact me at sa.statemanager@angelgowns.org.au or after 4pm weekdays 0427962073 or anytime on weekends. Jacinta Puckey

The Great Moscow Circus Extreme

The Great Moscow Circus presents Extreme. Coming to Berri, near the Hayden Stoeckel Pools from the 23rd to 27th May 2018. Featuring Australis’s top trial riders “The FLAIR RIDERS”. Extreme wheel of death, High wire and the world’s best dare devil motorcycle Cage Riders. Breathtaking aerial performers and much more. Bookings recommended 0497 667 269.

Our Lady of the River School has been handed leaflets for this event which will be handed to the eldest child in the family today.

Yookamurra Sanctuary Open Day

An invitation to the first open day of 2018, on Sunday 27th May from 10am - 1pm. Please see attached the flyer with further information. This is a great opportunity to visit Yookamurra and discuss the education program with staff to see how we can fit in with your curriculum needs.

Places are limited and bookings are essential so please RSVP by Monday 21st May. If you have any questions about the day, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Happy Birthday!