22 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

School Calendar

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, Bless the children who have recently received First Holy Communion.
May it be an initial step into a life-long love of the Eucharist.
Give them a hunger for this sacred food so that they turn to you for comfort, guidance, and wisdom as they grow into full discipleship.
Thank you for their innocence and goodness.
May their hands, extended in anticipation of your Body and Blood, inspire all of us to cherish this sacred Sacrament.
Amen.

Principals Report

This week started with a beautiful celebration on Sunday 19th August, in St Mary’s Church with the congregation of Our Lady of the River Parish community. The following students celebrated their First Holy Communion: Jack Hunter, Madison Pitt and Nate Vallelonga.

We were all reminded about the story of Jesus at his last supper. Jesus said as he broke the bread that he shared among his followers, "Take and eat, this is my body." When we receive Holy Communion, we believe that we are sharing in the body and blood of Christ.

Pope Francis says that “The Eucharist is at the heart of ‘Christian initiation’, together with Baptism and Confirmation, and it constitutes the source of the Church’s life itself. From this Sacrament of love, in fact, flows every authentic journey of faith, of communion, and of witness.”

Thank you to Fr. Cletus our celebrant and the school staff for their involvement and support in making this such a meaningful and memorable occasion for the candidates and their families. Please continue to pray for our Sacramental students and their families.

Our Lady of the River School Board

This week our School Board met to discuss important information, policies and plan for future events with the school community. This week, families will receive a roster for future working bees and we would appreciate that if you are unable to make the particular weekend that your family has been rostered onto, that you make contact with your School Board ‘group leader’ and arrange for a change with another family.

Our school success is due to the fantastic involvement of our parent community. The School Board is a voluntary advisory group who assists the Principal in their role. Parents or carers of children enrolled at the school are eligible to become Board members. I wish to thank the current 2018 School Board members.

Board meetings are held generally on the 4th Monday of each month during the school terms. The Board will provide regular updates on its activities each term via the School newsletter and more frequently if there is an issue of greater importance.

Getting Kids Outdoors ‘Mud Day’ Obstacle Course

The staff and I have organised a day of challenge and fun at the Loveday 4x4 Adventure Park on Friday 31st of August. As the weather gets warmer we want to encourage children to explore more and see the benefits of playing outdoors. Being involved in the Mud Obstacle course is aimed at giving the students an opportunity to:

• take care of each other
• be a risk taker and try something different
• connection between younger and older students
• leadership for older students
• appreciate the outdoors and nature
• have a lot of fun, school should be fun

The whole school will participate on the day. Children are asked to come to school in their old clothes and bring a bag with a towel, cleaner clothes and shoes to put on afterwards, a packed lunch and recess, hat and water bottle. We will leave and return to school during normal school hours.

A notice will be placed in student diaries regarding permission to attend the day.

REMINDERS

PLEASE READ THE NEWSLETTERS CAREFULLY. Everything you need to know about the school week and dates is on the school app. (SZapp) You can download on all smartphones and tablets for free. We get a lot of phone calls & text about events and programs that have been advertised widely.

Sport Days – Mondays (Mr. Cotter: Whole school).
Thursdays (Class teachers: Foundation, Year 1, 2 and Years 4/5)
Friday (Class teachers: Year 3 and Years 6/7)
A reminder that full day uniform is to be worn on other days. Sandshoes only on sport days.

Fundraising

' O L O R Helping Hands' is starting to gather numbers, however we are still looking for a few more volunteers. This group 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.

Please, if you are interested in taking part in this group, please call the administration staff.

Ros Oates
Principal

Religious Education News

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

Latest Addition

SCHOOL NEWS & EVENTS

CLASS NEWS

Choir Performance

The OLOR festival choir stole the show at the Riverland Primary Schools Music Festival, with their beautiful singing and incomparable enthusiasm and energy. The buzz backstage after the concert was electrifying and the students involved had a glorious time. Our soloist, William Heuzenroeder sang beautifully and was heralded by other schools and parents alike.

For anyone who loves music, or just wants a chance to perform, ask any of the 10 students who performed last Thursday night and they will tell you that the Festival Choir is an experience not to be missed.

Miss Kayla Jones

Year 1 – Assembly

Thank you to the Year 1 Class for their entertaining assembly last Friday. The Year 1 students displayed and presented many wonderful pieces of work that they have been doing so far this term.

Year 3

The Year 3 class has been talking about how we can look after the world that God has created for us. This week Alexander helped Mr Steele in the garden picking chillies and snow peas.

Zoo Snooze

This week the Year 2 and Year 3 class will be heading to Adelaide to stay overnight at the Adelaide Zoo. Before the visit the students have been learning about endangered species, animal classifications, how animals adapt to their environment and different animal habitats.

In our next newsletter we will have a lot to share with the community about their experiences.

The Year 3 class has been investigating Mass. Can you tell how heavy something is just by looking at it or can looks be deceiving?

Year 6 and 7 Tag Rugby News

On Monday the 20th of August, Akesa Kei from NRL ran a tag rugby workshop, in preparation for Friday's Tag Rugby SAPSASA competition.

Students responded well to the training and are looking forward to a fun day on Friday.

SPORT NEWS

Our Twilight Sports Day is just around the corner.  We will hold this event on Tuesday 25th September at the Berri Oval.  We plan to begin at lunch time and finish the events around 5pm, followed by a sausage sizzle tea.    School hours will be as per normal to start the day.  Parents do have a choice of bringing their children down to the oval at start time if they wish.  A timetable of events will be distributed closer to the date.  Please refer to the attachment above if you are able to assist us on the day.  Parent help will be most appreciated.  

The past couple of weeks have seen the winter sports begin to finish up. Well done to all students for participating, training and competing throughout the winter and especially to the parents who transport and support your children week in week out in what can sometimes be described as Antarctic conditions! I’m sure you are all looking forward to the summer months! Good luck to all players in your upcoming presentation evenings.

Special Congratulations go to the Berri FC Under 11 side for completing their season with a win in the mini-grand final vs Renmark last week. The team has a strong OLOR representation including Paul D, Ryder H, Slater M, Peter E, and Molly W. Well done boys and girls!

SAPSASA News!

SAPSASA Athletics Carnival

An absolutely amazing day was had by twenty-seven year 4-7 students at the Riverland SAPSASA Athletics Carnival held at Loxton HS on Friday 10th August! Thank you to the parents for transporting their children, especially to Rachel Gates for carting 7 students. A big thank you to Mrs Perre for her help; I feel like she enjoyed the day more than the kids! Finally, a huge thank you to our students who were well respected athletes and tried their absolute hearts out all day! Unfortunately, as a collective, we were unable to retain the Small Schools Shield for the FIFTH year in a row, but we finished in 3rd only 10 pts behind 1st place. Overall, we finished in 13th position – an excellent effort against some very large schools! Here’s to next year!

Event Final Podium Finishers:

Please enjoy the photos and video below!

Riddle of the Week

Last newsletter: short

How many 1 foot by 1 foot bricks would it take to complete a building that's 20 feet long on all four sides and 20 feet high?

Quote of the Week

Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose – it teaches you about life. Billie Jean King

Yours in Sport,
Mr Cotter

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.

Fortnight Reminders

Community News

Drought Angels

Lee McKinnon is holding a fundraiser to raise funds for Drought Angels who are assisting farmers stricken by the drought. Lee is having a Pop Up glam Shop in Barmera at Salvation Army building on 15th September, with hopefully donated clothes from the community. She is particularly looking for Prom and Year 7 Graduation clothes. These will be sold at Op Shop prices so I am helping people who may not otherwise be able to purchase a new outfit then the proceeds will go to Drought Angels from the Riverland Community.

Lee contact mobile number 0457273931

The Wizard of Oz

THE WIZARD OF OZ INTERACTIVE SHOW comes to town

Following over 4,600 performances internationally, The Wizard of Oz Interactive Show arrives on a tour of South Australia these October school holidays. Kids can rap with the Tinman, roar like a Lion, wake up sleepy Shakey the Scarecrow and dance with Dorothy in this interactive, popular version of Frank Baum’s classic tale.

Billed as one of Australia’s top children’s shows, The Wizard of Oz Interactive Show is about more than giving kids a good time. It spreads a message of hope and self-esteem to the young. Come dressed as your favourite Oz character & bring a new toy or book for our Children’s Hospital Toy Appeal. Suitable: 2 – 8yrs. More details available via the link below.

Performances:

Riverland Disaster Plan

“Is The Riverland Disaster Ready?”

A workshop bringing together Community Service Organisations and Emergency Management Organisations in a local context.

Red Cross is facilitating an important workshop in partnership with the CFS, MFS, SAPOL, SES, SA Ambulance, and local councils with the goals of:

• Improving how organisations prepare for emergencies
• Identifying opportunities to build resilience of clients and customers
• Strengthening collaboration between community service and emergency management organisations

Petticoat Lane Annual Fundraiser for St Catherine’s

Friday 31st August at the Berri Senior Citizens hall – 9.am to 1.30pm. Lunch available. Donations of biscuits greatly appreciated and can be delivered to Val Fewsters home or bring with you to Petticoat Lane on Friday.

Happy Birthday!