10 April 2019

Newsletter Articles

School Calendar

PRAYER

Lord we lift our hearts to you.
As the dawn breaks, may we carry the unity we share into every
moment knowing that we are one with the risen Christ.

Lord, we lift our eyes to you.
As the sunrises, may this moment stay with us, reminding
us to look for the beautiful colours of promise in your word.

Lord, we lift our prayers to you.
As the dew air falls, may we breathe this morning in and know that like the earth,
you sustain us, keep us and work within us always.

And so, we lift our voices to you.
We celebrate the greatest day in history, when Jesus rose from death,
defeated darkness and bathed the world in stunning resurrection light.
May we ever live to praise you!

Amen.

Principals Report

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students,

On Saturday night we celebrated our annual school Chocolate Carnivale with a ‘country’ theme added in just for fun. On behalf of the broader school community, I take this opportunity to hugely thank the School Board members and our OLOR parents for their coordination and running of the Carnivale once again this year. The event is a very important part of our school’s history and it is certainly an event that many look forward to in our community. Although this is a major fundraising opportunity for our school, it is also an event that helps build our community. There were many times during the night when people came to me saying what a beautiful school we have! I agreed and then told them it’s about to get even better.

The success of the Carnivale cannot be measured in dollars alone. The real success lies in the events ability to lay the foundations for friendships to be forged and the weaving of a fabric that connects people to a community that works together in the best interests of our children and their families. Every OLOR family contributed in some way by donating their time, providing goods, working on the night, running a stall and helping set up and pack-up. All that said, this Carnivale was our best yet during my time as the OLOR principal. With only a few outstanding bills to come in, we understand that we have raised over $10,000 this year. Wow! That is just incredible for such a small community school.

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our valued and generous sponsors. Berri Hotel, Rosenthal Automotive, Padaley Lodge and Camps (Minchella’s truck), Michael Kregar, Ray White, Toyworld, Mishes Kitchen, Tri-state Graphics, Stallard Meek Architects, Sun Bake, Simply Events, Betta Electrical, Creative Roofing Systems, Berri Basketball Club, Mario’s Coffee, Gates Family, Dalamagas Family, Endemann Family. Donations are very important in assisting us to generate funds to pay for our amusements on the night. We are also very grateful for the support provided by our sponsors in 2019.

Thank you to the Berri Gymnastics Club and the National Karate Academy and their members for providing their demonstrations throughout the evening. We certainly have many talented people in our community.

If you have any feedback that you would like to pass on please email roates@olor.catholic.edu.au before our next board meeting. There were many photos taken on the night, I hope you enjoy this album.

Term One is always a busy one and we often try to cram so much in to eleven weeks that we don’t have time to take stock and celebrate all the wonderful things that have happened at the school. The children are to be congratulated for the manner in which they have participated in the various celebrations that have taken place and I would like to thank you, the parents, for supporting the various sporting and academic activities.

This will be our last newsletter for the Term, I wish you all a safe and happy Easter. I hope you all have a great 2 weeks together and a wonderful holiday. We all get Easter and ANZAC Day off so I hope it means some great family and relaxing time for all of us.

Please also remember to pray and act for those you know who are struggling at this time. It’s a time like Easter when people miss lost loved ones, and feel tough times a bit tougher. That’s when a cuddle, a chat or a meal shared means so much.

As always please take care if travelling over the school holiday period and return refreshed for Term 2 on Monday 29th April.

God bless each of you.

Mrs. Ros Oates
Principal

School News

Pupil Free Days 2019 – Reminder school concludes this Wednesday

All staff from our school will be attending the following training in 2019.

Term 1 - Week 11 (Thursday 11th April and Friday 12th April) – TRAUMA Training ‘Making Space for Learning’ run by the Australian Childhood Foundation. All Riverland staff will be attending.

Term 3 – Week 1 (Monday 22nd July – Friday 26th July) – Our Lady of the River, staff Josephite Retreat, Office 365 training and teacher observations in Catholic Schools in Adelaide.

These days are approved pupil free days. Please note these days in your diary.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parents are always welcome to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss their child’s progress. Please make an appointment with your child’s teacher if you have any topics of discussion around learning or programs run in the school.

Normally the school would allocate a designated two weeks for Term 1 compulsory ‘Parent Teacher Interviews’. Due to the enormous amount of events on in the school in the coming weeks I have decided to postpone this until early Term 2. I ask that families prioritise to see their child’s teacher during the dates of Wednesday 1st May until Friday 10th May. Teachers will be sending out a Parent Teacher interview reply slip to you by the end of this term.

During this time every family has the opportunity to meet with their child/s classroom teacher in order to gain some feedback on how they are going and to look at goals for their learning moving forward. An important part of the process is for you as parents and careers to ask any questions that you may have regarding your child/s school life. I encourage every family to take this opportunity as our partnership in supporting the education of each and every child, enabling them to be thriving people and capable learners.

School Fees

Now that you have received your school fee account for Term 1, it is really important that you are making regular payments if you haven’t already. If you need any help setting up payments just call Pat in the Office. If you feel like the account is too big for you to manage you’ll need to make an appointment to see me so we can make a plan that works for you and for the school.

Remember there is an ‘early bird’ discount of 5% off tuition fees for full payments. This means $75 discount for 1 child, $121 discount for 2 children and $132 discount for 3+ children. This discount is not available after Term 1, 2019.

Religious Education News

LENT – Project Compassion.

In Lent we promote Project Compassion, for a giving campaign undertaken each Lent by CARITAS Australia to help us see the great work that is led by CARITAS communities across the world, to help improve the lives of people in areas that do not have the resources we have. We teach our students that a small donation can make such a difference to others: eg $100 provides First Australians with nutritional food, vital to body health and strengthening community bonds. $150 provides the opportunity for children with a disability to attend group learning activities, vital to increasing communication skills. $45 can buy school supplies for students in Zimbabwe who dream of a brighter future. May this Lent be a chance for all of us to take some time to pray, to see how we can give to others and make that difference in the great model that Jesus did in his service to all.

If you would like to find out more about Project Compassion, please visit –

Easter falls in the holidays this year, when we celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. It is Christianity’s most important holiday. It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn’t fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21st. On an equinox, day and night are of approximately equal duration all over the planet. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22nd and April 25th every year. We have many Orthodox Christians in our community who use the Julian calendar to calculate when Easter will occur and typically celebrate the holiday a week or two after the Western churches, which follow the Gregorian calendar.

The last week of Jesus' life was full of memorable events, and in our Religion lessons across the school this week the students and teachers will look at Jesus’ journey from his glorious entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (this Sunday). In the days in between, Jesus preached, taught, presided over the Passover supper, stood trial, and was condemned to death. The first week of the holidays will be Holy Week. It is an especially sacred time in the life of the Catholic Church. Due to this week being held in the school holidays we will not have our normal school Easter Plays. To replace this the students had the fortunate experience of meeting Andrew McDonough an author and illustrator of the popular ‘Lost Sheep’ children’s books with Christian messages on Tuesday 9th April. The photos and reflections were shared on our Facebook page.

Thank you for your support again this Term.

May Peace be with you.
Rosemary Perre

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

Witness - Latest Addition

The Witness is a bi-monthly publication of the Catholic Diocese of Port Pirie. Issued every February, April, June, August, October and December.

School News

Class news

Foundation News:

In the last fortnight, the Foundation class were preparing for their first MASS. The class have been practicing their lines, showing how they can grow in God's love and baking cakes to share in the parish centre after their MASS. The Foundation class enjoyed learning more about the church and what to do while MASS is in session. They also enjoyed sharing it with the 6/7 class and families that joined them on Thursday. The Foundation class loved eating the cake after MASS too! Miss Eckermann was so busy during MASS that she forgot to take lots of photos.

Georgia Eckermann – Foundation Teacher

Sports News

Sport Report

Congratulations to Charlotte, Molly, Zoe, Oliver and Amity in representing the Riverland at the SA School Sport Country Swimming Championships at Marion.

Molly and Charlotte were part of the 13 year old girls freestyle relay team who smashed it and got Gold!

Well done to Charlotte on coming second in her 50m Backstroke event, beating her PB by 4 seconds.

Well done to Amity who was part of the 11 year old girls relay team who came in 3rd.

Enjoy your Easter break and good luck to those athletes who start their respective winter sports at the end of the school holidays.

Yours in Sport,
Mr Cotter

School Magazine

The cost of the 2018 School Magazine is $20 per copy. If you would like a pictorial magazine capturing the memories of OLOR’s 2018 year, please see Bernie in the front office.

Special Events

PLEASE REFER TO the school website or SZApp for all school year calendar dates.

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.

Policy Documents

School Uniforms

We would like to make aware to OLOR families we have a large collection of second hand uniforms in good condition. If any families are interested please see Bernie or Sandy in the front office.

TERM 1 Reminders

What’s Happening Term 2

Community News

Kidshotz Photography

Happy Birthday!