31 July 2019

Newsletter Articles

School Calendar

PRAYER

Mary of the Cross MacKillop

Like Mary MacKillop, may our hearts be ready to say “goodbye forever to all old sores”: to forgive ourselves, and all those who have hurt us.
Keep whishpering to us, calling us home to you when we get lost on the road to your love.
We are filled with love and gratitude for your continual love, compassion and forgiveness.
Keep enfolding us in your love and peace, and enable us to be channels of your love, peace and forgiveness in every situation of our lives.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
St Mary of the Cross, who forgave all who hurt you, pray for us.

Principals Report

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students,

At the start of a new Term, I again remind you of our strong belief at Our Lady of the River School in working closely with you, the parents and carers of our students.

The staff and I during our retreat in Adelaide last week, had an opportunity in the sacred place of the Mary MacKillop Precinct at Kensington, to hear many stories and examples of service to others by the founder of our school, Mary of the Cross MacKillop and our current leader of the Church, Pope Francis.

We spoke as a staff about making new goals in learning and goals in life…… What kinds of people do we want to be in the future and how can we be aspiring role models to the students in our care? At the start of a new Term it is a good time to speak with your children about their goals for the term and share this with their teachers.

Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher, or myself, over any matter. Following the reports sent home last term, if you require an interview with your child’s teacher, please contact them directly. We have held our formal whole school interviews earlier in the year, but parents are welcome and encouraged to meet with the child’s teacher at any time during the year. These meetings are a good way to discuss the report and set goals for the future.

We welcome the following students and the new families to OLOR this term: Akirah Trevorrow, Anna Centafanti, Lucia Centafanti, Monica Stevens and Jude Vallelonga (Foundation).

I ask strongly that you take the time to check the contents of the newsletter and school app (SZapp) which will be updated on Wednesdays, Weeks 2,4,6 and 8 of this term. Everything about what is planned for the term can be found in these two sources.

Year 4-5 & 6-7 School Camps

One of the many things the students enjoy before the end of year is going on school camp. Next week the Years 4/5’s are going on a three day camp to Victor Harbor and the Years 6/7’s are flying to Sydney for a 4 day camp. These camps are times that are so different to normal school days. We all come home exhausted but knowing we have shared a great experience together.

The School Board works extremely hard to keeping the cost of these camps down by providing a rebate to families by utilising fundraising monies from events and efforts throughout the year, which is most appreciated.

Students will be given in both camps the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on South Australia and Australia’s history, culture and heritage. In our next newsletter, we will share our photos and recounts of both camps.

School Canteen

This Term the School Canteen will not run on a Friday until future notice. We are in the process of clearing out the canteen and making space for the classroom fridges and redesigning this space for future use. Before I advertise on social media, the school has a double door glass fridge for sale for approximately $900. It has just been recently serviced and in good working order. Please see Ros if you are interested by Friday 2nd August.

Religious Education News

It can be really difficult to think of things you are grateful for when everything in your life seems to be going wrong. Countless studies show that for many people, finding a bit of thankfulness each day can actually increase happiness levels and decrease depression. By developing an Attitude of Gratitude, we can feel more fulfilled and joyful each day and find a deep sense of peace in our lives.

An Attitude of Gratitude is a regular habit to express appreciation for all different parts of life, no matter how small.

When I think of the simplest things I can be thankful for, it is the ability to open my eyes and see all the beauty that surrounds me each day. I am thankful for a soft pillow and a warm bed on these extremely cold mornings.

Below is an alphabet of things we can be thankful for as adults. I hope you find them as beneficial as I have.

Wishing that God’s Gentle peace rests with you always.

Rosemary Perre
Religious Education Coordinator.

The ABC’s of Gratitude for Adults.

A is for answered prayer.
B is for blessings in abundance.
C is for children who bring joy into our life.
D is the for Jesus defeating darkness.
E is for eternal life.
F is for forgiveness.
G is for the gift of Jesus.
H is for beauty of hospitality and the opening up of homes and hearts.
I is for I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
J is for the overflowing joy that fills our hearts.
K is for kindness that is showered upon us.
L is for love. We can love because He first loved us.
M is for His marvelous works.
N is for nothing is impossible with God.
O is for His outstretched arms that continuously lift us up.
P is for the ability to freely come into His presence in prayer.
Q is for His quiet love as He sings over us in the midst of pain. Zephaniah 3:17
R is for sweet precious rest.
S is for the grace we find in salvation.
T is for a truth–living in it and living it.
U is for uniquely being made in His image.
V is for verses that remind us of His truth.
W in our weakness He is strong.
X is for eXalt the Lord for He is good and His love endures forever. Psalms 118:1
Y is for Yahweh who has always existed and will always exist.
Z is for zeal. May our zeal for God draw us closer to Him. Romans 12:11

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

Literacy News

Welcome back to Term 3!

I hope you got the chance to do some holiday reading. Sophie (9) and I loved reading ‘Wolf Girl’ by Ahn Do although there was a few tears shed at the end - Sophie not me! I really loved this book and am keen for Wolf Girl 2 now. We also read Book One of ‘ The Witching Hours - The Vampire Knife’ Jack Henseleit which we read only during the day - some of the content was a bit scary but it was a great introduction into a new genre for her.

Adelin (6) and I made our way through the ‘Princess in Black’ series by Shannon and Dean Hale which she really loved (a possible Book Week dress up for us!) and the Pearl the Unicorn series by Sally Odgers, Adelin likes it, I think it’s a bit waffly.

I’m keen to hear about what other people are loving reading at home - please share!

This Term all classes will be focusing on informative writing. Informative writing classifies, describes and gives factual information about people, animals, things or phenomena. Learning to write an informative text that engages the audience is a skill that becomes increasingly important both at school and beyond.

Informative writing is hugely varied; everything from reports to emails, factual recounts to descriptions, documentaries to explanations fall under the informative umbrella.

Informative writing informs the reader using facts rather than opinion. The best place to start, therefore, is to generate lots of questions!

In the next few weeks students will become very familiar with discussing and recording what they already know about a topic (prior knowledge) and then use what they know to generate some research questions. Students will then play with these questions to generate more interesting questions by extending, flipping and asking why.

For example -

• Spiders eat flies (prior knowledge)
• Why do spiders eat flies? (initial research question)
• What else do spiders eat? (extended question)
• What eats spiders? (flipped question)

I look forward to sharing some amazing brainstorming examples with you in the next newsletter.

Melanie Steele
Literacy Coordinator

Scholastic Book Fair

The Book Fair is being held in the Library from Tuesday, 30th July to Wednesday 7th August.

Opening times will be before school from 8.30-8.50am, and after school from 3.15-3.45pm.

I am in need of some volunteers to help with the Fair on Monday and Tuesday next week, both before and after school. If you are able to help, please see Sandy in the front office.

Many thanks,

Sandy Sando
Librarian

BOOK WEEK 2019

The CBCA Book of the Year Awards Winner and Honour Books will be announced on Friday 16 August and CBCA Book Week commences the following day.

Across Australia, the CBCA brings children and books together to celebrate CBCA Book Week.

From 17-23 August 2019 we celebrate CBCA Book Week and Our Lady of the River School plans to celebrate in style. Our annual book parade is scheduled for Wednesday, 21/08/19 starting at 9.00 am in the hall. This is a time to dress up and share your favourite book character. The theme for this year’s celebration is:- “ Reading is my Secret Power”. Other events will be advertised closer to the date.

Sports News

Yours in Sport,
Mr Cotter
Physical Education Coordinator

Car Park Safety

Can I remind everyone once again to be absolutely diligent at the 3.10pm pick-up time, especially on Verran Terrace. NO Parents should be parked across the road on the housing side of Verran Terrace. Please hold children’s hands when walking to cars and keep everyone safe. If there is not sufficient parking the church car park is often free.

Special Events

Support ‘Wheel to Walk’ & Mrs. Oates participation

'Wheel to Walk Foundation' has been started by a young man I used to baby-sit when I was a teenager and his friend 'Sarah' is local netballer that I coach at Loxton North. Both pictured above. In 2010, co-founder Charles Brice had a motorbike accident on the outskirts of Paruna. The accident left him a quadriplegic. A group of supporters will be retracing his steps from the accident site, via Loxton where he was transported by ambulance, to Swan Reach and Tanunda, into Adelaide, where he spent 72 days in hospital before 14 months in Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre.

Since his accident Charles has wanted to give back, and now, with the help of his friend, Sarah Arnold, 'Wheel To Walk Foundation' was established. In October this year, Charles and Sarah, along with a group of 28 others (one of them Mrs. Oates), will cycle from the site of his accident to Adelaide in an effort to raise $100,000 for the Wings For Life Foundation. The trip will total just over 300 kilometres, with Charles handcycling the entire way.

The Wings For Life Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that raises money for spinal cord injury research, with 100% of donations going towards cutting edge clinical studies and research all across the world. In Australia, the money is currently being dispersed to Monash University, Prince of Wales Hospital and the University of Queensland.

The OLOR and wider community is invited to meet Charles Brice and see his special hand cycle at an assembly on Wednesday 14th August at 12.15 pm in the OLOR school hall. Children will be invited to dress up in any type of ‘riding’ gear for a gold coin donation as well as have the opportunity to ride with Charles and Mrs. Oates from OLOR to Martin’s Bend and back after his presentation. This is approximately 8 km. All students will need a sturdy road bike and helmet. Parents are also most welcome to join us.

Mrs. Oates, “I joined the WTW challenge because I believe it was important to share the inspirational story of Charles to children and families, as well as colleagues, about not taking life for granted and always finding ways to do things for others no matter what challenges you may face”. I appreciate any support given to this cause and will be doing my very best to achieve my goal of riding over 300 km on my bike over 4 days with Charles and the team.”

I will be taking long service leave during Week 1, Term 4 to complete this challenge.

For me to participate I need to raise $2,000 minimum over the next 3 months. If you would like to contribute to this foundation and support me in achieving this huge personal challenge as well as balancing training, work and family commitments then follow the instructions on the link below.

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 Pat or Sandy in the front office.

TERM 3 Reminders

Happy Birthday!