25 November 2019

Newsletter Articles

School Calendar

PRAYER

Advent Prayer

God of Bethlehem, be born anew in our hearts,
May you bring your deepest desires to birth in us and in our world.
May we overcome our fears and take the risks that spiritual growth requires of us.
May we continue to spread peace and justice in our neighbourhood and in our country.
May we continue to open our hearts to all who need a welcome there.
May we care for and nurture the divine life in us and around us through faithfulness to prayer and action.
May we work towards the enhancement and preservation of all creation.
May we reverence and be in awe, by the way the Divine One enters our lives.
Amen

Wishing you a blessed and peace filled Advent season.

Principals Report

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students,

The Season of Advent: This Sunday, 1st December, marks the beginning of the Season of Advent – a time of preparing for Christmas. Already the stores are full with Christmas goodies and sales, urging us to stock up and spend up. As your family considers preparing your space for Christmas, have you considered including some elements to remind us of the real ‘reason for the season’?

Advent is the four weeks that lead up to Christmas and is an important liturgical season. It begins on Dec 1st through to Dec 24th and always contains four Sundays. For Catholic school teachers, Advent is tricky as most of the season falls on the school holidays and term four in schools is traditionally very busy, filled with graduations, end of year reports and Christmas parties.

At Our Lady of the River School, the teachers have started teaching about Advent, the nativity and the season of Christmas will complete our term of learning in Religious Education in all classes.

Advent is a season of preparation, for us to get our hearts ready for the coming of Jesus Christ. The word Advent derives from the Latin word meaning ‘coming’. The Lord is coming. It is a time that we ‘Wait’, ‘Prepare’ and ‘Be Ready’ for Christmas. Advent is the official beginning of the church year and it is represented by the liturgical colour purple.

It’s important that as the busyness to Christmas builds, we make time to remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

We intend on gathering together on Thursday 12th of December for a school family Christmas and End of Year gathering. It would be fantastic to see all families with their children come along for a bring your own picnic tea and adult drinks. There will be soft drinks and water supplied. The school barbecue will be available for those who would like to cook their own barbecue tea.

Thank you for the responses received so far regarding our School Parent Survey. I encourage all families to please return their responses to the administration office as soon as possible.

Graduation – End of Year Mass

Thursday 5th December will be our Graduation (End of Year) Mass and Awards Night beginning at 6.00pm. The evening will begin in St Mary’s Church and afterwards all presentations will be in the school gym/hall.

The whole community is invited and it would be wonderful to see as many students as possible come along to farewell our Year 7 students. All students are asked to wear their school (day) uniform. Families who attend the awards presentations afterwards are asked to bring their own supper and drinks.

Semester 2 Reports

Semester reports will be handed to parents on Friday 6th December along with their personal learning portfolio. The portfolios don’t need to be returned and are a keep sake of your child’s learning this Semester. The teachers have worked extremely hard in putting these documents together for each student and they have reflected positively on their achievements this Semester. A reminder many parents are likely to see more “C” grades on their child’s reports. An “A” for Effort and a “C” for Achievement indicates that your child is “On Target” for their age. (This grade should be celebrated with students because it means they have worked hard to be where they need to be.)

The “Effort” grades are also really important because they are a reflection of how, in the teacher’s opinion, the student is working consistently in class in that learning area (English, Maths, Science etc).

Teachers will also often include their observations of a child’s overall achievement at school as well as their behaviours, work habits and relationships with their peers and staff to give parents a more holistic view of their child’s progress at school. You will find this information at General Comment. Should you have anything you wish to discuss further regarding your child’s report please contact their classroom teacher.

School Fees

I’m pleased to inform the school community that the school board has approved school fees for 2020 and there are slight changes from previous years. We are pleased to announce that due to the hard work and efforts of our community in supporting the school in many and varied ways that our fees have remained affordable and stable for families.

A gentle reminder that 2019 fees need to be finalised as soon as possible. If you are experiencing any difficulties with your fees, please do not hesitate to contact the Principal.

Christmas Mass Times – Our Lady of the River Parish

Christmas Eve. 24th December
Renmark 6.30pm,
Barmera 6.00pm
Waikerie 8.00pm
Loxton 9.00pm.

Christmas Day. 25th December
Morgan and Berri 9.00am.

Mrs. Ros Oates
Principal

Religious Education News

Advent

A time to prepare for the birth of Jesus.

This Sunday begins the season of Advent, and with it a new liturgical year. In Mass we begin reading scripture stories from the Gospel of Mathew. Our Liturgical year is refreshed, and we too are invited to refresh our commitment to open our hearts to God and to the goodness we are asked to embrace and share with all people and with our common home as we prepare for the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas. Each week we light a coloured candle to represent the four weeks of Advent each candle is rich in symbolism. On Christmas Eve, we light a fifth candle this candle is pure white to symbolise Jesus coming into the world – the light of God sent to show us the way.

Each week of Advent, I invite you to read through the reflections above and consider how you will action the themes of hope, peace, joy, love and ultimately the light of Christ.

Advent is a good time to purify our spirit and renew our faith. We so easily get caught up in the routines of our lives that we sometimes forget to stop to spend time with God. Our prayer and faith become habitual and lose their purpose in the busyness of our lives. As we journey through each week of Advent, we are invited to reflect on the hope, peace, joy and love that God brings into our lives, and to consider the actions we can take to ensure we are helping those in need.

A good way to embrace the life-giving spirit of Advent is to follow an advent calendar that encourages outreach to the needy, good deeds and acts of kindness. Kindness and giving are incredibly powerful values because they result in positive and satisfying moments that all people need to thrive. A kind word or action can create feeling of hope, peace, joy and love that lifts and empowers not just the receiver but the giver and onlooker too.

I have included two calendars that you can use and adapt for your family, some of the ideas are very American “surprise your bus driver” however you could change this to surprise your teacher, a family member or a friend. These Kindness calendars are taken from the “The Ripple Kindness Project”, it is a great site with many resources to foster an attitude of kindness and giving. If you would like to read more about the Ripple Kindness Project, visit the link below.

PLENARY COUNCIL 2020 UPDATE

This fortnight I provide you with the fifth of the Six National Themes for Discernment as part of Phase Two of the Plenary Council. For each of the themes a snapshot report was created to see a sample of the voices and answers that inspired this theme.

The document below is a snapshot of the fifth National Theme for Discernment –How is God calling us to be a Christ -Centred Church that is a Joyful, Hope-filled and Servant Community. Quite a fitting one to share as we enter the season of Advent.

This National Theme for Discernment is inspired by the voices of the People of God who expressed a yearning for the Church to be a sign of God’s kingdom for all people in Australia – to be able to see the Catholic Church in action, and to recognise Jesus. There was an expression of faith-filled hope in the capacity of the Catholic community to celebrate together, to show what it is to be a follower of Christ and to be loved unconditionally by God. There was a call to contemplate the Gospel call to be a servant Church for the good of all people in Australia – particularly for refugees and asylum-seekers and other people who are vulnerable or at risk. Many responses called for greater sharing of the story of the good works done by so many people and organisations of the Church. Some responses expressed a hunger for strong witness of faith, especially by priests, young people and female leaders in parish and school ministries.

Rosemary Perre
Religious Education Coordinator.

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

Summer holidays are coming and I don't think there is any better time to pick out some books that you can either give for gifts or buy for yourself to read over the holidays. These holidays I'm hoping to read several new children's novels but I've also put in some gift request for adult novels as well.

What about audio books, have you given them a try? Audio books are a great way to expose children to fantastic storytelling, expressive reading and a chance for them to be exposed to a more complex language than they can read. Listening to audiobooks also gives kids the valuable experience of using their imagination to visualise the people and places they're hearing about.

Audiobooks can be listened to by your child alone or can great to listen to as a family in the car and together before bedtime. When choosing audiobook titles I always have a look and see what is popular on my iBooks app and I know other people who love using the Audible app.

When possible, have a listen to a sample of the audiobook before you buy it, if a narrators voice grates on your nerves or the background music is too distracting you will not enjoy the book!

While children can listen to audiobooks that are tricky for them to read themselves, still keep their age appropriateness in mind, even an audiobook can be too complex and if an audiobook isn't tickling your fancy then there is nothing wrong with not finishing it either.

While an audiobook shouldn't replace reading aloud with your child, they are another way to discover reading for relaxation and pleasure.

Happy Reading!

Melanie Steele
Literacy Coordinator

Fundraising

Last Friday the year 4 and 5 students hosted a sausage sizzle fundraiser to assist families affected by the devastating bushfires across Australia.

The fundraiser initiative came about as a part of our Financial Literacy curriculum. As a part of this unit, the year 4 and 5 students brainstormed all their ideas of the requirements of a fundraiser. They created a budget accordingly and discovered ways to maximise profit. Our class were very helpful in serving the sausages to the rest of the students.

We would like to thank all families who supported the sausages sizzle fundraiser on Friday who helped raise $270. We wish a special thank you to the parents who donated their valuable time to help cook the sausages. We would also like to thank Woolworths and Sunbake for donating bread and sausages to the cause. Thank you again for your support and a big congratulations to the Year 4/5 class who did a great job in the preparation and on the day in raising money for a great cause.

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

School Uniform Information

Canteen Price List

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.

Community News

Happy Birthday!