7 February 2020

Newsletter Articles

School Calendar

Scripture

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-22

Principals Report

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students,

Even though we are entering only the second week of the term, the school year is already in full swing. In the first week the F-3 students took part in a swimming and water safety program at the Berri pool. Being safe in and around water is an important life skill to develop for children. I am sure you all know the tv show Bondi Rescue. This show follows the daily lives and routines of the Waverley Council professional lifeguards who patrol Bondi Beach. The Bondi lifeguards keep an eye on all the beach goers and swimmers. They perform rescues on a regular basis. ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people’, the scripture says. I don’t think there would have been lifeguards in Jesus’ time more than 2000 years ago, but even then, there would have been people that needed to be rescued when they went into the water too far or when their boat ran into trouble. ‘Fishing’ for people, or ‘catching’ people means ‘rescuing’ people. Students have really enjoyed these water safety lessons and their confidence in the water has increased. Witnessing some of their achievements has been priceless.

‘Catching’ people does not sound very positive, does it? Today, when we speak of catching people it is mostly in relation to those who have broken the law. We catch robbers and thieves; these are people who don’t want to be rescued. But Jesus didn’t mean to use ‘fishing’ or ‘catching’ in a negative way. Today these words can be translated to mean ‘catching alive’ or ‘catching to give life’. Isn’t that beautiful?

Catching people to give them life.

But how do you do that? How do you catch a human being? And what is that life that Jesus meant?

For us at Our Lady of the River it is the vision that through education we are able to give life to all our students as they develop as thriving people, capable learners and leaders for the world that God desires.

It has been wonderful to watch the new Foundation students settling into school life and getting used to class routines and expectations. In many ways I sympathise with the Foundation students as I too am trying to find my feet in a new surrounding and getting to know teachers and school routines. And like the new students, I too am settling in well!

Next week students from 5-7 will travel to Aldinga to take part in a 4-day aquatics camp. School camp is a fantastic opportunity for children to develop new skills, friendships and interests. However, for many children and parents alike, the thought of sleeping away from home can provoke high anxiety.

Some of the common worries about camp include:

• Not being able to sleep properly
• Not liking the food
• Who will they share the in dorm with?
• Not enjoying the activities
• Feeling homesick

1. Development of Social skills
   Through activities children develop supportive relationships not only with different children but also with their teachers.
2. Development of independence skills
   For many children school camp is their first time away from family and home for a few nights. Parents are not there to remind their kids to eat their vegetables, brush their teeth or to have a shower. Therefore, it is a great opportunity for kids to learn how to take care of themselves and to do things on their own.
3. Development of decision-making skills
   Should I go with my friends? Or should I go and play another game? Should I have a third sausage? Children will become more responsible of making their own choices.
4. Learning new skills. At school camp students will be exposed to a range of activities that they may not have tried before. When away from their parents, children are often more adventurous and willing to try new things.

I am going to let you in on a little secret that not many people know about me; I am a semi-professional camper. I admit, sometimes a 5-star hotel camper, but mostly a school camper. I have been going on school camps since I was about 8 years old and continue to do so into my forties. As an adult I look back on my school camps with vivid memories. Being part of your children’s camp experience is a privilege. A child’s world is both magical and menacing; full of mysteries, dangers and fears of the unknown. Although a bit scary, school camps are at the same time some of the most exciting, life building and live giving experiences a child can have.

Students in the Years 3-7 participated in Growing with Gratitude workshops this week lead by Ash Manuel. The Year 3-4 workshop had a focus on empathy, gratitude and teamwork. The Year 5- 7 participated in the brand new Grit workshop.

Thank you to everyone that attended the Parent Information Night. What a lovely evening to lay the foundations for a healthy relationship between home and school. As a school we are in partnership with you in the learning and wellbeing of your child. The Parent Information Night was one way to meet your child’s teacher, see your child’s classroom and see some of their work. At the same time, it was an opportunity for your child’s teacher to discuss the year ahead and the structures that exist in the class. However, you are always welcome to catch up with your children’s teacher or myself regarding their progress and development. It is never a problem to touch base to see how your child is doing in school. At the same time, it is important that the school keeps you informed of how things are going and to share the strategies we might be using with regard to your children.

Finally, if you are yet to like our school’s Facebook page, I encourage you to do so. It is updated regularly and filled with many photos of students.

Nanda de Winter

Religious Education News

Growing with Gratitude

The Senior Students had a fabulous time participating in workshops run by Growing with Gratitude founder - Ash Manuel, whom you may remember from the parent workshop hosted at school last year. The Growing with Gratitude workshops offer rich experiences in building positive relationships through the power of human connection, games and fun in the classroom.

The year Five, Six and Seven students engaged in activities and HARD challenges designed to GROW GRIT – which is an acronym for the key skills that need to be practiced in order for perseverance to become a natural habit in our lives.

G = Growth Mindset
R = Resilience
I = Inner-Self
T = Try Hard Rule

The year Three and Four students focused on empathy, gratitude and team challenges. The session included how empathy connects with friendships and how gratitude can be used to reframe things to a more positive view, one of the most important skills a person can learn.

At Our Lady of the River, the aim is for this learning to continue throughout the year and into the future. We will continue to help students discover how they can maintain a positive mindset. Classes will delve deep into the Mind Up program which investigates how our brains work to help us regulate our emotions. We value our students and believe that their emotional wellbeing will pave the way for amazing learning to occur in other areas such as Literacy and Numeracy. If students do not feel happy, safe and a sense of belonging, then they are not ready or even willing to engage in academic subjects. Our teachers will continue to embed this positive attitude into their everyday practice within the school community. The senior students will work with the early years students to teach them about the importance of connecting, gratitude and how to be a good friend, by practicing these skills daily.

Religious Education

Welcome to the 2020 school year. I hope you enjoyed the summer break with your family and friends. It has been terrific to reconnect with so many familiar and friendly faces. I am excited to be continuing in the role of Religious Education Coordinator this year when I will endeavour to continue to develop a healthy connection between our school and parish communities. I will also continue my role as a classroom teacher to the Year Three students, whom I was blessed enough to teach in their very first year of school. When you teach a class for a whole year, you develop a deep bond with the students, and I have absolutely loved the first couple of weeks rediscovering what excites and intrigues these precious little people.

I look forward to the year ahead and invite opportunities to serve you in both of my roles at Our Lady of the River School.

Commissioning Mass

Sunday 9th February—11:00am - St. Xavier Church - Barmera

At the beginning of each year we have a “Commissioning Mass” to pray for God’s blessing upon our work for the coming year. Everyone who serves in any capacity in our Parish or School are invited to attend; this includes student leaders, staff, School Board members, parent volunteers, ministers of the Eucharist, cleaners, counters, altar servers and readers. There are many roles we undertake to help out in our Parish and School, and during this Mass we will receive a blessing to do this well. It would be wonderful to see as many school community members there as possible so please consider this date an open invitation to all.

Welcome Mass

Wednesday 26th February – 7:00am – St. Mary’s Church.

Our welcoming Mass will be celebrated on Ash Wednesday, 26th February at 7:00am. This will be an opportunity to pray together as a school community for blessings on our year and on our community. It will include a blessing for our school leaders who will be presented with their official badges. It will also be a wonderful opportunity to welcome new members to our school community. Mass will be followed by our traditional Ash Wednesday breakfast, everyone is warmly invited to join us as we celebrate the exciting year that is ahead of us.

Sacramental Programs

Sacraments are signs of Jesus’ presence in our lives and a means for receiving his grace. In our Catholic Tradition, we celebrate seven sacraments, which are catergorised into sacraments of initiation, sacraments of healing and sacraments of service.

The gifts of life and love are celebrated in a very special way in the Sacraments. It is therefore important that this celebration takes place within an accepting community, and with strong family support. Our Lady of the River School works in partnership with the Parish and families to ensure we nurture the faith and spirituality of all students.

During their time at Our Lady of the River, baptised Catholic children will be invited to celebrate the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist. If you would like your child to celebrate either of the sacraments this year, I encourage you to contact me via email rosemaryp@olor.catholic.edu.au at your earliest convenience to let me know.

Wishing you light love and God’s brightest of blessings,

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.

Literacy News

At the beginning of the year it is so important to establish strong relationships with students and families and begin to put together an individual portfolio of children’s strengths, interests and challenges. A part of this information gathering is standardised testing. In small groups teachers have been working with students to complete PAT tests (Progressive Achievement Tests) in the areas of Reading, Grammar and Punctuation, Spelling and Maths.

These tests are designed to provide objective information to teachers about their students’ skills and understandings in these areas. The tests also provide the students’ with the opportunity to become more familiar and comfortable with online testing. PAT test are an important tool but only one of the many ways that teachers find out more about a child and their learning.

This year we continue to make our library a place where children are excited to visit, borrow and read! On Wednesday classes will visit the library to borrow. Our Lady of the River is committed to help students discover the wonders of reading. If your family has found a book that you think would be a great addition to our library please let me know and we will put it on our wish list!

Happy Reading!

Melanie Steele

School News

Week One

In week one the Foundation to Year Three students started the year with a 3 day water safety program it was an enjoyable 3 days and we were blessed with warm weather for the three days. 
All staff and students have had a fabulous first week back after the holidays.

Scholastic Book Club

On Thursday, your child received the first issue of Scholastic Book Club for the year. If you would like to place an order, please fill in the order form and send with correct money or cheque (made out to OLOR) in an envelope marked with your child's name and class on the front. Orders being paid by credit card need to be placed online through the Scholastic web site and clicking on LOOP Orders. Orders are due in by Wednesday, 19th February. Please see Sandy if you have any questions regarding ordering.

Thank you, Sandy Sando

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 Fees

As many of you are aware the school fees have been sent out for 2020, there is an early bird discount if the fees are fully paid before the 10th of April this year. If you have any questions regarding fees or payment please contact Pat in the office. For those eligible for school card the discount has yet to be taken off. School card applications will be processed in week 3 and 4 if you would like to apply for school card please contact Pat before week 4.

Below is a copy of Our Lady of the River school fees that shows the breakdown of all fees and levies and early bird discounts.

School Uniforms

Canteen

The major renovations to the canteen are completed. Therefore, canteen will start running again from this Friday 7th February 2020. To start we are offering a modified canteen menu.

Canteen is not compulsory and is there as an extra option for your convenience and the student’s enjoyment.

Please write your order, with the name of your child and their class on the provided paper bag and return to the school with the correct money by 9 am on Thursday 6th February.

On Friday the 14th of February the following items will be available:
- Cold  rolls  (chicken,  lettuce,  carrot  & cucumber)  - $1.20
- Watermelon cup - $1.00
- Jelly cup with fruit or plain - $1.00
- Cold salad
(chicken or ham, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrot, cheese & half an egg) - $4.00
- Piece of chocolate cake - $1.00

Community News

The Berri Swimming Club extends an invitation to all intended swimmers to join in with trainings from 6pm, Monday & Wednesday evenings. Entry into the pool will be at their own cost & preferably wear a school shirt so we know where they're from.

Happy Birthday!