Principal's Report
We have had a great start to 2025 at OLOR. Students have settled into their routines and learning, and have had a great effort at beginning their learning journeys in their new classes. The school has a wonderful calmness about it, and the students and staff have all started the year positively. We look forward to a wonderful year ahead with lots of things happening around the school. We welcome two new ESOs this year, Cailee Lehmann and Elise Lambert, and also a number of new students across the school.
This year our Diocesan theme is “Seeds of Hope”. We are encouraging everyone to look for the positives and opportunities to grow each day, as well as see the goodness around them. We will be working with our staff and students this year in making this theme come alive across our school.
Before school started our staff were all busy preparing for the new year. Classrooms were setup and prepared, resources were organised for students and teachers began their planning for the year ahead. This involved some Professional Development with Sam Mitchell into the Indigenous history of our local areas and regions, and what we all can do to learn more in this area. We also worked on ways to improve the writing of our students across the school. This year we will be developing our knowledge around this area and working with St Joseph’s Barmera to develop plans to improve writing as well as develop and enhance our Literacy programs.
We had our Commissioning Mass with Bishop Karol Kulczycki in Barmera, where all staff from our five Riverland Catholic schools were sent forth by the Bishop to carry out their work in a spirit of Catholic calling and mission. Bishop Karol asked us all to listen to the call, and to act on it with faith that God is supporting the work that we do.
This year we look forward to many great opportunities and events, from camps and excursions, to events like Wakakirri and the Riverland Choir, as well as opportunities such as SAPSASA and Sports Day. The calendar of our school is always a busy one, but we believe it gives all students opportunities to let their lights shine as they find out their own strengths, talents and interests.
We also look forward to our building program commencing, with new classrooms and a new front office being built during the year. These facilities will help enhance the learning and opportunities at OLOR for many years to come.
With the hot weather forecast for next week, we have decided to change our Welcome Night to a Welcome Morning next Tuesday. It will be an opportunity to make connections, learn more about what is happening in your child’s class and meet other families who share the OLOR journey. It will also be a chance to catch up with class teachers and learn more about what is happening this year.
One of the things teachers will share is about our PBIS focus this year. This is all about teaching students about positive behaviour choices and having high expectations for all. Our whole school is working on this together this year, and we have even developed a behaviour tracker app that teachers and ESOs are using to support and encourage students with positive choices. If you see staff on their phone at the end of the day, they are giving out points to students for fantastic behaviour! We will also be utilising the Smiling Mind website and SEL program to support our students with their mental wellbeing. This is great chance for students to learn more about how to understand their feelings and emotions, as well as have tools and strategies to support them if they need help.
This year we are embarking on a new language across the school. All classes and staff will be learning AUSLAN as the extra language this year, a change from Chinese that we have had in recent years. This is a fabulous opportunity for students to learn a different way of communicating and is a way of being more inclusive in our interactions. We look forward to what this learning looks like across the year.
2025 promises to be a great year at OLOR and we thank families for their ongoing support as they entrust us with the care and education of their children. We welcome everyone to become part of the OLOR family, as we work together for the benefit of all of our children.
Mr Michael Slagter
Principal