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“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”
Matthew 28:6
Parents, Caregivers and Students,
The Easter holidays have been different this year because of the spread of the global pandemic. Yet, Easter could not have come at a better time. Revealing contrasts like crucifixion and resurrection, death and life, sorrow and hope, the Easter season is an opportunity to transform and renew, especially in these times marked with uncertainty.
During the break I have really enjoyed spending time with my family at home. Spending time away from school and focussing on my loved ones has helped me to feel refreshed and re-energised for a new term ahead. No doubt you have been able to find ways to enjoy the enforced time at home with your children.
Welcome to term 2. It has been really lovely to see so many students back at school whilst at the same time reconnecting with students at home.
This first week the staff have delivered learning in an online mode to all students, whether they were at school or at home. As part of our transition back to face to face learning we have reviewed this plan in readiness for week 2. If you choose to keep your children home a little while longer, they will continue to have access to quality teaching and learning that is provided by their teacher.
During this time of transition in Term 2, the health and wellbeing of students and staff remain a priority. We will continue to ensure that OLOR is a safe environment with appropriate physical distancing, hygiene and additional cleaning measures in place.
To keep our school safe we have increased cleaning practises, including the cleaning of the playground equipment, toilets, taps and doorhandles in between play times. We have plenty of soap, sanitiser and tissues available at school for children to use regularly throughout the day. In class teachers continue to teach the students about good hygiene to minimise the spread of germs.
All parents and carers are encouraged to drop off and pick up children at the school gates for now in order to observe social distancing rules. And if your children are unwell please keep them home.
At this time, all large gatherings such as school assemblies and masses, excursions, SAPSASA sport and extra-curricular activities are still on hold.
Next week, albeit different than in previous years, we will celebrate Catholic Education Week. Through Catholic Education Week we celebrate the wonderful opportunities, love and care that sending your child to a Catholic school can provide. OLOR is proud to be part of a long tradition of Catholic Education that goes back to the days of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. We embrace our Catholic calling to celebrate the many faith traditions and cultures that make our school community so wonderfully rich and diverse.
This week we welcome Eli and Will Cresp and their family back into our school community. Eli and Will join Mr Preece in the Year 4 class.
Please join me in congratulating Mrs Erica Kalman on 20 years of dedicated service to Our Lady of the River School. What a milestone! Erica has become a very familiar face to many in our school community. Over the years she has touched the lives of different students in many different ways.
We congratulate the Dalamagas family on the safe arrival of their son and brother Vasili. We look forward to meeting Vasili.
The Easter holidays have come to an end but let’s not forget the message of hope that Easter Sunday brought us. I often try to imagine what it would have been like to be one of the women who went to Jesus’ tomb that morning to find the stone rolled away. The women, who were sad about Jesus’ death did not stay home but instead “rose” and went out early that morning to perform a work of mercy, taking the perfumed ointments to the tomb. The stone in front of the tomb was rolled aside, not so Jesus could come out, but so that they could look inside and see that he was indeed gone.
The angel spoke to the women, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” The women were frightened. Within their sadness and fear the women also felt something else: new hope.
Let new hope be the beacon of light that guides us through this new term.
Nanda de Winter