OLOG eNewsletter Term 4 Week 8

Dear Parents and Caregivers

As our 2024 year draws to a close, I want to express my gratitude to each and every one of you who continue to support our wonderful school.

Our annual Carols on the Green is a time a for students to showcase the wonderful gifts and talents as well as the spirit of Christmas.  It was another spectacle, enjoyed by all at OLOG. Thank you to everyone involved.  There is a great deal of work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure the success of the night.  To the P & F who support the event – THANK YOU and to the OLOG staff who worked alongside all children.

We are now in the season of Advent, a time of joyful anticipation and spiritual preparation. Advent invites us to wait in hopeful expectation for the coming of Christ- both in the celebration of His Birth at Christmas and in His promised return at the end of time.

May this Advent season be a time for all of us to grow closer to Christ, the King who rules with love, and to share His message of hope and peace with others.

Farewells and Thank You

We give a special thank you to all who are leaving our school this year and wish you every blessing and happiness.  Please know that your contributions have been valued and will remain a part of the fabric of all that we hold dear. 

Next week we farewell our Graduating Year 6 children and their families. It has been a privilege to witness their growth and leadership, and we wish them every blessing as they transition to their secondary years of schooling.

This year we say farewell to some amazing parents who have generously given so much of their time and talent to OLOG. Please know that your efforts have been greatly appreciated and our school is so much the richer because of your contributions.

I would like to say a special thank you to Miss Lakeisha Grundy who has been a valued teacher at OLOG teaching Year 3/4 and leaves us this year. We may see Miss Lakeisha return in 2025.

Mrs Rona Spicer joined our staff in 2022 and has been a supportive school counsellor to many students and families. Mrs Rona will be taking the next steps in retiring and travel.  I wish her every blessing for this time in her life and she will be missed.

Mrs Frances Wren and her partner Michael will be expecting their second child early March. Mrs Frances Wren will commence maternity leave early March.

A big farewell and thank you to Shelley Robets, Abbey Rice and Leanne Martin for their work as support educators working in many classes supporting students to grow in their learning. You will all be missed. We thank you for your wonderful contribution to the lives of children and the school community.

A massive thank you to all our staff here at OLOG, it is an absolute privilege to work with them.  Each day I see the compassion and effort they put into caring for your children and their learning and wellbeing.  I thank them for all they have done for our students and each other this year.

A special thank you to Father John Herd (Parish Priest) and Pat Murphy for their love and support of our school again this year.  They provide a great witness to our students of faith in action and are a source of wisdom for us all.

Finally, a special thank you to the Admin Team: Amii OÇonnor, Sara Cox and Liza Wescombe who welcome and support everyone at OLOG.  A sincere Thank You to the Leadership Team Debbie Scuteri (APRIM), Sue Spicer (Leader of Learning), Kerri  Rowell (Finance Manager) who have been by my side this year, every step of the way.  The support they give me is greatly appreciated and I couldn’t have done it without them.

These last few weeks of school are a truly joyous time at OLOG, as we celebrate the achievements of our children and begin to reflect on what a wonderful year it has been in so many areas of school life. 

Our students (and staff!) are ready for a holiday. I know they have all worked very hard throughout the year. Please remind your children that CLEAR OLOG Expectations apply in all areas of school life over these final weeks.

Transition Morning - Monday 9th December 

On Monday 9^th December, students will have their transition morning meeting their new teacher and class for 2025. Your child will bring home a letter sharing who is their 2025 teacher.

In 2025 Reception classes will remain in the same classes. Year 1 classes will be located where the Yr 1/2classes are.

Year 2 class will be upstairs with Years 3-6 classes.

End of Year Student Reports will be available in the Community Portal from 3:00pm on Monday 9 December,

YEAR 6 FARWELL ARCH FROM THE WHOLE SCHOOL

On Wednesday 11 December from 2:45pm all students will create a FAREWELL ARCH on the basketball court to FAREWELL OUR YEAR 6 GRADUATES,

All parents are invited to support the Year 6 families to farewell our Year 6 students, the Graduating Class of 2024.

May God Bless you all and hold you safely in the palm of his hands.

Wishing you a joyous Christmas.

Josette Charles
School Principal

Please find attached 2025 Staffing List

Year 6 Graduation Liturgy

• Year 6 Graduation Liturgy: 10^th December @ 6:00pm OLV (Our Lady of Victories Church- High St Glenelg) Please note the starting time of the Year 6 Graduation Liturgy has changed.

Glenelg Christmas Pageant

On Sunday the 24^th November Our Lady of Grace School participated in the Glenelg Christmas Pageant.

The title of our float was “The First Christmas”.

85 children participated this year dressed up as angels or shepherds.

We looked amazing and such an incredible event to be part of.

Thank you to all our children and parent helpers who helped to make this event an occasion to remember.

Sacramental Program

Congratulations to the following children who made their first Sacrament of Reconciliation at Our Lady of Victories Church last Friday; Christine Chong, Frank Perriam and James Scollin. We wish you well as you continue your faith journey.

Advent

Sunday 1^st December marked the beginning of the Church Season of Advent.

Advent is when Christians wait in joyful hope for the coming of Christ, the Light of the World.

The word Advent means ‘to come’ and during this time we prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. 

During Advent, we prepare for the coming of Christ, and as followers of Jesus, we are all called to shine God’s Light of Hope and Love on Earth.

Jesus said, ‘You are the light of the world... let your light shine for everyone.’  Mt 5:14-16

Blessing of the Cribs

In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene or crib is the special exhibition during the Christmas season, of art objects representing the birth of Jesus.

RecSB/LG and RecMT made their own beautiful Nativity Cribs which were specially blessed by Father John.

The children will take the Nativity Cribs home and place them hopefully under the Christmas Tree to remind them of the real meaning of Christmas.

End of Year Mass

On Wednesday 4th December we celebrated our End of Year Mass with Father John.

It was lovely to come together, and we have many reasons to be thankful for the 2024 school year. Our entrance song “Light the Way” by Andrew Chinn was a song aligned with our 2024 School Theme “Light the Way with Your Heart”. Our final song “Let your Light Shine” by Andrew Chinn encourages us to let our light shine for everyone.

The Year 6 Graduating students were given a special blessing as they prepare themselves for their next stage of their learning journey.

A moving Irish Blessing was given to the Year 6 students as we sang the “Irish Blessing” song. We are truly grateful for all that the Year 6 students have contributed to OLOG.

Carols on the Green

Over the past few weeks, the children have been busy practising and refining their items for Carols on the Green.

Last night was an exceptional event displaying an array of Christmas songs and dances.

We hope that you thoroughly enjoyed the night as much as we enjoy organising and hosting the event.

A special thanks to the teachers for helping our students shine.

Lastly, I wish all students and families a blessed Christmas, and a relaxing and joyful holiday season. 

Joy and Blessings
Debbie Scuteri
APRIM/Inclusive Education Coordina

OLOG Fees Policy for 2025 was endorsed by the School Board on Tuesday 19th November 2024 and is now available to Caregivers.

OLOG is mindful of the financial pressure faced by many families, while at the same time experiencing similar cost pressures itself, with this in mind we advise a 2.9% increase to school fees in 2025. This equates to a $100 increase to our full fee and $60 increase to our low income fee, Term 3 Reception intake will remain fee free. 

For full details please refer to the 2025 FEES POLICY

OLOG’s last fee increase occurred in 2019 and in 2021 our fees were reduced and have until now remained unchanged.  

Sibling discounts remain available for families with more than one student attending OLOG and our early payment discount has been increased to 4% (net of sibling and other discounts) available to accounts paid in full by the 31^st March 2025

We also advise that the process for nomination and payment of extracurricular fees will occur via Qkr!

We remind families and caregivers that accounts are required to be paid in full in the year in which they are incurred and no later than 15^th November each year.

Payment plans are required to be submitted by the start of Term 1 2025  indicating your choice of payment type and timing.  Further information will be provided shortly via audiri to assist families to nominate their 2025 payment process.

OLOG remains committed to working with families who are experiencing financial hardship.  If you have any questions about the 2025 OLOG Fee Policy or wish to discuss your account arrangements, or assistance with fees, please contact Kerri Rowell on 81779100 or finance@olog.catholic.edu.au

Stage 1A Construciton Letter to OLOG Community

And we’re off!

Building works have finally commenced and we can certainly see and hear the progress.

The first two weeks have been all about preparing the undercroft area for concrete pour next Monday and our builders Horizon are happy to report all on schedule.

We understand this period has been particularly noisy and inconvenient and we thank our students, staff and families for being so resilient.

Students have adjusted very well to the changes in play times

A reminder to caregivers that the Beadnall Tce gate is not accessible for the duration of construction. Please use the Agnes St/ Front Gate and the Bike Gate for OSCH drop off and pick up in the morning and afternoon.

Agnes St gate is to be used for end of day school pick up and drive through. The main school gate is in normal use during the day for access to the Front Office.

On behalf of the PE Department we congratulate all students who participated in our various school carnivals and co-curricular sports.

Warm Regards, 

Mr Mylonas
PE Teacher

Mr Ash
Sports Coordinator

On behalf of the 2024 Parents and Friends Committee we would like to thank the OLOG school community for supporting the various P&F events.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO DONATE YOUR OLD UNIFORMS

Please be advised donations close next Thursday 12th December (Last Day of School)

In line with our sustainability and community values, we are proud to announce Our Lady of Grace School will donate any old uniform items to Ghana's First Women's Shelter.

We are also happy to take donations of backpacks, sneakers, and soccer boots!

We ask that all donations are clean and in good condition. 

Please bring your donations to the front office, and our P&F member Rebecca Thompson has offered to facilitate ensuring our donations are safely received in Ghana. 

Thankyou.
Sara Cox

Informing the school of absences

If your child is not going to be at school due to illness, or will be late due to an appointment, it is imperative that you inform the school by:

• Phoning the 24 hour student absentee phone number: 8177 9191 before 8.55am; or
• Completing the absentee form in the Audiri app; or
• By emailing the class teacher or olog@olog.catholic.edu.au

Advance Notice of Absence / absence of more than five (5) days

For advance notice of your child’s absence, please complete the Application for Exemption from School Enrolment/Attendance Form, which is available from the Front Office.

Unexplained absence

If a child is not present and the school has not received an absentee call or email by 9:30am, the office will contact parents (generally via text) to ascertain the student’s whereabouts.

If your child is late

If your child arrives after 8:55am, they will need to enter through the Front Office and be signed in manually by a parents/caregiver via the IPAD (Passtab), then go to the classroom. If this process is not followed and the student has been marked as absent, an automated text message will be generated.

Early Departure

Should any child need to leave the school grounds during school hours e.g. dental/doctor appointment, parental permission must be given. All students must be signed out at the Front Office by their parent/caregiver before leaving the school.