OLOG eNewsletter Term 1 Week 2

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to OLOG for 2024. I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all, from our very new families and students to our final year families. I hope that you all have a wonderful year at OLOG.

Our Reception students have settled so well into school life here at OLOG. They are already making lots of new friends and learning our routines. 

2024 will be another big year here at OLOG, with several wonderful learning opportunities and events planned for our students. Following on from our successful school review, we will be busy putting together our strategic plans and goals which will shape the direction of our school community.

As always, our overall focus for the year will continue to be on providing the best learning environment for our students, where they have the opportunity to experience success along their learning journey.

As part of developing a positive and productive learning environment for all, our students have been introduced to positive learning and behaviour expectations, OLOG Way, Visible Wellbeing, Building Respectful Behaviours, Growth Mindset and what it means to be a successful learner. All of these assists everyone (students, parents and staff) to achieve success and develop positive relationships within our school community. 

With the beginning of each new school year, our students can experience a mix of emotions as they become familiar with their new class. From our newest Receptions and new students to our experienced Year 6s, all students will take time to adjust to the change in classroom routines, teachers, and social groups.

Change is a necessary part of life and cannot be avoided. Change should be embraced as an opportunity to grow as a person and the school is one environment in which students can learn to deal with change by developing their coping skills. Adapting and working with change is a lifelong skill that everyone needs. If your child is experiencing difficulties in settling into the new routines, be proactive and take some time to work with your child’s teacher during these initial weeks until routines and school life becomes familiar. Please ensure that if you have any questions or queries in regard to your child, please contact your teacher as soon as possible. The staff of OLOG are here to work in partnership with all our families for the benefit of your child/children.  
 

OLOG’s 70th BIRTHDAY

This year we celebrate 70 years of Our Lady of Grace School. On 9th February 1954, OLOG began with 97 students beginning from Reception to Year 4. Today OLOG welcomes 2010 students and yesterday we celebrated our beginning with a whole school Mass. Our theme to guide us throughout our special 70th year is Light The Way with your Heart.

Today saw the first of our 70th celebration where the whole school gathered for a whole school photo followed by a celebration. Seven candles were lit by current and past OLOG scholars and families. Our OLOG Birthday cake was cut and shared to begin the celebrations.

OLOG will have many more special celebrations to recognise the significant journey thus far and the journey today. We look forward to parents joining the school community for the Back to 70’s event on Friday 23 February.

STAFF INFORMATION

It was lovely to see parents at our Parent Information evening this week. Meeting and engaging with your child’s teacher is such an important journey to ensure your child’s success and learning.

We welcome:

Laura Girolamo (Reception SB. Laura brings depth of Early Years and will share the Reception teaching with Sue Brinkworth.

Sue Brinkworth has been appointed as leader of Learning and a member of the OLOG Leadership Team. Sue will co-teach with Laura Girolamo.

Monica Turci – Year 1/2 who brings strong depth of Early Years learning. Monica taught at St Joseph’s Gladstone over the last two years.

Martes Trzcinski- Year 3/4 brings strong Catholic Education teaching and has strong understanding and experience in teaching Primary Years learners.

Lachlan Ash has been appointed as Sports Coordinator and continues in his role as ESO Curriculum.

Lisa Ward and Aiden Brusnaham join OLOG with strong experiences in ESO Curriculum and supports.

Welcome back to Frances Wren -Year ¾ returning from maternity leave.

Sara Cox is our Enrolments and Marketing Coordinator as Martina Pellegrini will be soon taking maternity leave.

Amber Mangan- Library Assistant and ESO Curriculum support. Amber has worked across different year levels supporting teachers and students. Amber is excited in leading a welcoming library for all students and families.

Congratulations to Martina and Alistair Fleming who were married in early January. We congratulate them both on such a special time in their lives.

SOME CREATIVE QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT SCHOOL AND LEARNING

Some of the following starters or creative questions to get a little more information about your child’s day:

Tell me about your day
What was the best thing that happened at school today?
Tell me one thing your learned today
Did anything make you laugh today? Tell me about it.
How did you help someone today?
What was hard today?
Describe what  you did at recess.
Did you have any friendship fires today? Tell me about it
Did you have a cool conversation with your teacher today? What did you discuss?
Tell me about the OLOG Way?

Choose one or two to ask but be sure not to inundate your child with too many questions. Your goal is to connect with them, show them you care and help them to share successful learning at school.

PARENT ENGAGEMENT

At OLOG, we believe that parents play a significant role in supporting their children’s learning and well-being. The goal of family engagement is to empower families to be active partners in their children’s learning journey.

Why is Parent Engagement so important? 

Research shows that 'parents and carers are one of the most important influences on a child's education.  When you are engaged in your children's education, your children are more likely to attend school and to perform better.'
When families and schools work together, children are more likely to build good relationships and do better at school. Research also shows that any and all family involvement is beneficial, however, family engagement has the greatest benefit.  

What does P&F look like at OLOG?

All parents and carers make up the P&F at OLOG therefore there is no executive structure. P&F meet twice a  term with dates and times advised in the term calendar. Meeting focus areas include Catholic Identity, engagement in learning, social gatherings and activities, and some fundraising opportunities (this is not a major focus)

Meeting structure:

Welcome and Prayer
Reflection of previous meeting and minutes
Principal’s reflection
Feedback from parents about the previous term
Looking ahead to what’s coming up and how parents and families can be involved
Creation of small working groups when required to assist with events

Our first P&F meeting will be held tonight at 7:00pm in the Community Space. All families are invited to attend this meeting. We will be discussing the Term 1 events, Parent Reps and fundraising for 2024. If you have any items for the agenda please email them through.

Class Parent Rep Contact Role

Here at OLOG, we believe that the Class Parent Rep enhances the quality of relationships within our school community. Together we strive to develop mutually trusting and vibrant relationships between all members of the school community.  In accepting this role, the CPR is taking on a responsibility, which requires mutual trust, confidentiality and a desire to assist in building a harmonious school environment for us all.  

What is a Class Parent Rep?

The Class Parent Rep is a volunteer role held for the school year. This role can be held by up to 2 parents or carers for each class/Year level. This role has the following two main purposes:

Be a support person for the classroom
Work in conjunction with school leadership and the P&F to support school activities and events and build welcoming connections with parents within your child’s year level
Bring Community building ideas to the P&F

This role requires volunteers to respect with confidentiality, the events of the classroom whilst providing staff, students and families with absolute privacy.  This role requires the commitment of volunteers to

Class Parent Reps must complete the online volunteer induction and have a Working with Children Check.

If you are interested in taking on this role for your class in 2024, please see your child’s class teacher.

Peace and Blessings

Josette Charles
Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

Welcome back to Our Lady of Grace School for 2024. A special welcome to our new students and families. Blessings to you all.
 

Beginning of Year Mass

Yesterday we celebrated our Beginning of Year Mass in Church led by Father John. We launched our 2024 theme, “Light the Way with Your Heart”. We welcomed everybody, in particular to our new staff, new students and parents, and a special welcome to the new Reception children all of who bring new energy, gifts and life to our school community.

Our school theme for this year “Light the way with your heart” reminds us to let our light shine from our hearts for everyone to see. When we use our gifts and talents and let our light shine we are brightening the face of God in our world. Whenever we let our light shine, we encourage others to shine too.

Term 1 Masses

• 14th February @ 12:00pm- Whole School Ash Wednesday Mass
• 28th February @ 9.15am- Year 3/4 Mass
• 6th March @ 9.15am- Year 5/6 Mass

Parents are most welcome to attend.

Shrove Tuesday

Next Tuesday it is Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and when Lent begins.

The school will provide pancakes to all the children with the following choice of toppings;

Lemon and Sugar
Strawberry Jam
Maple Syrup

We will provide gluten free pancakes for those who will need them.

If your child has any other dietary requirements, could you please email me on dscuteri@olog.catholic.edu.au in order for us to try and provide an alternative.

We are also seeking some parent volunteers to help cook the pancakes. We will need the volunteers from 9.00-11.00am. This includes cooking and serving time.

Thank-you in advance.

Joy and Blessings

Debbie Scuteri
APRIM/Inclusive Education Coordinator

OLOG Fee Statements were issued last week via your eldest child along with payment plan forms for those who have not yet established their preferred payment plan.

Please review your statement for accuracy and if you have not yet notified our Finance Office of your choice of payment plan kindly do so via the forms below.

OLOG finance policy requires all accounts to be paid in the year incurred and annual payment plans established by 2nd February.

OLOG offers a 3% discount on the annual net tuition fee for accounts paid in full by 31st March 2024.

Low income fees are provided to families who are eligible for School Card. Eligibility is assessed via the Department of Education School Card office and applications for 2024 are open now:

https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/financial-help-scholarships-and-grants/school-card-scheme

If you have not received your fees statement or wish to discuss your account please speak with Finance Manager Kerri Rowell finance@olog.catholic.edu.au

Dear OLOG Community 

My name is Leanne Klemm, and I am OLOG’s WHS Coordinator.   

The following information applies to our P&F’s, Volunteers, and those of you who assist in any way with fundraisers that may require food handling. 

We have been advised:- 

Changes to Food Safety Standards:  New requirements for Food Safety in Schools 

With the introduction of a new Food Standard from 8 December 2023, the education setting will be required to have our Volunteers who directly engage in the handling of food, complete a free 1-hour online course called DoFoodSafely. 

Below is the link (it is a Victorian link; this is the correct one to complete) 

https://dofoodsafely.health.vic.gov.au/index.php/en/ 

If this applies to you, could you please complete at your earliest convenience and email certificate to Liza at lwescombe@olog.catholic.edu.au 

Thank you for your continued support and I really appreciate you taking the time to complete this training. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email lklemm@olog.catholic.edu.au or I am available in the office on Tuesday (odd weeks) or Thursday (even weeks) Ph: 81779100. 

This year we celebrate 70 years of Our Lady of Grace School.

Our Lady of Grace School admitted its first students on the 9th February 1954. Some 97 students, many of whom had transferred from the then Rosary Convent at Glenelg, joined our school's first classes at either Kindergarten, Grade One, Grade Two or Grade Three level.

Our personal story begins on September 13th, 1953 when the Church building was officially opened. It was designed to act as a Church and 3 roomed school. The brick extension which formally housed the Principal's Office, and the canteen was originally built by the community and acted as storeroom and office.

This year we will take you on a journey through OLOG's history and highlight the wonderful path we have travelled as a community to where we are today.

Hi everyone! My name is Amy, and I am the acting coordinator at Our Lady of Grace OSHC!

A little about me; I previously worked in childcare for 6 years before coming to Camp Australia, where I have been for the past 2 and a half years, and have enjoyed working at lots of different OSHC’s around Adelaide!

I have a Cert 3 in Early Childhood Education and Care and have just finished a Diploma in Counselling at TAFE SA.

I am passionate about working with children, and creating welcoming, safe spaces where children can thrive and be their authentic selves. I love being creative, and in my free time I enjoy reading, travelling the world when I can, and performing/singing in choirs.

I am also an old scholar of OLOG, so it is very special to be able to come back as a staff member after all this time!

I look forward to seeing you all in OSHC, and around the school!

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS TERM 

It’s the start of a new year!

Welcome to all the new families starting at Our Lady of Grace in 2024, and welcome back to our older students coming back to school, I hope you all had a lovely break!

New year, fresh start, as they say. And that also goes for OSHC! We have a fresh layout of our room, and our team is working hard to create interesting and exciting experiences this year for the OSHC, including bringing back cooking experiences, getting hands on with painting and sensory activities, bringing music into the OSHC room on a daily basis, and further embedding the children’s voice into our program.

The Big Art competition is back, and better than ever! Every Friday will be Big Art Friday, and we will have different art activities to stretch the children’s creative skills, and they also have a chance to put an entry in for the nation-wide Big Art competition – there are lots of art prizes to be won, so get involved!

We will also be doing themed activities for important days coming up like Chinese New Year, Shrove Tuesday and Valentine’s Day, so keep an eye out on the OSHC program for those.

ACTIVITIES COMING UP

• Make your own pizza
• Playdough making
• Valentine’s Day card making
• Dance party
• Pancakes for Shrove Tuesday
• ‘Year of the Dragon’ craft

I am looking forward to showing you what OSHC has in store for 2024, and I hope you are excited too!

If you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to contact the OSHC on 0450 776 714, or come in and see us between 7am – 9am and 2:40pm – 6:15pm

We wish you all a great start to Term 1!

From Amy and the whole OSHC team