12 April 2018

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

Principal’s Message

Farewell Mr Hammond

For those that might have missed the news last week, we said farewell to Mr Hammond on Tuesday. Family commitments are such that Mr Hammond needs to take leave until the end of the year to care for his disabled son and relieve some of the stresses his family is experiencing now. His intention is to resign from his position as a teacher and Assistant Principal at OLV at the end of the year. His service to our school and dedication to his profession will be sorely missed.

Mrs McGann will take on the teaching load for Year 5 but will continue in her position of Leader of Maths (1 day per week). Mrs Catherine Bourne has been appointed to fill in for Mrs McGann on that day. She will also cover off Mrs Carroll for her AP Release.

There wasn’t much office space when Mr Hammond first arrived – sharing the old canteen in 2001

Baby News

Mrs Noble was also farewelled the other day. She is taking leave to have a baby. Miss Speirs is filling her position for the rest of the year. We congratulate Mrs Noble on her new family addition and wish her and her family good fortune and health.

Baptisms

Congratulations to the Hagenimana Family who had four of their children Baptised into the faith last Sunday. Junior, Jimmy. Joyce and Emery. We wish them well in their faith journey.

The Hagenimana family celebrate the baptism of 4 of their children at OLV church last Sunday.

Monday Liturgy

One of the highlights of the week is the Class Liturgy we have on Monday morning. It is a great way to focus our thoughts and come together as a family community in the name of the Lord. I often wonder what we can do to have them join us in the liturgy especially when we have so many parents dropping children off on Monday morning and staying for the bell and assembly.

Parents are most welcome to join us for the 15-minute liturgy and reflection and even be participants if they wish. Would you like to be someone involved in the liturgy? Please let us know and more importantly, please join us.

Morning Assembly

It is always wonderful to see so many parents at our gathering assembly each morning. It is the perfect way to focus and reflect one the day to come. The Morning Prayer is very important to us and everyone is encouraged to say the prayer with us rather than continue any conversations with those around. The words of the prayer are:

This is our school, let peace be here.
Let the school be full of happiness.
Let us love one another, Love life itself.
And above all Love God.
Our Lady of Victories, Pray for us.

May you be in heaven 5 minutes
Before the devil knows you’re dead.

Kind regards,
Gerry Vandermaat - Principal.

Project Compassion

It’s time to send in your Project Compassion Boxes so that we can finalise the appeal before we break for the holidays. If you would like to know how your kind donations are being used you can visit the Caritas website at

ANZAC Service

We hosted members of the Shortland Sub-Branch of the Returned and Services League today for our annual ANZAC Liturgy. We thanked them and paid our respects to all those that have served our country in some way to keep it safe and free. We made a special mention of support and sacrifice the people of India made for the original Gallipoli campaign and with Fr Thomas hailing from that part of the word, we are sure he would have been as proud of his fellow countrymen as well.

One extra point we reflected upon was the “Lone Pine” that is planted in our gardens. Nearly 10 years ago a “descendant” of the original Lone Pine at Gallipoli, was presented to the RSL, kept, and cared for at school. It was planted into the garden a few years later and a sitting area around the tree has been developed through a generous donation. It will become our focus point to lay wreaths and tributes for years to come.

Thanks to those that came along to remember the day with us.

Members of the Shortland RSL Sub-Branch accept the Lone Pine in 2010 as part of our ANZAC Liturgy that year

After 8 years, the seedling has grown into a strong tree as a reminder of and thanks to those that have served our country

Our Captains will be attending the Dawn Service at the Shortland RSL on Wednesday 25 April. They will be speaking and laying wreath at the service. All are welcome to attend service at the Memorial Grove next to the old Shortland RSL site on Wednesday 25 April assembling at 4:45am for a 5am start. Access is through Conmurra Circuit. Breakfast is served for the children and their families afterwards.

ICAS Competition

Expressions of Interest were sent home yesterday for the ICAS Assessments. If you would like your child to participate, the form must be returned tomorrow so that we can enter the children. This is especially important for those that wish to enter the Digital Technologies Test. Unfortunately late entries will not be accepted.

KINDER Enrolments 2019

The enrolment period for 2019 is now open. Parents who are seeking enrolment for their children at OLV in 2019 should ask for an Application for Enrolment from the office. Alternatively, an enrolment pack can be found our school website at

or on the CSO website at:

If you are aware of any families that are also considering enrolling next year, please pass on this message.

If parents of Year 6 are looking Application forms for a Catholic high school, these will be sent home in week 10. They must be returned to school by end of Week 1 in Term 2. These will then be forwarded to the respective high schools. Parents have a choice of sending their children to San Clemente at Mayfield or St Pius X, Adamstown. Parents may not make application for enrolment at both schools. Further information regarding enrolling in a Catholic High School is available on the CSO website at the link below. It is important to note that all fees outstanding need to be cleared before enrolment to the Catholic High Schools will be accepted.

If parents are looking towards the public or selective high school, they should contact that school.

Playground Upgrade

Thanks to those that came along to our meeting last week. We had a good discussion around some ideas and these have been forwarded to the builder for pricing. At our next P&F meeting, we should be able to confirm what we can afford and have work commence soon. We have gone with the placement of areas in Option 2.

We are looking for some miscellaneous items to help allay the cost a little. Things on our list include a small dinghy (fibreglass or aluminium), PCV Piping, large tyres, hardwood logs and stumps, river rocks, hardwood cut offs, steering wheels, plastic seats. If you have access to any of there, please let us know.

Mosquitoes

I think that the fogging of the trees 2 weeks ago had a significant effect on the mozzies around the school. One only has to walk under the trees near the church to be reminded of the problem we had and compare it to the relatively mozzie free zone we are enjoying at the moment near the school building. We will fog the area again just before returning from holidays.

Compass Goes Live

We are live!!!

On our Pupil Free Day on Monday, the teachers were trained on the new roll marking and student information system called COMPASS. We were very excited to put the attendance into the computer for the first time. Other features of the system will be the preparation and storage of student report cards. Gradually parents will be given access to this information live and up to date. Once these modules come online, parents will be given a username and password to access different aspects of the platform, which will assist with their communication with the school and access to their child’s progress (this will become more evident as training for parents is arranged and communicated next term).

For example, a new App will allow parents to notify the school about a child’s absence and this directly imports into the teacher’s daily roll without having to fill out slips or communicate with the teacher who would normally have to regenerate the roll and make edits. A KIOSK at the front office will take the place of the SIGN IN/SIGN OUT Book. A few taps on the screen will send the information straight to the teacher’s roll and record the variation to attendance. Again no paper work. Sadly, milkshakes from the KIOSK will not be available.

It will be an exciting and interesting time for all.

Late Arrivals

Now that Compass has gone live, the reason “LATE” is no longer acceptable for absence. Parents must enter the reason they are late eg- sick, traffic, could not find shoes, slept in etc. We will be able to track and monitor the reason and offer any suggestions to help if this becomes a chronic issue.

In addition, it is not appropriate nor advisable for parents to drop children off at the gate and have them sign in for themselves. Any child that arrives late must have their parent sign in – if not, an unexplained absence is recorded.

Gate Entry

People are getting used to our new gate and it seems to be working well. The only issue we are having is that people are not making sure the gate has locked behind them- entering or leaving. There is a slight time delay before the magnet reactivates to lock the gate. If visitors swing the gate closed too hard after passing through it, there is a tendency for the gate to “bounce” and remain open too far for the magnet to take effect. Please take a moment to ensure the gate has secured behind you when entering and leaving. THANK YOU

If you enter or exit via the front gate during school hours, please ensure the gate securely closes behind you.

Library Borrowing

Library borrowing will be each Wednesday. Each student needs to have a library-borrowing bag. Books need to be returned each Wednesday. Please ensure books are kept safe when at home. Returning them to their library bag after each use would be perfect. Lost or damaged books will need to be replaced. Library bags are available from the uniform pool for $10.

School Fees

Every family should have received fee statements for Term 1 and be well on their way to making payments if they have not already settled their Term 1 accounts, or made payment arrangements with the school. If you have not had a chance to get to your school fees yet, we urge you to make some time to look at your fee statement and work out what payment option suits you best. The school takes many methods of payment and Mr Vandermaat is happy to sit down with any family to work out a payment plan that suits your financial situation.

Term 2 Fee statements will go home in week 1 of Term 2 and families who have had trouble meeting their Term 1 commitments will be contacted about making arrangements to meet with Mr Vandermaat before the year progresses much further. Thanks to those that have already done so.

Please remember that a little often can make it seem a lot more manageable.

Winter Uniform

Officially, we will be changing into winter uniform on Monday of week 1 in Term 2. If the weather stays warm, please use your discretion, but ensure that no non-uniform items are worn. Pleased no tracksuit pants under dresses. Coloured beanies and scarves should not be worn when it is cold but navy blue items are acceptable.

P&F News

If parents would like to add to the monthly meeting agenda, please call Kylie Westaway or send an email to OLVparentsandfriends@gmail.com.

Meeting Minutes Term 1

1. Sadly, we have had to postpone a second meeting this year due to the inability of members to attend. It seems Monday nights might be the reason. We are investigating a time and day change and will inform parents of the new time for our next meeting.
2. Executive positions - Not all positions were filled at the AGM earlier this month, and we are still looking for nominations from anyone interested in filling the role of P&F treasurer. Please contact Sally Walsh or Kylie Westaway,

Pizza Day

We had a great lunch today – mmmm PIZZA – as Homer would say.

Clothing Pool:

The Uniform Pool is now set up and operating from the “Bell Room” next to the Year 1 classroom. The Uniform Pool is open every Thursday morning from 8:40am – 9:10am.

Please Note: we can only take cash sales as no EFTPOS facilities are available.

Canteen Roster:

Volunteer Registration and WWCC

All parents and carers who volunteer their time and assistance to our school are reminded it is vital that you register as a volunteer and provide your Working With Children Check Number. Please read the attached PDF from the Catholic School Office regarding volunteers and WWC numbers, and organise your check as soon as possible! We greatly value and appreciate your input at OLV!

Hopefully all our volunteers have had the chance to apply for their Working With Children Check number. Once you have received this number please call into the office to provide your number along with documentation for the identity check.

Class News

Kinder

In Religion Kinder focused on the symbols for Lent and Easter: Ashes, Palms, Bowl and Towel, Bread and Wine, The Cross, Paschal Candle and Easter Eggs. Kinder were assessed on their knowledge of these symbols and achieved excellent results. They were also assessed on their knowledge of the Easter Story by sequencing the events in their correct order. In English Kinder were assessed on their knowledge of sight words, letters and sounds and on their ability to write a simple sentence about school using a capital letter, finger spaces and a full stop. Results have been very pleasing. In Maths, we learnt about measuring Mass. We compared objects by hefting to determine which object is heavier/lighter and tested our answer by putting our objects in stockings hanging from a washing line. The object in the stocking closest to the ground was the heavier object (had more Mass). This week we are learning about ‘Position’. We use language such as near, far, next to, behind, in front of, in, on, beside etc. to describe the position of objects. In Science, we had fun investigating our worms using magnifying glasses. We did experiments to find out how worms reacted to light and whether they liked a moist or dry environment. Kinder have become experts on the behaviour of worms and should be able to answer all your questions. In Art, we painted a ‘Good Friday’ scene and Easter eggs of course. Kinder have worked hard this term and deserve a good rest. Happy holidays to all our Kinder families. Enjoy the break and keep safe.

Millie and Maxwell take a closer look at the worms from their class worm farm.

Year 1

We completed a writing assessment in English last week and Miss Speirs and Mrs Noble were impressed by the good attempts made by the children to spell unknown words and the way in which they used appropriate time connectives. Our handwriting focus this term has been effective with improved letter formation. The children are really concentrating on keeping to the lines in the Year 1 exercise books. Well done!!

In Maths, we have been learning about volume and capacity. Everyone has been having a great time using cups of water to find the capacity of different containers. Year 1 have also compared the capacity of two different containers to find out which one has the largest capacity.

Mrs Noble was so touched on Tuesday by the thoughtful gifts she received for her new baby from the Year 1 children and parents, and the staff and students of OLV. What a beautiful thing it is to be a part of the OLV community. Best wishes to the Year 1 children and parents and thank you for a wonderful term! Mrs Noble looks forward to bringing in her baby to meet everyone soon!

We wish all the children and parents a happy and safe holiday and look forward to seeing you all in Term 2!

Year 2/3

Year 2/3 has been very busy in the final weeks of term. We all enjoyed our excursion to the Awabakal Education Centre and we learnt many things about the traditional way of life for the Awabakal people including making a shelter known as a gunyah. In English we continue to develop our skills in persuasive writing and last week we wrote about whether all children should play sport. Some great arguments were developed. In maths we have considered position using directional language and now 3D space. In religion we are learning more about the Easter Season and what happened following Jesus’ resurrection. We developed our skills in recording some musical notation and we learnt about seat belt rules in cars during health. Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday break.

Year 4

In Science, the children have been investigating how forces can make things move. There are two types of forces - ones that pull and ones that push. The size of a force exerted on an object has different effects. We have also looked a how we can report our findings. We can use annotated diagrams, tables and story boards to illustrate the information that we wish to communicate in our reports on experiments. We are looking forward to the holidays and wish everyone a safe break.

Year 5

A bittersweet week for us in Year 5. We are looking forward to the holidays, but we also had to farewell Mr Hammond. It has been wonderful to have him with us this year and we will miss him. This week, we will complete our artworks, present our science research, continue working on division in Maths, and finish our novel. (Oscar will be so happy, because he has been waiting and waiting and he will then be able to read the second book in the series!!) We enjoyed our last session of sport for this term and played ultimate Frisbee and league tag, displaying our increasing skills. We had a lovely liturgy on Tuesday and are looking forward to the ANZAC liturgy on Thursday to remember the sacrifices made for us by our past and present service men and women. Have a restful break, because Term 2 will be as busy, if not busier, than Term 1. See you in a couple of weeks!

Year 6

In Religion, we discussed symbols of Easter and Lent and we each chose symbols to draw in our books and labelled them. We talked about the link between the symbols of Lent and the Lenten themes of Sacrifice, Reconciliation and Reflection. In English, we spent some time comparing the three stories we have read this term, Dancing the Boom Cha-Cha Boogie by Narelle Oliver, The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan and Soraya the Storyteller by Roseanne Hawke. We agreed they had a lot in common including the main characters being isolated in a new environment, feeling anxious and confused, adjusting to a new way of life, being welcomed even though they retained their differences. In Maths, we are revising our knowledge of time and completing activities associated with 24 hour time. We are also revising 3D shapes. We had a lot of fun in Sport with the boys playing a great game of League Tag while the girls enjoyed a fun game with the Frisbees. We participated respectfully as we led the ANZAC Service today. We can’t believe Term 1 is already coming to an end and we wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

LEXIA AT HOME

It is great to hear that so many children have been able to download the Lexia Core 5 program at home. Some are even using it with their IPads!

Here are the details again if you would like to do Lexia at home.

If you would like to use the program at home you will need to download this new version. You can download from

or, you can use it via your web browser

You do not need any codes but will need the admin user email address. lady@victories.com.au from their children log on with their usual Lexia username and password. I Pad and I Pad mini users can download the Core 5 app from the App store- search for “Lexia Reading Core 5”.

If you have any problems, please contact me at the school on a Tuesday or Friday. – (Jenny McCallum - Learning Support Teacher)

SPORTS NEWS

School Cross Country

We had a great morning yesterday at our Cross Country Trial. It was terrific to see ALL the children enjoying the exercise and having a go. There were some fantastic world records broken as the Mozzies carried the competitors most the way. Thanks everyone for being so patient. Unfortunately, due to these little rascals, Julian A was not able to attempt breaking his nine-lap record – so it will stand until next year.

Well done to the following children.

We will present the ribbons for the Cross Country at a short Assembly on Friday afternoon from 2:30pm. Come along if you like.

Coles Sport for School

Our bundles of vouchers will be posted tomorrow – last chance to get any that are laying about the house into school Thanks all for the support..

Classroom Equipment / Pencil cases

Over the holidays, it is a good time to renew the equipment your child will need to work without distraction or interruption. Most of the infant’s needs are supplied but for Years 3 to 6 each child needs the following in good condition:

• 2 HB Pencils
• Eraser
• Red Biro
• Blue Biro
• Ruler
• Sharpener (the metal ones are best)
• Set of coloured pencil/crayons/textas
• Pencil case.

The children will need regular top ups throughout the year. Having the right equipment on hand when required makes delivering the program a lot smoother.

BIRTHDAY WISHES

Class Awards

Class awards for Week 10