What a week Week 3 was! We continue to live in uncertain and constantly changing times, but I could not be more proud of the OLV community for the way you have all adapted and adjusted to changes in such a calm and supportive manner.

The closure of two of our secondary schools for deep cleaning certainly added to the pressure last week, but thanks to an incredibly supportive staff and community, we made our way through unscathed. Our Director, Gerard Mowbray, reminds us that ‘these closures are a very sharp reminder to us all that COVID is still with us and we need to maintain great diligence in our protocols and activities.’

As you would have read by now, OLV has very clear protocols in place should we ever need to evacuate due to COVID. We hope and pray every day that this will be unnecessary, but we are prepared IF the time comes.

Attached is a resource from the School Counselling Team at the CSO, designed for parents who may need some assistance helping their child during times of certainty. There are actually some great tips for everyone, so please take a moment to read it.

Resource information during Covid

Resource information during Covid 1.00 MB

Week 4 started smoothly, yet incredibly wet! What a deluge we had! Despite that, a calm and productive day was had by all, beginning beautifully with Year 2 leading us in our Liturgy on Mary MacKillop, whose feast day was last Saturday, 8 August. Our liturgies will be placed on Facebook so that our community is able to share in these despite not being present at the time. Next week, 5/6 will lead us.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Thank you to the parents who participated in these last Friday. They are an important part of your child’s schooling and can provide valuable insights into their learning and progress. Of course, if you were unable to ‘attend’ on Friday, but would like an interview, an email to the class teacher regarding an appointment is still possible.

ATTENDING SCHOOL

Even though these are uncertain times, it is extremely important that students are attending school, unless they are unwell and then, the NSW Health directives should be followed. If this is the case, Compass needs to be utilised for attendance issues, but a phone call or email to the class teacher or to the office would be beneficial. I thank you in advance for your support with this.

A reminder that students should be at school BEFORE our first bell at 8:53am. This is an important time when the whole school gets together for morning assembly and important messages are given out to all students concerning the day’s routine. Another reason for this is that with our new protocols around the gates, they will be locked at this first bell. Entry to school after this will be via the main gate, in Lovell Parade. A reminder that parents/carers are not allowed inside the school gates and communication will need to be via phone or the intercom.

MASKS

We have noticed that more and more students are now wearing masks to school. NSW Health advises that it is not necessary for masks to be worn by those under the age of 12. However, if your preference is for your child to wear one, they must do so and comply with the conditions – that is, it is not to be touched and removed, as this undoes the health benefits of the mask.

Because of this, if students wear masks to school and then ‘play’ with them, they may be asked to put them in their bags. I hope that you understand this, but if you require any clarification, please email me.

SUPPLIES

Could you please look into the pencil case supplies of your child and re-stock when necessary? Glue sticks and lead pencils seem to be the items most in need of re-stocking. We appreciate your assistance with this matter.

News on MR V.

I have heard from Mr V, and he is on the mend. He is up and walking, albeit slowly, on his crutches but is missing OLV. He says hello to everyone.