Welcome Back

Despite being Week 2, this is my first official chance to welcome everyone back to school. It has been lovely seeing all the smiling faces, with friends reuniting after the holidays, and everyone ready to learn. We have already seen some outstanding work from the students, right across the school. Well done everyone. We are all proud of you!

New Break Times

Last week at assembly, I asked the students for some feedback about our new break times. Overwhelmingly, the response was positive. The ability to get out on the playground twice within the day has been well received by the students and it is wonderful to see them playing happily. Another plus has been the ability to be able to have creative play in the mornings before school, with the blocks, cars, whiteboard markers, etc being used. I have witnessed some very tall buildings created by Kindergarten students, games of ‘schools’ and road rules being obeyed (and disobeyed!) as the children play on the car mat.

New Morning Time

In case you were not aware, the first bell of a morning now rings at 8:50am, rather than 8:53am. A small, but significant one, as the front gates are closed on this bell.

Buddy Training

Last Friday, I had the privilege of working with Years 4 and 5 in readiness for the arrival of their buddies during Orientation in Weeks 5 and 6. They were open and honest, attentive and thoughtful. Year 6 assisted throughout the day by being group leaders and talking about their experiences. They also helped by collating the data from the charts to create a more visual representation of our three questions: What am I looking forward to? What are my fears? Who can help me?

The Year 4 and 5 students ‘met’ their little buddies, through photographs, and then composed draft letters to them that will be handwritten and posted to their buddies. They also made creative decisions and notes in preparation for this Friday, when they will make their video introductions – of themselves and OLV – with a Year 6 student being their videographers.

I am proud of the work they have started and know that they will be amazing big buddies.

Daily Dismissal

Thank you to the people who have been making a greater effort to collect their child from the correct side of the road at the end of the school day. There has been an improvement, but we can still do better.

For the safety of all of the children at OLV, and after a staff discussion around issues at dismissal time, we have decided that we will not dismiss your child from any of the gates until we can actually see you. Ideally, we would like you to walk to the gate to collect your child, in a Covid safe manner of course, but if this is not possible, we would like you to stand beside your vehicle on the school side of the road. In this way, we can see who has collected whom. While it may take a fraction longer, rather than a swarm from the gates of an afternoon, expect a slow, organised trickle.

A new arrival

Khal (Kindergarten) is a big brother! His little brother, Xander, arrived last week and we wish him and his growing family well. We know Khal will make an awesome big brother. We look forward to meeting Xander when Covid restrictions ease.

Mr V’s Return

I know many of you are patiently waiting for Mr V’s return…well, Monday 26 October is the date! We look forward to seeing him next week. He will still need to be careful as he continues to recover from his surgery, but we know that he will be happy to see everyone’s smiling faces.

Photos

By the time you read this newsletter, school photos will have been taken for 2020. We look forward to seeing the photos when they return to school in 4-6 weeks.

Book Parade

You should have all seen by now, via Compass or Facebook, a message regarding our Book Parade for tomorrow. In case, the details are as follows:

As you know, our Book Week parade this year has had to be modified. We will hold our parade from 1pm on Friday.
Unfortunately, parents are not allowed on site for this, but there will be plenty of photos placed on Facebook.

Please note the following:

• Students come to school IN THEIR UNIFORM and bring their costume.
• Year 5/6 will assist their buddies to get ready for this parade from about 12:40pm.
• Coloured/crazy hair can be ‘worn’ to school, but our school hat must be worn if they intend playing at break times, so please give this some consideration.
• The students will be allowed to stay in their costume for the remainder of the day if it is comfortable.

We are looking forward to seeing our Crazy Creatures and Wild Minds!

As this is the last newsletter I will write before Mr V’s return, I wanted to say that it has been a privilege to be in the ‘big chair’ for the past 3 months. The support from the OLV community is unparalleled and I cannot thank you enough. We are all extremely lucky to be in, and supported by, such caring and understanding people. I hope Year 5/6 are looking forward to having me back as much as I am looking forward to being back with them!

Thank you all again,

Penny McGann