WELCOME BACK

2023 has started with gusto. Week three already and the children have settled in really well. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm and feel the energy they brought back with them from the holidays. We look forward to watching them grow throughout the year and working closely with the children on their learning journeys.

SCHOOL FEES

Next week you will receive your annual school fee account. It will outline the total amount owing for the 2023 year. Parents should not be put off by the total amount as it would be expected that this would be covered over the first three terms of the school year.

Parents may make payment via a number of methods which include Bpay online, credit card at the office or Direct Debit. You may pay in regular instalments via these methods, lump sum payment (preferably at the beginning of each term) or adhoc payments. Parents are encouraged not to use COMPASS to pay accounts as the charges are much greater than other methods.

If there is a genuine concern about your ability to pay the school fees, please contact the office to arrange a time to discuss your situation with the Principal and how we can assist. Those with Health Care Cards are eligible for a concession on Tuition Fees. These need to be on file at the office.  Those already with concessions will need to touch base again to discuss your situation and confirm details.

Mrs Fry is able to help you with a payment plan that will help you with your household budget.

AFTERNOON PICKUP

Parent should note that there are a lot of people about the school trying to go home in the afternoon. We ask that everyone be patieint and consider others during this process. Important things to consider are:

• Not everyone can quickly fasten their children into their seats - so we need to hold on for a few seconds longer before pulling out from the car in front.
• There  are a lot of children and parents crossing the road outside the top Lovell Pde gate - so we need to be vigilant as we pass the school in our cars.
• Lovell Pde becomes very congested at this time -- so we need to consider where we park. Trying not to park between the church and the school gate during this time. This will help the valet pick up run smoothly without cars not moving forward because they are walking their children to the car.

NEW STAFF

Our teaching team has some new faces this year. Miss Morris and Mrs Carroll have extended their leave and have been replaced by Mrs Catherine Fren (Year 3) and Mr Mark Fren (Year 4), respectively, for Term 1. Ms Laura Slattery joins us in Year 5 replacing Mrs York. Mr Blake Watmore joins the Stage 3 Team releasing Mrs McGann for her executive duties and Ms Slattery who is also acting as our Gifted Education Mentor.

We farewelled Mrs Laura Pont as our school counsellor and welcome Mrs Clare McMahon in that role. Miss Rhiannon O'Bree has moved to Year 1 to replace Mrs Bradley who is on leave this term. Mrs Dunn continues in Kindergarten this year, as does Miss Payton in Year 2.

COMMUNICATION

Our chief form of communication is via COMPASS. This way we avoid paper wastage and ensure that everyone gets the same message. Important messages and notes don't get lost and are always available to refer to via the APP. Please ensure that you use your COMPASS App and read the notifications that come to you. Some may be from your child's teacher and some may be from the school in general.

Our Newsletter goes out to all families via three forms - COMPASS notification and link, the SchoolZine App and as a link on our Facebook page. The Date claimer on the SchoolZine App is a good way to check for events coming up. We are changing Newsletter day to Fridays of Odd Weeks.

STAYING HEALTHY 

One way to keep healthy is to ensure we re getting some exercise in our lifestlye. One way we can encourage this might be to ride or walk to school once a week. Please read below and act upon some of the suggestions if you can

5 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD/REN

When my children were little, and even now that they are not, it is often difficult to get any sort of detail from them about their day with the way we usually phrase our questions. The usual “How was your day?” is met with a monosyllabic response or a shrug of the shoulders. “What did you do today?” receives the same or similar response. This often ends in multiple more questions being asked, with not much more information being divulged.

So, how do we find out more without asking more? One suggestion is to try these questions instead. Have your child focus on just one aspect/subject. It may feel really ‘clunky’ and awkward at first, and your child may not have detailed answers at first, but it will become more natural over time.

1. What did you learn about today?
2. How did you do?
3. What did you do (or would you do) if you didn’t understand?
4. How can you improve on your learning?
5. What are you most proud of?

(Lyn Sharratt, 2019, Clarity: What Matters Most in Learning, Teaching and Leading, p65)

I would love to get some feedback as to how these questions were received by your child and what their responses were.

OUR NEW VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS

During the later part of 2021 and all of 2022, the staff worked on an update to our Vision and Mission statements to more closely align our goal (vision) with how we will achieve this (mission). We looked closely at the two intersecting charisms (ways of living the Gospel) of the Josephites and the Dominicans, as they both had and have prominence in the development of Our Lady of Victories.

At the heart of the Dominican charism is the purposeful and dynamic search for TRUTH (Veritas). The search for truth leads us to a personal encounter with God who is our centre. It drives us to inspire our students to be aware of wonder and awe, of beauty and joy, recognising the innate dignity and creativity of each person. The Josephite charism is based upon Mary MacKillop’s core belief of “Never see a need without doing something about it”. Mary MacKillop was selfless, and spread a spirituality based on her ‘gritty determination’, her love and concern for others, and her dedication to making a difference. Together, our search for truth and wanting to help each other forms the core of what strive for at OLV.

After much discussion, PD, and deep thinking, we have developed a simple, but strong vision, and ways we can live this. It has since been developed into signage that will soon be displayed in multiple locations around the school. Further discussion on the development and xxx of our Vision and Mission statement will be presented at the next P&F meeting.

On Monday, we introduced the students to our Vision and Mission statement in the form of an award. Each fortnight, at our assembly, the teachers will find a student, or group of students, who are actively living our Vision and Mission through their actions. Awards will have the reason on them and these can be seen in the awards section of the newsletter. Our V&M statements also link with our PBL (Positive Behaviours for Learning) focus of I AM SAFE, I AM A LEARNER and I AM RESPONSIBLE in that the same sort of caring, community minded actions are encouraged through this initiative as well. It will be unpacked over time with the students so they know HOW to live our V&M.

We have a beautiful community at OLV and this will serve to ensure that we instil lifelong values that will benefit our community for years to come, and other communities into which our students enter, after they leave us.