Dear Parents and Caregivers

Sacramental Commitment Masses

Thank you to all the families who attended the Sacramental Commitment Masses over the weekend. With five masses to choose from, families chose a Commitment Mass to attend and pledge their commitment during their child’s sacramental year.  The 8.00am Saturday morning mass, the mass I attended, was very popular with many families.

Now that the commitment has been made, and with five masses spread out over the weekend, families have a choice of masses to attend, that suit their lifestyle and other family commitments. Attending mass is an opportunity for us all to say thank you to God for all the wonderful things in our lives. It is also an opportunity to reflect and speak to God about what is troubling us. Attending mass gives people the opportunity to come together, as one, and share their own thoughts and life experiences in a spiritual environment.

Parent Teacher Meetings Dates & Interim Reports

The Parent Teacher Meetings scheduled for Week 9, will be going ahead as scheduled. Please take note of the following dates:

• Monday 29 March: Pre-Primary, Years 2, 4 & 6
• Tuesday 30 March: Years 1, 3 and 5

We will be using SOBs, the online booking system that has been used over the last few years, to schedule meeting times with the classroom teachers. Information about how to book and appointment times will be provided soon. Interim reports will be passed onto parents at the parent/teacher interviews.

Jeans Friday

You may have noticed staff wearing jeans on Fridays. The staff are collecting money for Br Ollie’s Wheelchairs for Kids, as we have done in previous years. We are still collecting ring pulls from cans so please continue to support the foundation by bringing them in.

Swimming Carnivals

The swimming carnivals, as scheduled, will proceed at Terry Tyzack Centre. As explained in the attached flyer, the championships points are based on the fastest results (all events are timed) and not on places i.e. it doesn’t matter how many firsts a student achieves, it’s the fastest times taken for championships points. These are automatically calculated with the recording system we have hired. Please read the attached flyer which explains the above in more detail, and if you have any further queries about how these points are allocated, please see Mr Allsop.

Also attached is the Middle/Senior program for the carnival. As mentioned in the program, the starting times allocated for each event are only approximate times and may change at any item (we may run behind or ahead of schedule). Please download the program and take it to the carnival.

Swimming Carnival Program 2021

Harmony Day – Everyone Belongs

On Friday 19 March, the school will be celebrating Harmony Day, acknowledging Australia’s and OLA’s cultural diversity.

To celebrate the occasion and promote acceptance for all cultures in Australia and at OLA, students are requested to wear orange clothing, or their family’s cultural dress/attire. Students are not permitted to wear free dress, especially sporting teams’ attire.

A sausage sizzle and fruit box has also been organised for the students on the day. If ordering a sausage in a bun and/or fruit box, I encourage parents to order the items using the online ordering program QuickCliq. Our aim is to eventually go cashless at OLA, however the staff will also accept cash. Please complete the attached form and return it to the classroom teacher by Monday 15 March at the latest, regardless if you’re paying via QuickCliq or by cash.

Harmony Day 2021 Information

Mr De Pietro & Year 5 Assemblies

Mr Bruno De Pietro was in the hospital last week and was discharged on Sunday 7 March. As you can appreciate, I am unable to disclose the reason why he was in the hospital. All I can say is that he is stable and improving every day. Bruno will be returning to school in Week 7 (Monday 15 March, 2021).

The Year 5G Assembly, scheduled for 17 March, 2021, has now been changed to Wednesday 31 March, 2021, to allow Bruno and his students the time to prepare for the item. The Year 5M assembly, scheduled for 31 March, 2021, has now been brought forward to Wednesday 17 March. Thank you to Mrs Scoble for supporting Bruno and allowing the change to occur.

Please keep Bruno in your prayers and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Speech Pathologist On-Site

As of this year, there will be a speech pathologist on-site to offer sessions to students who require them. The speech pathologist (Genevieve Saldanha) will be on-site every Monday (initially via appointments as she sets herself up) to meet with parents and work with students. This arrangement is a private practice (costs are not covered by the school) and parents will need to deal directly with Genevieve. Please read the attached flyer from Genevieve. Her email address is gmsaldanha@gmail.com and her mobile number is 0405 806 848.

Genevieve Saldanha Speech Pathology – Flyer and Price List

SEQTA and Signing In/Out – Reminder

Over the last few weeks, and last year, we have noticed students arriving to school late (after the 8.40am bell). A reminder, to all parents, we would like the students present by 8.40am, ready to learn and to avoid interruptions to the class. This is also an inconvenience to classroom teachers who then need to log back into the attendance register and sign the students in. Effective immediately, any child who arrives late needs to sign in at the front office before proceeding to class. Students in Pre-Primary to Year 3 will need to be signed in by their parents. A member of the Leadership Team will be present, outside the Administration Building, to remind parents and students to sign in after 8.40am.

Thank you.

Greg Martin, Michael Morris and Rebecca Smith

The OLA Leadership Team