Newsletter Term 1 Week 8, 2025

Car Parking

On Thursday, we had Traffic Engineers onsite to assess the needs of our school and explore ways to configure our carparks to enhance safety for the children. We are aware of the ongoing issues that car parking is causing and are actively working to rectify this. As parents and responsible drivers, we all play a part in ensuring the safety of all children in these spaces.

Entering/Exiting the School Yard

If you are entering or exiting the school yard during school hours or at the end of the day to collect children, please ensure the gates are closed behind you. This simple action helps maintain a safe environment for all children.

NAPLAN

Over the past two weeks, our Year 3 and Year 5 students have been participating in the NAPLAN assessments. The students approached these tests with great diligence and effort, which is all anyone can ask for. NAPLAN assessments assist both government bodies and schools in structuring curriculum to continue meeting the needs of students.

AGM

On Wednesday, March 26, we will be hosting our 2024 Annual General Meeting. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP at info@olv.catholic.edu.au. Additionally, if you are interested in joining our school board, nominations are now open and can be submitted here.

Building Works Update

As you may be aware, the courts at OLV have been reopened and are being well-utilised. The new backboards should be installed in the very near future. The re-roofing project is also nearing completion, which will be a great relief to many students and staff. We have also had several students assist in building the new soccer goals that arrived recently, and these are now in use on the school oval. The playground will have a soft opening in the coming weeks, where staff will introduce students to this space while the landscaping takes place. It will be fully open in Term 2.

Student Leadership

Finally, it was an absolute privilege to present our student leaders and SRC students with their badges today. This is a great honor and enables us as a school to incorporate student voice and agency in what we do at OLV. Congratulations to all students who presented to their classes and were nominated by their peers.

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community!

Parent/Teacher Conversations

Parent/Teacher Conversations will be held in the Week beginning Monday 31st March.  An email will be sent home today with instructions on how to make an interview time to meet with your child's teacher.  Bookings will be open from 4.00pm today and will close at 4.00pm Thursday 27th March.

Regards
Sean

Pilgrims of Hope – Project Compassion

Lam, a young man from rural Vietnam with a passion for graphic design, faced limited career prospects due to his disability. Without access to any employment opportunities, he stayed home with his parents. However, with support from the I-SHINE program he was able to pursue IT training and now runs a successful graphic design business.

The I-SHINE program, in the context of Caritas Australia and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), focuses on improving the social, healthcare, education, and livelihood inclusion of people with disabilities, particularly children, youth, and women, in Vietnam. A program of which, without donations of financial support, would simply cease to exist.

A gentle reminder about the Caritas - Project Compassion boxes which were sent home 2 weeks ago. If you have placed donations into your box, please ensure it comes back to school either to your child/ren’s classroom teacher or the office. If you haven’t, there’s still time. Thanking you in advance.

Thank you as we Unite Against Poverty this Lent.

Luke 9: 28-36 – 2nd Sunday of Lent – 16th March 2025 – A journey of HOPE and COVERSION

Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain to pray. While there, Jesus was transformed, shining brightly, and Moses and Elijah appeared, talking about Jesus' future death and glory. The disciples were scared but Jesus reassured them, then they went back down the mountain. Here's a more detailed explanation:

A Special Trip: Jesus took his best friends, Peter, James, and John, up a big mountain to pray. A Shining Moment: Jesus started to shine like the sun, and his clothes became super bright! Old Friends Visit: Suddenly, two important people from long ago, Moses and Elijah, appeared! They talked about how Jesus would die and then be even more amazing. Peter's Idea: Peter was so excited, he wanted to build tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah to stay in! Jesus Reassures: Jesus told his friends not to worry and they went back down the mountain. A Secret: Jesus told them not to tell anyone about this special moment until it happened.

What this means for us: This story shows us that Jesus is amazing and powerful, even though he looked like an everyday person. It reminds us that even when things are hard, we can trust Jesus and his plan for us. We can all be transformed by Jesus' love and faith in him by following in his footsteps.

Lent calls us to conversion. First, we reflect on our journey of faith. Like the Israelites in the desert, we are pilgrims, called to leave behind sin and move toward God. Let us ask ourselves: Are we growing in faith? This season of Lent is an opportunity to step forward in trust, drawing closer to Christ.

Second, we journey together. Faith is not a solitary path but a communal pilgrimage. We are called to walk in unity, showing love, patience, and kindness.

Finally, we journey in hope. Christ’s resurrection assures us that God’s promise is unshakable. Hope sustains us, even in trials, and calls us to live with justice and compassion. This Lent, let us turn to the sacraments, deepen our prayer life, and support Project Compassion, sharing what we have.

Linda Caldinez
APRIM

This term in Year 3 we have focused our Visual Art unit on the Art elements such as colour, shape, pattern, line, form, tone and value. We have explored these elements through various activities and experimented using different materials. One example included creating a 3D pyramid to display our four favourite Art elements. This connects with our upcoming excursion to the Botanical Gardens where we will have the opportunity to identify these elements of Art in nature. We will apply these elements to our final Art assessment which is a landscape of a natural scenery. Our excursion also links with HASS and Science curriculum areas. In Hass we have been exploring places and understanding how they are similar and different. In Science we have been focusing on identifying differences between living and non-living things.

For the past two weeks Year 3 students have been involved in NAPLAN testing. We have practiced many different concepts and revised areas in Numeracy and Literacy. Well done to the Year 3 students on their hard work and efforts throughout this period.