Term 4 Week 7, 2021

COVID Update

You may have seen in the media the recent SA Government Direction concerning COVID-19 vaccinations for staff in schools and Early Childhood Education Care settings.  Our school has acted quickly to inform our staff of these new requirements. It has been our previous position that for the safety of students and the community, those who are eligible, ought to be vaccinated where possible.

The SA Government Direction now specifies that staff in all schools and education and care settings must have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination by 10 December 2021 and show evidence of a booking for their second dose.

The Direction also extends to volunteers (including Board members) and any unpaid workers. It does not apply to students and parents who are incidental visitors to the school.

You would appreciate that the 2-year journey we have experienced in dealing with the pandemic has resulted in numerous strategies and compliance measures implemented for the safety of students, families and staff.

Throughout the pandemic we have been absolutely lock-step in following the advice of the SA Chief Public Health Officer as it relates to the schooling sector. The Catholic Education Office has strong direct liaison with the SA Department for Education which has meant that each sector has been remarkably consistent in the messaging over health measures adopted at school sites.

We will continue to monitor and act upon any relevant advice and make staff aware of this new government law.  If more information comes to hand that has an impact on the wider school community, I will keep you informed.

If you are a volunteer in our community, I ask that as soon as convenient, that you provide the appropriate documentation as outlined below to Tracy (tfiacchi@olv.catholic.edu.au):

• An official transcript of your COVID-19 vaccination status (hard copy or electronic pdf version); or;
• A medical certificate/exemption form from a legally qualified medical practitioner certifying that you either have a medical exemption from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine on either a permanent or temporary basis, endorsed by the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO).

I thank you in anticipation for supplying the necessary information to be compliant with this government Direction.

School Master Plan

Our school Master Plan has been approved by Catholic Education SA.  This is an exciting time for our school as we grow and aim to provide a safe and inviting environment for our students.  We now proceed to the Design and Plan phase for Stage 1.  I will keep you updated with the developments with this build.

Class Structures 2022

I would like to announce the class structures and staffing for 2022.  Class placements will go home with students on Monday 6 December.  There will be a transition session next Monday 6 December 10.00 – 11.00 for students to meet their new teachers and orientate themselves with their new rooms, expectations and procedures.

Staffing Announcements

Patrick Fitzgerald:  Congratulations to Patrick who has been appointed as APRIM at Mt Carmel – Junior Campus.  Patrick has provided excellent leadership in Religious Education and the operations of OLV.  Our children love – Mr Fitz. 

An announcement of his replacement will be made shortly.

Staff New to OLV

I welcome the following staff to OLV to begin next year.  I am sure they will find our school a great place to be and provide our children will a high level of learning opportunities.

Max Bentley                            Year 4
Tobi Cibich                              Reception
Georgia Hicks                         Preschool
Jessica Izzo                            Year 1
Leeanne Sheargold                Year 5/6

School Fees 2022

The School Board has decided to freeze our School Fees for 2022 at this year’s level, where there was a significant reduction.  The School Board over a number of years has reduced our School Fees to ensure it is affordable for parents.  A 2022 School Fee Schedule has been emailed with this Newsletter.  As always, if parents are having financial difficulties, please make a time to discuss a payment plan with me.

School Leaders 2022

Many thanks to Tara Coggins and Jordan Smith and all the House leaders for all their efforts throughout the year.  They have all been outstanding school leaders in 2021

I am delighted to announce that our School Leaders for 2022 are:  Tilley Marlow & Leo Luu

House Leaders 2022

I would also like to announce that the House Leaders for 2022 are:

St Anthony                    Zamara Turley & Jacob Leonard
St Dominic                    Agatha Collins-Eckert & Rylan Barry
St Elizabeth                  Alexandra Jackson & Kobe Fowler
St Mary                         Isobelle Butler & Jake Atkinson

I congratulate the students who were elected House Leaders for 2022 and also thank the other students who participated by being candidates. 

We are still finalising our Enviro Club Leaders and next year all classes will elect SRC Reps which will form part of our school leadership structures.

Premier's Reading Challenge

Congratulations to all of the students who received a certificate or medal for the Premier’s Reading Challenge in 2021. These were presented to students at OLV at a special presentation earlier this week.

It is now five consecutive years that we have had 100% of children completing the Reading Challenge.

At OLV we are committed to improving students literacy levels.

Library Books and Readers

We have come to that time of the year where we are asking for all library books and class readers to be returned to school.  This is a necessary process to ensure we take stock of our essential school resources.  The library will be closed for the remainder of this year and class readers will not be sent home in the final weeks of school.

Please make sure that you return any borrowed books to the Library. Our school policy is that parents will receive an invoice for lost books.

I ask that all parents look around their house in the children’s bedrooms for all Our Lady of the Visitation books & readers to be returned to school.  This will allow us to use our budget to purchase new materials, instead of replacing lost books.

Christmas Eve Mass 24 December at 7pm in the OLV Church – If attending you will need to register.

Are you attending the Family Christmas Eve celebration with your family? I encourage all families to attend.  Once again OLV School will be coordinating this celebration with the parish.  We need our children to assist with the Liturgy as:

Readers - (of the Word and Prayers)
Actors - (enactment of Nativity Story)

A rehearsal will take place on 23rd December 11.30 – 12.30 in the church.

Please contact Our Lady of the Visitation School (8248 2480) or info@olv.catholic.edu.au if you're interested. We hope to see you there!

End of Year

Monday 6 December 
OLV Education Awards 2pm (Invite only)

Tuesday 7 December
End Year Mass 9.30 (Veritas Centre) parents welcome (max 45)
No Kindy

Wednesday 8 December
Last Day School for Year 6
7.00pm   Year 6 Graduation Ceremony

Thursday 9 December
Last Day School for R – Year 5
Last Day Preschool

Casual Day

The SRC are holding a Casual Day on Friday 3rd December to help the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal.  Please bring along a gold coin donation.  More information will be sent out next week.

What a wonderful time we have had playing, learning and growing together in GIR!  Our weekly themes have linked nicely to our sounds from the Jolly Phonics Program.

Some of our favourite themes this term have been:

• The Gingerbread Man -listening, role playing and sequencing the story. Decorating our own cookies!
• Magnets – investigating objects that attract and repel.
• Hopping frogs! We looked at a frog’s life cycle and explored our frog small world play.
• Fairy tales! Dressing up, role playing in our class castle, retelling and looking at the elements of a fairy tale.
• Rhinos! We made rhino masks and counted zoo animals. The children LOVED being zoo vets in our role play area.
• Space! So much fun learning about the planets and star constellations.
• Dinosaurs! We enjoyed excavating ice eggs, learning about and making our own fossils!

Lots of fine motor activities have been explored with our weekly themes allowing for the development of hand strength, pincer grip and hand/eye coordination. Puzzles, sensory toys, bingo markers and stickers, small world play, painting, tracing and using tweezers are some of the activities GIR have experienced.

On Tuesday the 9^th of November all the Reception and Year One students walked to the Roy Marten Reserve to enjoy a picnic. All students enjoyed the experience of playing together on the wonderful play equipment at the park. They also ate lunch together and finished off the day with an ice block.

The children are to be commended on their behaviour whilst out in public representing Our Lady of the Visitation School.  We would also like to thank all the parent helpers who came to support and celebrate with us.

Once again we were blessed to book Sue Harris for a day at OLV School. As a storyteller, Sue Harris Puppets performs original works and brings quality theatre and workshops to schools and pre-schools. 

Sue Harris Puppets offers a diverse range of shows - this year we looked at shadow puppetry which allowed students to explore their feelings and own interpretation. Students had the opportunity to participate in storytelling and enhance performance skills. 

On Wednesday, George Papanaoum our long term Piano Tutor held a concert for his students at the Lefevre Uniting Church.

The night was a resounding success with the star attraction being the beautiful sounds of a Yamaha concert Grand Piano being created by the students as they played their repertoire.

The main school represented was OLV but students from St Mary's & St Francis (Lockleys) also participated.

The night was heralded a resounding success by all who attended and we hope to repeat this event more regularly in 2022.  Next time we will announce the event in advance to all who may be interested in attending as the night is also a platform for George the piano teacher to highlight teaching methods and challenges encountered by students as they musically develop.