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CONDOLENCES
It was a very sad weekend for our staff and community. On Saturday, Mrs Deegan’s Grandmother passed away and on Sunday Mr Moran’s mother also passed away.
We ask you keep both our teachers and their families in your prayers and thoughts and grant them God’s strength and peace as they grieve through this difficult time.
Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and all the souls of the faithfully departed,
Rest in Peace.
THANK YOU
A big thank you to everyone that made my day last Friday. Mr V day was certainly very appreciated.
NEW PRINCIPAL VISIT
Our school’s new Principal, Mr David Treloar, will be visiting over the coming weeks to meet the students and staff. We plan to hold a morning Tea in the hall for anyone who would like to meet him before he commences in 2025 (please look out for a Compass notification regarding the date and time). David will also be online to say hello at the next FACE meeting on Monday 25 November.
PUPIL FREE DAY
A reminder that the school will be closed on Friday 15 November for a Pupil Free Day. Staff will be working with Craig Moore to develop our Behaviour Response Continuumn which is our next step in our PB4L Framework design. Look out for more details regarding this!
PUBLIC SPEAKING
A big shout out the Allison in Year 3 who competed in the Diocesan Finals of the Public Speaking competition. She did wonderfully well and wowed everyone with her speech!
Whilst not in the top three, we are immensely proud of Allison’s achievement to get to the final.
REMEBRANCE DAY
We will be commemorating Remembrance Day on Monday at 8:50am. Year 5 will lead the liturgy in the Hall.
Our School Captains will be accompanying Mr V at the Shortland Memorial Grove for the 11am service.
All are invited to attend either ceremony.
KINDER ORIENTATION
We are certainly getting excited about welcoming our 2025 cohort for Kindergarten at our first Kinder Orientation on Thursday 7 November. Year 5 have done some prep work to welcome them to our community. The orientation begins at 9:30am in the hall.Kinder will also be involved with a short performance to welcome our newbies as well. The 2025 Kinders will meet their buddies from year 5 who will spend the morning with them in the Kinder classroom. Parents will meet in the hall to have a basic induction followed by morning tea.
We are looking for a parent to welcome the new families and maybe give a short explanation of how you can be involved in school life at OLV.
CHRISTMAS PARTY & CONCERT
Preparations are ramping up for our Christmas Party and mini concert on Tuesday 10 December. Some basic information: activities start at 4:30pm with Face Painting, Jumping Castle, BBQ and much more. The Christmas Carol concert will begin at 6:30pm and if the jolly man in the red suit can arrange some spare time, he might visit around 7:30pm. It’ll be a fun evening and all are invited. More details as we get closer.The organisers are looking for some more helpers and if you would like to help, you can contact Lyndall Martinelli.
What a great start to Term 4 we have had! It has been fantastic to see the kids entering back into the classroom ready to learn and having some fun along the way with out Mission Day activities in Week 1, the Dress Up as Mr V Day in Week 2 and the Stage 1 League Tag Day this week.
During Weeks 3-6, our students in grades 2-6 will participate in the annual Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT). Our students will undertake testing in Reading, Mathematics and Spelling. These assessments are another measure we can use to see how our students are going in their learning and determine our focus areas for student development in 2025. The assessments are all online and will be completed in the morning session. I ask that you make sure that your child is at school on time so that the testing can commence as early in the morning as possible.
This week, our Positive Behaviour for Learning lessons will commence. Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will be undertaking a lesson about Active Listening which will explicitly teach the students what active listening is and what it isn’t through engaging activities developed by Miss O’Bree.
Thank you to the parents and carers who took time to complete the MS Form surveys which asked you to identify behaviour expectations which you thought should be prioritised through explicit teaching. The data from the parent surveys and teacher surveys informed our lesson sequence. The behaviour expectations which have been prioritised are highlighted below.
During Term 4, the CSO P&F Association are offering a number of free Online Safety Webinars for you to access. See below for details and register!
Parents and carers webinar ‘eSafety 101’
Date: Wednesday 4 December
Time: 12.30pm-1.00pm
Presented by: eSafety Commissioner
Cost: Free
Register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/4429149931214716000
This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in primary and secondary school.
The webinar will cover:
- the role and nature of the office of the eSafetyCommissioner
- what you can report to eSafety
- helpful advice and resources for parents and carers to keep their families safe, online.
Parents and carers webinar ‘Supporting healthy tech use as your child transitions into high school’
Date: Thursday 28 November
Time: 12.30pm-1.00pm
Presented by: eSafety Commissioner
Cost: Free
Register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/5292449078565496666
This 30-minute webinar is suitable for parents and carers of young people in upper primary school (aged 11-12) and Year 7.
The webinar will explore:
- the social pressures, peer influences, and technological challenges young people face as they transition into high school.
- practical strategies for navigating online friendships and connections to help minimise negative experiences.
Parents and carers webinar ‘Supporting healthy tech use as your child transitions into high school’
Date: Tuesday 12 November
Time: 12.30pm-1.00pm
Presented by: eSafety Commissioner and the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT
Cost: Free
Register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/707533969409578587
This 30-minute webinar is suitable for parents and carers of young people in upper primary school (aged 11-12) and Year 7.
The webinar will explore:
- the social pressures, peer influences, and technological challenges young people face as they transition into high school.
- practical strategies for navigating online friendships and connections to help minimise negative experiences.
Amber Deegan
Assistant Principal
VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION
In order to Volunteer at OLV you are required to complete the Volunteer Induction and be cleared by the Catholic Schools Office to Volunteer.
Please follow this link
https://www.mn.catholic.org.au/people/volunteer/
and complete the steps.
New legislations do not require parents and close family relatives (& friends) to have a WOrking With Children's Check (WWCC) - just be registerd with the school.
EXTERNAL PROVIDERS
If your child will be seeing a provider (e.g. speech therapist or occupational therapist) this year at school, please complete the attached application form and return to school. If you require further information, please don't hesitate to contact the office.
COMPASS
OLV uses the "Compass" App. Log in details for parents/carers have been emailed to all new parents. If you are still unable to login, or your account has been made inactive, please contact Leanne in the office to arrange a reset of your password.
- For all new families please familiarise yourself with the information booklet you received in your information pack or enrolment pack, "Parent Portal Compass User Guide" This is also attached
- Only Parents/Carers have access to Compass Parent Portal. Parents must have separate email addresses in order to both have access to compass
- New Users when logging into Compass are given the opportunity to update their details. It has been noted that some parents have updated their mobile phone number by taking out the gaps within the phone number. This is not required. The system requires phones numbers to be in this format
- REMINDER: PLEASE ONLY EXPLAIN WHOLE DAY ABSENCES - PLEASE DO NOT REPORT PARTIAL ABSENCES through the Compass App. Reporting partial absences will cause inconsistences with your child's attendance
- SMS's are sent to parents of students who are absent from 9.35am each weekday morning. You will receive a text message if your child was not present during the marking the roll process. Please logon onto compass and explain your child's absence. Do not reply to the text as compass does not accept reply texts
- Please notify the office beforehand if your child is going to arrive late; you will however still receive an SMS. The arrival time of the student will be logged as an explained absence when they present to school on their arrival
- On occasion you may be sent a text message even though your child is in attendance at school, this may be because they have arrived late and not come to the Office for sign in. If your child is late, please come into the Office with your child and sign them in via the compass kiosk.
QKR APP
Part of “progress” is moving towards a cashless society. To assist with the banking, ordering and handling of money, we are moving more of our payments to the Qkr system.
You will find attached instructions for the QKR App. This easy to use phone app gives you the flexibility to place orders for Canteen and fundraisers from your phone. It also reduces the need for your child to bring cash to school. Please remember to amend your child's year group on the QKR App to aid the timely collection of their order. We will be moving to a wider usage of this app as the year progresses.
- Make sure your child matches the class they are in now. You may need to go to your account settings and change their class. This will have to be completed at the beginning of every school year
- Please do not send in a paper bag as well as ordering online; this will stop any double up of ordering
- If your child is away or sick and you have ordered their lunch, you have until 8.00 am to cancel your order on QKR and receive a credit for next time
- All ordering is now closing at 8.15 am Monday morning. This allows enough time to print out the relevant reports for our volunteer ladies
- As of Term 2 all lunch orders will only be able to be ordered through QKR. Cash on the day will only be for ice blocks, lollies and chips.
We will be looking at providing this service for other quick financial transactions such as sausage sizzles, raffles, pie drives etc,
Thaks to everyone for taking up this service.
Health Care Card
Most families have already completed the attached Health Care Card Forms and returned to the school with a copy of their Health Care Card. If you have a Health Care Card and have not handed it in please contact the Office. Health Care Cards gives up to 50% off your tuition fees.
| Kinder |
Bruce C - for being able to read his sight words quickly and accurately. Oscar M - for being engaged in Mathematical problems with enthusiasm. Hannah F - for being able to sound out CVC words. Cali S - for being able to represent 'groups of' in Mathematics. |
| Year 1 |
Kai P for his excellent work in maths lessons! Well done! William H for being an enthusiastic learner! Great work Will! Aubrey B for settling back in well. We are so happy you are here! Jesa S for a wonderful start to term 4! Keep up the fantastic work! |
| Year 2 |
Kai P - for his excellent work in maths lessons! Well done! William H - for being an enthusiastic learner! Great work Will! Aubrey B - for settling back in well. We are so happy you are here! Jesa S - for a wonderful start to term 4! Keep up the fantastic work! |
| Year 3 |
Ruby B- For encouraging others to do their best. Allison A- For your unique ideas during class and your creative spirit. Tesa S- For courageously taking risks in your learning and pushing yourself to tackle challenges, especially in swimming. |
| Year 4 |
Annabelle H – her settled start to the term. Keep working hard! Ariana S – developing her confidence to share her ideas with the class. Brian K – for his great explanation of the 'Brian' strategy in problem solving. Elsa S – her great explanation of the 'Elsa' strategy in problem solving. |
| Year 5 |
Jesse M - for showing care and perseverance when doing something challenging. Ziah L - for a settled and productive start to Term 4. Keep up the excellent work! Isabella T - for working productively in group settings and not getting distracted. |
| Year 6 |
Ben T - for your fantastic work solving problems finding the fraction of a quantity. Maddison H - for your excellent work writing an outstanding Historical Recount. Dylan S - for putting in the extra ffort and completing homework tasks. |
| V & M Awards |
Kindergarten: Mojetoluwa for always displaying beautiful manners. Year 1: Benjamin Z for being so kind and thoughtful to peers. Year 2: Harry W for always encouraging others and sharing your great knowledge about Active Listening! Year 3: Henry W for being encouraging towards his classmates, always encouraging others to do their best. Year 4: Lily P for showing respect towards her peers. Year 5: Kasey S for demonstrating responsibility and standing up for what is right. Year 6: Emmesen P for always being ready to learn and staying focused. |
| Lexia Awards |
MINI LIT AWARDS-Congratulations! Kane S. Level 1 Ivy S. Level 1 Sadie S. Level 1 Kai P. Level 1 Maria T. Level 1 Ivy L Level 1 Kane S. Level 3 Nikita P. Level 7 Gianna D. Level 10 |
SWIMMING CARNIVAL
As the children progress through their swimming lessons, they are growing in confidence and skills. They should be looking forward to our annual swimming carnival. This will be held at the Mayfield Pool on Friday 6 December.We will soon be asking for nominations for events, so please talk to your children about participating and entering in events that they would be able to complete. Their will be 25m & 50m events in all strokes as well as some non-swimmer activities.
LEAGUE TAG REPORT
This week, Stage One attended the NRL League Tag Gala Day at Charlestown. It was the biggest gala day held in the Hunter Region to date. We had two wonderful teams who represented OLV in style. Each team played four games against schools from all across the region. Every student tried their best and exhibited outstanding sportsmanship. It was so good to see the amount of smiles on peoples faces as they pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to play a sport that was foreign to many!
A special thank you to all of our supporters who came along as well as Miss O’Bree and Mrs. Paul for being excellent team managers.
Mr. Watmore
We would like to wish the following children a Happy Birthday.
| Kindergarten | |
| Year 1 | |
| Year 2 | |
| Year 3 | |
| Year 4 | |
| Year 5 | |
| Year 6 |
Congratulations and we hope you had a happy day
It looks like a fun night for all on Friday evening. The disco is all set to dance the evening away. The Theme is “Favourite Celebrity”. Please go on line at QKR to order tickets or you can pay at the door. However, it is important to order any meal deals prior to the evening so we can make catering arrangements. Just remember that a door ticket needs to be paid separately to the BBQ orders.
ST NICHOLAS OOSH Services
How to enrol for our OOSH Services:
You will be able to access the school newsletter here, special dates notifications and other messages from time to time.
Go to this link to download the Schoolzine App: