Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School East Warrnambool eNewsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

Today we acknowledge and pay our respects to the First Peoples, the traditional custodians of the lands and waterways and thank them for their continued hospitality.

We acknowledge and celebrate the continuation of a living culture who have lived with Creator God through creation of land, sea, waterways and life.

Prayer

Living and life-giving God.
Holy One and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we bless and praise you
and give you thanks for having brought us together
in order to deepen our understanding
of all you have done for us.
We bless you especially for the gift of the Eucharist
by which we learn to be thankful
and to praise you.
Amen

Leadership & Stewardship

Principal's Message

Dear members of the OLHC school community,

Today was “Green and Gold” day for OLHC. A chance to tap into the excitement the Olympics provides for many of the staff and students and cheer on our Australian athletes. When you see two of our gold medalist hail from Camperdown in Grace Brown and Penny Smith, it is not too big a stretch to think that maybe one day one of our own children may pull on the green and gold for Australia at the Olympics.

We were blessed with some beautiful winter weather - cold mornings but the sunshine and lack of wind has a big impact (positive) on the mood and behaviour of our students.

Lastly, this week we began our Foundation interviews for next year. I blocked out Wednesday to do my share and it is always a joy to see the nervous excitement that school generates in these children. I wish to thank Jane, Sharon and Nat for assisting with this and ensuring their first experience at OLHC is a warm and positive one.

Important Dates

Term 3

Sunday 4th August - Eucharist Commitment Mass @ 9am @ St Pius X

Thursday 8th August - Feast of Our Lady Mass @ 10am

Friday 9th August - 3CM Assembly

Saturday 10th August @ 6pm - Eucharist Celebration OLHC

Tuesday 20th August - Foundation Pet Parade

Wednesday 21st August - Book Week Dress-up Day

Thursday 22nd August - SSV AFL Girls Footy - Melbourne

Friday 30th August - Father's Day Breakfast

Friday 30th August - Assembly 3CS

Friday 6th September - OLHC Disco - TBC

9th - 18th September - Yr 5 Swimming Program

Tuesday 10th September - PFA Meeting

Thursday 19th September - Grandparents/Special Persons Day

Thursday 19th September - Assembly FNM

Friday 20th September - Staff Maths PD - Student Free Day

Teaching & Learning @ OLHC

A Message from Mr A

Week 3 Term 3

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

It was great to see so many parents through the door on Wednesday and Friday last week. These conferences form part of our communication and reporting processes and provide an invaluable opportunity to touch base with your child’s teacher/s in a formal way.

ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS

On Tuesday our Environmental leaders caught up with Mr Madden to go through some ideas about sustainability across the school. These leaders are a new part of our student leadership team and will provide some great learning opportunities and improvements to make our school more sustainable.

2025 FOUNDATION INTERVIEWS

The current Foundation teachers and Steve have been busy conducting our initial interviews with our 2025 Foundation cohort. Although this may sound very formal, these interviews are just scheduled to welcome new families formally, discuss additional support if required and check in on their readiness for school.

WE’RE LUCKY TO HAVE HIM!

The Eugene Dalton Hall has been pretty loud at lunchtime the last few weeks. Mr K has been running class vs class basketball for some Grade 4 and Grade 6 classes and it has drawn some pretty big crowds each break time. We’re pretty lucky to have Mr K running our PE department as he always goes beyond the call of duty when it comes to preparing our students for sporting events. Whether it is track and field practice in the holidays, after-school training for lawn bowls and swimming or running the Saturday morning run club down at Lake Pertobe, Dean does these things voluntarily outside his work hours. A fair amount of this extra training I’m sure has influenced some of our results in interschool sporting events. Thanks mate!

ASSEMBLIES

I spent some time on Friday with 1JS and they prepared for this week’s assembly. We should never forget how exciting ‘Assembly Week’ is for students as they prepare for their chance to speak in front of the whole school on a Friday afternoon. The assembly offers an opportunity for students to practice their public speaking skills and can be quite daunting for some…and quite stressful for the teacher in charge! Check out below 1JS in the midst of practising for this week’s assembly. Well done to Jess and assistance from Melissa and Scarlett for this week’s assembly.

OLYMPIC FEVER @ OLHC

On Friday afternoon the Grade 1 and Grade 3 levels were lucky to hear from a former Olympian, Karsten Forsterling. Karsten is a father to Henri 6SI, Lotte 3JW and Charlie in 1JA. Lotte and Charlie seemed pretty proud to introduce their Olympic medallist dad, who took the students through his history with rowing and the passion it takes to reach Olympic level. A big thank you to Karsten for taking the time to speak with our students.

Thanks,

Naish

Green & Gold Day

Technology Toolkit with Mrs Fitzgerald and Mrs Murfett

New technology updates, cyber safety tips and snapshots of the learning experiences happening in the digital classroom. Let’s work together to make the online space a positive space! If you have any questions or concerns please contact us:

Mrs Sarah Murfett: smurfett@olhcwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Ellen Fitzgerald: efitzgerald@olhcwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au

How to spot your child has been bullied online.

Online bullying can have a devastating impact on young people, whose online life is a key part of their identity and how they interact socially.

On this page:

Targeted advice is also available for kids, young people or adults who may be experiencing online abuse. You can also download and print our cyberbullying quick guide, which has key information and advice.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/cyberbullying

Foundation

Xavier Walsh

Stella Cunnington

Thijs Karunarathane

Yr 1

Daisy Sheldon

Charlotte Aitkin

Edith Wilde

Yr 2

Tate Morfett

Ava Sabo

Thiveyn Herath

Connor McAllen

Yr 3

Jon Kelly

Ari Purcell

Bella Green

Jack Broderick

Yr 4

Lucy Coxall

Ryland Hoy

Lucy Woolman

Bonnie McLeod

Yr 5

Sophie Byrne

Hudson Ryan

Hugo Ross

Isabella Lyons

Yr 6

Harrison Asenjo

Stella Giblett

Mira Brightwell

Jevin Almeda

Spirit of Our Lady's Award

Savannah Janzs

Charlotte Taylor

Roody Collishaw

Asher Purcell

Archie Small

Lenny Graham

Emmy Dyer

Faith & Culture

Parish Office Hours: 9am - 4pm Monday - Friday

P: 5562 2231

E: southwestcoast@ballarat.catholic.org.au

webpage : https://www.southwestcoastparish.com.au/

Weekend Masses

Saturday Vigil

6:00pm OLHC, Warrnambool East

Sunday Morning

9:00am Infant Jesus, Koroit

9:00am St Pius X, Warrnambool West

10:30am St Joseph’s, Warrnambool

10:30am St Patrick’s, Port Fairy

6:00pm St Joseph’s Warrnambool

*11:00am St Anne’s, Purnim

2nd Sunday of the month (Eucharist)

Weekday Masses

NB: MASS OF THE DAY IS REPLACED WHEN A FUNERAL IS HELD AT THAT CHURCH

Tues 10:00am St Pius X

Wed 10:00am St Joseph’s

Thu 10:00am OLHC & 11:00am Mercy Place

Fri 10:00am St Joseph’s

Sat 10:00am OLHC

Updated Changes - Eucharist Dates

We have been informed by the parish that there have to be some changes to the dates and times of the Sacrament of Eucharist. Sorry for any inconvenience this might create.

Commitment Mass on August the 4th at St. Pius x church at 9 am

Eucharist Celebration Mass at OLHC church on Saturday, 10th August at 6 pm

Kind regards,

The Sacrament Team

Got Bread?
(John 6: 24 - 35)

Jesus said, “Throw your lot in with the One that God has sent. That kind of commitment gets you in on God’s works.” They waffled: “Why don’t you give us a clue about who you are, just a hint of what’s going on? When we see what’s up, we’ll commit ourselves. Show us what you can do. Moses fed our ancestors with bread in the desert. It says so in the Scriptures: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” (John 6: 29 - 31)

Being hungry is not a virtue. If it were, the poor would all be holy, and the rich would all be evil. But that’s obviously not true. The state of our hearts can’t be measured by the size of our wallets. But the condition of our hearts CAN be measured by our willingness to share what we have. When we seek to alleviate the distress of those in need, we do two things right. We lift up someone locked down by hunger so that he or she might rise to a greater and fuller life. And we also expand our hearts through the practice of generosity so that we might experience “the food that endures for eternal life.” It’s a win-win situation. For as long as we work only for the food that perishes and hoard that for ourselves, we prolong the misery of the world and will not know the joy that belongs to those whose hearts are free to give.

When have you been the recipient of someone’s generosity in sharing time, warmth, or food with you? How can you share those things with those in need, near and far?

The Food of Life
(John 6: 24 - 35)

There are many different diet plans. Bookstore shelves are filled with diets that say eat only this type of food or that. Some diets tell people to skip a particular food. Some concentrate on removing entire food groups out of your diet.

Most books come with recipes but more importantly with testimonials and pictures of those who succeeded in dropping a significant amount of weight over a short period of time.

In reality, a majority of these diets work because they all include two common elements usually found in small print on the very last page of the book. The dieter is told to reduce food intake and begin moderate exercise. Ultimately these two factors, which most dieters reject, are what will bring about the real weight loss.

Most popular these days are the diets that are based on restricting or eliminating carbohydrates. Some people swear by these diets while others give up on such an approach almost instantly. For many, a meal is not a meal without a loaf of bread on the table. In reality as well as symbolically, bread is the food of life for many people.

Jesus proclaims that he is the bread of life. God’s presence in bread goes back to Moses in the desert and continues today in the Eucharist. We can deny ourselves many things in life, but why deny ourselves spiritual nourishment so necessary for the health of our soul? And so, we should always eagerly gather around the altar.

Our Diocesan Community Magazine - tap here

Wellbeing

If you want to learn to ride a skateboard or get better at maths, you need to practise. It’s the same when you want to feel happier!

Here are some easy ideas to give Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy a try every day. Because the more you practise, the better you will feel.

Let's Practice!

Tap here to access SchoolTV

In this edition of SchoolTV - BULLYING

Bullying is an ongoing or repeated misuse of power in relationships, with the intention to cause deliberate psychological harm. Bullying behaviours can be verbal, physical or social. It can happen in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices and it can be obvious or hidden. Bullying in any form or for any reason can have immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders.

Despite the efforts made to reduce bullying behaviours, the research tells us that one in four students still report being bullied every few weeks. However, not all negative behaviour should be considered bullying. The key difference is that bullying does not stop on its own. It’s important young people learn how to identify behaviours that are rude, behaviours that are mean, and behaviours that are related to bullying.

Often the reasons for bullying can be complex. Some young people do it to get approval from others, some do it to regain control, whilst others may do it because it makes them feel safe. Supporting young people as they work through their emotions will help them unpack the motivation and reason behind the behaviour.

In this edition of SchoolTV, caregivers can better understand why some young people engage in bullying behaviours and what to do to support a child experiencing it.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Bullying edition of SchoolTV
https://olhcwarrnambool.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/bullying