Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School East Warrnambool eNewsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

Our Grade 4 students have created personalised Acknowledgement of Country posters that reflect their own thoughts, feelings and wishes. We will share a new poster each week.

Prayer

Leadership & Stewardship

Principal's Message

Dear Parents, Guardians & Students,

A busy week around the place and a fantastic way to round it off with another successful Father’s Day breakfast. As Steve makes his way around Europe on some much deserved long service leave, it was Mr Jongebloed tasked with the job of cooking the bacon and eggs with me. A massive thanks to Des Ryan and the PFA for doing the work behind the scenes and assisting on the morning and to all the OLHC staff who jumped in to help, particularly those who fronted up for the early shift. Special mention to the ladies who ran the very popular Father's Day stall, thank you!

We now turn out sights to Grandparents Day in the final week of the term on Thursday, 18th September. Please see below in the Community section for the details of the day. The invite and RSVP were emailed and a hard copy should be accompanying your child home today. It is important to RSVP the correct numbers as this is the biggest event of the year in terms of crowd and one that the students all look forward to.

Have a great weekend.

Naish

Important Dates

Term 3

Sunday 7th September - Father's Day

8th - 18th September - Yr 5 Swimming Program

Monday 8th September - Volleyball Competition

Thursday 11th September - Table Tennis Competition

Friday 12th September - FSD Assembly

Friday 12th September - Secondhand Uniform Sale

Thursday 18th September - Grandparents Day

Friday 19th September - 6OB Assembly - Time to be confirmed

Term 4

Monday 6th October - Term 4 begins

Monday 6th October - Swimming Program begins F - Yr 4

Friday 10th October - Regional Athletics - Ballarat

Friday 10th October - Foundation Fairy Park Excursion

Teaching & Learning @ OLHC

A Message from Mr A

A BIG WIN…CONGRATS BONNIE TALBOT

A few weeks back, you may have seen our very own Bonnie Talbot in The Standard for her win in the Collins Booksellers Great South Coast Writers competition. Bonnie is an accomplished writer, and this is a great recognition of her ability. "In my story I wrote about a girl with an enormous love for books and a huge imagination," Bonnie said. The competition, the brainchild of Collins Booksellers Warrnambool's owner Michaelie Clark and supported by The Standard, attracted more than 100 entries from students at more than 20 schools across the region. Bonnie receives a year's supply of books from Collins Booksellers and a $500 book credit for our school, Our Lady Help of Christians, which we are really grateful for. These individual wins are really cool and something we should always recognise. Well done Bonnie!

GREEN DAY- SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL FARMERS

Wednesday was a great showcase of our support for the plight our local farming community faces at the moment. The students, all dressed in green, were led by our Grade 6 students who created a short video on the importance of farming. Another highlight was to have a brand new John Deere tractor for the students to climb into for the day. Worth around $600,000, this was generously lent for the day by John Ross, father of Foundation student Lizzie, who sells farm machinery.

Our Social Justice leaders, Arlie and Liam have initiated an OLHC Podcast to bring attention to important issues in our community. Yesterday, they interviewed David Roberts, Liam's dad to talk about farming and the impact of the drought.

OLHC Podcast presented by Liam Roberts & Arlie Le Cerf - click here

GRADE 4 BEACH CLEAN UP

On Tuesday, our busy Grade 4 level got even busier down on the foreshore, cleaning up rubbish. This was part of their Inquiry unit, The Blue Marble, which has a focus on sustainability. The team has done a good job this term, highlighting the need for students to approach a lifestyle centred around sustainability as they grow up into adults. The students were collectively surprised by the amount of rubbish they collected in a short period. Here is a short recount from some Grade 4 girls-

On the 1st of September, all the Grade 4s went on a beach clean up as part of our sustainability unit of Inquiry, Blue Marble. 4BM walked from Granny’s Grave to Lake Pertobe, 4MS walked from Worm Bay to Lake Pertobe and 4TD walked from the Flume to Lake Pertobe. We picked up rubbish along the way, we found fishing nets, cans, bottles, takeaway wrappers, half a boogie board, a tent, one thong and a sign saying no dogs allowed. Altogether, this rubbish weighed 6kg. Ruby C, Esther, Grace, Lily B and Ruby D all got into the bush and found 4 beds in the bushes along with lots of rubbish. We filled 2.5 x 240 litre council rubbish bins. WE LOVED IT SO MUCH! - Esther Dillon and Ruby Conn

GRADE 1 EXCURSION- WARRNAMBOOL ART GALLERY

Our Grade 1 students headed off to the Warrnambool Art Gallery for a very cool experience on Thursday. The exhibition by Tamara Henderson, Spider with the Glass Legs. The exhibition is immersive and centres around a giant spider. There are several glass works in the show, as well as sound. It is a celebration of the smaller things in life and the significance of light for all things.

JOURNAL CLUB UPDATE

For those unaware, Gen Howland, one of our educators, has started up a Journal Club in the Library every week. This continues to grow from strength to strength. Here is an update and some photos from Gen.

Journal Club continues to be a place of colour, creativity and collaboration. It all happens in the library on Thursdays at lunchtime for Year 3-6 students. This week, the Year 6 students were empowered to run journal club.

Emily and Julia are huge Harry Potter fans so they came up with the theme of “Harry Potter week.” They spoke about the pages they created which included Harry Potter stickers and washi tape. An important part of journal club is presenting a pre made page for students who need a starting point or inspiration to get their own ideas off the ground. Emily and Julia shared their page and Harry Potter stickers to excited students to enhance their journal pages. It is also “free choice” every week in Journal Club. You don’t have to do a page on the suggested theme. Students can journal about anything they like.

Gabriela presented two pages she created from cutting up a magazine. She uses a magazine picture, colour, heading or border as her starting point. She finds something she likes then creates her topic page from this. The flowers and fruit pages she presented were colourful, uplifting and joy jumping off the page.

Meredith’s free choice featured why she loves living in Australia. Her page included a sausage in bread sticker, but with no sauce or onion! A year 4 student then used this for an idea to create her own Australia page.

A huge thank you to Meredith, Julia, Emily, Tayla and Gabriela for your leadership by organising, presenting and embracing Journal Club. I am extremely grateful for your support setting up and packing up each week.

Coming up in journal club:

- Up cycle week- create a new page from an old page, magazines, and what is in the paper bin.

- RU ok day inspo - Yellow and black colours only!

- Affirmations - choose a sticker with the positive vibe that appeals to you. Create your own positive vibe statement.

Genevieve Howland

Have a great weekend with your family.

Naish

Technology Toolkit with Ms Fitzgerald and Ms O'Keeffe

A space providing weekly snapshots of student learnings, as well as online safety tips and relevant technology updates. Please reach out with any questions:

Ms O’Keeffe: nokeeffe@olhcwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au (Mon & Tues)

Ms Fitzgerald: efitzgerald@olhcwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au (Wed, Thurs & Fri)

eSmart Event - Wednesday 17th September @7:30pm

Follow this link to register

Young_Writers_Prize_2025_WINNING_ENTRY.pdf

Spirit of Our Lady's Award

Billie Oborne

Peggy Chiller

Sukhraj Singh

Harper Green

Hallie Lewis

Elizabeth Ross

Harper Holloway

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

The Cost of Discipleship in a Catholic School
(Luke 14: 25 - 33)

Jesus said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and estimate the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it?” (Luke 14: 25 - 28)

Jesus turns to the large crowds following him and issues a confronting challenge: discipleship is not something to be taken lightly. He speaks of counting the cost before building a tower or setting out to war. In other words, he calls his followers to weigh up their commitment, to recognise the depth of what they are entering into, and to follow him with clarity and purpose.

As educators in Catholic schools, this message lands with particular weight. Teaching is not just a profession; in our context, it is a vocation – an invitation to walk with young people in their search for truth, meaning, and faith. It is demanding, often stretching us beyond our comfort zones. Jesus’ words remind us that authentic discipleship – and by extension, authentic teaching – cannot be half-hearted.

There is a temptation in education today to be all things to all people: entertainer, academic, counsellor, administrator. The busyness of the school year can push us into survival mode, leaving little space to pause and remember the “why” of our mission. Luke’s passage this week challenges us to step back and ask: Have I truly counted the cost of what it means to be an educator in a Catholic school?

Counting the cost does not mean walking away – it means recognising the depth of the responsibility entrusted to us. It means acknowledging that teaching in a Catholic context is more than curriculum delivery; it is about modelling Christ’s love, embodying his compassion, and planting seeds of hope in a world that often feels fractured.

In today’s landscape, where education can become politicised and young people face pressures of identity, belonging, and mental health, our commitment must be steady and intentional. To follow Christ as educators means we choose to stand for values that are not always popular: forgiveness in a culture of cancelation, hope in the face of cynicism, dignity when consumerism reduces people to commodities.

The Gospel calls us to resist a watered-down discipleship and instead embrace the depth of our calling. To be Catholic educators is to count the cost and still say yes – to Christ, to our students, and to the vision of education as a pathway to human flourishing.

No Half-Built Disciples: Counting the Cost, Living the Call

A young couple bought a block of land on the edge of town. They had big dreams – a family home with a wide verandah, a veggie garden, and plenty of room for the kids to run. They started strong: plans were drawn, foundations poured, and walls began to rise. Neighbours stopped to admire their vision. But as time went on, costs mounted, sacrifices grew, and their enthusiasm faded. The house stood half-finished – walls exposed, roof missing, weeds creeping through the site. What began with promise became a monument to what could have been.

Jesus speaks directly into this kind of reality in this week’s Gospel. He tells the crowd to “sit down and calculate the cost” before following him. In other words, discipleship cannot be a half-finished project. Following Christ requires commitment – not just when it’s easy of inspiring, but especially when it’s costly.

And costly it is. In our world today, being a disciple means making choices that set us apart: prioritising family prayer when weekends are full of sport, being generous with time and money when everything urges us to protect our own comfort, forgiving when the world says “cut them off.” Jesus is blunt – if we are not prepared to take up the cross, to go all the way, we risk becoming like that half-built house: a life of good intentions but no true witness.

This is not meant to crush us – it is meant to wake us up. Jesus is not asking for half-hearted fans; he is calling for faithful followers. The “cost” he asks us to count is real – but so too is the joy. A finished house is a home where love is lived. A life given fully to Christ becomes a witness that draws others to hope, healing, and salvation.

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!

**A reminder to parents, carers and grandparents that SchoolTV** is a free resource.
SchoolTV is a wellbeing resource that we have to support you with the challenges relating to modern-day parenting. This award-winning resource helps build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers to navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for young people. It can assist in starting conversations on topics that are sometimes awkward or difficult to tackle.
In addition to the weekly topic we publish in our newsletter, all of the SchoolTV topics are always accessible through our school website under the Student Wellbeing section. You can also use this link: https://olhcwarrnambool.catholic.schooltv.me/category-latest-newsletter
There are videos from experts as well as a huge range of websites, books, apps, fact sheets and podcasts.
If you require any further information about SchoolTV, please contact Mel (mwillis@olhcwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au)

Tap here to access SchoolTV

R U OK?Day

Understanding the growing challenges related to mental health among young people is an important consideration. Anxiety, depression and self-harm - are all causes for concern. Factors like academic pressure, social media, family dynamics, and societal expectations, are contributing to these issues. It's therefore crucial for parents and caregivers to take action early, remove the stigma around discussing mental health, and offer accessible support to address these issues and the wellbeing of their children.

R U OK?Day is an initiative that focuses on preventing suicide by encouraging meaningful personal connections and helping informal support networks to help recognise the signs of distress. We urge all families to take part, emphasising the value of genuine human relationships and reminding everyone to ask the important question, "Are you OK?"

Engaging in R U OK?Day activities goes beyond the classroom; it's a commitment to our students' overall development. By talking openly about mental health, schools create safe spaces where students feel understood, valued, and supported. As parents and caregivers, you can contribute by fostering open conversations, normalising feelings and breaking down mental health stigmas. Participating in R U OK?Day promotes compassion and shows our dedication to the wellbeing of the entire school community, reaffirming that together, we can truly make a difference.

This Special Report provides guidance on how to talk to your child about mental health and engage in meaningful discussions.

Here is the link to your Special Report https://olhcwarrnambool.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-r-u-ok-day