OUR LADY OF HOPE NEWSLETTER - Term 1 Week 2 2023
A Word from the Principal
Dear Families,
An extremely warm welcome to Our Lady of Hope School for 2023!
The first week has been a wonderful experience for our children, staff and families. The tone and energy in classrooms, across play areas and around our office and staffroom has been brilliant. I commend our families for the way in which they have presented their children. It has been impressive seeing our students wearing their uniforms with pride.
The holiday break saw a number of learning spaces painted and upgrades to technology resources. We also had the opportunity to host three architectural firms who are submitting proposals that will guide our Master Plan and subsequent capital works projects over the next 2 – 5 years. We look forward to engaging our school community in this process and working with a company that will maximise our space and provide us with inspiring learning spaces, both internally and externally.
As we commence a new year, we welcome the following children to Our Lady of Hope School:
Reception: Rocco, Jaiden, Siena, Lia, Eden, Lucia, Charlotte, Deekotah, Harrison, Lula, Aria, Elsie, Matilda, Marlie, Malia, Jaxon, Evelyn, Olivia, Charlotte, Bella, Arabella, Oscar, Wynter, Nikolai, Lyla, Jethro, Ayannah, Alicia, Charlotte, Lillia, Nelly, Mackenzie, Emmett, Ava, Harvey, Austin, Nyuon
Year 1: Grace
Year 4: Jonah, Akuch, Edward
Year 5: Tyson
Year 6: Amelia, Ben, Adalyn
We trust that these children and their families will find Our Lady of hope School to be a wonderful place of learning and friendships.
Likewise, we introduce and welcome the following staff members to Our Lady of Hope School:
Teaching Staff
- Mrs Leonie Wood (Reception)
- Mrs Emily Monaghan (Yr 3/4)
- Ms Nicolette Roberts (Yr 5/6)
- Mrs Lisa-Marie Ennis (Reception)
Education Support Staff
- Marion McGrath (ESO - Administration)
- Alison Sumner, Annie Richards, Brett Lindqvist, Shannon Le Dan & Brodie Morgan (ESO Curriculum – classroom support)
I know that you will make these staff feel deeply connected to our school community.
I look forward to our journey together in 2023.
Kind regards
Paul
Religious Dimension
Happy New Year and welcome back to 2023!
I hope everyone had a great summer break and that this year will be an exciting year for all of the students at OLOH.
Our ‘Beginning of the Year/Ash Wednesday Mass’ will take place at 11.30 am on Wednesday, 22 February in the Parish Centre. All parents, other family members and friends are welcome to join us to celebrate the spirit of our wonderful faith community. We look forward to seeing you there.
A Prayer for the New Year
Good and gracious God,
as a new school year begins,
please fill the hearts of our students with an eagerness to learn about the world you have created,
about themselves and most of all about you.
Bless our teachers with the gifts of wisdom and patience that they may help students find the truth.
Give our parents generous hearts to encourage and support their daughters and sons.
Help us all work together to form a community of learning that teaches not only skills for success
but all that we need to live our faith fully in the world.
Amen
Commissioning Mass
Our School Commissioning Mass will take place at 9 am on Sunday, 26 February in the Parish Centre. The students will host the celebration! If your child would like to undertake a particular role (e.g. reading), please fill in the relevant form in SZapp by Friday, 17 February.
Father Joshua will commission the staff, school board and Parents & Friends of OLOH. This Mass is a great opportunity for you to support them in their ministry. Please put this date in your diaries and join us as we continue to acknowledge and celebrate our relationship between our school and the Parish of St David.
May 2023 be a year of great possibilities as we walk together with Jesus.
Suzie Subotkiewicz
Learning Dimension
Communication Structures
Many families made themselves available on Tuesday 24th January and met their child’s teacher for 2023. We look forward to strengthening these connections over the next 11 months.
Communication is a vital element of maintaining order and ensuring all members of our school family feel connected and are able to be fully involved in the life of our school. In 2023 we have introduced SZapp which will be our main way to distribute administrative notices, online reply forms etc. Seesaw will continue to be utilised for direct conversations between class teachers and families.
If you are having any issues with accessing SZapp and submitting forms etc please feel welcome to chat with a member of our Admin or Leadership Team. It is crucial that all members of our school family are connected to Szapp and are confident in maximising and utilising its features.
Administrative Dimension
Annual Improvement Plan
This year we will be seeking ongoing improvement in the following elements of Our Lady of Hope School:
Religious Dimension:
- Reviewing our Catholicity via the Enhancing Catholic School Identity project
- Increasing our Community Outreach Program
- Consolidating our Weekly Community prayer
- Increasing our connection with St David’s Catholic Parish
Learning Dimension
- Undertaking Semester Reporting via SEQTA
- Engaging with Life Buoyancy Institute to increase our school approach to building social/emotional capabilities of our children, being trauma responsive and increasing the wellbeing of our community
- Consolidating our commitment to improvement in our student Literacy & Numeracy outcomes
Administrative Dimension
- Engaging an architect and developing an OLOH Master Plan
- Improving communication structures between home and school
Community Dimension
- Reconnecting our Parents & Friends after impact of Covid 19
- Exploring viability of OLOH Outdoors community group
School Fees
Good news – Fees for 2023 will not increase and will be set at the same level as those in 2022
2023 Fee Statements will be mailed to all families at the end of Week 2. Please ensure that you have received your account by the end of Week 3, and if you have not please contact us and let us know, as occasionally things do get lost in the mail.
If you have moved in the holidays and have not notified us of your new mailing address, please do so as soon as possible to ensure that all communication about your child is sent to the correct address.
Included with your account will be a letter outlining payment methods and the amount to be deducted from your balance if you are paying in full and will qualify for the 5% early payment discount. If you are paying by BPay or EFT don’t forget to deduct this amount before payment.
Also included will be a form asking all families to indicate their preferred payment method for 2023. This form assists us with managing our cashflow by giving us some indication of when fees will be received. Could all families please remember to complete this and return to the Front Office by the due date.
Some things to consider around your fee payment:
Did you stop your direct debit at the end of 2022?
If you did, don’t forget to restart – forms can be found on our website and emailed to me.
Did you stop your BPay payment at the end of 2022?
If so, don’t forget to restart – BPay details can be found at the bottom of your statement and are unique to your family account.
Did another child commence school?
If so, have you adjusted your periodic payments to cover the additional fees.
Did one of your children leave Our Lady of Hope at the end of 2022?
If so, have you adjusted your periodic payments to reflect the lower fee amount
Did you have an opening balance on your statement?
If you did this could be due to a number of things:
- Your direct debit may be too low – please adjust accordingly, I’m happy to help with calculating the amount for the payment if needed, please call or email for assistance.
- Some of your periodic payments may have rejected – please ensure that you always have sufficient funds available in your account to cover these payments and once again you may need to adjust this year’s payments to make up last year’s shortfall
- You may make payments manually and have overlooked one – please ensure you pay the outstanding balance as soon as possible.
Do you think you will qualify for the Lower Income Fee Remission?
Remember to qualify for the Lower Income fee remission you should make an application for School Card, and this must happen each year. You can apply for school card by visiting www.sa.gov.au and making an online application, or forms are available at the Front Office and on our website. Please note our preferred method of application is online.
Are you struggling to pay your fees?
If this is you – please come and see me and we can work something out. All information that is shared in this discussion is completely confidential, but if we don’t know we can’t support you and your family. We are here to help.
If you have any questions regarding fees, please feel free to contact me.
Kind regards - Charmaine Gillard (Business Manager) Email: cgillard@oloh.catholic.edu.au
New Volunteer Induction Session
We are holding a New Volunteer Induction Session on Tuesday 1st March at 9.15 am for prospective new volunteers. Bookings are essential and can be made at the Front Office. Existing volunteers please ensure you provide the office with your updated RRHAN Certificate.
If you have any queries about your current volunteer status or would like to start the process of becoming a volunteer at OLOH please contact the Front Office staff on 8289 8344 or email mmcgrath@oloh.catholic.edu.au
Marion McGrath, Principal’s Assistant & Events Coordinator
Enrolments at OLOH
To all current families; if you have a young child due to start school in 2023 or 2024, please ensure that you have lodged an Enrolment Application (you would have received correspondence from the school if you have lodged paperwork). Enrolment applications can be obtained from the front office or via our school website:- OLOH Enrolments. If you are not sure please email us at kslazak@oloh.catholic.edu.au and we will check our enrolment records.
School Absentee Notification
If your child or children are going to be away for any reason (i.e. illness, family/social, medical/dental appointment, car trouble, running late etc.) we ask that parents please contact the Front Office via the SZapp absences form or if this is not possible by phone on 8289 8344.
Uniform Shop News
The Uniform Shop is open on Tuesday between 8.30-9.30 am and 2.30-3.30 pm and is located off the courtyard in the room between Rooms 7 and 8 just to the right of the ramp.
The Uniform Shop order form can be found on the OLOH website: https://www.oloh.catholic.edu.au/uniform-price-list or alternatively hard copies of the form are available in the Uniform Shop as well as the Front Office.
Canteen News
All Qkr App orders need to be submitted by 8.30 am. There are two menus: a Mon./Tues./Wed. option and a Thurs./Fri. option (link below). Please remember that you can order in advance and on recurring days. This will be particularly helpful with the much earlier cut off time.
As always, volunteers are welcome and if you have a spare hour or more especially on a Wednesday or Friday, give me a call on 8289 8448. If you are volunteer trained, have all the relevant clearances, are double vaxed and can spare some time (even 15 minutes makes a huge difference), I'd love to see your smiling faces!
The Canteen Price List for Term 1 2023 has not changed as yet from Term 4 2022 and can be found on the link below:-
Natalie Cotton, Canteen Manager
Term 1 Calendar
Community Dimension
OLOH Outdoors
I am eager to investigate if there are families interested in creating an ‘OLOH Outdoors’ calendar of events for 2023. Families would be invited to participate in outdoor activities that they would like to undertake with their children and other OLOH families. This could include but not limited to bush walks, cycling Mt Crawford Forest, overnight camping, paddling on reservoirs, trip to the beach, picnic at the park etc. The aim is to enjoy the wonderful outdoors with other families and strengthen the community connections we cherish at Our Lady of Hope School. If you are interested in meeting to discuss what activities could be added to the calendar please head to SZapp and complete the online OLOH Outdoors form and submit. I look forward to making this become a reality with likeminded families.
School Calendar
Families are able to access a ‘live’ calendar at the following locations:
- Szapp tiles
- OLOH Website ‘News & Events’ tab – School Calendar
- OLOH online newsletter
A paper copy is static and doesn’t allow us to make alterations should circumstances change. Whilst it is our intention to eliminate date changes, should they be necessary, we will communicate these to families via Szapp/Seesaw.
Noticeboard
The services and events contained in this bulletin are in no way connected with the school and are included in this newsletter for your information only. Parents and caregivers need to make their own enquiries and assessments about the suitability of these events and services for the needs and those of their children.
Australian Parents Council
Gleeson College Tours and @Dusk
Thomas More College Principal's Tour
St. Paul's College Tours
Kids Taekwondo
Avant Ballet Studio
Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter