Term 1 Week 10, 2021

Easter Celebrations
As we embark on the Easter journey - a time of renewal and hope - let us think about how we can make changes in our own lives that will enable us to bring the joy and mercy of Christ's message to the world that surrounds us today.

At this time of year it is easy to get lost in chocolate. Please keep the journey of Jesus as the central focus of this Holy time.

Teacher Learning Conversations
It has been a great opportunity over the past week to chat with parents before or after their Learning Conversations.  The feedback I have received from these chats has been overwhelmingly positive.  At OLV the relationship between Parents and Teachers is crucial for quality teaching and learning.  Research clearly demonstrates the significant influence of parental engagement with their child’s learning, results in higher educational achievements.

These studies demonstrate that the children are more likely to develop positive self-esteem, be motivated to learn, be positive about school and achieve good grades. Adolescents are less likely to have discipline issues, get involved in substance abuse or drop out of school. Young people are more likely to maintain high aspirations and plan to go on to further education and build a career.

When schools and teachers operate from a belief of working in partnership, focusing on ways of connecting with parents to support what they are doing at home, and lay the foundations for a collaboration in which the actions of parents and teachers complement each other, good educational outcomes are achieved.

Developing and fostering strong relationships between home and school and parents and teachers is my priority as leader of Our Lady of the Visitation School.

Support Programs
At Our Lady of the Visitation School, we are constantly seeking effective ways to meet the needs of all learners, so that every student can experience success.  When students learn differently or have particular needs, teachers are required to identify their learning needs and intervene. 

This intervention may be in the form of specific teaching (adjustments) or Support Programs.  Support Programs or adjustments are necessary for academic and social achievement and require us to identify the most effective strategy.

At OLV, all students receive appropriate, high-quality instruction within the classroom, where adjustments are made to ensure all students are successful learners.  Support Programs are designed to scaffold learning and strategically support learners.

We are proud of our extensive Support Programs from Reception – Year 6.  These programs are designed to be at the level appropriate to your children’s abilities and needs. 

If your child participates in a Support Program, you would have received a letter from me outlining the supports your child is receiving.  For more specific information regarding the Support programs, please see your child’s teacher.

School Board AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the School Board for Our lady of the Visitation School was held recently.  At this meeting the outcomes of the 2020 school year were reported.  Our School Board members for the 2021 / 2022 school years were also elected.  I thank and congratulate the following people on their commitment to serving Our lady of the Visitation School:

• Carly Barry
• Suzanne Behrendt
• Lisa Giersch
• Chantelle Hixon
• Matt Lewis
• Tamie Smith
• Cameron Wadrop

I am both appreciative and grateful to have such a positive and supportive group who always want the best for our children and our school. There is a lot to look forward to and exciting plans to share in the coming months.

The School Board will meet early next term to elect Office Bearers for 2021.

The Uniform Shop will open during the school holidays on Thursday 22nd April 8.30am - 10.30am.

WINTER UNIFORM (WORN IN TERMS 2 & 3)

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are well.

Recently, Fr Roderick, Sr Marie, Alison Tanti-Clarke and I met to plan the rest of this year’s Family Faith Formation program. Families that are involved will receive further information in the coming days.

Last week, some of our students involved in the Family Faith Formation program celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation in our parish churches. This is the first of three celebrations that the children will undertake as part of the sacramental program.

Our Faith
Holy Week is a significant time in the church’s calendar, leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is a time for us to reflect on how we have grown as people since Ash Wednesday, and look forward to new beginnings.

Our School
Our classes have been observing significant events from the Holy Week narrative via whole school gatherings this week – from Palm Sunday to Holy Thursday; and Thursday sees our observance of Good Friday through the Stations of the Cross. The classes have been prayerful and led beautifully by their peers.

Our Parish
Please see the attached timetable of mass and celebration times for our parish in the coming days. Please be sure to contact the parish to ensure that there is space for you and your family at these celebrations.

HOLY WEEK & EASTER TIMETABLE
Holy Thursday, 1st April (no washing of the feet)

• 7.00pm - OLV Church - Last Supper Mass
• Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Tabernacle only - no Night Prayer

Good Friday, 2nd April

• 9.00am - Sacred Heart Church - Stations of the Cross
• 10.30am - OLV Church - Outdoor Way of the Cross on oval adjacent to OLV Church
• 3.00pm - OLV Church - Celebration of the Passion (Pre-Registration required)

Easter Vigil Saturday, 3rd April

• 7.00pm - Sacred Heart Church - Easter Vigil Mass (Pre-Registration required)

** DAYLIGHT SAVING ENDS OVERNIGHT **

Easter Sunday, 4th April

• 9.00am and 11.00am - OLV Church (Pre-Registration required)
• 9.00am and 11.00am - Sacred Heart Church (Pre-Registration required)

Pre-Registration Needed!
For the above Easter & Holy Week services where you are required to pre-register to attend, could you please contact Carolyn at the Parish Office by phone on 84496378 or by email at lefevre@catholicparishes.com.au to make your booking, thank you.

God bless you and take care,
Patrick.

The R/1 classes have enjoyed making every day things with small concrete materials such as towers, castles and cars. Their STEM lessons are now being linked to their Science topic of Dinosaurs. They have coded a mini dinosaur through a maze and loved their Ice Egg activity.

The Year 2/3 classes have also had Science linked with their learning. They are currently creating and getting ready to film a stop motion Claymation on a living things that grows.

The Year 4 class are designing a board game that must include magnets, instructions and a point system. There are fishing games, football games and mazes being designed. The little ones will love playing with them later in Term 2.

The 5/6 class is learning about rising salt and sustainability. Their tasks so far have been to watch a short film, respond to questions and design a poster on living sustainably. Their making task next term is a self-designed, garden watering system.

We certainly have had a busy term in STEM full of fun, engagement and learning.

This term in Italian, the Year 2,3,4,5,and 6 classes have been learning about i Saluti (Greetings), i numeri (Numbers), i colori (Colours), Carnevale and Pasqua (Easter).

Carnevale is an Italian festival held every year in the month of February. During Carnevale people dress in fancy costumes and wear le maschere (masks). In many cities there are street parades with huge and colorful floats.

Students have engaged in various activities which have included reading and writing activities, singing songs in Italian, and making masks and Arlecchino craft activities. The students have had a lot of fun creating their masks. Feel free to visit the Veritas Centre to see the masks that the students have made.

As part of the Under the Sea learning focus we held a ‘Cruise Day’ at kindy.

The kindy was transformed into a cruise ship for the day, with cabins, a kids club and restaurant. After checking in, the children boarded the ship for 3 hours of fun. Each child was allocated to a coloured cabin and whenever the ship’s siren sounded they had to go to their cabin for a story and a game. They had lots of fun playing quoits, bowls and fishing.

After watching a mini movie of The Gruffalo story, everyone headed to the restaurant for some fine dining. There was plenty of time for relaxing on the deck or spending some quiet time in a cabin.