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Prayer Focus
As we commence a new school year, we look forward to our children experiencing the love of Jesus in their relationship with our staff and their school mates. We trust that our generous God will enable our community to be mindful of the many blessings we receive and to be grateful for the people we meet at Our Lady of the River School.
Building Good Friendships
Jesus thank you for friends!
Thank you that you created us to be in relationship with you and each other.
We pray that our children will build kind friendships this school year.
Friendships where they build each other up and are kind to one another.
Provide us with unique ways to build community
and allow us to display empathy with other families.
Lauren Gaines
An OLOR Blessing
Dear Jesus
Thank you for the gift that the following children are to Our Lady of the River School:
Shagun, Auriea, Theodora, Mary, Kaylee, Mackenzie, Logan, Hudson, Angus C, Harper, Angus D, Leo, Oliver, Nathan, Nirbaan, Mansirat, Joshua, Judith, Kahra, Armaan
As they commence their school journey, we ask that you bless them with love, laughter and learning.
Amen
Sacramental Program – Reconciliation
If your child is in Year 3 and above and you would like them to undertake the sacramental journey of Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation during 2022, please complete the reply slip which has been distributed via Szapp.
Requirements:
Children need to be
- in Yr 3 and above
- Baptised Catholic (Please provide a copy of your child’s Baptismal Certificate during the Sacramental lessons)
- Supported by their family (A Catholic Sponsor for Confirmation)
- Available to participate in a preparation program of prayer and learning about the sacraments of Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. (Weeknight after school at Our Lady of the River School – time and dates to be advised)
Timeline:
- Reconciliation: Monday 11th April 2022 @ 5pm (Berri)
- First Holy Communion: Sunday 19th June 2022 (Berri)
- Confirmation – To be advised
We look forward to working with our families to nurture the faith formation of their children as they participate in the 2022 Sacramental Program
Class Masses/Whole School Masses
Unfortunately, we are currently restricted from celebrating our start of year School Mass as a whole school community. However, we are aiming to have our Year Level Masses every second Thursday at 9am in Our Lady of the River Church. Family members may attend but will be required to wear a mask and maintain the required social distancing. A roster of classes will be distributed next week via Szapp.
Shrove Tuesday & Ash Wednesday
Once again, we are waiting on an update of the ever-changing guidelines regarding large school gatherings including eucharistic celebrations.
On Tuesday 1st March, children will be involved in the ancient ritual of Shrove Tuesday. The pancake is a gentle reminder that we are preparing to enter the season of Lent, a time of personal reflection as we journey with Jesus towards Easter. If your child has specific food allergies, you are invited to send in a pancake from home which your child can eat with their classmates when the school pancakes are served.
On Wednesday 2nd March, subject to C-19 guidelines, we will hold an Ash Wednesday Mass in the OLOR Hall at 7am for staff, children and families. This will be followed with a light breakfast. You will be asked to complete the reply slip found on Szapp to assist with catering.
During the day, classes will participate in a class prayer service to receive the ashes and make a Lenten commitment to live a life of simplicity and care for others and our environment.
More information will be provided as we remain agile in responding quickly to modified C-19 guidelines.
School Leader
As you walk through the classrooms it is evident that the teachers have spent so much time over the holiday break ensuring that classroom are inviting and vibrate places to learn.
This year we welcome four new staff members to Our Lady of the River School -
Miss Tori Martin (Classroom Teacher 1/2)
First Fortnight of 2022
We extend an enormous thank you to our families for navigating the first fortnight of 2022. With a combination of learners at school and remotely, I also acknowledge the tremendous flexibility and creativity of our teachers and support staff who maintained a rigorous learning program. Once again, the partnership between home and school has enabled our young people to access a learning program impacted by this pandemic. We look forward to all children being back at OLOR on Monday and quickly reconnecting with their teachers, ESO’s and classmates.
The Resilience Project
The Resilience Project aims to teach positive mental health strategies to assist people to become happier and more resilient. The resources contain emotionally engaging stories to help make the topic of mental health more accessible. The core focus is on three key pillars proven to cultivate positive emotion; Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (GEM). We look forward to our children experiencing a strong focus on connection, purpose, kindness, emotional and social competencies and physical health. Information will be shared with families to ensure school and home remain united in building and sustaining structures to promote the wellbeing of our children.
Each week on a Monday morning for 10 mins we will be having a GEM (Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness) Community Prayer focus to reinforce one of the principles. We look forward to witnessing your children embracing and utilising these concepts in their daily lives. Once restrictions are lifted, we look forward to our families joining us with this weekly activity.
Bright Start
Subject to any further modifications to existing C-19 guidelines, we anticipate that our Bright Start program for Semester One will commence on Wednesday 9th March, 9.00am – noon.
We encourage our families to invite friends with children who meet the following age criteria to enrol in our Bright Start program:
- If your child turns five years of age after April 30, 2022 and before October 31, 2022, your child can start Foundation (Reception) at Our Lady of the River School in our mid-year intake for 2022. These children will undertake 6 terms of Foundation (Reception) and begin Year One in January 2024.
This transition program is a wonderful way to allow children to experience their start to school in a safe and secure environment during Terms 1 and 2 in preparation for commencing mid-year in our Foundation class. For further information please contact our Front Office and we will respond to your inquiry.
Playgroup
Like the Bright Start program, our Playgroup will recommence in week 6 on Tuesday 8th March, 9.00am -11.00am. This family friendly initiative aims to provide a wonderful play-based environment for children between birth and 5 years of age. We welcome mums, dads, grandparents and carers to access this program and immerse themselves in a range of stimulating activities. Current guidelines require any person entering our school site to display evidence that they are vaccinated, wear a mask and maintain social distancing. It is also expected that anybody feeling unwell does not enter our school.
Please spread the word with family and friends and come and join Erica Kalman in experiencing a fun morning with your child/ren. You are encouraged to bring a healthy snack, hat and drink bottle for your child.
Sport
Hi all,
Welcome to the 2022 school year!
I am looking forward to taking on the OLOR Sports Coordinator role again this year. As part of my role, I have introduced a ‘Before School Fitness Circuit’ aimed at promoting physical activity in our school. Many students have taken on the program with great enthusiasm!
In SAPSASA news, the Riverland Swimming Carnival will take place on Thursday, 10th March, with the Riverland Hockey Carnival following shortly after on Friday, 18th March. More information about these events will be sent out in the next couple of weeks.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me on Seesaw or via email at tcharlton@olor.catholic.edu.au
Have a great weekend!
Kind regards,
Tom Charlton
OLOR Sports Coordinator
Canteen
With the return of all children to OLOR from Monday 14th February, our canteen service will resume on Friday 18th February.
A reminder about the process:
- Lunch orders must be submitted to the Teacher by 9am on the Thursday prior
- The menu / price list will be posted on Seesaw.
If you have any queries about the operation of our Canteen, please contact our Front Office.
OLOR School Board
Catholic schools encourage parental involvement in a variety of ways such as collaborating with teachers in the classroom, listening to students read, or volunteering in other ways. A more formal role is to become a member of the school board. The board allows parents to have a voice in the strategic direction of the school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n47NCIe9KUk
If you would like to be involved in Our Lady of the River School Board please contact Paul for further information (pbennett@olor.catholic.edu.au) . Board members are required to have a current Working With Children Check, current C-19 vaccinations and be willing to commit to two evening meetings a term and a desire to serve our community in realising the vision and mission of our Catholic school. At our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 22nd March, 6pm – 7pm, there will be an opportunity for new members to be elected for a two year tenure. Please consider how you could share your gifts and talents for the children at OLOR. If you would like to nominate for a position on the School Board please submit the School Board Nomination Form which can be found on Szapp.
School Fees
Welcome to 2022!
Due to the delayed start of the year for some classes the school fees will be sent out in week 3, if you would like to apply for the school card or low-income discount, please contact the office and make an appointment with myself on weekdays from 9am till 4pm. If you have already applied for the school card online, I will receive confirmation from the SA government later this term. OLOR also offers an early bird discount of 5% if your fees are fully paid before the end of term 1, the 15th of April 2022. If you are having difficulty paying fees, please make an appointment to discuss a payment plan. Please see the attached PDF for the 2022 school fees.
Thanks
Pat Perre
Finance officer
Social Activities in 2022
Our School Board will be holding its first meeting for 2022 next Tuesday evening. One of our aims is to devise a range of community activities that we can activate when the C-19 restrictions are lifted. If you have any suggestions or creative ideas about social events for our OLOR family, please submit the reply form on Szapp. We would love to hear your thoughts in further connecting our community after the last two years of the covid experience.
We are a health and fitness gym based in Berri. We offer youth fitness classes for kids aged 8-17 during their school term.
It is an excellent program for kids and teenagers to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. We have been running this program for the last few terms and have received positive feedback from the kids and parents.
We are now in a position to open this program to the broader community, and as such, I would like to extend this program to OLOR School students.
We run two classes a week – Monday & Thursday 4-5 pm for the duration of the school term. You can find further details about the program using our link -