There has been a flurry of activities around OLOR over the past few weeks. There has been plenty going on both inside classrooms and also in many other areas. We have celebrated Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of the Lenten season, which is a time to reflect and readjust to what is important. We have had our school photos, which is a reminder of how we are all part of the OLOR community, and also a reminder of how quickly students grow up! We have also had our Wakakirri and Choir groups starting rehearsals for their performances later this year.  

Last week our Year 3 and Year 5 students began their NAPLAN testing for 2025, and this has continued this week. This is a series of four tests designed to assess them in the areas of writing, reading, spelling and grammar, and numeracy. We commend the students on the effort that they have put in and look forward to receiving the results later in the year. NAPLAN tests are just one part of the assessment schedule we have at OLOR, where we use data to inform our planning and decision making.  

Our School Board AGM and first meeting of our new Board was also held last week. I would like to welcome new members Teresa Howie, Thalia Boatswain and Kyle Woolston, who join Emma Vallelonga and George Dalamagas, as the parent representatives on the School Board, as well as Fiona Moll-Short who is the staff representative. They will support myself and Fr Hau to make decisions and guide the school over the next year. I value the input of all parents and look forward to many new ideas coming in the future. I would also like to thank Mark Howie, Kanwaldeep Kaur, Priscilla Renfrey, Keisha Barber and Melanie Steele for their contributions to the School Board last year.  

In Week 10 we look forward to Parent Teacher interviews. These are an opportunity for parents and teachers to discuss the learning, behaviour and wellbeing of their children. Working together with families, we want to create an environment where all students are able to achieve their best with the support at school and home to help this happen. As always, we invite families to share any concerns they have about how their children are going and their feelings about school. Parent Teacher interviews are just one part of the reporting process, and we encourage families to continue these conversations with teachers throughout the year. 

During few weeks we will be preparing for the moving of our transportable classrooms to the bottom of the oval, to enable our new buildings to begin construction. We are looking at how to minimise the disruption this will cause to the learning and play times of students, as well as planning out what this looks like once the buildings are moved during the school holidays. We look forward to the beginning of the building program and the opportunities that the additions to the school will bring. 

• The Sandpit gate, Church Gate and Kiss and Drop gate will no longer be accessible.
• New entry points will be in place, and these are marked on the map provided.
• The Kiss and Drop location will be moved further down McIntosh Street.
• The Front Office will remain open for access.

Assembly Awards

Congratulations to Mary, Jude, Irmaan, Armaan, Grace, Lucia, Axel, Braiyden, Darcy, Gracie, Portia and Heartley who all received Certificate of Achievement Awards at our last assembly in recognition of their efforts during the past few weeks.

 PBIS Awards

We were also proud to announce our PBIS award winners for earning the highest number of points in each category. Congratulations to -

Sriyan - RESPECT

Felix - KINDNESS

Kaylee - RESILIENCE 

Maci - BEING YOUR BEST 

This term, the Year 1/2s have been involved in lots of great learning activities and school events. In Art, they got creative with recycled materials to create painted animal portraits using egg cartons to make their faces 3D.  

We also enjoyed seeing the Beats and Pieces performance in Week 6 – we loved playing games and joining in the music making! 

We hope you enjoy our photos and videos.  

Wakakirri

Congratulations to all of our students who participated in auditions this week. I was very impressed with the amount of effort that students put into their performances, and it was great to see students supporting and encouraging one another. 

This year our Wakakirri troupe will be telling the story of Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. This ties in with this year’s theme of ‘Inner Strength’, given the amount of personal and professional challenges Michelle had to overcome in her life and career. 

Our cast is as follows: 

Michelle Payne: Mia Sandford 

Mother & Father: Kahra Przibilla & Cruz Westervelt 

Siblings: Anna Centofanti, Lucia Centofanti, Grace Heuzenroeder, Laura Geyer, Celise Drake, Mary Papadopoulos, Shagun Bisht, Auriea Byreddy, Harper Vallelonga 

Jockeys: Harry Burnett, Lucas Moroney, Sriyan Gudipati, Nathan Kurian, Luca Elliot  

Medical Team: Catie Camilleri, Ada Dalamagas, Rayner Knowling, Sirat Kaur, Hope Threlfall, Theodora Dalamagas, Serah Manu, Stellar Altus 

Choir

On Friday, our choir students travelled to the Berri Town Hall for our first cluster rehearsal of the year. We sang alongside several other schools with support from our conductor, Cindy Ridley. Our students demonstrated great participation and sounded awesome! 

SAPSASA Football

The Riverland SAPSASA Boys Football Carnival was held on Wednesday in Week 6. Seven students from Years 5 and 6 represented OLOR in the Berri district team. The OLOR representatives demonstrated great determination and sportsmanship on the day despite going up against some talented footballers from across the Riverland.  

Congratulations to Ashton Wilson and Emmanuel Exarheas on being selected to trial for the Riverland team that will compete in Adelaide later in the year. We wish both boys luck with their trials. 

School absences should be notified each day via SZapp,

Seesaw or call 8582 1128