School Improvement Priorites

Priority 1: Data Literacy     Priority 2: Collaborative Practices,

Priority 3: Catholic Identity    Priority 4: Pedagogical Excellence

Principal's News

Dear Families and Friends of OLPS,

I hope you have all enjoyed the first week of school, we certainly have! Thank you for your continued support of our school as we look forward to a very exciting year ahead. The spirit of Our Lady’s is to invite us to work together to form a community that is respectful, safe, and supportive, and which provides the opportunity for all its members to live and learn in an environment of faith, hope, and love.

We hope that 2024 will be a happy and rewarding year for you and your family.

Inform and Empower: Rising Kids in a Digital World.

Kids today have access to and are accessible to many millions of people worldwide via the vast array of website applications and online games. The unprecedented amount of personal information available on these sites makes them a perfect place for people who would happily identify their victims and gain their trust. Other identified dangers include exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and harassment, exchange of inappropriate images, and identity theft. Young people are often not aware that their words and or photos, which may have been intended for a small audience, sometimes find their way to a larger one, often with both unexpected and undesirable consequences.

At OLPS we take our work in this space very seriously. Over the past 6 years, we have partnered with Inform and Empower, our digital safety and wellbeing experts, to deliver staff professional learning, student incursions, and parent information evenings.

I am very grateful to the parents that came along on Wednesday evening to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the risks and consequences of not being aware of children’s online behaviour.

Although not as valuable as being present on the evening, there will be an online presentation that we will share with you in mid-February, that captures the main messages. We have also created a page in our newsletter entitled, “Raising Kids In A Digital World” that is full of great resources and information for you.  Having seen the damage that can be caused from not being aware of children's online (including phones) engagement, I strongly suggest taking some time to explore the resources. They can provide rich seeds for conversation at home!

Congratulations to Alison Brown for being the winner of the $100 JB HIFI Gift Voucher, the licky door prize on the evening.

As we start the year, there are several things that I bring to your attention.

Family Engagement

Level Newsletters

A level newsletter will be sent out next Friday, 9th February. These newsletters are level-specific and will provide you with Learning Intentions for curriculum areas, dates, ways you can help your child's learning at home, and other helpful information. They will be emailed to you as well as published in our newsletters.

These newsletters will be sent home at the beginning of each term.

2024 Information Evenings and Parent/ Teacher Interviews

Information Evening for Prep will be held on Monday 12th February @ 6.00 pm. This will be held at school in the Prep Classroom.

From Years 1 to 6 our Information Evenings will be held online on Thursday 15th February;

Year 1 /2 @ 6.00 pm, Year 3 /4 @ 6.30 pm and Year 5 /6 @ 7.00 pm. A Zoom link will be sent to you closer to the date.

Parent / Teacher Interviews will be held on Wednesday 6th March and Thursday 7th March. There will be an invitation sent to you in the coming weeks to book a time to meet with your child’s classroom teacher.

Welcome Picnic will be held on Friday 1st March from 6.00 pm. The classrooms will be open for you to visit from 5 pm. This is another opportunity to come into the school and see all our learning spaces. The staff will be available to show you around during this time.

Child Safety

Parents/Visitors Code of Conduct

Our Lady’s Primary School is committed to ensuring a respectful learning environment that is safe, positive and supportive for all students, staff, and visitors of the School.

Our Lady’s Primary School intends to provide clear guidelines to all parents and visitors regarding the conduct expected of them whilst on the School premises, engaging in school-related activities, or representing the School. Parents/guardians and visitors are expected to uphold the School’s core values at all times.

This Code applies to all Our Lady’s Primary School parents and visitors to the School. The application of this Code is not limited to the School site and School hours. It extends to all activities and events that are school-related and when visiting or representing the School, including without limitation at all times when wearing the School uniform. The Code also requires that parent/guardian or visitor actions do not bring the School into disrepute at any time regardless of whether the action occurs within or outside of School activities.

This Code of Conduct must be read and agreed to by all Parents/Carers as a condition of enrolment.

The Code of Conduct will be sent out via Operoo early next week.

Student Absences

If, for any reason, your child is to be absent from school, we ask that you telephone the school between 8:45am and 9:15 am to advise us if the child is expected to be away for one day or more. Parents are asked to notify the school by email/ Operoo. This is a legal requirement for our Registered Schools Board Attendance Rolls.

Children who arrive at school after the 8.45am bell must report to the office where you are asked to sign them on the iPad. Conversely, if your child is leaving school early, you are asked to go to the office and the admin staff will arrange for your child to meet you there with their school bag.

NB Late arrivals and absences are recorded and included on the school reports at the end of each semester.

 Parking

Parking is available in Erasmus and surrounding streets.  Parents are requested to note the “No Standing” signs which are located in Erasmus Street near the school and are applicable between 8:00 and 9:30 am, and 3:00 and 4:00 pm.

Also, there is a No Parking / Two Minute Drop Off Zone which applies 8:30am to 9 am and 3:15 to 4 pm. Please obey all traffic rules when dropping off or picking up children, and avoid turning or parking on school crossings or in and over driveways.

Please note: A Whitehorse Council officer regularly attends the school and issues fines to those who park illegally.

Communication

Appointments with Teachers

If you wish to see your child’s teacher, he/she will be happy to chat very briefly with you between 8.30 am and 8.45 am or meet you after school for a few moments any afternoon except Tuesday and Wednesday (as these are Professional Learning Meeting times)

If you require a longer discussion, please make an appointment. The school telephone number is 9898 7655. Parent/Teacher Chats are conducted in term one and again after the mid-year written reports are sent home.

Should you wish to meet with your child’s teacher at another time during the school year, you are asked to make an appointment outside school hours with the teacher concerned.

Emailing Teachers

Email may be a fast and convenient way for you to send messages but this may not be the case for many of our teachers. Teachers read emails at different times of the day, so an immediate reply is not possible.

Depending on the nature of the email, you may not receive an email reply at all, since the staff member will determine how best to contact you: by email, phone call or to schedule a meeting.

To use email effectively in a school setting, we have developed the following guidelines for parents/carers:

Email is appropriate for:

● Brief inquiries about general school matters

● School-related issues only

● To pass on relevant information to the appropriate personnel e.g. minor issue

● As a communication tool between teachers and parents.

● When agreed between the teacher and the parent (following a face-to-face contact) email may be used as a form of regular communication about a student’s day at school.

Email is not ideal for:

● Your child’s academic progress. This is best addressed through a telephone conversation or a meeting with your child’s teacher.

● Use as a tool for in-depth discussion but can be used to raise a topic to be discussed at a face-to-face meeting

● Threatening or offensive language

When sending email:

● Identify yourself in the subject line of your email and if appropriate, the name of your child.

● It should only be addressed to the intended recipient (To: as the primary recipient)

● The use of ‘Cc’ (Carbon copy) is to be used if you would like another recipient to be aware of your email as a secondary recipient but not as an invitation to respond

● Ensure emails are respectfully written, as meaning can be misinterpreted.

● Acknowledgement of emails received by staff should be given within 2 working days, between the hours of 8am and 5pm Monday to Friday. 

For any matter of urgency, an email can be sent to principal@olsurreyhills.catholic.edu.au

Audiri App, Email, Operoo, Website,

In recent years communication between the school and parent community has been updated to utilise several online and digital avenues. The school’s primary communication platform is our school app called Audiri (formerly Skoolbag) available to download on mobile devices by searching for ‘Audiri’ in the Apple, Android or Windows app stores. It is very important to download and install this as important and urgent information is communicated through the app.

Email is also utilized by teachers and school leaders to regularly communicate with parents and carers, therefore it is very important to notify us of changes to email addresses.

WhatsApp Group Protocols

Our Lady’s School understands the benefits of using social media; however, if misused, the school community can be negatively affected. The school’s reputation can be damaged and relationships between staff, students, and parents can be impacted.

Any WhatsApp groups that parents may be involved in (with other school parents) are not driven, monitored, or verified by the school. To ensure inclusivity, all of our school events will be advertised and promoted via email, Audiri, and the school Newsletter.

We appreciate the simplicity and ease of instant messaging online; and that keeping in contact outside of school can benefit the school community by keeping the school community closer.

We expect parents to behave in a respectful nature online. Our Lady’s has a Complaints Procedures Policy in place, to address any grievances.

OLPS Tuck Shop

Tuck Shop will begin on Friday 9th February. Tuch Shop rus every Friday!

Orders can be made via the 'Spriggy Schools' app on mobile device, or desktop via https://www.spriggyschools.com.au/.

To create an account, you will need to select 'Canteen' and also search for Our Lady's Primary School, Surrey Hills, and then follow the prompts to add yourself.

This term we will be offering fresh made-to-order wraps with a variety of fillings, freshly made Sushi (from Sushi Sushi), and a range of hot food options.

Please contact Laura ( Eloise, Annabel and Jack) on 0408522278 if you have any issues or questions.

Quote of the fortnight....

10 Lessons I Want to Instill in My Kids

If you make a mistake, apologize.

If you're thankful, show it.

If you are confused, ask questions.

If you learn something, teach others.

If you are stuck, ask for help.

If you love someone, tell them.

If you trip, get back up.

If someone needs help, help them.

If you see wrong, take a stance.

Thank you for your continued support of our wonderful school.

Annie x

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