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"For with God, nothing will be impossible." (Luke 1:37)
Teacher Placements for 2025:
- Prep: Leesa Rostirolla, Cara Dorrington, Kate Chitham
- Year 1: Gabrielle McArthur, Stacey Bita, Mikayla Hill
- Year 2: Kristen Torrisi, Pamela James, Jordan Wilson
- Year 3: Alex Snodgrass, Elaine Byrne, Emma Parkes
- Year 4: Kate Dobosz, Sam Symonds, Tammy Lacey / Carla Abeleven
- Year 5: Trudy Coates (Term 1 LSL) Emma Warren / Ellen Graham, Claire Lenton, Ashleigh Grech
- Year 6: Ashleigh O’Dowd, Erica Robb, Kate George
- Specialists: Kelly D’Andrea, Pete Hanson, Alison Williams, Julia Cornes, Olivia Anderson, Erica Rusch
God Bless
Brendon Napier
Principal
Term 1 Week 1 Newsletter
We are thrilled to welcome you to another exciting year of learning, faith development and growth at Our Lady Help of Christians school. Our vision:
Our Lady Help of Christians School aspires to nurture the
fullness of life for every individual through its faith-filled,
holistic learning community steeped in the Spirit of Mercy.
is grounded in the values of respect, love, mercy, and community and our charism of Mercy. This guides every aspect of our journey together and we are committed to nurturing your child’s academic and spiritual development, fostering a love for learning, and deepening their faith. We encourage you, as parents and caregivers, to partner with us in supporting your child’s growth, both in the classroom and through meaningful participation in our vibrant religious life. Together, we can inspire our students to live out our shared values and make a positive impact on the world.
Important Religious Life of the School events for Term 1 – All welcome
|
Week |
Event |
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Three |
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Five |
|
|
Six |
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Six - Ten |
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Ten |
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Supporting Your Child’s Success at School
Parents play a vital role in their child’s education. A strong partnership between home and school can help children thrive. Here are some ways to support your child’s learning:
- Encourage curiosity and celebrate efforts. Teach your child to see mistakes as opportunities to grow.
- Establish consistent routines for home reading and bedtime.
- Read to your child as often as you can.
- Ask about your child’s school day, attend parent-teacher meetings, and show interest in their learning.
- Consult with your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions or concerns.
- Support good nutrition, regular physical activity, and adequate sleep to keep your child ready for learning.
- Think about lunch boxes and how you can make them attractive and nutritious.
- Demonstrate lifelong learning by sharing your interests and connecting your child’s studies to real-world topics.
- Encourage your child to take responsibility for his/her behaviour choices.
- Encourage family prayer which nurtures spiritual growth and resilience.
By fostering a supportive home environment, you can help your child succeed academically, socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Year of Jubilee – Pilgrims of Hope
On 24 December last year when the doors of St Paul’s Basilica were opened, Pope Francis declared the beginning of The Jubilee Year with its theme Pilgrims of Hope. Please click on the link below to find out more about what a Jubilee year is all about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hsp9c9N0no
What’s in a name? - Our Catholic Identity
It is important for our community to make an effort to refer to our school by its full name, Our Lady Help of Christians, rather than the acronym OLHOC, as it underscores our Catholic identity and distinguishes us from other schools. Using the full name reflects our commitment to the values and teachings of the Catholic faith, serving as a constant reminder of our vision to nurture the whole child through our Catholic Christian community steeped in the Mercy Tradition. By prioritizing our full name, we visibly and verbally uphold the unique character of our school and affirm the role of faith in our community which speaks to our point of difference.
We are looking forward to an exciting hope filled year working with the wonderful families in our school community.
Many blessings,
Toni
Toni Foley
Assistant Principal - Religious Education
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you have had a safe and happy holiday period, filled with joy and quality time with family and friends. I was fortunate enough to travel back to Melbourne for the break to spend quality time with my family. It was a special time being able to connect with my extended family during Christmas celebrations, as many of us live in different states.
As we begin the 2025 school year, we are excited to welcome you and your children back to the Our Lady Help of Christians school community. This year promises to be filled with new opportunities for learning, growth, and collaboration. We are committed to working together with you to support your child's educational journey and ensure they have a successful and enriching experience while here in our care.
I’d like to take this opportunity to update you on some operational details of Our Lady Help of Christians for the 2025 school year.
School Times
A friendly reminder that the first bell to signify the beginning of the school day for students rings at 8:05 am. It is expected that students are here by this time and are lined up outside their classroom areas to meet their teacher. Any students arriving later than 8:10 am, when the second morning bell rings, will be considered late and will need to enter via reception.
The gates on Balaclava Road and Mestrez Street open at 7:45 am each morning. A staff member will be on duty in these areas to welcome you in and monitor the stop, drop and go areas. These gates will remain open until approximately 8:10 am. If you find yourself still on the premises after this time, you will need to exit through the reception area.
The school gates will be opened by our groundskeeper between 2:20 – 2:25 pm. At the end of the day there will be two staff members on duty at the gates, ensuring a safe departure for all and monitoring the flow of traffic through the stop, drop and go areas.
The school day finishes at 2:30 pm with gates being closed at 2:45 pm. We kindly ask that students are picked up promptly at the end of the day. If for some reason you will be late picking your child/ren up, please phone through to reception and speak to Lindy or Madonna.
Family Leave Form
In 2025, we are introducing a Family Leave form. If at any time you will be taking your child/ren out of school during term time, for a week or more, we kindly ask that you fill out this form and return it to reception at your earliest convenience. This will ensure we can keep accurate records and communication about student attendance throughout the term. Copies of the Family Leave form can be found in reception or by clicking the link here.
Throughout Term 4, 2024, Brendon made mention numerous times in the newsletter and at school assemblies that uniform would be a big-ticket item we will be focussing on throughout 2025. We believe in respecting our school and our community by wearing the Our Lady Help of Christian uniform correctly and with pride. Please find below details regarding the correct Our Lady Help of Christians uniform, including details around hairstyles.
Staff will be looking out for those students who are wearing the correct uniform and linking this with our school values. For those students who repeatedly show up in the incorrect uniform, an Out of Uniform slip will be sent home. This slip will outline details of the uniform violation, ask for a parent or carer signature and is required to be sent back to school for the classroom teacher to keep record. If the uniform infringements continue to occur, you may be contacted by either Brendon, Toni or myself to have a further conversation around the wearing of the correct uniform.
If for any reason, you are unable to provide your child/ren with the correct uniform, please reach out so we can have a conversation about this and support you and the family.
We look forward to representing our community with pride by wearing our uniform correctly in 2025.
School Hats
All students will be required to wear a school hat during morning tea and lunch playtimes. If for some reason a child is not wearing the school hat, they will be redirected to either the Library, Hall or Silver Sail area (for Prep – Year 2 students). We kindly ask that you check your child/ren’s hat is clearly labelled with their name so if it is lost, it can be returned promptly.
Finally, I would like to send a shout out to our amazing staff, who over the past week, and for some over the holidays, came in to prepare, clean and set up the spaces ready for the students' return on Wednesday January 29. It has been heartwarming to see the teams come together and support each other in the setup ensuring we are providing the best learning spaces for our students. Setting up learning spaces takes a considerable amount of time, and I want to acknowledge the efforts of the staff over the last few weeks.
Thank you for your continued partnership and trust in your child/ren’s learning journey. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with you over the coming weeks before and after school. Let's make this school year a memorable and productive one!
Karina Brady
Assistant Principal - Administration
Term 1 statements will be emailed out by the end of Week 2. Fee payments are due within fourteen (14) days from the statement issue date. If you don't receive your statements, always check your spam folder for emails or please contact me.
2025 Tuition Fees are not yet available. We will notify you once they are released.
Thank you to those who make regular payments. If you have fallen behind, please contact me to arrange a payment plan as soon as possible. Please remember, direct debits may need to be increased as fees change, it is important that direct debit payments are updated to reflect the fees each year to prevent falling behind.
If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Yalo – Finance Officer
07 4280 7200 (press 2 for accounts)
Thank you and Kind regards,
Jennifer Yalo
Finance Officer
Enrichment
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress” – Fredrick Douglass
The Enrichment program is about offering students a safe environment to be challenged in their learning and to try new experiences. It has two aspects: classroom support & opportunities for extension through various academic competitions.
The majority of my time is spent working with groups of students to complement and extend work being done in the classroom in the areas of Literacy & Numeracy. In Term 1 this may include developing writing skills across different text types with attention to editing and giving peer feedback, and a focus on solving written word problems in Mathematics.
Students are usually selected across the cohort, based on a combination of results including semester reports, PAT testing and NAPLAN results as well as consultation with the classroom teacher.
This program will commence in Week 3 to allow input from classroom teachers. Parents will be notified by email if their child has been asked to participate. Groups often change each term which allows other students to participate.
I also facilitate a variety of opportunities which are available to any student who shows interest. Details will usually be advertised in the school newsletter.
|
Term 1 |
Years 3-6 |
Sleek Geeks |
Produce a short film with the theme “Above and Below” |
free |
|
Prep - 6 |
Eisteddfod - Literary |
Submit an original piece of writing |
$9.00 per entry (school subsidises some entries) |
|
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Term 2 |
Years 3-6 |
Bebras Challenge |
Computational thinking (online) |
$5.20 (school may subsidise some entries) |
|
Year 6 (4 students) |
Readers Cup |
Read set books and answer detailed questions |
Paid by school |
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Years 5-6 |
Catholic Young Voices |
Writing, photography or video |
free |
|
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Years 4-6 |
Poem Forest |
Write a poem about nature |
free |
|
|
Term 3 |
Years 3-6 |
Opti-MINDS |
Write and perform a play in teams |
Paid by school |
|
Years 3-6 |
ICAS Assessments |
NAPLAN style tests |
$20.95 each |
|
|
Years 3-6 |
Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee |
Test of 30 words (online) |
free |
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Term 4 |
Prep - 6 |
Council Christmas Card competition |
Design a Christmas card |
free |
Some additional competitions are offered as part of the classroom program eg Eisteddfod, Kangarou sans Frontiers, QAMT Maths Quiz and Australian Maths Competition.
Chess@ OLHOC
- Chess in the library every break time and before school
- Giant Chess every break time
- Library Deck (must ask permission from the teacher on duty)
- Balaclava Rd gate (supervised Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri)
- Chess Club on Fridays 2.30 – 3.30pm (registration required)
- Interschool Tournaments at TAS in Terms 1,2 and 3 (by invitation Years 4-6)
- OLHOC Tournament in Term 4 (Prep – 6)
If your child would like to learn to play chess (and you don’t know how to play!) I recommend chesskid.com (lessons and videos) or ChessKidAdventure (fun game app for mobile devices) or encourage participation in Giant Chess.
If you would like to know more about any of the above activities, please visit me in the Enrichment Room (in the library) or contact me at awilliams2@cns.catholic.edu
Let’s inspire our children to love learning and embrace challenge!
Alison Williams
Enrichment Teacher
Carmen Mellor
Tuckshop Convenor
Dear Parents and Carers,
To ensure the safety of all students, we kindly remind you that if someone other than yourself will be picking up your child, they must be listed as an additional contact in our records. Please complete the Additional Contact Person Form to add their information.
Please note that we will request ID from individuals who are not familiar to us. Your cooperation helps us maintain a secure environment for your child.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Karina Brady | Assistant Principal Administration
Library News
A huge welcome back to the new school year! We are really looking forward to seeing all the students when they begin borrowing this week and hearing about their holiday adventures.
Borrowing Days
Please ensure your child brings their library bag and returns ALL borrowed books at their weekly session. The class borrowing days are:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| 4E | ALL Year 5 | All Year 6 | ALL Prep | 4L |
| 3O | 1O | ALL Year 2 | 4O | |
| 3L | 1E | |||
| 1L | 3E |
Introducing the Library Team
Jill Watson and Paula Tindall
Our Library team consists of Mrs (Jill) Watson and Mrs (Paula) Tindall.
Paula and Jill are responsible for circulation (borrows and returns), looking for books to purchase to enhance our collection, tracking overdues, cataloguing all school resources and much more. Make sure you pop in during the mornings to check out some of their creative designs. Jill and Paula are also our school’s Travel Smart coordinators so, if you are interested in finding out more about the program or volunteering, please call in to the library to see them.
Library is open EVERY morning
The library is open every morning from 7.45am so we encourage our parents and carers to take the time to come in and read a book or simply chill out with their child/ren before the school day begins. Chess Club is another activity you can attend in the library with your child. Please see Mrs William’s newsletter section for more details.
We look forward to seeing you enjoy some time with your child/ren before the hectic school day starts!
Library Lovers Month
February is Library Lover’s Month!
To celebrate, we are excited to announce a special Reading Challenge for all students. This week, each student will receive a Challenge Bookmark featuring a list of books to read.
How it works:
- Complete all books listed on the Challenge Bookmark.
- Submit the completed Challenge Bookmark to the Library.
The challenge will run until Friday, February 28th (Week 5). We encourage everyone to participate and share the joy of reading.
Happy reading, everyone!
The Library Team:
Paula Tindall and Jill Watson
The MyCE app will now be our main way of communicating with parents. If you have more than one student attending at different catholic schools, you will be able to see all of them on the one app, instead of accessing the different school portals.
Things that will be able to be seen/accessed on MyCE:
- School Reports
- Edsmart slips
- Advising of absences
- Access to newsletters
- School Calender, etc
If you require any assistance with the MyCE App, please contact the office.
Hi everyone, my name is Peter Henson and I am the PE Teacher at Our Lady Help of Christians! I am looking forward to teaching all the students and providing them with fun, safe, and challenging PE sessions. Term 1&2 will be very busy with a lot of TCC Trials happening for our older students in the 10-12 Year Old Age Group.
Trinity Coast Central Sports District (TCC)
Below is a calendar displaying the dates for TCC trials throughout the year. Please note that at times dates/venues of trials can change and at times we get information very late regarding the trial. When information arrives on each trial, I will then give the information out to the students that have signed up for that sporting trial. Parents/carers will then need to fill out a ‘Peninsula Permission Details Booklet’ and get it signed by a principal to take to the trial. The link for this form will be found on the trial information sheet.
The ages for which students can participate in the trials is displayed with the relevant sport. Students ages are taken from the last day of this year. For example, if your child is 11 years old on 31/12/2025 then they are in the 11-year-old age group.
These trials are not a come and try session, instead they are for students who are at an elite level and have a lot of experience at that chosen sport. The aim of these TCC trials is to gain selection for a peninsula team. Students who put their name down to trial need to have experience playing for a club in that sport. Each year the feedback from TCC officials was that at times schools were sending too many students and students not up to the skill level required. Therefore, if there is a sport with a lot of students keen to trial for then Our Lady Help of Christians will hold its own trial before selecting students to take part at the TCC trial. This will help the TCC official by not sending too many students and only sending students who have a high level of skill.
This year Mr Henson will not be making announcements for students to meet him at morning tea and lunch time who are interested in trialling for the different TCC sports. It will be the student’s responsibility to look at the Trinity Coast Central Sport Calendar which will be located on the PE notice board in the hall and let Mr Henson know each term what sport they would like to trial for in that term. Mr Henson will then put their name down for that trial and give them the information form for that trial when the school receives it.
Trinity Coast Central Sport Trial Calendar 2025
|
Sport |
Gender |
Age Level |
TCC Trial Date |
|
Term 1 Trials |
|
|
|
|
Swimming |
Boys & Girls |
10/12 Years |
Monday, 17 February 2025 |
|
Rugby League |
Boys |
11/12 Years |
Thursday, 20 February 2025 |
|
Squash |
Boys & Girls |
10/19 Years |
Friday, 21 February 2025 |
|
Netball |
Boys |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 26 February 2025 |
|
Netball |
Girls |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 26 February 2025 |
|
Basketball |
Boys & Girls |
10/12 Years |
Monday, 3 March 2025 |
|
Basketball |
Boys & Girls |
10/12 Years |
Monday, 3 March 2025 |
|
Rugby League Vic Jenson Cup |
|
10/11 Years |
Monday, 3 March 2025 |
|
Australian Football |
Girls |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 5 March 2025 |
|
Australian Football |
Boys |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 5 March 2025 |
|
Hockey |
Girls |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 5 March 2025 |
|
Hockey |
Boys |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 5 March 2025 |
|
Term 2 Trials |
|
|
|
|
Golf |
Boys & Girls |
10/19 Years |
Thursday, 24 April 2025 |
|
Cross Country |
Boys & Girls |
10-19 Years |
Friday, 2 May 2025 |
|
Football |
Girls |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 7 May 2025 |
|
Football |
Boys |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 7 May 2025 |
|
Rugby Union |
|
11/12 Years |
Monday, 12 May 2025 |
|
Touch |
Girls |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 21 May 2025 |
|
Touch |
Boys |
10/12 Years |
Thursday, 22 May 2025 |
|
Softball |
Girls |
10/12 Years |
Monday, 2 June 2025 |
|
Baseball |
|
12/14 Years |
Wednesday, 4 June 2025 |
|
Tennis |
Girls |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 4 June 2025 |
|
Tennis |
Boys |
10/12 Years |
Wednesday, 4 June 2025 |
|
Rugby League |
Girls |
11/12 Years |
Thursday, 5 June 2025 |
|
Term 3 Trials |
|
|
|
|
Cricket |
|
10/12 Years |
Monday, 21 July 2025 |
|
Track & Field |
Boys & Girls |
10/12 Years |
Friday, 25 July 2025 |
|
Term 4 Trials |
|
|
|
|
Aquathlon |
Boys & Girls |
11/12 Years |
Monday, 13 October 2025 |
|
Cricket |
Girls |
10/12 Years Girls |
TBC |
Contact Sport Requirements
Queensland school sport has implemented that all students who are participating in either a trial, training session or game of Australian football, rugby league, rugby union or hockey must be wearing a mouth guard. Peninsula school sport strongly recommends that students wear a custom-fitted mouthguard but there are some guidelines around this. If students present to a trial or game without a mouthguard, they will be unable to participate.
Cross Country & Athletics Carnival
This year Our Lady Help of Christians will be holding its whole school Cross Country Carnival in term 1 on the 21st March (Back Up Day 28th March) weather permitting at Our Lady Help of Christians.
The Our Lady Help of Christians Year 4-6 Athletics Carnival is at Barlow Park in term 2. The date is to be confirmed as Barlow Park is undergoing some redevelopments. We are told the TCC and Peninsula Athletics Carnivals might be brought forward and therefore, our Year 4-6 Athletics Carnival might need to be earlier in term 2 rather than later. The Prep & Year 1 Sports Day along with the Year 2 & 3 Sports Day will be in week 10 of term 2 (dates to be confirmed).
PE Lesson Requirements
With the weather being warm at present parents/carers are reminded to make sure students are coming to school for ALL PE lessons with their Hat, Sports Uniform and a Drink Bottle so that we can all stay hydrated, sun safe and get the most out of our PE lessons.
Peter Henson
Sports Co-ordinator
Travel Smart is a Volunteer program that has been running at Our Lady Help of Christians for over 15 years. Travel Smart buses depart from these venues…
Walking Buses - Poochies Parlour and Mestrez Street. Supervision from 7:40am, depart at 7:55am.
Bike Bus - Kangaroos Football Club. Supervision from 7:20am, depart at 7:30am
Scooter Bus - Lions Park (near KFC Earville) Supervision from 7:30am, depart at 7:45am
Travel Smart is a great program teaching students the road rules, making friends and exercising before school gets the brain active and ready to learn.
If you would like to volunteer or know more about Travel Smart please contact Jill or Paula in the Library or email Jill on jwatson1@cns.catholic.edu.au
Travel Smart Passports can be picked up from the Library. Everytime a student ‘travels smart’ to school, they earn a stamp which can be received at the library or parents can also mark. Once ten stamps have been collected a prize can be selected from the prize box.
Look out in March for National Ride to School Day!
OLHOC SCOOTER BUS IS ON EVERY WEDNESDAY.
DEPARTURE TIME IS 7:45AM. (Starting week 3)
Small group singing classes with Mrs Croghan will continue on Thursdays at OLHOC in 2025. These classes are great for students to start developing their voices and music skills. Parents and carers with students who love to sing are asked to please email kjepson@cns.catholic.edu.au if you are interested in joining in term 1, 2025. This fantastic program is run by St Mary's Catholic College Instrumental Music.
Many thanks,
Yasmin Croghan
Vocalist, Music and Drama Teacher
Phone 0488158923
Email yasminlancini@gmail.com
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