Hello Families,

We are now in Week 3 of Term 1, and what a fantastic start to the year it has been! It has been wonderful catching up with students, families, and staff over these first few weeks, and I am truly excited about the year ahead. The energy across the school is incredibly positive, and I thank everyone for their contributions in making the start of 2025 so smooth and successful.

This Friday, we gather as a school community for our Beginning of the School Year Mass. This will allow us to come together in faith, seeking God’s guidance and blessing for the year ahead. During this Mass, we will also formally acknowledge our 2025 school leaders. Leadership in a Catholic school is about service, and I encourage our leaders to embrace the words of Jesus: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26). May they lead with Respect, Love, Mercy and Community.

Tonight, we also welcome families to our first P&F meeting of the year. These meetings are a vital part of our school community, ensuring strong connections between families and the school. Of course, the promise of free pizzas and drinks may also help boost attendance! I encourage all parents to come along, whether you are a regular or new to our school community your input and involvement are very much welcomed.

On Wednesday, we host our Parent/School/Teacher Information Sessions. These sessions provide a great opportunity for families to meet their child’s teacher, gain insights into classroom expectations, and learn more about the year ahead. Strong partnerships between home and school lead to the best outcomes for our students, and I look forward to seeing many of you there.

A gentle reminder about the importance of wearing the correct school uniform, including appropriate footwear and haircuts. Wearing our uniform with pride reflects our shared values and respect for our school community. Thank you for your support in maintaining these standards.

As we continue into the term, I look forward to all that lies ahead for Our Lady Help of Christians School. May this year be one of strengthening our entire school community.  It is my goal for our school to be a place where staff, students and families want to be because of the positive experiences, strong relationships, and shared sense of purpose that exist within our community. Word of mouth is powerful, and when people hear about OLHOC, I want them to know it as a school where students flourish, staff love their work, and families feel connected and supported.

As always, I look forward to seeing you around the school, whether at Mestrez Gate or the Balaclava entrance.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Respect, Mercy, Love and Community


God Bless

Brendon Napier
Principal

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

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.

Our Lady Help Of Christians School Cross Country Event 

Our School Cross Country event will be held on March 21st, with a back up day of March 28th incase of bad weather. 

If there are any parents or carers keen to volunteer for this event that would be awesome! These events always need some extra support to help them run smoothly.  

If you are interested in helping, please let the office or Mr Henson know you are keen. The event will run from 8:30am – 11:45am. The different jobs we need volunteers for are below: 

• Standing at points around the track
• Handing out place cards on finish line
• Handing out ribbons 

Any volunteers will need to complete the following training to be able to help. The link is below:

https://www.cns.catholic.edu.au/school-communities/volunteer-training/

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 the 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 to 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 OLHOC 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 

 Peter Henson
Sports Co-ordinator

Please see the below table which shows what our Value and Focus are for each week of Term 1.

This week, Week 3, our Value is Respect and we are focussing on "Support everyone's right to learn".

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Could you use an extra $500 for education costs? The Smith Family know that cost of living pressures are continuing to put extra stress on households, with families in particular feeling the effects.

What is Saver Plus?

Saver Plus is a program for people on lower incomes. It’s about bolstering their financial skills, so they can develop (and keep) good savings habits.  Since 2003, Saver Plus has supported more than 62,000 people to start saving.

It’s helped overcome the barriers around education expenses. And it’s set them up for a brighter future.

What are the eligible savings goals?

Eligible savings goals are education related products or services that:​

• Assist a primary or secondary school student’s education;

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Attached are some flyers that provide more information on Saver Plus.