Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School East Warrnambool eNewsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

Today we acknowledge and pay our respects to the First Peoples, the traditional custodians of the lands and waterways and thank them for their continued hospitality.

We acknowledge and celebrate the continuation of a living culture who have lived with Creator God through creation of land, sea, waterways and life.

Prayer

Leadership & Stewardship

Principal's Message

Dear Parents, Guardians & Students,

Today marks the end of another school year.

I had reason early this term to be up at the Emergency Department of Warrnambool Base Hospital. I was immediately struck by how busy this workplace is for the staff. It was a sea of movement, noise and emotions. I left thinking, “I don't know how they do that job?” Interestingly, that is how some people feel about teaching. While our occupation has certainly changed in my time, some constants remain that continue to provide joy. It would be no surprise most of the joy in our job comes from children and their honest and original observations.

As we head into this Christmas period I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to the staff for their unwavering commitment to and care of your children. To the parents, for their willingness to support us through words and actions - we are a better school when we continue to work together.

Lastly, to the most important people in the building, the children, I wish a happy, holy and love filled Christmas with family and friends.

Staffing

All the best to our 3 trainees in Scarlett, Eva and Jaz for the next chapter of their lives. They have been brilliant additions to our staff and we will miss them.
Dana - all the best for her upcoming birth
Chelsea on her upcoming wedding day and future with Mason
Marie on her retirement and amazing contribution to OLHC and the wider Catholic Education community.

In 2025

Ben Louden is taking 12 months' leave without pay. We wish him all the best during this period of time.

SAC

In 2025 we will be looking to recruit two more SAC members. Information about the School Advisory Council can be found at https://www.olhcwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au/our-community

Wishing you all a safe and Happy Christmas & New Year. See you in 2025.

Steve

Farewell and best wishes to our Graduating Class of 2024! We hope you transition smoothly into your secondary education journey.

Matisse Aberline

Jevin Almeda

Harrison Asenjo

Oscar Auld

Mira Brightwell

Timothy Bunting

Chloe Burleigh

Chloe Burrows

Oliver Carr

Will Chisholm

Lawson Chow

Paddy Clarke

Laila Conn

Evelyn Coxall

Luci Delaney

Zara Doherty

Emelia Dyer

Casey Fleming

Stacey Fleming

Henri Forsterling

Marley Gannon

Samuel Gardner

Stella Giblett

Indi Griffin

William Hodson

Kavish Hurria

Thomas Jack

Miranda Jansz

Hamish Kermond

William Kerr

Milah Knowles

Rhyce Levett

Tadhg Loughran

Summer Lowe

Alicia Martin

Maya McLeod

Louie Metcalfe

Logan Miller

Mikaylah Moloney

Marli Moore

Sonny Morgan

Ayla Morgan

Molly Nicholson

Scarlett Nolan

Zane Parsons

Indiana Parsons

Lola Paton

Alby Rae

Hannah Ragg

Murphy Rea

Olivia Riordon

Harvey Rogers

Jonah Sabo

Connor Sheen

Xavier Sherlock

Jack Skilbeck

Schuyler Smits

Camdyn Spencer

Jordy Templeton

Quinn Thomas

Edward Thornton

Layla Turner

Elky Veale

Hugh Walther

Harvey Warburton

Tobias Warhurst

Fletcher White

Harley Wickenton

Jessica Williams

We also farewell the following students who are leaving Warrnambool. We wish you all the very best at your new school.

Elvina Emery Yr 1

Lucy Woolman Yr 4

A heartfelt farewell to the families finishing their time at OLHC. A special mention to Emma Hrabar, who concludes an incredible 25 years with us.

Paul & Julie Aberline

Palliya Almeda & Irvintha Masewge

Mark & Katrina Brightwell

Jason & Abby Burleigh

Brendan & Carly Carr

Andrew & Tracy Chow

Jerem & Bernadette Clarke

Jamie & Felicity Delaney

Mark & Marrie Fleming

Kelly Gannon

Luke Gannon

Brett & Jacinta Gardner

James Giblett & Amy Garrett

Madlina Odhok

Paul & Kristen Kermond

Andrew & Fiona Loughran

Stephen & Kate Martin

Chris & Kirsten Metcalfe

Cheryl McDowell

Rhiannon Morgan

Anthony Morgan

Lee Nicholson & Cathie Jane

Garry Parsons

Kate Dwyer

Joe Ragg & Megan Cooney

Joshua & Vicki Riordon

Bradley & Erin Rogers

Glenn & Jacinta Skilbeck

Jarrod & Sharell Smits

Randall & Carlyn Spencer

Emma Hrabar

Xavier & Vanessa Thornton

Brandt & Laurisa Walther

Other Year levels

Andrew Emery & Amy Morrison

Sally Woolman

Important Dates

Term 4

Wednesday 18th December - Last Day of School for Students normal finish time 3.20pm

2025 - Term 1

Tuesday 28th January - Staff Return

Wednesday 29th January - Students Return

Thursday 30th January - Country Bus Resumes

Tuesday 25th February - School Photos

Sunday 16th March - OLHC Athletics @ Brauerander Park

Monday 17th March - No School in Lieu of athletics Sunday

Teaching & Learning @ OLHC

A Message from Mr A

Week 11 Term 4

THAT’S A WRAP!

Another year draws to a close with a flurry of fun days, Christmas activities and enjoyable events. It has been another successful year for OLHC off the back of the efforts of many people across the school. Firstly thanks to our parent community again this year for your support in assisting us with your child’s education. Our shared lunches, excursions and learning experiences would not have been possible without your assistance. To our PFA who work tirelessly behind the scenes on our major fundraising events, a big thank you, you have been great to work with.

To our teaching and support staff, thank you for your efforts across the year. It takes a concerted effort collectively to get a school going at the start of the year and keep momentum all the way through. We are lucky to have such a dedicated group of educators. To our admin staff, Kristen, Christine and Rachel for what they do up the front. They help me on a daily basis and I am appreciative of their work. To ourt maintenance team, Brendan, Noel and Tanya for keeping our school well maintained and functioning to allow our staff to do their job.

To Steve for leading us throughout the year. A tough gig at the top sometimes but I appreciate working with you. Finally to your children, the students. They are what make each day enjoyable and the reason we do what we do. The best part of my job is my hallway interactions with your children each day, each bringing their own personality and character into our community to make our school a great place to work each day.

Merry Christmas to all our families.

Have a great holiday.

Naish

Foundation Fun Day

Yr 1 Fun Day

Yr 4 Fun Day

Yr 5 Fun Day

Yr 6 Fun Day

Parish Office Hours: 9am - 4pm Monday - Friday

P: 5562 2231

E: southwestcoast@ballarat.catholic.org.au

webpage : https://www.southwestcoastparish.com.au/

Weekend Masses

Saturday Vigil

6:00pm OLHC, Warrnambool East

Sunday Morning

9:00am Infant Jesus, Koroit

9:00am St Pius X, Warrnambool West

10:30am St Joseph’s, Warrnambool

10:30am St Patrick’s, Port Fairy

6:00pm St Joseph’s Warrnambool

*11:00am St Anne’s, Purnim

2nd Sunday of the month (Eucharist)

Weekday Masses

NB: MASS OF THE DAY IS REPLACED WHEN A FUNERAL IS HELD AT THAT CHURCH

Tues 10:00am St Pius X

Wed 10:00am St Joseph’s

Thu 10:00am OLHC & 11:00am Mercy Place

Fri 10:00am St Joseph’s

Sat 10:00am OLHC

Wellbeing

If you want to learn to ride a skateboard or get better at maths, you need to practise. It’s the same when you want to feel happier!

Here are some easy ideas to give Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy a try every day. Because the more you practise, the better you will feel.

Let's Practice!

**A reminder to parents, carers and grandparents that SchoolTV** is a free resource.

Tap here to access SchoolTV

The secret to a great family summer break? Over to you, kids…

When it comes to 'overscheduling' versus 'boredom', popular family and parenting educator Dr Justin Coulson has some ideas to make the summer holiday period enjoyable for the whole family.

The long hot days of summer can be challenging for families. Work commitments keep parents out of the home and away from their children. And if they’re lucky enough to have time off, children complain about how ‘bored’ they are.

The remedy for many parents is to book their children in for art classes, soccer workshops, and coding camp. They’re arranging playdates and holidays, and scouring local events. They want to make sure their children are never bored.

But other parents are embracing the idea that boredom is good for their children. And just like every year at about this time, articles and blogs are espousing the benefits of letting our kids be bored – including the idea that boredom increases self-reliance.

Unfortunately, there’s limited evidence to support that idea. In fact, the evidence that does exist is overwhelming in favour of the idea that boredom may reduce wellbeing, and does not lead to good outcomes (creative or otherwise).

How do we balance the troubles that come from boredom with the challenges that come from over-scheduling (which include issues from loss of interest to anxiety)? They need to do something over summer. Where is the line?

Let’s redraw the drama and remove the false dichotomy. The crux is this: our children should be engaged in their lives. The key word here is engagement. In other words, we want to establish opportunities for them based on our child’s interest. We should stop obsessing about ‘overscheduling’ versus ‘boredom’ and just focus on helping our kids fill their summers with things that light them up inside. That’s how we can help create a brilliant summer and, in the process, help them build self-reliance along with something just as important: fulfilment.

Why is self-direction important?

Giving our children the chance to self-direct their activities (with our input and guidance) lets them explore and take risks. It’s called autonomy. It also shows them that we have confidence in their ability to choose and make decisions for themselves. Most importantly, it teaches them to have control over their own lives (and to own the occasional mistakes that come from that).

Self-reliance is being confident in your own abilities and being able to do things for yourself. And it’s an essential part of wellbeing. But it doesn’t come from boredom or from being involved in a ton of activities. It comes from these opportunities for children to choose for themselves.

How to create opportunities for self-direction

Make a (reasonable) bucket list.

At the beginning of the summer sit down with your child and make a list of things they’d like to do. Keep it reasonable. You don’t want to be doing things every day. But you also don’t want to leave swathes of time unscheduled.

This list could include things like art classes and coding camp if that is something your child is interested in and it’s within the family budget. But it should also include things like excursions to the library, playdates with friends, and afternoons on the hammock.

The most important part of this exercise is to work with your child to tailor the list to their interests, but with family needs taken into account. Letting them take responsibility is key.

Give them opportunities at home.

Great learning and growing experiences don’t always have to happen outside the home. In fact, some of the best experiences for our children will happen at home, in our own living rooms.

You can help them self-direct these experiences by setting them up to have a variety of activities at home. Grab stacks of books from the library. Get pens and paper and other art supplies and stash them around the house. Organise a box of outdoor play items – such as balls, frisbees, and a cricket set.

Let them know that those opportunities are there but allow them to choose to do them when (and if) it suits them.

Spend time together with no goal in mind.

Dr Alvin Rosenfeld, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and an author of The Over-Scheduled Child, told the New York Times that the right balance ‘is to make sure children have enough time with no activities, parents have enough time with no work and the two sides come together to create activities of their own’. He says to ‘spend time with no goal in mind. That will communicate to your child that you love them’.

This summer make the time to do nothing with your child. Lay on the floor and eat popcorn. Read your own books, together. Wander around the back garden and see what takes your fancy. Let your interests and your child’s interests come together to find new activities that you both enjoy. This is great for your relationship and another way for you and your child to self-direct your lives … together.

Takeaways

It’s not about overscheduling versus boredom – it’s about autonomy and fulfilment. Let your child choose their own adventures (within reason), spend time together, and you’ll be in for a great summer.

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About Dr Justin Coulson

This blog is reproduced with permission and originally appeared at happyfamilies.com.au

Dr Justin Coulson is the co-host and parenting expert on Channel 9’s “Parental Guidance”, the founder of happyfamilies.com.au, and one of Australia’s most trusted parenting experts.

He has written 6 books about raising children, multiple peer-reviewed journal articles and scholarly book chapters.

You can watch a webinar Justin presented for The Parents Website, Guiding your children sensitively through tough times