Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School Lismore South eNewsletter

Principal News

Term 4 Important School Dates

December

Friday 6th December- Swimming Carnival
Wednesday 11th December- Year 3-6 Trinity Fusion Dance Excursion
Friday 13th December-OLHC Christmas Tableau and family evening 5-7pm
Monday 16th December- Step up Day for 2025 classes
Tuesday 17th December- 9:30am Year 6 Graduation Mass, 6pm Graduation Dinner
Wednesday 18th December- Year 6 Ballina Waterslides
Wednesday 18th December- Last Day of Term 4

Advent

The time of Advent is the four-week period of preparation for the season of Christmas. Advent begins the cycle of the new Liturgical Year and focuses on the coming of the Lord. The first weeks offer a vision of the future, looking to the end of time when Christ will come again. The final weeks point more specifically to the birth of Christ. Christ, the promised one, is awaited with joyful expectation. The First Sunday of Advent follows the final Sunday of Ordinary Time and the season concludes on Christmas Eve.

The First Week of Advent begins on Sunday 1st December. In the Gospel, Jesus stresses to the disciples the importance of being alert at all times for the coming of the Son of Man.

If you were to wish people a happy new year today, they would probably look at your strangely or find it awkward. Nevertheless, we do start a new year with the start of Advent. The changing season reminds us as Christians, that we are always able to begin again and start new. It is time to look forward and think about our hopes for the coming year. How am I now? How would I like to be? What steps will I take to make this happen?

Christmas Tableau

The OLHC Christmas Tableau has been a part of our history and traditions for over 42 years and prior to this, another 20 years in the Lismore community. As the end of the year approaches, our children and teachers are busily preparing for our Christmas Tableau and we are very excited to welcome all families to share this special event with us

Please feel free to bring a rug, afternoon picnic food and your own drinks. We will also have the Lions club selling sausage sandwiches ($2.50 each) and we will be holding our Christmas Ham and prize raffles, so be sure to bring some spare change. Please don't forget to complete the google form for orders.

We are seeking the generosity of any families or a family business interested in donating a prize for our raffles on the night. Please email me at michael.piccoli@lism.catholic.edu.au if you would like to contribute.

DETAILS
DATE: Friday 13th December
TIME: 5pm-7pm
VENUE- School Grounds

Enrolment 2025

It would be greatly appreciated if families could notify our school office as soon as possible if your son/daughter will not be attending OLHC in 2025. We have a number of applications for places at our school for 2025, and it would be good to be able to offer places where known vacancies will be occurring. If you are relocating or moving your child to another school, please email the school at liss@lism.catholic.edu.au

School Fees

Thank you to those who have responded to our recent communication regarding outstanding school fees. Please note that outstanding fees or payment arrangements where due to be finalised by Friday 15th November. Please have fees completed by Monday, 2nd December to avoid external collection processes overseen by the Catholic Schools Office.

If you wish to discuss your account and explore possible solutions, please make an appointment with me at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our school community and Catholic education for your child/ren.

Step Up Afternoon

Monday, 16th December, is step up day where students will go to their new class for 2025. Here they will meet with their new teacher/s, talk about the learning expectations and be introduced to new routines and most importantly have some fun.

Step Up Day days is a great introduction as to what students can expect in their next year of learning, growing and building relationships. They can ask any questions they have and it is also a chance for them to get to know their new teacher and classmates before the new school year starts.

Congratulations to Charlie W in Year 6 on being this years recipient for the Kevin Hogan Book Prize.

Mission News

First Holy Communion

Congratulations to our 19 students who celebrated their First Holy Communion with their families, staff and our Parish community last weekend. We thank Father Bing for the warmth and joy he brought to the Sacrament and for making the communicants feel so comfortable.

It was a wonderful celebration and one that marks the beginning of a lifelong journey of faith for our students. May God bless our students in their first Communion and may he fill their hearts with joy!

Woodlawn Visit

In Week 6, we warmly welcomed Woodlawn’s Year 10 Ministry students to our Year 4 and 5 classrooms. The Year 10 students designed and ran hour long sessions with the theme of friendship, individuality and faith.

The feedback from our students and staff was excellent! They all enjoyed their time with the older students and learned a thing or two about their faith.

Thank you to Mrs Tickle and Miss Wotherspoon for their support and organising such a wonderful experience for our students.

We are looking forward to welcoming Woodlawn back in Week 8 to work with our Kindergarten and Year 2 students!

Rehearsals are well underway for our annual Christmas Tableau - “A Christmas Pageant”. Our initial walk- throughs have been excellent, with so much pride and joy in presenting the story of Jesus' birth. We look forward to sharing our tableau with our families in Week 9.

Don’t forget to purchase your platters!

Please find below costume requirements for each class. Please send these to school in a bag, labeled with your child's name.

Kinder	Plain white t-shirt, school shorts, school shoes and socks
Year 1	Navy blue t-shirt, sport shorts, school shoes and socks.
Year 2	White t-shirt, sports shorts, black school shoes and socks
Year 3	White t-shirt, sports shorts, school shoes and socks
4L	Boys- black t-shirt, school shorts. Girls- white shirt, school shorts
4P	White shirt, sports shorts, school shoes and socks
5L	Girls - Light blue shirt. Boys - white shirt, school shorts, school shoes and socks
5P	White shirt, sports shorts, school shoes and socks

We received thank you certificates from Catholic Mission for our Socktober fundraising efforts.

Making Jesus Real Awards

KP

Bryce D - For always inviting and including others in your games and activities. Keep letting your light shine Bryce!

1L

2P

Darcy C - For making Jesus Real though his acts of kindness and considering the feelings of others. You show the true nature of Jesus

3L

Teilani B - Your exceptional kindness, generosity, and willingness to support others has helped create a positive energy in our classroom

4L

Hudson H - For continually being the face of Jesus in the way you interact with others using kindness and empathy. Keep shining you light Hudson!

4P

Evan S - For thinking of the whole class and bringing in a tool to extend our knowledge of magnetic forces and metals.

5L

Scarlett J - Your positive attitude and kindness towards others makes a big difference - Keep shining bright!

5P

Hamish J - You are such a kind and caring classmate. You always go out of your way to make those around you feel valued. Keep being the wonderful person you are!

6P

Cohan D - For the constant positive attitude you demonstrated while we were on camp, nothing was too much trouble. Thank you for shining your light, Cohen!

Jack De - For overcoming personal challenges and building your independence while on camp. You should be so proud of yourself, Jack!

Tyler E - For making great choices, helping adults and supporting your friends while on camp. Thank you for showing everyone the spirit of Jesus, Tyler!

Sophie M - For going out of your way to support others while on camp. Your generosity is appreciated Sophie, Thank you!

Bailey N - For the outstanding leadership you showed while on camp. Thank you Bailey, keep shining your light!

Learning & Teaching

Kindergarten students are always working hard to develop their amazing reading skills using their decodable readers and the MultiLit Online Reading Library.

OLHC Achievement Awards

KP

Katie F - For consistently completing learning activities at home. You're a superstar Katie.

Chloe Mc - For your incredible effort in collecting and sorting data and creating a graph. Well done Chloe!

Clara N - For your incredible effort in collecting and sorting data and creating a graph. Well done Clara!

Ellie S - For your incredible effort in collecting and sorting data and creating a graph. Well done Ellie!

1L

Archie B - For your dedication to applying your sound knowledge to reading and writing tasks. Great job Archie!

Claire M - For following the footsteps of Mary MacKillop and never seeing a need without doing something about it.

Alexander N - For your dedication to composing quality texts when writing - fantastic work Alexander!

Rocky P - For your insightful contributions to class discussions, clearly explaining your thinking in all KLA's.

Marlow T - For striving to achieve your best to and produce quality work in all KLA's. Keep it up Marlow!

2P

Vera H - For writing a narrative that included detailed paragraphs, figurative language and a range of adverbs and adjectives. Keep up the amazing writing!

Patrick P - For creating and intricate narrative that included a range of figurative language and distinct paragraphs. Well done!

3L

Sophia B - You have an outstanding ability to craft complex sentences with clarity and creativity. You expand your ideas and connecting thoughts in their writing.

Reuben T - You have consistently demonstrated problem-solving skills and have a great ability to apply them in real-life situations.

4L

Noah C - For your willingness to apply feedback to improve your Geography project. We can't wait to see the finished product. Well done Noah!

Isla D - For the making connections between chance and the likelihood of an event. Excellent mathematical thinking Isla, keep it up!

4P

Taetum SB - For the focus you are displaying in Mathematics lessons. Your contribution to discussions demonstrate your mathematical reasoning. Keep up this amazing work!

Lila T - For displaying a positive attitude towards all areas of your learning. You are implementing great strategies to remain focused and on task. You're a star!

5L

Malachias C - Your incredible progress in both spelling and reading is truly inspiring - keep up the fantastic work!"

Max G - Thank you for your insightful input in our class discussion about force in science.

5P

Bly B - Your progress in Maths is a testament to your hard work and dedication. Keep up the fantastic effort - you're doing amazing things in Math!

Noah S - Your dedication to pushing your knowledge and understanding in math is incredible. Keep up the hard work and continue challenging yourself!

6P

Lacy N - For enthusiastically engaging with all learning experiences on camp. You are a superstar, Lacey!

Sports News

At OLHC, we love celebrating the sporting achievements of all our students. If your child has a special achievement that you would love for us to share with the school community, please send any photos and a short paragraph outlining their achievement to Mrs McCarthy - haylee.mccarthy@lism.catholic.edu.au

Competitive Swimming Event

This year, we will have our OLHC annual swimming carnival. A Compass event went home this week for approval to attend the swimming carnival next week. There are two phases to the event. Firstly, approve the event. Once this is approved, you will need to go back in and answer the following questions;

What age did your child this your, or is turning?
What is your child’s swimming ability?
What events would your child like to participate in?

This year, we will band the children with a specific colour to represent their swimming ability. This will allow the staff to monitor the students who need more support when in the water.

Students that are 8 Years - 13 Years in 2025 will be able to progress to the next level if they successfully place.

Sports Classification and Multisports

Opportunities for students with disabilities to get involved in sports are available at various levels throughout the school sport structure, from participation to elite. The participatory (or provisional) level does not require classification, however, if an athlete wishes to compete at a regional, state, national or international level, they will need to gain classification through the appropriate sporting organisation.

If you are interested in investigating the process of classifying your child, please use the following link to find out more information - https://csnsw.sport/students-with-a-disability

Summer Sports Trials

On Tuesday the 26th of November, we had 5 students attend the Diocese Summer Sports Basketball Trials. Congratulations to Patrick Collins, Mason Box, Bly Bashforth, Tilly Preston and Harriett Johnston on representing the school, their families and themselves with outstanding skills and sportsmanship. Congratulations to Harriett Johnston who has progressed to the Polding basketball trials.

Congratulations to Noah Middleton, Ellie Brooker and Ethan Ramsay. They will progress forward to the Polding trials for softball and this will take place in June, 2025.

Basketball Tournament

On Wednesday the 27th of November, 17 students attended a Basketball Gala day at Lismore Basketball courts. It was wonderful to see the girls and boys utilise their skills and work together as a team on the court. Congratulations to the girl's team who beat the Living School in the final.

It was wonderful to witness great sportsmanship from both teams, but most of all it was great to see the girls and boys having an enjoyable time playing a sport that they love.

Thank you to Mr Piccoli and Ms Aleisha for coaching the students on the day.