OLHC News Issue 24 Term 3 Week 5 - 22nd August 2025

Our Lady Help of Christians is a Child Safe School and is committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We acknowledge the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, and Japagulk peoples as the traditional custodians of the land upon which our school was built. 

Principal Report

Dear Parents and Friends of Our Lady's,

Today we marked Book Week with staff and students dressing up, parading, reading, and celebrating all things literary! It is such a joy, and perhaps the greatest reward of teaching, to see students fall in love with books and progress from the earliest stages to fluent, engaged, deep reading. I am pleased to say that all the students at Our Lady's show us each day that books are an important part of their life, and that they benefit from reading good literature.

Another highlight of the week was our visit to Penola. A massive thanks to Miss Kirby for organising every detail of this trip. Penola is a wonderful place, not only because if its close ties to St Mary of the Cross (Mary MacKillop.) We discovered that it is also the home of great Australian poets, like John Shaw Neilson and Adam Lindsay Gordon. Such greatness, beauty and holiness, coming out of one small town is extraordinary.

A reminder that, as always, we are open to show friends of Our Lady's School around our new building. I would especially like to invite the community for tours on Thursday August 28th from 4-6pm.

All the very best, 

Chris McCumstie

principal@olhcmurtoa.catholic.edu.au

Excursion to Penola

On the 8th of August, we celebrated the feast day of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. On this day, students explored Mary’s life through a storybook and engaged in discussions about where she lived and the significant events in her life, including the remarkable fact that she is Australia’s first saint.

To continue our learning journey, we set off on an excursion to The Mary MacKillop Centre in Penola, South Australia, on Tuesday morning. Along the way, we stopped for morning tea at Lake Wallace in Edenhope before continuing on to Penola.

Before arriving at the Centre, we visited the MacKillop Stable School. There, we listened to an audio presentation about the history of the school and spent time admiring the beautiful garden and plaques featuring inspiring quotes from Mary.

Upon our arrival at The Mary MacKillop Centre, we were warmly welcomed by Peter, who guided us through several important sites: the church, the Centre itself, the schoolhouse, the museum, and Petticoat Lane.

It was a highly informative and meaningful day, and the students greatly enriched their understanding of Saint Mary MacKillop and her legacy as Australia’s first saint.

Gifting Mass

We are pleased to share that our school will be celebrating a Gifting Mass with St Patrick's Nhill on Friday, 29th August.
As part of this special occasion, we are inviting families to donate non-perishable food items. These will be collected and donated to local community services to help support individuals and families in need.

 If you would like to contribute, donations can be brought to the General Office.

Book Week Dress Up Day & Activities

Instead of the usual assortment of staff and students coming to school today, we met and celebrated Book Week with a great range of characters. Thing 1, Where's Wally, Long John Silver, Peter Pan, Barbie, Sadako, Anne of Green Gables, Ballerinas... even some spooky Year 6s joined in the fun. 

Students completed some art work (covers for imaginary books) went on a treasure hunt for Wally, battled it out in book quizzes, and had a BBQ lunch. What a fantastic day! 

Parent Support Initiative: School TV

The SchoolTV initiative at Our Lady Help of Christians School aims to help parents navigate the often complex issues they face in raising their children.

Expert advice, helpful tips, and other resources, are available to all our parents and caregivers. Explore the wide range of topics at SchoolTV by clicking on the link below.

A Free Webinar is promoted below, addressing cyber safety, an issue parents have to navigate in an increasingly digital world. 

Tours of New Building & Upcoming OPEN DAY

We warmly invite families, prospective families, parishioners, and friends of Our Lady's to come for a personalised tour of our new facilities. Come and see what we offer at our school, and hear about the excellent teaching and learning that happens daily in our classrooms.

We're also excited to be holding an Open Day on 28th August from 4-6pm. We will give tours of the school, answer questions about our teaching, learning, and extra curriculum programs, and will present an information session all about our school.

Black Ranges Athletics, North Park Stawell

Black Ranges Athletics will be held on Wednesday, 3rd September at North Park Stawell.

Congratulations to Kirat, Andre and Irene who have qualified to compete in the next level of athletics. 

Information was sent home to parents, with a Permission Form available on Simon. Parents are responsible for taking their child to and from the day.

Child Safety

Our Lady Help of Christians is a Child Safe School. We implement the 11 Child Safe Standards, and work to embed these in our school culture. Our newsletter is just one place among a number where we educate our community about Child Safety. Below is a concise and helpful guide to the Child Safe Standards. The Child Safety Officer at OLHC is Chris McCumstie, and he can be contacted for information at any time.

principal@olhcmurtoa.catholic.edu.au

Important Upcoming Dates:

 August 2025

• Monday 25th to Friday 29th August - Science Week
• Thursday 28th August - School Tours 4 - 6pm
• Friday 29th August - Gifting Mass at  Nhill

September 2025

• Wednesday 3rd September - Black Ranges Athletics at North Park Stawell
• Friday 5th September - Father's Day Breakfast
• Thursday 18th September - Last Day of Term 3
• Friday 19th September - Pupil Free Day - Staff PD

October 2025

• Monday 6th October - First Day of Term 4

November 2025

• Tuesday 12th November- Pupil Free Day - Staff PD

December 2025

• Thursday 18th December - Last Day of Term 4

Mass Times & Parish Information

Sunday 24th August 2025, Livestream at 9.00am at St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Parish Bulletin

Community News

See the attached flyers for initiatives that may interest from groups in and around Murtoa.