From the Principal …
29 January 2015
‘Together We Journey with God.’
WELCOME TO THE 2015 SCHOOL YEAR AT OUR LADY OF LOURDES SCHOOL
Welcome back – welcome back to all our continuing families. I hope that everyone had a good
break.
Welcome –welcome to all of our new families. I hope that this is the start of a long and
successful partnership between your family and Our Lady of Lourdes School.
ASSEMBLY
Every Monday 2pm
Penola Centre
30 Jan
3 Feb
4 Feb
5 Feb
11 – 13
Feb
12 Feb
18 Feb
19 Feb
21 Feb
School Banking (Resumes)
Piano (Resumes)
Parent Teacher
Information Night (Prep –
Yr 2) refer to Newsletter
for further details
Walking School Bus
(Resumes)
Violin (Resumes)
Singing Lessons (Resumes)
Parent Teacher
Information Night (Yr 3 –
Yr 6) refer to Newsletter
for further details
Basketball (Resumes)
Senior (Yr 6) Camp –
Mapleton
Band etc. (Resumes)
Ash Wednesday
P & F Meeting 8.45 am
(Everyone welcome)
P & F Bush Dance
“Try to be a
Rainbow
in
Someone’s Cloud”
SKOOLBAG APP
A major way for the school to disseminate information to parents is the new SkoolBag App. My
apologies for the way SkoolBag is spelt but this is the name of the product as decided by the
company that supplies this wonderful app. If you have not already downloaded the app I urge
you to do so as it will give you loads of information about Our Lady of Lourdes School and
upcoming events for both classes and parents. There is more information about how to
download and use the app later in this newsletter.
SAD NEWS
Many parents will remember our former school Guidance Counsellor, Rose Fraser, who retired
at the end of the 2013 school year. We received the sad news that Rose, who had been ill for a
number of years passed away on Saturday night. Rose’s funeral will be tomorrow, Friday 30
January; there will be some rearrangements of classes for the time of the funeral to allow staff
to attend the funeral.
I will not be at school myself today as I am attending the funeral of my uncle, Gordon Badke,
down on the Gold Coast.
CONTACTING TEACHERS
It is very important that teachers are not interrupted in the teaching times of the school day.
Therefore, it is not appropriate or acceptable for a parent to ‘pop’ in to have a word with a
teacher during the school day as this is teaching time. Please ensure that you make an
appointment should you need to speak to the teacher of your child. All our teachers have ways
of communicating with the parents and families of the children in their class. All teachers have a
Brisbane Catholic Education supplied email on which they can be contacted. They will supply
this to you as soon as possible. Some teachers also use contact devices such as KIT Books - KIT
meaning ‘Keep In Touch’ books.
CLASSROOM ISSUES: When a classroom issue arises the procedure that all parents are to follow
is to make an appointment and discuss this firstly with the classroom teacher. Should the matter
not be resolved the parent should make contact with the Assistant Principal, Administration - Mr
McInerney.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION or CURRICULUM ISSUES: When an issue of this nature arises the correct
procedure is to speak with the classroom teacher and, if not satisfactorily resolved, make
contact with the Assistant Principal, Religious Education, Mrs Martin.
DROP OFF and PICK UP
DROP OFF REMINDERS:
 We have a large number of vehicles entering our car park in the morning. As a result the parking spaces in the
car park fill up extremely quickly.
 Should you not be able to park in a parking space do not park in the blue Disability Parking Space unless you
have the required Government issued permit on display in THAT car- no sticker means you cannot park in that
parking space even for a couple of minutes- it is illegal and also causes great inconvenience to those in our
community who need to legitimately use the Disability Parking Space.
 It is also important that drivers do not leave their vehicle in the Drop Off line and take children off into the
school as an unattended car in the line causes massive disruptions.
 Double Parking is not to be used if there are no vacant parking spaces available. Double parking causes issues
for other drivers who want to drive away but have been parked in. It also makes the car park a dangerous
place with cars having to drive around the double parked car.
 When parking in the streets around the school it is absolutely essential that cars are parked legally. The
Brisbane City Council have a number of ‘No Standing’ signs in the streets around our school and those found
parking in them are assured that they will receive a ticket from the BCC Inspectors.
 Due to Parish Mass, there is to be no parking out the front of the church before school. The church oval is
located at the end of the Altandi station car park; this will be opened for the next fortnight to assist with the
beginning of the school year. The church oval gates will be locked at 11am.
PICK UP REMINDERS:
In the afternoon…
 No vehicle is to line up in our main car park driveway before 2:50 pm. If there is no park available drivers
cannot sit in the streets in ‘No Standing’ areas as they cause disruption to the normal flow of traffic through
the area.
 While in the Pick Up line drivers must not leave their vehicles to go down into the school to collect students.
Drivers must stay with their vehicles in the Pick Up line.
 All students need to be collected from the three teacher supervised Pick Up areas (Pick Up Point 1 - Trudgian
Street; Pick Up Point 2 - Early Years classes outside the Office; Pick Up Point 3 - Years 4-6 classes outside
Admin Building).
 For the safety of all, students should not be asked to wait in unsupervised areas such as in the railway car
park. I urge parents not to ask their children to wait in unsafe areas such as this.
 All students in our Pick Up areas must be collected by their parents before 3:30 pm.
2015 PARENT-TEACHER INFORMATION NIGHTS
This year we are going to try something different for our Parent-Teacher Information Nights. We plan to hold our
Information Nights on 2 nights next week. They will be:
 Tuesday 3 February – Prep to Year 2 Night.
6:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Classroom teacher/s present to parents in classrooms.
6:30 pm to 6:50 pm
Parents move to Auditorium for information from the school Administration team
and others
6:50 pm to 7:20 pm
Classroom teachers repeat earlier presentation. This will allow any parents who
were unable to be at the first session due to children in other year levels to attend.
 Wednesday 4 February – Year 3 to Year 6 Night. This night would have the same structure as the night for
Prep to Year 2 parents.
2015 TEACHING STAFF
The 2015 Teaching Staff are:
Red
Prep
Andrea McSweeney
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Katie O’Kane
Paula Sharpe
Leanne Doyle
Year 4
Jacinta Wilson
Year 5
Louise Nicol
Year 6 (Seniors)
Mariana Santos &
Kathy Richards
Casey Hayes
Joanne Bowman
Michelle Kluck
Michelle Gillies &
Kathryn O’Toole
Brendan Gillespie
Marie Geraghty
I look forward to meeting you at the Parent-Teacher Nights next week.
Mark Badke (Principal)
Blue
Caralyn (Kenyon) Luxton
Brenda Marsh
Lucy Fardoulys
Penni Cuskelly &
Kathy Richards
Annabelle Nance
Meaghan Dale
Sue Wilson
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School
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and community information.
2015
Term 1
Wednesday 28 January - Thursday 2 April
Term 2
Monday 20 April - Friday 26 June
Term 3
Monday 13 July - Friday 18 September
Term 4
Tuesday 6 October - Friday 4 December
Remember …
All parents helping out in the school are required to sign in and out at the office and wear a “PARENT HELPER BADGE”.
All grandparents, aunts, uncles etc. MUST have a Blue Card (from the Commission for Children and Young People and
Child Guardian. Forms can be obtained from the school office). All volunteer / parent helpers MUST have completed
the Student Protection Workshop on the school website and submitted the forms to the office.
From the APA …
WELCOME BACK
I trust you enjoyed a very peaceful and relaxing Christmas break. It was great to see our students smoothly transition
into their new classes. We know the hours families put into contacting books, naming every piece of equipment,
ensuring the school clothes still fit, organising the Tupperware and preparing the pantry for the start of the year.
Thanks for all the effort you have put into preparing your child/children for the 2015 school year.
TECHNOLOGY
I am pleased to announce that over the break we ordered and received the following devices;
 70 IPAD Minis
 30 IPAD Air 2
 50 Laptops
These devices will be integrated into our classes early this term.
SENIOR CAMP
Mrs Geraghty, Mrs Wilson and the senior students are already preparing for camp in Week 3. The camp focuses on
leadership skills and building community. I look forward to sharing some stories and images from camp later in the
term.
SCHOOL CALENDAR
The 2015 School Calendar has been sent home with your eldest child. Please check with your class teacher if you have
not received this.
Enjoy the rest of the week.
Michael
From the APRE …
Welcome back to school! It has been wonderful to walk around our school during this week
and see the lovely smiling faces of our students and families. Many staff members returned
to work some time ago and have been busily preparing for the year ahead. However, I’m sure
that I’m not alone in my belief that our school year doesn’t really begin until our students
return. They are the reason we are here and the reason we smile when we go about our
work. Welcome back 
TOGETHER WE JOURNEY WITH GOD
Many of you would be aware that, during 2014, we launched our revised school logo, Mission Statement and motto.
This year we will spend time focussing on our school motto and what the words mean for us. The phrase Together We
Journey with God will be evident in our classrooms, in our common areas, as part of prayer celebrations and through
our newsletter. This year we will explore how we make sure that God is with us on our journey.
A PRAYER FOR OUR JOURNEY
God of our past and of our present, God of our future, we know that we do
not travel alone, for you are with us and within us.
You are the God of seasons and sojourns, of passage and pilgrimage, of
Exodus and Emmaus.
Be compassionate with us all the days of our lives.
Direct our steps along the path of goodness and growth.
Be gentle with us through the seasons and the years.
Give us power to serve others in compassion, gentleness and love.
Be for us always a new beginning, a fresh spring time and lead us to your
eternal day with the One who is the Rising Dawn, Jesus Christ, the saviour.
Amen.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES FEAST DAY MASS:
Each year the Parish celebrates the parish feast day on the Friday night
closest to the Our Lady of Lourdes’ feast day (11 February). This year the
feast day mass will be held on Friday 13 February at 7:30 pm. This mass is
being celebrated by Bishop Joseph Oudeman. Some students from OLOL School will present a decade of the Rosary
from 7:00 pm. This is a very important day in the life of our school and parish and it would be wonderful to see school
families present at this mass. There is a supper to follow in the parish Paloma Centre.
2015 SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM INFORMATION SESSION AND YEARS 3-6 PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT
Unfortunately we have been made aware that there has been a clash with one Sacramental Information session and the
Years 3-6 OLOL Parent Information Night. There are four sacramental information meetings for parents to attend next
week, hopefully one of the other times and dates will be suitable. Parents from Our Lady of Lourdes are able to attend
information sessions at Our Lady of Fatima; the sessions contain the same information.
OPENING AND LEADERSHIP MASS
We will celebrate our Opening and Leadership Mass on Thursday 19 February. Mass will begin at 11:30am. At this mass
we will commission our Senior Students as leaders of our school and pray for God’s blessing for the 2015 school year.
Parents of Senior Students are invited to attend this mass.
As all of the students and staff from our school will be attending this mass, unfortunately there is very limited seating
for other parents. Parents, families and friends will be invited to attend class or year level masses and Liturgies of the
Word throughout the year. The dates for these will be advised in the newsletter, through the Skoolbag App and through
class notifications.
Have a great week!
God’s blessing, Tara Martin (APRE)
OLOL’s very own App
(Skoolbag)
Info/communication found quickly and easily
Make sure you’re a wise owl and have it
downloaded on your phone or tablet.
Search - our lady of lourdes sunnybank
Install, then open
Click OK to receive push notifications – this will alert you for reminders
Select MORE from the bottom of the app
Select SET UP, then toggle on the push categories that are applicable.
Ensure that push notifications are selected in your phone/device settings so that you receive the reminders.
Please note – for iPads, change the drop list to “iPhone Apps”. For step by step instructions please refer to the website
“click here to get skoolbag app on your phone”.
All excursion notes are viewable on the app, as well as other communications from school.
If you need assistance with downloading the app, please see Debbie in the office or uniform shop.
To give feedback about the app or website, please email Debbie at [email protected]
Absences can be advised through the skoolbag app
Parent eForms > Absentee Note
This can be done any time of the day or night.
Forms and documents can be printed from the app if you access it from the school website – Skoolbag
Communication Centre at the bottom of the main page.
Add events directly to your personal calendar from our events or calendar.
REMEMBER to change your notifications settings to
2015 year levels for your children.
Select “More” from bottom right hand corner then select “Setup Push Notifcations”.
Deselect last year’s year level/s and select this years.
No smart phone??
If you do not have a smart phone, you can choose to receive any alerts that we send out, by email instead. Go to our
school website – www.ourladyoflourdes.qld.edu.au
The skoolbag communication centre is at the bottom of the page. Click
“subscribe for email” and then you will be registered to receive any reminders by
email. Of course you can access all the content from this centre as well. Forms
and documents can be printed from this also through your printer.
Please note that you will only receive notifications that go to the entire school.
You will not receive alerts and reminders for individual year levels.
Active School Travel … will commence on
Wednesday 4 February from the Woff Street Park
Walking School Bus
 All interested parents are most welcome to attend
 PRIZES available
Walking Bus every Wednesday from 8.05am
Woff Street Skate Park, Sunnybank
Looking forward to seeing you there!!!!
PLEASE NOTE
On wet days, please DO NOT DROP YOUR CHILDREN OFF AT THE PARK unless there are supervisors present.
(Walking under these wet conditions make pathways slippery and dangerous)
 NO HAT – NO WALK
 MISBEHAVING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED
Jo Bowman (AST Coordinator)
REMINDERS: Parents of Prep students to stay with child until we have started to walk, on Buddy day and
Milo & Muffin day, not normal Wednesday
From the Tuckshop … (every Wednesday, Thursday & Friday)
TUCKSHOP ROSTER: Wednesday 4 February – Friday 6 February
Wed 4 Feb
Cheryl Valle
Thurs 5 Feb
MaryAnne Hiscutt
Friday 6 Feb
Desiree Tyler
From the School Shop …
SCHOOL SHOP ROSTER: Wednesday 4 February – Thursday 5 February
Wed 4 Feb
Janine Harman
Thurs 5 Feb
Jaclyn Langley
THANK YOU!!
This time of year is the school shop’s busiest time. I would like to thank all my wonderful volunteers who have helped
out this week and especially those who came in during the holidays to help – Janine Harman, Lisa Cotterell, Monica
Gascoine, Karen Tignani, Leanne Lambert and my daughter Melanie. Without the wonderful volunteers that work in the
school shop, it could not operate. And a big thank you to all the parents and children who lined up patiently and
waited. Everyone was pleasant and understanding. This is an amazing community that we belong to.
ALL BACK ORDERS HAVE BEEN SENT HOME
SENIOR SHIRTS are available in the office for trying on. Orders are due back Monday.
BOOK COVERS are still available
 Scrapbook Size - $2.20 each
 A4 size - $2.00 each
 Exercise Book size - $1.80 each
SIZE 16 AND LARGER SIZES
We do not carry much stock of these sizes and as our uniforms are made to order, we have minimum quantities that we
need to order and it could take 8 weeks or more. If you require these sizes, we may not have them in stock.
Debbie Johnson
Convenor
[email protected]
Library News…
WELCOME BACK
Welcome one and all. We are getting ‘geared up’ to start class borrowing. Teachers will let their classes know their
borrowing day when it has been timetabled. At this point Prep and Year 1 will borrow on Wednesdays during their
rotational activities.
PREP TO YEAR 2 BORROW 2 BOOKS & YEAR 3 TO YEAR 6 BORROW 3 BOOKS
These limits are not set in stone so if there is ever a need for extra books or special requests please contact the library.
Books are changed weekly but only become overdue after a fortnight. All children need a waterproof library bag to
borrow as this makes it easier to keep track of the books and helps to keep the books clean and dry – lunch boxes and
drink bottles can cause disasters!! The exception to this is the Senior class as we’re hoping they’ve mastered the art of
looking after their books!!
WHO WORKS IN THE LIBRARY?
Our Teacher-Librarian position is a shared role with Jackie Keaveney-Jones working on Mondays and Thursdays, Sally
O’Brien on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Maree Payne our School Officer four and a half days each week.
MISSING BOOKS
A few children have still not returned books from last year. They’ll be given a notice on their first borrowing day. We’d
ask that if books are lost a contribution towards the replacement of them is sent to the library. If you feel that our
records are not correct or there is a problem with this please contact the library. If you’re ever on a ‘book hunt’ and you
find any book that has a school bar code on the back please send it along as it may be a class reader if not a library
book. We love it when lost books resurface!!
LIBRARY LUNCHTIMES
This year the Library will be open at the second break for lunch time activities on Mondays (Years 4-6), Tuesdays (Years
1-3) and Fridays (any year level).
Happy reading everyone!
Music News…
PIANO
Piano will resume on Tuesday 3 February for all those who have enrolled with Bobbi.
SINGING LESSONS
Singing lessons will begin next Wednesday 4th February in the small Music Room. There are some individual places
available and all are welcome to join the group class. Please email Bernadette at [email protected] or call
0426 810 098 for further information and fee structure. Parents of existing students, please look out for an email in the
next few days regarding your child's lesson time. This year, students will have the opportunity to perform at the Annual
P&F Gala and Christmas Concert as well as several other public performance opportunities. This is an exciting and
awesome group of young people learning proper vocal technique while singing the music they love. Can't wait to see
you all back again!
Sports …
SOUTH WESTERN METRO BASKETBALL INC. PRESENTS:
AUSSIE HOOPS PIRATEBALL LEARN-TO-PLAY PROGRAM
"Pirateball" is an opportunity for all children, boys and girls in Grades 1
to 6, to learn the individual and team skills of Basketball in a fun and
enjoyable environment.
 Where:
Our Lady Of Lourdes School
 When:
Thursdays 3.15pm - 4.15pm
 Who:
Grades 1 to 6
 Term 1:
Thursday 5 February 2015 – Thursday 26 March 2015
 Coach:
Andy Sobieszuk
Cost: $80 for new Term 1 enrolments or $65 for students re-enrolling from Term 4 2014 (and already have a pack).
Each newly enrolled participant receives a NEW Aussie Hoops Pack (green & gold).
Re-enrolling participants receive a “Welcome back” discount.
To register and pay online, go to: www.southwestern.basketball.net.au Click on the “Aussie Hoops Registration” icon
on the right side of the home page.
For all enquiries, contact Chris on 0403 162 932 or email
[email protected].
School Banking Rewards …
Remember School banking is on a FRIDAY - Happy Banking
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We're excited to launch the new reward items for 2015 from our Outer Space Savers range.
ET DVD and Planet Handball, released Term 1
Invisible Ink Martian Pen and Intergalactic Rocket, released Term 2
Glow-in-the-Dark Solar System and Cosmic Light Beam Torch, released Term 3
Outer Space Savers Money Box and Lunar Light Band, released Term 4
Community News …
PARENTS BOOK CLUB
New members are most welcome, if you wish to join us please call Jenny Scodellaro 0402 457 462 or
MaryAnne Hiscutt 0413 199 974.