Our Lady Help of Christians School Murtoa eNewsletter

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,

Thank you to the staff who organised our Father's Day Breakfast this morning. It was wonderful to join with the fathers from our community to celebrate their unique place in our students' lives.

In our Catholic faith, we speak of God as "Our Father" as this is the way Jesus taught us to address God. Even though Jesus was conceived "by the Holy Spirit" in the womb of Mary, God still saw fit to give Him an earthly father. St Joseph took this role seriously, protecting the Holy Family and fleeing with them to Egypt, and then quietly modelling hard work, holiness, and a quiet life of faith and devotion in Nazareth. Dying in the arms of Our Lady and Jesus, St Joseph is the patron saint of the universal church, of workers, of fathers, and of a good death.

As we gather in our own ways this Sunday to acknowledge the good men in our lives, I hope and pray that our families are strengthened in the work they do to educate and form their children each day. May God bless our fathers, and help them to be a constant witness to their children.

A Prayer for Fathers

Heavenly Father,
You entrusted your Son Jesus,
the child of Mary,
to the care of Joseph, an earthly father.

Bless all fathers
as they care for their families.
Give them strength and wisdom,
tenderness and patience;
support them in the work they have to do,
protecting those who look to them,
as we look to you for love and salvation,
through Jesus Christ
our rock and defender.

Amen.

All the very best,

Chris McCumstie

principal@olhcmurtoa.catholic.edu.au

Father's Day Breakfast

Bright and early this morning students enjoyed breakfast with their fathers. At the end of the delicious breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, muffins, juice and coffee, students presented their dads with a framed water colour painting, representing their interpretation of their special fathers.

Tours of the New Building

We warmly invite all 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.

Parent Support Initiative: School TV

OLHC 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 above, addressing cyber safety, an issue parents have to navigate in an increasingly digital world.

Black Ranges Athletics, North Park Stawell

Black Ranges Athletics results from Wednesday -

Irene finished 4th in Discuss.

Kirat finished 1st in Triple jump and 4th in 100M Sprint.

André finished 3rd in Triple Jump.

André and Nihal finished 1st in the Relay.

Fantastic effort Irene, Kirat, Andre and Nihal.

Students who finished 1st or 2nd in individual events and 1st in relay progress to the next level (Greater Western Region Athletics). Greater Western Region Athletics are scheduled for Friday, 10th October 2025 at Llanberris Athletic Track, York Street, Ballarat.

Murtoa Show 2025

139th Annual Murtoa Show will be held on the Big Weekend, on Friday, 3rd October 2025. (This day is the last Friday of the school holidays)

Students have been preparing entries during various lessons at school. The school will enter student's work into the show to represent OLHC.

Children are welcome to enter other sections as a Murtoa resident. If they have time during the school holidays, they might like to create an entry and follow the directions in the show schedule below to enter into the particular category. Detailed instructions, including entry information, are contained in the Murtoa Show Schedule below.

Murtoa Show Program 2025

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

CCYP_Child_Safe_Standards_Plain_Language.pdf