OLHC News Issue 30 Term 4 Week 2 - 17th October 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,
It was a busy week at Our Lady's, with the Year 2/3 Camp (with St Patrick's Nhill), the 5/6 Experience Day at St Brigid's, and another Fun Friday!
In the Church's year we celebrated the Feast Day of St Teresa of Jesus, better known as Teresa of Avila. This holy woman reformed the Carmelite Order and was influential in bringing the Church back to a right relationship with God. All through the ages, men and women, religious and laity, have performed special works to aid humanity in its relationship with God. St Teresa did this beautifully and we are fortunate to have many of her writings to edify and encourage us.
Especially with the sad closing of our school and the period of change it will bring for students, families, staff and others, I'd like to share a helpful quote from St Teresa, which was found on her bookmark in 1582 after her death:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing;
God only is changeless.
Patience gains all things.
Who has God wants nothing.
God alone suffices. - ST TERESA of AVILA
All the very best,
Chris McCumstie
principal@olhcmurtoa.catholic.edu.au
Greater Western Region Athletics
Congratulations to Kirat, Nihal and Andre - who represented Our Lady's at the Greater Western Region Athletics today in Ballarat. It is no small achievement to go so far in particular events, and our whole community are proud of you. Kirat jumped a personal best in Triple Jump, earning her 4th place!
CEP Performance
We are looking forward to a Circus performance (called Asking for Trouble- Risk!) at the Horsham Town Hall on Wednesday 29th October at 11am. As always, we are grateful to the Country Education Partnership for making these opportunities available to our school and students.
Permission forms will be on SIMON/PAM. (next week)
We look forward to sharing some photos and student experiences after the event!
Friday Fun - Pyjama Day
To finish the year joyfully, we have instituted Fun Fridays! Today, the students and staff dressed in pyjamas, had a lunch, and enjoyed each other's company to end the week. There is a growing list of fun ideas for how we may spend all the remaining Fridays, so stay tuned!
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.
Year 2/3 Camp
Many thanks to St Patrick's Nhill for the invitation to attend their 2/3 Camp at Naracoorte. It was such a great experience with cave explorations, trivia, bat tours, and lots of play and fun! Well done Miss Attard (middle teacher at St Pat's) on organising such a great experience for our students!
An interesting connection for our Catholic schools, and especially for OLHC students who visited Penola earlier this year, was that Fr Julian Tennison Woods (co-founder with Mary Mackillop of her order of nuns) visited the caves and did some of the earliest scientific work on the site. He wrote " These silent caves have within themselves a wondrous record of this planet's changes" and marvelled in poetic language about the beauty the site contains. We certainly experienced that on the Camp!
Year 6 St. Brigid's College Experience Day
On Tuesday, the Year 6 students spent the day at St. Brigid's College, participating in educational activities with other local Catholic Primary School students. Thanks to Mr Raven for arranging transport for the students to and from the College.
It was a great opportunity for our seniors to spend time with students from SMJ Horsham, St Patrick's Nhill, and St Mary's Warracknabeal, many of whom will be joining them as Year 7s next year. The K-12 offering of Catholic Education in the Wimmera is growing stronger with new bus routes offered to ensure that as many students and families as desire Catholic Education are able to receive it.
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:
October 2025
- Wednesday 29th October - CEP Performance Horsham Town Hall at 11.00am
- Friday 31st October - World Teachers' Day
November 2025
- Monday 3rd - 7th November Mission Week
- Tuesday 4th November - Melbourne Cup Day - Normal School Day
- Wednesday 12th November - Pupil Free Day - Staff PD
- Wednesday 19th November to Friday 21st November - Year 3 & 4 Camp Ballarat
December 2025
- Tuesday 2nd December - Year 6 Experience Day at St. Brigid's College
- Monday 8th to Wednesday 10th December - Year 6 Camp - Lady Northcote Discovery Camp
- Wednesday 17th- Graduation Mass St Mary's Church at 5.00pm
- Thursday 18th December - Students' Last Day of Term 4
- Friday 19th December - Staff Last Day of Term 4
Mass Times & Parish Information
Sunday 19th October 2025, Mass at 8.30am 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.
