Our Holy Redeemer Primary School

Senior School Passion Play

In the weeks leading up to Easter, the students in Years 5/6 learnt about Mark’s Gospel.  They learnt about who Mark was and his intended audience when writing the Gospel stories.  Some of the ways Mark describes Jesus is as a healer, teacher, saviour, sufferer and crucially an important figure.

As they traced the events of Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion in Mark’s Gospel, they made connections to their learning in Literacy, where they were learning about scripts and scriptwriting. In groups, they wrote their own scripts, according to how a script should be written, of one of the scenes of Jesus’ final days.  In doing this they considered props and stage directions necessary to portray their scene.  Each group then worked hard to learn their lines and the staging of their scene.

On Wednesday, 27 March, the Year 5 & 6 students then presented these scenes which commemorated the events of Holy Week to the school community.  Every class, along with the assembled parents (and grandparents), followed the journey of Christ’s betrayal and suffering by witnessing the scenes enacted by our senior students.  A great deal of learning went into the preparation of this year’s Passion Plays, and we are grateful to the senior students who worked so hard to prepare every scene.

OHR ANZAC Day Memorial Service & ANZAC Day Dawn Service

On the afternoon of Wednesday, 24 April, we took the opportunity to recognise ANZAC Day as a school community.  During the afternoon, students, staff, parents and relatives gathered together in the hall to commemorate all Australians and New Zealanders who have served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. 

Thank you to Mrs Lisa Canty who put a lot of time and careful consideration into preparing this meaningful tribute prior to departing for both Singapore and Borneo.

The students who read during the service, did so with grace and reverence.

We would also like to acknowledge the valuable contribution made to the OHR ANZAC Day Commemoration by Captain Brendan McCarthy, who read The Ode, and Corporal Trevor Eddy who spoke about his time serving in Vietnam.  Thanks to Christina Bockhurst for preparing a beautiful wreath, which was also used during the ANZAC Day Dawn Service in Surrey Gardens.

The staff were so proud of the respect shown by all the students on this occasion.

On the morning of ANZAC Day, our School Captains, Poppy T and Art T, along with our Vice Captains, Matisse M, James G and Hugo H, represented Our Holy Redeemer at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service in Surrey Gardens.  This year’s service centred on the stories of servicemen from the local Surrey Hills area, many of whose names are inscribed on the Honour Board within the shrine at Surrey Gardens. 

Poppy shared the story of John Milne Gray, a local man who lived in Croydon Road, Surrey Hills.  John enlisted in the army during 1915 and died some three years later from injuries inflicted during a battle near Dernancourt in France.  He was buried with a military funeral in the Brighton Borough Cemetery, England.  Art  shared a poem composed by John’s wife, Florence Gray, which was written a year after his death.  Her poem was subsequently published in The Age newspaper.

Matisse, Hugo and James presented two wreaths on behalf of the OHR community.  The wreaths were placed at the foot of the Cenotaph. 

We would like to acknowledge our School Captains and Vice Captains who represented our school so proudly, and extend our thanks to their families for attending this important event.  We were joined by other OHR families during the annual service. 

Jess Wilson Visit

On Monday, 22 April, we were lucky to welcome Jess Wilson – State Member for Kew – to our school.  Jess spoke to our Year 3-6 students about how the three levels of Government work in Australia, before answering lots of their thoughtful questions.  This visit supports the Civics and Citizenship learning these students have been undertaking as part of their Integrated Units of Work in Term 1 (Grades 5/6) and Term 2 (Grades 3/4).

By Nick Byrne, Deputy Principal

Published: 3 May 2024