Prayer for a New School Year

Loving God, our creator, our saviour, our companion, bless this journey of a new school year that we undertake today.

Refresh our souls and renew our spirits as we embrace the beautiful ministry you have called us to. We welcome those who are new to this community and ask that you strengthen them to share the wonderful gifts you have given them.

Lord, make our hearts pure as we prepare for the return of students to this school, and may you guide them to return with open hearts and minds eager to learn.

We ask this in Your name.

Amen

Welcome Back!

I hope you all had a relaxing Christmas break and are looking forward to the exciting 2019 school year. I am excited about 2019 as we continue to implement new and engaging initiatives. As we implement the changes and initiatives, the community will be informed - watch this space.

OLA Strategic Plan and Goals - 2019

Late 2018, the school launched the new OLA Strategic Plan (2019-2021). As we strive for excellence in 2019 and beyond, our vision is to continue to provide an environment that is conducive to learning and accepting of all cultures. In 2018 we made some changes to how we teach and learn and 2019 will be bringing more exciting changes as we work towards a whole school approach to how we educate. Attached to this section is the School's Strategic Plan.

New Recess and Lunch Times

This year, we have implemented split Recess and Lunch times to maximise the children's access to the play areas. After only one week of the change there has been a positive response from students and staff about the impact it has had on playground issues and accidents.

The new break times are as follows:

Kindy, PP, Years 1, 3 and 6

Recess: 10.20 – 10.40

Lunch: 12.35 – 1.10

Years 2, 4 and 5

Recess: 10.40 – 11.00

Lunch: 1.00 – 1.35

New School Values - RICE

As mentioned at the recent Parent Information Sessions, and in our new OLA Strategic Plan, our new school values in 2019 and beyond are Respect Integrity Compassion Excellence (RICE). These values will be embedded in everything we do at OLA and as we learn more about what these values look like at OLA, we will be introducing a RICE initiative to encourage the children to live out these values in everything they do.

Respect – Accepting others for who they are, taking their feelings, wishes and rights into consideration.

Integrity – Being honest and truthful in our actions.

Compassion – Showing others we care by reaching out to those in need and sharing what we have.

Excellence – Striving to be the best that we can be and persisting when faced with challenges.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

New Signage

Over the coming weeks, new signage will be installed along the boundaries of OLA. These signs will make OLA more visible to the community and I would like to thank the Marketing Sub-Committee for their tireless work in designing and organising these signs.

OLA Commissioning Mass

All community members are welcome and encouraged to attend the school's Commissioning Mass, scheduled for next Wednesday (9.00am) to support our Year 6 Students, Board Members and P&F Executive in making a commitment to serve our community, with Respect, Integrity, Compassion and Excellence (RICE) in 2019. The Year 6 students will be receiving their ministry badges during the celebration. We look forward to seeing you all at the mass.

Thank You, P&F!

Thanks to the generous contribution made by the OLA P&F, new Smart TVs have been installed in all classrooms, Music Room and Science Room. These TVs will significantly enhance the use of technology within our classrooms and add a new dimension to the school life of our 21st century learners!

New Staff and Families

I warmly welcome to OLA our new staff and families and hope they experience the joy I have experienced of being a part of such a wonderful school community.

Michael Morris - Assistant Principal

Maree Musca - Year 3M Teacher

Tiana Versace - Year 4G Teacher

Angela Ireland - Year 4M Teacher (Thursday and Friday)

Juliet King - Social Worker (Mondays)

Sacramental Information & Celebrations

Please be advised the OLA Sacramental Celebrations are Parish based and not school based. As a school, we will be supporting and assisting our Parish Priest, Fr Ken, and the OLA Parish, in preparing the students as well as coordinating the events. Please be advised the decisions made about the programs have been made by the OLA Parish and not the school.

We at OLA School will be preparing the students during the Religious Programs, and information will be distributed to all families. If your children attend Trinity Junior School, the information will be emailed to the Trinity Leadership Team in the near future. Parents of students who do not attend OLA school will have two options of obtaining the relevant information - via Trinity or the OLA Parish. All information will be available, from Trinity and the OLA Parish, from Friday 15 February. The students attending OLA will be receiving the information via class emails.

As mentioned previously, I would like to make all families aware that we, as a school, do not make the decisions about the Sacramental Celebrations, but will be supporting the decisions made by Father Ken and the OLA Parish. If you're unable to attend the Commitment Masses, workshops, etc, you will need to make contact with Fr Ken and not the school.

This year, the Commitment Masses for the Sacraments of Penance, Eucharist and Confirmation will be held on the same weekend.

Candidates who are wishing to participate in these sacraments need to complete an enrolment form (handed out in Week Three) and return it to the Parish Office. Candidates will then need to attend one of the following Commitment Masses:

- Saturday 9 March: 6.00pm

- Sunday 10 March: 7.30am, 9.30am or 5.00pm

Further information about the sacraments will be distributed to the relevant year levels in Week Three.

Canteen

It is with sadness that Rosie Samuels has resigned from her position as Canteen Manageress and has accepted a position at Kelmscott Secondary School. This position will be Rosie's business which has been contracted out. Rosie's last day at OLA will be Thursday 14 February. Please join us at the Commissioning Mass next Wednesday, commencing at 9.00am in the OLA Church to farewell Rosie.

Having completed interviews recently, I warmly welcome Mrs Maria Giangiulio as the Canteen Manageress and Miss Anisha Giangiulio as the Canteen Assistant. Maria has vast experience in the ordering and preparation of food in a number of organisations and we look forward to welcoming her next Tuesday. Maria and Anisha will be working closely with Rosie during the transition period in Week 2.

Attached to this section is the canteen menu for Term 1.

Daily Fitness & Sensory Programs

Commencing Week 2, an exciting daily fitness program will commence at OLA, from 8.10am-8.30am. Students will be encouraged to join in the activities as they arrive at school in the mornings. The Sensory Program will also commence next week for selected students.

Updating Medical Records

If your child has a medical condition please visit the School Office to update their records and hand in their medications. Please also notify your child's class teacher.

New OLA School Website

The OLA website is still under construction and we hope it will be completed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we will continue with the website and newsletter format that we have.

Community members will be advised when the new website, app and newsletter have been launched.

Social Worker

Message from Juliet King, our new Social Worker

Hello Parents and Families of Our Lady’s Assumption!

My name is Mrs Juliet King and I have just started work at OLA as the social worker. I will be working at school on Mondays between 9 and 3pm. You can contact me anytime by email at juliet.lennon@cewa.edu.au

If you would like me to engage with your child please talk to your child’s teacher or fill out the Social Work referral form.

As there has not been a social worker at OLA previously here is what I do:

Very briefly a social worker…

Assists and supports students where social and emotional issues may be impacting on their learning;
Can provide counselling for students as part of the schools pastoral care program;
Works closely with school staff whilst respecting families and students' privacy;
Will refer students/families to outside counsellors/services as required or requested;
Can provide information on community resources;
Supports the religious values of the Catholic School Community.

Please remember:

There is no cost to parents for the school social work service;
Many issues can take some time to resolve and cannot be ‘fixed’ overnight;
Discussions and any records made are considered as private and treated confidentially. Any discussions with other school staff will only be as required for the student’s welfare.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like more information.

I look forward to assisting your children to thrive in the school environment and making their school experience be the best it can be. Attached is a brochure about my services.

Juliet King

OLA Social Worker

God bless.

Mr Greg Martin

Principal

Dates