Principal's Message
A Prayer for Universal Children's Day
God our Creator, as Mary nurtured her son Jesus at each new stage of life with wisdom and respect, may we too meet each new challenge of parenting with full humanity and respond with kindness and understanding.
Create in us a sense of universal responsibility towards all children so that in our work and daily life we may follow the example of Jesus who listened to children and gave them status and respect. And may we see your likeness and image in every child.
Amen
Remembrance Day Liturgy
On Monday morning, Mr Oliver Lovelle and Mrs Joan Daglish from the Mount Lawley/Inglewood RSL joined us for our Remembrance Day Liturgy. We commemorated this special event and reflected on those who have fought and given their lives for us over the years. This year's Remembrance Day marked 100 years since the signing of The Armistice of 1918.
Calling All Volunteers - P&F
With a number of school events scheduled for the next two years, the P&F need your help! Please email pandf@ola.wa.edu.au if you are able to offer any assistance - BIG or small, it all makes a difference!
Constable Care Incursion
Tuesday 20 November is Universal Children's Day. All children will be attending a Constable Care Incursion on this day. Kindy to Year 3 students will be watching a performance titled, First Aid Heroes, and Years 4 to 6 students' performance is titled, Frenemies.
Dads' Night - Thank you
Thank you to the dads and father figures of our students who attended the Dads' Night on Wednesday. Steven Rushforth facilitated the event, our first as part of The Father Projecting. Please refer to the P&F page of this newsletter for a review of the event.
Semester Two Reports - SEQTA Engage
Semester Two Reports will be made available to families via the SEQTA Engage Portal on Monday 3 December. Please take the time to check that you can still access the portal with the username and password you created last semester. We do not have access to your login details, so if you are experiencing difficulties with logging in a new email will need to be sent from Mrs Erskine. Please contact her via email vel.erskine@cewa.edu.au if you require assistance. To access the portal please visit https://ola.coneqt-p.cathednet.wa.edu.au/
Staffing Changes
In next week's newsletter the staff placements for 2019 will be announced. Over the last few weeks there have been some changes that have already occurred, and we would like to acknowledge the staff members who have made an outstanding contribution to OLA but will not be returning in 2019.
- Mrs Jenni Hutton will be retiring after 18 years working at OLA. As Mrs Hutton moves onto this next chapter, we wish her all the best and thank her for the time and energy she has dedicated to OLA.
- Miss Anne Mannas will be pursuing other opportunities in 2019 and beyond. This is an exciting time for Miss Mannas and we wish her all the best.
- Mrs Peggy McQuillan will be retiring at the end of the year. She has been invaluable to our Pre-Kindy program and we thank her for the love and warmth she has brought to OLA.
- Mrs Maryanne Petkovic will be taking a year of Long Service Leave next year. Mrs Simone Taylor will be replacing Mrs Petkovic in Pre-Kindy for 2019.
- Miss Ellie Croft has been appointed as a classroom teacher at Assumption Catholic College in Mandurah. Congratulations Ellie.
OLA School App
Please be advised that there have been technical issues with the OLA School app so the decision has been made to discontinue the use of the app as of today. The synchronisation of calendar dates and times from the website to the app has not been reliable and we feel that this may lead to confusion about the details of the important end of year events that we have coming up.
As mentioned in previous newsletters, a new website is currently being designed and with this, a new app will be developed. In the interim, please refer to the interactive calendar on the school website, newsletters, and weekly updates and emails sent from class teachers.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and we will notify you of the new app once it becomes available in 2019.
Board and P&F AGM
The OLA School Board AGM is scheduled for Tuesday night at 6.00pm. The P&F AGM will then commence straight after. Both meetings will be held in the Fr. O'Mara Centre with light refreshments to follow. We hope you can join us.
Booklists 2019
The 2019 OLA Booklists are currently being reviewed. They will be sent home to families in the coming weeks once all items are finalised.
Spelling Mastery
We are excited to announce that in 2019 we will be introducing the Spelling Mastery program at OLA. All students in Years 1 to 6 will be participating in this renowned spelling program. The direct instruction approach to spelling is designed to raise student achievement through structured and focused teaching practice.
Teachers will be provided with the specific tools to assess, stream and explicitly teach spelling to students. Year levels will combine (Years 1 and 2, Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6) to deliver targeted spelling instruction to students at their point of need. The results of this program are excellent, and it is currently being used throughout many schools in Perth with outstanding student achievement. The implementation of this program will run alongside Learning Sprints and targeted intervention to raise the achievement of our students here at OLA.
Teachers will continue to facilitate spelling through all aspects of learning in a variety of ways that will complement the program.
A $25 Spelling Mastery book will be placed on your child's booklist for students in Years 1 to 6. These books will be delivered directly to the school once pre-assessments have been conducted at the beginning of 2019. We will keep parents informed of their child's progress and placement within the program.
End of Year Concert
With the End of Year Concert fast approaching, we can feel the excitement in the air! The concert will commence at 6.00pm on Friday 30 November. The grassed area will be sectioned off on the night. The students and teachers will sit in front of the stage followed by those families who are sitting on picnic blankets. Families who are using deckchairs will be seated at the back of the grassed area so that everyone can see. All students from Pre-Primary to Year 6 will need to remain in the student area until after the finale item.
The format of the night will consist of each year level singing a Christmas carol and then performing their dance item. It was originally planned that the concert would be followed by a mini disco, however, the length of the concert is already approximately one and a half hours so no disco will be held after the concert.
Families are welcome to bring along a picnic dinner to enjoy after the concert.
Uniform Update
Last Friday, the Uniform Sub-Committee met to discuss the progress of the new school uniforms. Now that the new school crest has been finalised, the design stage of the process can commence.
It is estimated that the design and initial production phase will take approximately 1 to 2 years. After this time, the new uniforms will be available to purchase. Once designs have been drafted, they will be released to the community. You will also be notified of when you can start purchasing these items. It is estimated that they will not be available for purchase until 2020 or 2021. After this time, there will be a 5 - 7 year transition for all students to move to the new uniforms.
St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal
This year, we are asking all OLA families to make a gift donation to the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. This appeal seeks to assist others in need including; low-income families, those who are homeless and refugees and migrants.
Families are asked to please donate a gift for a child the same age and gender as their own child. For example, a female Year 1 student would purchase a gift for a female 6 or 7 year old. Please give donations to your child's class teacher by Wednesday 28 November. We thank you for your generosity and support with this initiative.
Have a great weekend!
Greg Martin
Principal