News from 

our Principal 

Dear Parents and Carers,

What an exciting time we have had at Our Lady of Fatima this week! Yesterday we were privileged to welcome a surprise visit to the school by Guy Sebastian who is part of the Sebastian Foundation which sponsors the Open Parachute program that we have launched this year. We are so grateful for the opportunity to be able to implement this amazing program which develops good mental health skills and resilience in our young people, making them resilient and courageous problem solvers. I am sure your child came home buzzing with the excitement of Guy’s visit yesterday. He talked to the students about the importance of reaching out for help when you need it, having a positive growth mindset and showing grit and determination. He also entertained us with his soulful music and played a number of his songs. It was certainly a special time for us and we had a blast! I hope you were able to watch Sunrise this morning and see us in action!

Kinder Enrolments for 2024

This week we also began our official enrolment period with three open days and school tours led by our Year 6 students. The open days are a wonderful opportunity to showcase our school and to celebrate our reputation for being a nurturing community of excellence where students are challenged to be curious, supported and empowered to set their own goals and achieve consistent growth in all areas. Thank you to the students who gave up their Saturday morning and after school on Wednesday to lead the tours. The parents were extremely impressed with their maturity, how well they articulated themselves and how proud they were of their school. We were so PROUD of them!

Enrolments for 2024 are now open. The online enrolment system is operational and we have commenced processing applications. If you have a sibling starting school in 2024, we request that you please let the office know as we have opened up our enrolment period. It is helpful to know how many siblings will be commencing school next year in order to secure placement. 

Open Classrooms 

In Terms 1 and 2 we will be opening up our classrooms for parents and family via invitation from each class or grade. At some time over the next few weeks, your child’s teacher will invite you to come and join them to see learning in action. It may be part of a Reading, Maths or RE lesson. Or the teachers may invite you to join them for an art and craft activity, to sing a song to you or share some of the ways the students have shown their curiosity with their learning this term. It will only be for a short time during the school day and the dates will vary for each class or grade. In Terms 2 and 3 our Open Classrooms will be whole school events. Stay posted for more details.

Change of School Finishing Time

Thank you to those parents who have given their feedback regarding the change of school finishing time to 3pm. At this stage the majority of parents are in favour of the earlier finishing time. It was discussed at the Parent Rep meeting last week with very positive feedback. I have also consulted with the parish, the new pre-school and De La Salle College and discussed any impact it may have on them. As it has been proposed as a trial for this term we will continue to monitor it and give you an update at the end of the term. Please click on the form below if you have not given your feedback yet.

Parent Workshops and Information sessions throughout the year

In order to keep you informed and in continuing to develop an educational partnership with you, we have a number of parent sessions that we have been working on to present throughout the year. Next week we are holding a Year 1 - "How to help your child with Reading at Home" session on Thursday 16th March at 4pm

Our plans for further sessions at this stage will include a range of curriculum areas and topics like: What does it mean to belong to a Catholic community?, What does “deep learning” look like at OLF?, Open Parachute Program, Diverse Learning and Gifted Education topics. We would like to offer these sessions throughout the year at appropriate times and modes. Please click on this link below for feedback on your preferences.

2023 Staff Development Days

Staff Development Days are held across the year to provide professional learning opportunities for staff . Please note that Term 3 and 4 dates may change slightly, but we will confirm any changes as soon as we know. Thank you for your understanding.   

So how is your Lenten Journey going so far?

Fasting, prayer, and generosity (almsgiving) are the three classic Lenten disciplines.

Lent is a time when we are encouraged to think about the mystery of Jesus’ life and death and how we can grow to be more loving by following Jesus’ way. During the season of Lent we reflect upon our lives and turn back to God in preparation for the coming season of Easter. It's never too late to start! Please take up the invitation this season to join us at a Parish Mass on a Friday or prayer opportunities we are offering in our Holy Week celebrations.

Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead!

Mrs Suzanne Clay | Principal