News from 

our Principal 

Dear Parents,

The last few weeks we have had the opportunity to reflect on a number of ways to engage our students in their learning in creative and meaningful ways. We have celebrated our Feast Day and Mother’s Day, been on an excursion with Year 2 to Sydney Aquarium, our Year 6 students enrolled in the parish program that prepares them to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, we had another session of our Intergenerational Program with our Grand-friends from the parish and Year 2 students, represented OLF at the SCS Cross Country event, attended a Writer’s Festival, hosted a professional learning workshop across the Archdiocese which some of our teachers were able to attend on differentiated pedagogy, joined a STEM Symposium to support and enhance our understanding of implementing STEM in our classrooms and participated in the SCS Eisteddfods in dance and drama. And that is just over the last two weeks! 

Today, Mrs Bowler and myself took a group of Year 6 leaders into St Mary's Cathedral for the Feast Day Mass of Mary Help of Christians, the patron saint of Australia. It was a beautiful Mass celebrated by our The Most Rev Anthony Fisher, Archbishop of Sydney. The students represented our school proudly and with respect and we were very proud of them.

We have also had a focus this week on boy’s in education and have incorporated activities that promote empathy, have had open discussions about emotions, and engaged in role-playing exercises. The aim of these activities is to help boys understand different perspectives and develop a deeper sense of compassion. The Year 6 boys engaged in a session with Tom Herschell from “Find Ya Feet” that offered them the platform to share their stories in a safe environment, supporting them to develop the skills and tools needed to be authentic and honest in creating genuine relationships with each other. De La Salle teachers also offered our teachers a workshop on “Developing Empathy in Boy’s Education” which gave us some insight and practical ways to address this issue with our students in the school environment.

Research shows that empathy is a crucial skill that enhances not only social interactions but also academic success. Encouraging boys to express their feelings, understand others, and show kindness helps them build stronger relationships and become more resilient learners.

We invite you to support your sons at home by encouraging them to talk about their day, discuss what respect looks like and practice small acts of kindness. Boys need and are:

• Masters of “just in time” management and are minimalists - less is best for them!
• Respect is vital to them and they operate best with expectations and boundaries,
• Respond to visual signs and clear concise rules delivered firmly,
• Competitive - make success challenging but attainable by breaking it down,
• Thrive when they have targets and goals to aim for,
• Time out and quiet time is important in order to calm down if needed, reflect and re-energise,
• Help them to structure tasks with their learning so that they gain mastery and success. Once a boy believes he can be successful, he’ll almost always live up to it.
• Finally, boys are loyal, love humour, need space to move and run and achieve more through doing.

Together, we can nurture a generation of boys who are not only academically accomplished but also empathetic and caring individuals.

Parent Representative Meeting

Our next Parent Representative meeting to finalise fundraising and events will be held on Thursday 6th June at 2pm.  All are welcome. 

Mrs Sue Clay | Principal