A Word from Justin

Dear Families and Students of OLSC 

It is hard to belive that we are almost half way through the term!  

Mothers Day

Last Sunday we celebrated our mums and the special women in our lives.  Mother's day is a great time to celebrate the incredible strength, love and wisdom of all mothers and the other remarkable women who nurture and support us in countless ways.  

On behalf of all of our students we thank you for your endless patience, your sacrifices, and the comfort you bring simply by being there.  Whether you're a mum, grandmother, stepmum, aunty, mentor, or a cherished friend — you make the world a kinder, stronger, and more beautiful place.

Hoping that you all experienced a day filled with love, joy, and the appreciation you truly deserve.

PhOrMeS Closure Day Last Week 

Last week all of the staff at OLSC undertook a professional learning day here at school led by Shane Pearson, creator of the PhOrMeS program. We also welcomed some staff members from St Claire's primary school in Truganina who also participated in the day.

Standing for Phonology, Orthography, Morphology, etymology and Semantics, PhOrMeS is not, simply, a phonics program. While it utilises systematic, synthetic phonics to teach early decoding and spelling, it aims to teach children proficiency in many areas of our deep, challenging and beautiful English language. The ability to comprehend, evaluate and analyse what we read, and write an array of genres for a plethora of audiences is part of the end goal of literacy learning. PhOrMeS is designed to give children the building blocks they need to achieve these critical skills. 

Our Years 3 to 6 teachers will begin planning for these sessions later in Term 2 and we will keep you informed once the students begin working with the program.

Website Update

We are getting closer to launching our new website.  In coming weeks we will send a link for families to have look at our new website.  It looks like it will be a huge improvement and we can't wait until it is operational.  

National Sorry Day & Reconciliation Week

On Monday 26th May, OLSC will be acknowledging National Sorry Day which marks the beginning of National Reconciliation Week. Each year on this day, we remember the Stolen Generations, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children forcibly removed from their families and communities. Our students are invited to wear a touch of purple with their uniform, as a way to commemorate the day. Purple is often associated with Sorry Day and is the colour of the Native Hibiscus flower used by Stolen Generations survivors to recognise their strength and resilience.

We ask that students bring a gold coin on that Monday which will be donated to The Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

QB Vacation Care July Holidays 

The staff at Quantin Binnah have shared an overview of their vacation care for the upcoming school holidays.  The program looks great with lots of variety (See below).  I would recommend that bookings are made early as there is a possibility to book out.  

Prayer for the New Church 

The parish prayer for the new church is below.  Please feel free to include this in your family prayers as a new church for the Manor Lakes community would be a great feature of our parish.  

Community Mass 

Our May community mass is almost upon us.  I invite you all to join us this Sunday morning for community mass.  This mass will be particulalry special as 26 of our Year 4 students will recieve the Eucharist for the first time.  Community masses are held in the Sports Centre at 10:00am on the thirs Sunday of every month.  

NCCD Factsheet

Please find below a fact sheet with information about the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD).

A Little Whinge...

I don't like using the newsletter as a platform to complain although we currently have an

unhappy neighbour.  The staff at Montessori on Academy Way have asked that the OLSC families avoid using their carpark for temporary parking at student dismissal and as a turn around point for cars using Academy Way.  Their primary concern is for pedestrian safety. 

Share your Child's Achievements

If anyone in your family has an achievement that could be shared in the newsletter and is worthy of celebration and acknowledgement, please email Justin to be included in the next newsletter.

jhilton@olscwyn.catholic.edu.au

Thank you for your continued support. Here's to a wonderful Term 2!

Justin and all of the staff at OLSC