Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

What a great place OLA is to be right now! We have loved every opportunity that has come our way over the last couple of weeks and it has been wonderful to see the children, staff and parents enjoying these special moments. 

Moments like this become memories forever. Thank you to all for your support and celebration of our visiting book authors Morris Gleitzman and Zanni Louise, Prep's 100 Days, Working Bee, Australian Mathematics Competition, Georgina Manning's Parent Workshop focussed on supporting anxious minds, Science Week, Grade 4's visit to St Mary's College, Classroom Helpers Training, Wakakirri, Performing Arts Night, Division Soccer and Basketball, Grade 6 Confirmation Parent/Child Workshop and today our very own Feast Day - The Feast of the Assumption.

OLA Feast Day

Happy Feast Day OLA!! We had a wonderful day today celebrating our namesake Mary and her Feast Day, the Feast of the Assumption. We joined everyone at Church for Mass and participated in lots of activities celebrating Mary's faithfulness, love, joy, compassion, kindness, gratitude, peace and hope. Our Feast Day began with Run Club, our community wearing a touch of blue, a beautiful Mass with not a seat left in the Church, Mary activities and a Fun Fair run and organised by each class with money raised going to Sacred Heart Mission. Lovely to have families at each part of the day to help us celebrate and thanks for all the donations. What a beautiful community we have here at OLA.

Wakakirri - My Many Coloured Days

This is our story - Our story is showing how we can feel overwhelmed at times, feel lots of different things and sometimes not know how to find our way back to being calm. There are a lot of different feelings such as happiness, anger, confidence and sadness. It is okay to feel strong emotions and sometimes we can feel different things all at once. It is important that we have strategies to help us when we do feel emotional and overwhelmed. Strategies like fidget toys, reading, colouring, calm corners  and in the example of our story, breathing exercises. Emotions are all a wonderful part of being human!

The Wakakirri judge and ambassador spoke glowingly of OLA in her feedback:

Notable Awards 

Storytelling Award for Story Theme and Concept

Ensemble Award for a Well-Performed Rehearsal

Lead cast award for Performance in Acting

Production award for Soundtrack

Creative production award for Minimalist Production Design

Wakakirri is a nationwide Festival for Australian schools that provides a platform for students to express their thoughts, ideas, and aspirations through the art of storytelling and dance. Inspired by the belief that great stories can inspire change, Wakakirri is designed to promote student engagement and wellbeing in schools through the creation and performance of captivating Story-Dances.

Thank you

We would like to thank the teachers that helped with Wakakirri - Mrs Taig, Miss Summers, Miss Jones and Miss Lim. They’ve worked hard to choreograph routines, organise props, communications to families and lead rehearsals. 

We would also like to acknowledge all the kids that did Wakakirri, as last year we had 80% of Senior students in Wakakirri and now this year we have all 100% of the Senior kids in Wakakirri. Both students and teachers have volunteered lots of time for this performance and we are so grateful. 

Finally, we would like to acknowledge our families that helped by organising costumes and hearing all of us talk about Wakakirri for the last 6 months!

Aaliyah, Willow & Louisa

Arts & Culture Leaders

100 Days of Prep

Hooray for 100 days of Prep! Congratulations to our littlest legends and our staff who rocked their 100 year old looks - we couldn’t be prouder! What a great way to mark a special milestone. Dressed as lively 100 year old's with grey wigs, walking canes and plenty of creative costumes, the children celebrated in style. A joy filled day for all involved.

Science Week

We are so proud to have been celebrating Science Week at OLA this last week. Parents and carers were invited to join in the fun with their children as an opportunity to share in the wonder of Science and learning in action. Thank you to our wonderful STEM teacher Clare Flood for sourcing a grant to make this happen and to celebrate this important part of our curriculum.

Working Bee

Thank you to the many many generous families who helped to make OLA grounds and buildings look their very best at our third working bee for the year. You’ve made our school sparkle. There really was an amazing spirit amongst all present on these days - thank you. A reminder that if you were not able to attend this Working Bee you are more than welcome to make a donation to the school which goes towards ongoing maintenance.

Guided Learning Walk for Parents - Spelling

On Friday 29 August at 8.40-10.00am we will be hosting our next Guided Learning Walk for our parents at OLA. We will visit a Prep, Junior and Senior class (3 classes in all) with each of the classes focussing on Spelling in Literacy.  Our Principal, Deputy Principal, Literacy Leader and Learning & Teaching Leader will host this Family Learning Walk. 

We will have a maximum of ten parents join us, so if you are interested please RSVP via email to principal@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au If we hit our maximum number of parents attending we will ensure you are invited on the next learning walk that we do.

MACSSIS Survey for OLA Families

Between 1-19 September we pause to listen to our families, students and staff through the anonymous MACSSIS Survey and we would like as many families to complete this survey as possible. Please look out for an Operoo with more information and your unique family pin and answer the questions so we can learn more about what you think is working well at OLA and what we can improve.

Production

PRODUCTION AUDITIONS - GRADE 5 AND 6 STUDENTS

As you may have heard, our show called 'The Sound of Musicals' will be staged on December 4 at the Kingston Arts Centre. This will be a whole school production, with rehearsals starting towards the end of this term. The Grade 5 and 6 students will have an opportunity to audition for speaking roles in the show in Week 6 on Tuesday August 26 from 12pm. We will prepare for this in Performing Arts classes, but they will need to work on their auditions at home. Each student may try out for two roles (audition pieces will go out next week). There will also be an opportunity for certain roles that involve singing. The students will be asked to focus on the following: 

• Voice Projection, expression and clarity
• Understanding of character
• Stage Presence
• Preparation (knowing lines by heart) 

There are quite a few lead roles 'up for grabs' but of course not one for everyone. Students will also be given the chance to shine during their class act/item and in dancing roles. Some students may experience disappointment in not receiving the part they hoped for. It is hoped that this can be a great learning experience, where disappointment is seen as part of life - and being happy for friends who receive parts is a great strength. I will encourage all students to 'have a go' - who knows what hidden talents we may uncover?

I look forward to hearing the 'sound of music' through the corridors and hallways of OLA in the next few months! 

Trish O'Gorman

Performing Arts Teacher

Community Illness

Over the past month (including the holidays!!), various viruses and respiratory issues have been sweeping through our classrooms, leading to a spike in absences and numerous calls for children to be picked up from school. This is a fitting reminder for everyone to remain vigilant during this challenging period. Please ensure that children stay home if they exhibit high temperatures or cold like symptoms, to ensure this does not impact the wider class or staffing group. 

2026 Plans

We politely ask all families to notify the school should your child/children not be returning to OLA in 2026.  We have had a number of enquiries in recent weeks across various levels. Having an accurate indication of our enrolment numbers ensures we are able to plan accordingly for the following school year and access appropriate funding i.e. staffing and resourcing. We thank you for your cooperation.

Calendar

Please open the ‘Key Dates and Events’ tab in this newsletter for important dates or access the OLA Calendar here.  

School Term Dates - 2025

Term 3, 2025

Monday 21 July - Friday 19th September (9 weeks) 

Term 4, 2025

Tuesday 7 October - Tuesday 16th December (11 weeks)

Congratulations

Basketball

Congratulations to our awesome OLA basketballers for representing our great school with pride and skill. An extra big congratulations to the OLA Boys Team for taking out the District Championship. It was often nail bitingly exciting. An extra pennant to display in our front office - we are so proud of you. Thank you to Mrs Thomson and Mrs Hogan for coaching and organising our teams and thank you to our parent supporters on the day.

Division Girls Soccer

Our OLA Senior Girls Soccer Team made it all the way through to the final at Division Girls Soccer. The team were impressive all day giving their best but unfortunately lost to Hampton Primary. It was a great day and a solid effort by everyone involved. A special thank you to Mr Glennon for being a sensational coach and to the many parents who were able to come along and support OLA.

SRC

The excitement for Book Week is building! We’ve already been inspired by a visit from author Morris Gleitzman and Zanni Louise, and our SRC students have been creating posters to share more about the fun to come... including the Book Week Parade and the Genre Picnic.

National Tree Day 

Last week our Grade 2s, with help from the Grade 5/6s, got their hands dirty planting native shrubs and plants donated by Kingston City Council. It was an exciting, hands-on experience that brought learning to life and helped students connect with nature in a meaningful way. Stay tuned for more green thumbs and growing smiles with more planting to come! Thank you Miss Flood for making this great connection with our learning in STEM.

A blast from the past!

One of the many very positive outcomes from the Prep and Grade 6 Buddy Program is moments like this when after our Grade 6 students leave they continue to catch up and stay in touch. Alice and Henry are still in contact with each other and they still show up and support each other for special events. Here is a recent photo taken of them both when Henry went to watch a musical Alice had been involved in this year.

Principal Awards

Look who made our day this week! These Grade 2 students were invited to visit the Principal to share their writing and these students had certainly done their very best work. Congratulations Grade 2s on your brilliant Acrostic Poems. 

An absolute wonderful couple of weeks at OLA! Next week we look forward to our Book Week celebrations continuing with a Book Week Parade on Tuesday and a book picnic on our oval as a whole school! Thank you again for your support and for helping create special memories. Dance into Spring Cocktail Party tickets are available now and if you purchase yours before midnight TONIGHT, you will go into the draw to win a bottle of bubbles on the night! Happy Feast Day and enjoy the weekend.

Richard Jacques

Principal