News from our Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians,

At Our Lady of Fatima, I am incredibly proud of our teachers' unwavering commitment and hard work. Their dedication and professionalism shine through in all that they do, ensuring the students receive the best possible education. They continually engage in professional learning to stay at the forefront of educational practices, enhancing opportunities for all our students. Their passion for teaching and learning creates a nurturing and inspiring environment where every child can thrive.

Throughout the year there have been many learning opportunities and achievements that the teachers deserve recognition for. Amongst them are the following:

2 teachers have attained the status of “Highly Accomplished” accreditation. Highly Accomplished teachers have in-depth knowledge of subjects and curriculum content. They have demonstrated outstanding performance, as defined by the profession. By showing an ongoing commitment to continuous learning and improvement in practice they have both completed a rigorous formal assessment process aligned with NESA standards. They were the first recipients of this honour in Sydney Catholic Schools. An outstanding achievement!
1 teacher is currently engaged in a rigorous Phonics Micro-credential course through ACU -The Australian Centre for the Advancement for Literacy with a focus in Phonics and Reading.
2 teachers have been acknowledged as proficient teachers with NESA and undertook the accreditation process with much success.
6 teachers undertook the GEO 1 course in Gifted Education showing commitment towards understanding and meeting the needs of our gifted learners.
All staff engaged in the Teaching and Assessing Reading in the Foundation Years course that was closely aligned to the new syllabus requirements for Early Years’ reading. The modules covered an enormous amount of evidence based research that took over 6 months to unpack and work through. It was so rewarding to see such rich learning being transferred into practice very successfully into the classroom.
4 teachers were targeted for an Emerging, Aspiring and Thriving Leadership course through SCS. These courses involved connecting with other leaders across our system of schools and build professional networks and hubs. They will be offered again next year and promise to continue building depth with our leaders in the school.
Every week the staff attend afternoon professional learning sessions (that go for well over an hour after a long day in the classroom!) with a different focus each time- RE, English, Mathematics and Wellbeing. The Staff Developement Day’s (SDD) across the year were designed for teachers to unpack the new English and Mathematics syllabus and design programs to teach in their classrooms. These learning opportunities have enabled the teachers to keep up to date with curriculum reform and best practice.
As well as rich, deep learning that occurs in the classroom the students from K-6 have been able to participate in many extra-curricular related activities - such as incursions, excursions, guest speakers, eisteddfods and festivals, representative sport, gala days, carnivals, community partnerships, competitions and other initiatives.

As you can see the teachers at OLF have worked extremely hard throughout the year to be the best they can be! They are all kind, caring, compassionate, have loads of energy, curious, passionate in what they do, lifelong learners and experienced in many different ways.

So as the year comes to an end I would like to thank all the teachers and staff at OLF for all that they do. I know you, as parents, would agree with me that your child/ren has been in safe hands and I hope you get the chance before we break up to acknowledge your appreciation with their teachers.

Finally, I ask you to continue to trust in us as we work on classes and teachers for each grade next year. We know the students well and are best placed to make decisions about class placements and teachers. Thank you.

Mrs Sue Clay | Principal