News from 

our Principal 

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to the school year for 2023. I hope that during the holidays each family had special time together to do the things they enjoy. The school year has started smoothly and has a calmness with renewed energy to it already! Our hope is that all the students at Our Lady of Fatima will embrace the 2023 school year with enthusiasm, determination and a sense of curiosity. 

Our whole school theme and mantra this year is: “ We are Curious Learners at OLF”!  We know that curiosity in children jump-starts and sustains intrinsic motivation, allowing deep learning to occur. Curious children take risks, are intellectually playful, try out new things, make productive mistakes and learn deeply from them. We want our children at OLF to find joy in their learning, ask questions and become powerful super learners! 

During our staff development day last week, we spent the day unpacking the principles of “New Pedagogies for Deep Learning”. If we want curious learners who can thrive, apply thinking to new situations, and change the world, we must look at reimagining learning. This means creating environments that challenge, stimulate and celebrate learning. The teachers engaged with enthusiasm and curiosity as they challenged themselves to think deeply about what learning looks like, sounds like and feels like at OLF.

I welcome all our new staff and office members, new Kindergarten students and new families from K-6 to the school. I am sure that they will find Our Lady of Fatima to be a welcoming faith filled community and a place focused on providing the very best education for all students.  

Communication this year

A reminder that our fortnightly newsletter contains a parent calendar, updates of important events, spotlights on learning, current research on best practice, initiatives and other significant information. It is important to be aware of this and refer to our newsletters to keep you informed. We will limit our day to day Compass notifications to avoid the overflow of information. A helpful tip is to open the newsletter on your laptop or computer for better formatting, rather than always reading it from your phones.

Student learning goals

Over the coming weeks, teachers will be providing time for students to reflect and to write some personal goals related to their learning or their approach to learning.  

With the support of their teacher each child will determine:

• What specific goal would help me to improve as a learner/improve my learning?
• What is a reasonable time frame in order to achieve this goal?
• What steps do I need to take so that I can achieve this goal?
• Who can support me to achieve this goal?
• How will I know that I have been successful in achieving this goal?

You can help your child with this process by opening up a discussion around what their expectations and goals are for the year ahead and what your child may like to focus on. In the Week 3 + 4 ‘Meet the Teacher’ interviews you will have an opportunity to discuss your child and their needs with their teacher.

The online booking system through Compass has been set up to assist parents in selecting a suitable ‘10 minute’ time slot. This brief meeting provides parents with the opportunity to meet their child’s new teacher and to provide that teacher with an insight into their child and how they learn best. 

Please take the time to complete the “Getting to Know your child” survey and return it to school before these meetings take place.

Parents in Action - Parent Reps

Students receive the best education when parents and staff work as a team. Parents’ enthusiasm, support and involvement are integral to the success of our school, as are the skills, dedication and professionalism of teachers.  We look forward to working with you and continuing the  ‘Parents in Action’  group this year. 

If you would like to be a Parent Rep and are interested in joining us for our first meeting, it will be held on Friday 3rd March at 2:15pm in the library. If you are unable to attend but have some ideas for fundraising and building community this year please feel free to email us at:  info@olfcaringbah.catholic.edu.au

Change of School Finishing Time

Over the next few weeks we will be looking for feedback regarding the change of school finishing time to 3pm. Please click on the form below to give your feedback.

I look forward to working in partnership with all the staff, parents and wider school community to provide the best possible educational outcomes for the students at OLF throughout the year. May Christ our Lord bless our school community and keep us under his care and guidance.

Dear Lord,

At the start of the new school year we remember the love of our families and the companionship and support of our colleagues. We rejoice that you have entrusted us with the education and care of young people, and have called us to help others to grow in your image and likeness.

Empower us to bring out the best in others and express appreciation to all who encourage us and bring us new life. Inspire us to be positive in attitude and encouraging in words. Mary, the Mother of our Lord, was a kind, loving and generous person who cared for others. May we look to Mary to show us how to live as faithful and trusting people ready to “share the Good News of joy” to others.

Amen

Mrs Suzanne Clay | Principal