Principal's Message

Advent

In this Advent of expectation draw us together in unity,

that our praise and worship might echo in these walls

and also through our lives.

In this Advent of expectation draw us together in mission,

that the hope within might be the song we sing,

and the melody of our lives.

In this Advent of expectation draw us together in service,

that the path we follow might lead us from a stable

to a glimpse of eternity.

Amen

End of Year Concert

The End of Year Concert is finally here! We have some very excited students and teachers here today! Please join us at 6.00pm for a wonderful evening to celebrate the end of the school year. Children will need to be at their meeting point by 5.45pm. Areas will be sectioned off for students, families with picnic blankets and families with deck chairs.

Please note: Adults are not permitted to use the student toilets. The disabled toilet next to Year 2 and the toilets in the Sr. Goretti Hall are for adult use.

2019 Class Lists

The 2019 Class Lists will be displayed outside the Fr. O'Mara Centre and Pre-Kindergarten Room Monday morning before school.

Semester Two Reports - SEQTA Engage

Semester Two Reports will be made available to families via the SEQTA Engage Portal on Monday 3 December, 3.00pm. Please take the time to check that you can still access the portal with the username and password you created last semester. We do not have access to your login details, so if you are experiencing difficulties with logging in a new email will need to be sent from Mrs Erskine. Please contact her via email vel.erskine@cewa.edu.au if you require assistance. To access the portal please visit https://ola.coneqt-p.cathednet.wa.edu.au/

2019 Transition

In preparation for the new school year, all current Kindy to Year 5 students will participate in two transition sessions. This will allow the children to become familiar with their new classroom, new cohort and new teacher (if possible). The first session will be held on Monday 3 December and will run for one hour. New teachers will be facilitating this one-hour session. The second session will be held on Tuesday 4 December for half an hour and will be taken by current class teachers.

Year 6 Student Leaders 2019

We are excited to announce our inaugural Year 6 Student Leaders at OLA.

Head Boy - Leo

Deputy Head Boy - Alexander B

Head Girl - Tiana

Deputy Head Girl - Alexis

Faction Captains

Dominica - Ben and Alexia

Goretti - Taj and Eva D

O'Mara - Ty and Emily

Veritas - Mason and Jacinta

We believe these students will be outstanding leaders within the school community and amongst their peers. All other students will be taking on a leadership role as part of the Student Ministries. Congratulations to all!

Staffing 2019

As mentioned in last week's newsletter, staffing for 2019 is still to be finalised. There have been some staffing changes over the last week that I would now like to announce to the community:

- Di Scoble has accepted a twelve-month secondment to Infant Jesus School - Congratulations Di on your appointment;

- Vicki Stillisano will be moving to St Peter's Primary School to work as an EA in Pre-Primary. We wish her well in her new role;

- Tiana Versace has been appointed as the full-time 4G teacher for 2019. We welcome Tiana to OLA;

- Juliet Lennon will commence at OLA in 2019 as the school's Social Worker. Juliet will be at OLA one day a week to work with children and staff on building resilience and improving student well-being.

Congratulations and welcome Tiana and Juliet. We wish Di and Vicki all the best as they undertake their new roles in 2019.

An updated staffing list is attached below.

School Board 2019

The OLA School Board for 2019 is as follows:

- Chairperson: Amanda Cipriani

- Deputy Chairperson: Dani Wares

- Treasurer: Natalie Adams

- Secretary: Karen Meleca (non-elected member)

- OLA Parish Representative: Jeremy Trott

- P&F Representative: Narelle Roberts

- Ex-Officio (Parish Priest): Fr. Ken D'Souza

- Ex-Officio (Principal): Greg Martin

- Members: Peter Sigle, Laura Ocello, Mark La Cava and Brooke Tran

- Non-Members: Vel Erskine and Mike Morris

We would like to sincerely thank Maria Russo for her commitment to the OLA School Board as member and Chairperson over the last six years. Maria, and all Board members, have been dedicated to improving the OLA community. We would not have been able to achieve all that we have without their full support.

Parents and Friends Association 2019

We are pleased to announce the P&F Executive for 2019:

- President: Natalee Cunningham

- Treasurer: Katie Catena

- Secretary: Felicity Lam

- Board Representative and Communications Officer: Narelle Roberts

There are already exciting events for 2019 and 2020 in the works and we thank this dedicated team for all that they bring to OLA. Again, we are extremely fortunate to have such a committed team of people bringing the OLA community together.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

A BIG thank you to the amazing P&F for their generous donation of new TVs in our Year 3 - 6 classrooms, as well as touch screen TVs in the Early Childhood Classes. Over the holiday break, all current interactive whiteboards will be replaced with new 65" TVs which will allow for easier connectivity and improved learning and collaboration opportunities for students. Thank you P&F!

End of Year Thanksgiving Mass

All families are invited to join us for the End of Year Thanksgiving Mass next Wednesday at 9am. During this celebration, we will say farewell to the staff members who will not be returning in 2019 and thanking them for their contribution to OLA.

Water Fun Day

To celebrate the end of a wonderful school year, children in Pre-Primary to Year 5 will be participating in a Water Fun Day next Thursday. Further details about this event were emailed home on Monday.

Booklists 2019

Please see the attachments below for the 2019 OLA Booklists.

New School Signs

A priority this year, as established by the Marketing Sub-Committee, was to look at ways to increase visibility of OLA to the wider community. Over the holiday break, a number of new signs promoting OLA will be installed around the boundary of the school. We look forward to seeing the signage, with the new crest, displayed on Chester Ave, Lowick St and Grand Prom.

Term Dates 2019

Term dates for 2019 are as follows:

Term 1

Commences - Monday 4 February

Ends - Friday 12 April

Term 2

Commences - Monday 29 April

Ends - Thursday 4 July

Term 3

Commences - Monday 22 July

Ends - Friday 27 September

Term 4

Commences - Monday 14 October

Ends - Friday 13 December

Please note, some dates are still to be confirmed and a draft calendar will be emailed home to families during the Teacher Week in Week 10 and included in next week's newsletter.

Change to Dental Services from 2019

Please note that students from Our Lady's Assumption school will now be seen at the Camboon Dental Therapy Clinic from 2019. Attached below is an information sheet from the clinic.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Greg Martin

Principal