Graduation

This week has been a wonderful week of celebrations for our Year 6 graduating students. On Monday night, Father Ken led the OLA community in a Eucharistic celebration, acknowledging the years of hard work and dedication that the students have demonstrated here at OLA. Thursday night saw the Year 6 graduates enjoy an evening with their parents and family members, sharing in a meal and reflecting on their growth while at OLA. Thank you to everyone who was involved in making these occasions as special as they were. To the Year 6 parents who spent countless hours transforming the Sr Goretti Hall, to the Year 6 teachers, Bruno and Steph, for their hard work in preparing the students for this special week and finally to Maria and Anisha for catering the event, I sincerely thank you all for your contributions.

End of Year Concert

Well the talented students (and staff) of OLA were out in force on Wednesday night! It was a spectacular showcase of singing and dancing as we prepare for the holiday season. Thank you to everyone who attended the event and supported our students, it was fantastic to see so many members of our community come together to celebrate the end of a busy but wonderful year.

Important Canteen Information

There will be no Canteen in Week 9.

Water Fun Day Pre-Primary to Year 5

Our annual Water Fun Day is scheduled for Wednesday 11 December. All students in Pre-Primary to Year 5 will have a turn on the water inflatables that are booked for the day. Students who have ordered a sausage sizzle lunch will be able to enjoy it on this day also.

Class Lists and Transition for 2020

Class lists are now posted on the noticeboard outside the office. Students will participate in two transition sessions next week to prepare them for 2020.

Semester Two Reports

Semester Two Reports will go live to families on Monday 9 December. Over the next couple of weeks, I ask that you please check that you can access the SEQTA Engage Parent Portal, using the same username and password that you had in Semester One. If you are experiencing difficulties with accessing the portal, please contact Chris Balen in the Office for your username. If you require further assistance then please contact Assistant Principal, Mike Morris via email, michael.morris@cewa.edu.au

ICAS Certificates

Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the ICAS assessments last term. All certificates have now been distributed to the participants and they should be very proud of their achievements.

Congratulations

Well done to Abbey in Year 5 who has been chosen to be a part of the Elite Perth Lorgredo Dance Program for Lyrical and Contemporary dance. Also, out of 800 auditions Australia and NZ wide, 38 dancers were chosen to be a part of The Dream Dance Company Junior Team, Abbey, once again, has been selected to participate in this team and will be going to Sydney in January to perform at NIDA. Well done, Abbey!

School Fees

Please finalise your 2019 school fees before the end of the school year. Thank you in advance for your support with this.

2020 Invitation to all Students

Further to our transition program occurring on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 December, parents are invited to bring their children on 30 January or 31 January, 2020 to once again meet their teachers, bring their stationery and booklists and possibly be allocated their seat. We’re hoping the students won’t feel as anxious over the weekend leading up to the start of the new school year on Monday 3 February, 2020. If parents are not able to bring their children on the above stated days, they will be welcomed on the first day of school, which is Monday 3 February, 2020. The times allocated for both days will be:

• 8.30-10.30am
• 11.00-12.30pm
• 1.15-3.00pm

2020 Booklists

Attached to this newsletter are the 2020 Booklists. Hard copies have also been sent home.

• Pre-Primary 2020 Booklist
• Year 1 2020 Booklist
• Year 2 2020 Booklist
• Year 3 2020 Booklist
• Year 4 2020 Booklist
• Year 5 2020 Booklist
• Year 6 2020 Booklist

Upcoming Dates

As we approach the final week of school, please take note of these upcoming events:

• Wednesday 11 December: PP-Year 5 Water Fun Day and Year 6 Excursion to Adventure World
• Friday 13 December: End of Year Mass, 9am
• Friday 13 December: Last day of school for students
• Monday 3 February: First day of school for students

Sacramental Dates 2020

As families prepare for 2020, please take note of the dates below. The Commitment Masses for all Sacraments will be held on Saturday 7 March and Sunday 8 March.

Sacrament of Penance

• Parent/Child Workshop: Thursday 22 October
• Retreat Day: Tuesday 27 October
• Sacramental Celebration: Thursday 5 November

Sacrament of Eucharist

• Parent/Child Workshop: Thursday 7 May
• Retreat Day: Monday 11 May
• Sacramental Mass: Saturday 16 May

Sacrament of Confirmation

• Parent/Child Workshop: Thursday 13 August
• Retreat Day: Monday 17 August
• Sacramental Mass: Friday 21 August and Saturday 22 August

School Calendar 2020

The 2020 calendar will be attached to next week’s newsletter. The interactive calendar on the website has the most up to date information, please check this on a regular basis.

Assemblies in 2020

Over the last 12 months, the Leadership Team Members have been reflecting on the change of assembly times from a Friday morning to a Friday afternoon. While the change in time has proven effective in reducing the impact on teaching and learning time, it has been noticed that Fridays exclude our Kindergarten children. Moving forward, to include the Kindergarten students, assemblies will be moved to Wednesday afternoons (when scheduled) in 2020. I appreciate that this will be an adjustment to all, but I am confident that the change of day, to include Kindergarten students from Term 2, will benefit the school community as a whole. All assemblies are allocated for 2020, so please mark the dates in your diary.

Newsletter in 2020

Commencing in 2020, we will be moving to a fortnightly newsletter. We are going to be increasing the amount of communication sent via the school app, which we anticipate will reduce the number of emails and other forms of correspondence sent. If you have not done so already, please download the Connected app today! For security reasons, we will not publish the unique code in the newsletter, but it is available at the office.

Have a nice weekend!

Greg Martin
Principal