Sacrament of Confirmation

Last weekend, the OLA Parish celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation. Father Ken led us in two Masses, one on Friday night and the other on Saturday afternoon. It was a very special time for our Year 6 students who received the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and they were guided by Father Ken’s words and reverent Homily. We would like to thank Father Ken for his ongoing support of our students and families.

Bogan Bingo

Tonight’s the night! We hope you’re ready to let your inner bogan shine! We look forward to this wonderful P&F event being held tonight in the Sr. Goretti Hall commencing at 8.00pm. Doors open at 7.30pm. More information can be found on the P&F Page of this newsletter.

SEQTA Engage – Online Reports

Last year, OLA made the transition to online reports via the SEQTA Engage Parent Portal. You will be able to access your child’s Semester One School Report (Pre-Primary – Year 6) on Monday 1 July, via the portal.

Next week, every family will receive an invitation email, with a link, to create an account. Parents will then be required to follow the link and create their own account. Once an account has been established, parents will be able to log on to the site any time and download their children’s Academic Reports. The SEQTA Engage logo/link is embedded on our school’s website home page and parents can log on via this link as well. Please note, if you created an account last year, you do not need to create a new account this year.

The process to create an account has been attached for you. We do anticipate some teething problems but we’re confident these will be rectified before reports go live. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to either phone Michael Morris or email him at michael.morris@cewa.edu.au

Learn more about accessing the SEQTA Engage Parent Portal.

Consent to Use Student Images

As mentioned in the Week 4, newsletter, we are in the process of reviewing the Consent to Use Student Images form. The new consent form will be sent out to all families next week. Please note that a form will need to be completed for each individual student.

Sacred Saints

Congratulations to our Year 6 students, and selected Year 5 students, who participated in the Sacred Saints Tournament yesterday. Our students demonstrated the RICE Values in their sportsmanship and athleticism. We are extremely proud of how they represented OLA and the Year 6 Soccer team were the champions in their division. Well done to everyone who participated and a BIG thank you to Mrs Stewart, Mrs La Rosa, Miss Lombardi, Miss Figueira and Mr De Pietro for going along to support our students. More information will be included in next week’s newsletter.

Clubs at OLA

With the enthusiasm generated by our recent Games Nights, it has been decided that two clubs will be introduced at OLA to run during lunch time. A Lego Club and Chess Club are going to be setup for students to engage in when they are having their breaks. It will be wonderful to see students of all ages joining in. As we prepare for the new initiative, we request any donations of Lego or chess boards. Please liaise with Mrs Barclay if you’re able to assist the school with donations. Thank you to Mrs Barclay for coordinating these initiatives as part of her Enterprise and Innovation portfolio.

Lifelink Day 

On Wednesday 5 June, the OLA Student Leaders attended the Archbishop’s Lifelink Launch. This Mass sees the commencement of the Lifelink Appeal which aims to support agencies that are assisted by the Church. Our students presented the Big Book of Love scrapbook that was collated by all students and organised by Mrs Barclay and Mrs Dale. Here are a few snapshots of our book.

OSHC Commencing at OLA

As communicated previously to the community, OLA will be opening an OSHC Centre (Before and After School Care, as well as Holiday Care), commencing Week 1, Term 3. We are currently waiting for the OSHC Regulatory Body to approve the centre and we’re confident this will occur over the next few weeks. Enrolment forms will be distributed to those interested over the next couple of weeks.

Having recently completed the interviews for the nominated supervisor’s position, I warmly welcome Nicole Leach to our OSHC Community. Nicole is an experienced supervisor and comes to OLA with great references from her current employer.

Welcome New Intervention Teacher

We warmly welcome Jenny McLeod to OLA as an Intensive Intervention teacher, commencing Term 3. Jenny is an experienced educator at various schools, has a vast experience in different core learning areas, is highly respected within our system and is replacing Jodie McCarthy, who is currently on maternity leave and will be returning in 2020. Welcome to our great school, Jenny.

Brightpath and Fr Richard Leonard

In Weeks 5 and 6, the OLA staff participated in two fantastic Professional Development Days. The Brightpath PD was facilitated by Shelley Forbes from CEWA. Shelley is passionate about the program and the effect it can have on students’ writing progress. Staff are excited to begin this program at OLA. It will be gradually implemented over the next two years.

The second day saw Fr. Richard Leonard return to OLA and, once again, captivate the staff with his view on being Catholic in today’s modern context. Fr. Richard led the staff in a thoughtful reflection of some of the current issues within our society.

Uniform Items

As you are aware, the School Uniform Shop has been closed and the sale of the new uniform will be outsourced to an external company. Over the next few weeks, the new uniform design will be discussed and approved at Board level prior to advising the community. Our aim is to produce simple, but elegant, modern and comfortable unisex uniforms with our new crest.

We will continue to inform the community of changes to be made and we anticipate the new uniform will be available for sale November 2019 (off site). If you require uniform items, please visit the office and we will see if there is any stock available.

Pupil Free Day

As advertised in our annual school calendar, the last day in Term 2 is a pupil free day for all students. The staff will be undertaking a professional development day with Brendan Spillane on change and transformation in a school environment. School concludes for all students on Thursday 4 July.

Have a great weekend!

Mr Greg Martin
Principal