Welcome Back

It has been a wonderful first week of Term 3 and we have many exciting events ahead of us this term. We warmly welcome the new families and staff members into our school community and know that they will enjoy being a part of Our Lady’s Assumption School.

Term 3 Calendar

NAIDOC Celebrations at OLA

NAIDOC Week Celebrations are held across Australia each July to acknowledge the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by all Australians from all walks of life. 

The Indigenous voice of this country is over 65,000 plus years old. They are the first words spoken on this continent. Languages that passed down lore, culture and knowledge for over millennia. They are precious to our nation. It’s that Indigenous voice that include know-how, practices, skills and innovations – found in a wide variety of contexts, such as agricultural, scientific, technical, ecological and medicinal fields, as well as biodiversity-related knowledge. They are words connecting us to country, an understanding of country and of people who are the oldest continuing culture on the planet.

I take this opportunity to thank one of our parents, Nathan Leber, for taking the time from his duties at Caritas, to speak to the children about equity and social justice for all within our communities.

Term and Weekly Updates, Newsletters, Term Calendars, Etc

At a recent staff meeting, classroom teachers advised the Leadership Team parents are emailing staff requesting information about events, etc that have been included in the weekly overviews and other forms of communication. Some parents have openly stated they don’t read the overviews, newsletters, etc, which is disappointing when so much time is being spent disseminating information.

As you can appreciate with the increase in staff accountability introduced at OLA over the last 18 months, as well as the increase in communications, our priority is to spend as much time possible preparing lessons and ensuring we’re educating the students. My staff are time poor, we’re all time poor, but emailing staff requesting information about an event or topic that’s already covered in their weekly overviews, school calendar, website, newsletter, etc is not fair on the staff. I respectfully request all parents to read all information disseminated before emailing staff.

Performing Arts Mass

On Thursday, our Year 6 Student Leadership Team, accompanied Mr Morris and Mrs McAuliffe to the Performing Arts Opening Mass at the Cathedral. We have a number of classes and individual students participating in the Performing Arts Festival this term, and it was fantastic to have OLA represented at the opening of the season. Please refer to the Music section of this newsletter for further information.

Sacrament of Eucharist at OLA

This term, the OLA Parish will be celebrating the Sacrament of Eucharist with the Year 4 students and Parish candidates. Important dates for the Sacrament are:

• Wednesday 31 May 4pm or 5.30pm: Parent-Child Workshop
• Monday 5 August: Retreat Day
• Saturday 10 August: Sacrament of Eucharist Mass 4pm
• Saturday 17 August: Sacrament of Eucharist Mass 4pm

Games On at OLA Parish

The OLA Parish will be open for games from 6pm to 8pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Families are welcome to join in playing board games, card games, table tennis etc. If you have any games items, such as cards, table tennis tables, board games, that you would like to donate to the Parish then please see Father Ken.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Abbey in Year 5 who has been cast in the hit musical, The Wizard of Oz. The production will be held at the Regal Theatre, Subiaco on the following dates:

• Saturday 17 August 2pm and 7.30pm
• Sunday 18 August 11am

Please see the link below for some information about the show. The producers have generously given us the discount code word WIZARD to use for our school. This code will give purchasers a $10 discount per ticket! Check out the website on www.wizardofozperth.com.au or purchase tickets at www.ticketek.com.au

Well done on this wonderful achievement, Abbey!

Civics and Citizenship Canberra Trip 2019

During the Term 2 holidays, fifteen Year 6 students, along with 4 staff members, undertook an education tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government has contributed funding of $310 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

Students visited a number of significant places in Canberra including; Parliament House, Old Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial, Questacon and the Royal Mint. It was fantastic to see the students gain so much from these experiences.

A big thank you also to Mr De Pietro, Miss Figueira, Mr McIntyre and Miss Smith who accompanied the students on our inaugural trip.

ICAS Assessments Years 3 – 6

Once again, Our Lady’s Assumption School will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS Assessments for students in Years 3 – 6. ICAS is developed by UNSW Global, a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of New South Wales, with over 35 years’ experience in educational assessments.

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling and Digital Technologies. This year, OLA will be offering students the opportunity to complete the English, Mathematics, Science and

Writing assessments, should you choose for your child to participate. Participating in these assessments is optional.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition. Every student will receive a certificate and an online result report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised.

Parents can access the Parent Payment Portal by visiting pay.unswglobal.com.au and entering the school’s unique code: 0a727248ef

When you visit the site, you can select the assessments you would like your child to sit and make the payment directly to UNSW. Dates for when the assessments will be held at school are located on the school calendar.

All online payments need to be made by Wednesday 31 July, no late enrolments can be accepted by UNSW. If you have any queries regarding the ICAS assessments, please contact Assistant Principal, Vel Erskine via the office or email vel.erskine@cewa.edu.au

Head Lice

Just a reminder to please ensure your child’s hair is fully tied up if it is longer than their shoulders. Head lice is a common problem in schools, and we ask that you please treat your child promptly if they have it. Thank you for your support with this.

Have a great weekend

Greg Martin
Principal