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Loving and faithful God 

As we walk along the road of our lives, help us to recognise that You are with us. 

Stay close to us. 

Open our hearts when we hear Your Word. 

In the blessing and breaking of the bread and of our lives together, help us to recognise You and know that you are near. 

Fill us with Your Spirit and Your joy, so we may go and share Your Good News. 

We make this prayer together, through Christ our Lord 

Amen  

Diocesan Assembly 

Bishop George has decided to hold a three-day Diocesan Assembly in September 2026, and the above prayer is part of the official prayer for that occasion.  The Diocesan Assembly will provide the opportunity to hear the individual and collective voices of the 26 parishes in the Bunbury Diocese, and these will contribute to the creation of a five-year Diocesan Pastoral Plan.  Our Lady Star of the Sea School and Parish will, of course, participate in this event. 

Holy Week 

Beginning last Sunday with Palm Sunday and finishing next Sunday with Easter Sunday, this week is Holy Week which is the most sacred week in our Christian faith.  Led by the Year Three and Year Four students, OLSOTS had a beautiful liturgy in the hall last Monday with scripture, song and dance all being used to help all of the students and staff (and family members who attended) reflect on the significance of the Last Supper and Resurrection. 

Sacrament Enrolment Mass 

At Sunday Mass last weekend, there were twelve (12) OLSOTS students and their families who committed to undertaking preparation for receiving the Sacraments of Confirmation, First Eucharist or Reconciliation.  If there are any other families interested in their children receiving these Sacraments, please contact Mrs Lorna Russell (Assistant Principal).  

Interschool Athletics   

A large number of OLSOTS students participated enthusiastically in the Interschool Athletics Carnival at Castletown Primary School today (Thursday).  Congratulations are extended to all of these students; we will include the full results in the first newsletter of next term.  My thanks go to Miss Holly Panizza for her organisation, selection and training of the team. 

Staffing 

Mrs Mandie Abbott (Dance Teacher) finishes at OLSOTS at the end of this term, and we thank her for her service (which she took on with very little notice) to our school.  Mrs Fiona Ryan will begin as our new Dance Teacher at the beginning of Term Two; Fiona was at OLSOTS earlier this week as part of the transition (from Mandie) and to meet the Pre-primary – Year Six students with whom she will be working. 

The other staffing change comes about with the appointment of Mr Sean Gordon who will begin his principalship at OLSOTS at the beginning of next term.  Sean visited our school for a couple of days last week and he is very much looking forward to his new role.  Sean is moving to Esperance from Brisbane and will be arriving during Week Two of the coming school holidays (which will give him a few days to settle in before school resumes on Monday 20 April).  

I have really enjoyed my time as the short-term Principal of OLSOTS and would like to thank students, staff and families for making me feel so welcome.  OLSOTS really is a lovely school, and its friendly, inclusive community enables everyone to be both valued and appreciated.  

In closing, I extend my best wishes to all for the Easter break. 

 Tony Curry

Holy Week

Holy Week is the week preceding Easter and the final week of Lent. Holy Week includes Holy Thursday and Good Friday, which, together with Holy Saturday, are known as the Triduum.  This year the Year Three/Four class led us in our Holy Week Liturgy on Monday as Easter falls at the start of the school holidays.  I take this opportunity to wish you all God’s blessings for Easter and the coming school holidays.  

Project Compassion

A big thank you to all those who have supported Project Compassion this year. Thank you for returning your boxes to the office. There is still time if you haven’t returned your box, please do so early next term. The money you generously give goes to help others in need. “We are Compassion in Action. Working together for justice and dignity. Building a better future for all”.

Containers for Change – Supporting Project Compassion

This term, the Year Three/Four class led our Containers for Change project, helping to raise valuable funds for Project Compassion. A huge thank you to Miss Hannah Starcevich for her leadership and commitment to this initiative. 

As a school, we have collected an incredible 1,974 containers, which means we have raised a total of $197.40 for those in need. What an amazing effort by everyone! 

Here are our final class totals: 

• Kindy collected 264
• Pre-Primary collected 32
• Year One collected 106
• Year Two collected 188
• Year Three/Four collected 677 
• Year Five/Six collected 707

Congratulations to the Year Five/Six class for bringing the most cans in this Lent. Thank you to our entire OLSOTS community for your wonderful support and generosity. Your contributions make a real difference. 

ANZAC 

The school community will gather for our ANZAC Liturgy on Tuesday 28 April at 2:15 pm, hosted by the Year Two students. Families are welcome to attend. 

ANZAC Memorial Service – Saturday 25 April 2026 

Our school will be participating in the ANZAC Memorial Service on Saturday 25 April 2026. Students who wish to march are asked to meet staff at the Super IGA car park on Dempster Street by 10:20 am. Students must wear their full school uniform to take part in the march. Parents are asked to collect their children immediately after the service. Please ensure your child has sunscreen and a hat for this event.

Principal Welcome

On Monday, 20 April, the first day of Term Two, students will gather in the school hall at 8:50 am to welcome our new principal, Mr Sean Gordon. Following the short assembly, Mr Gordon will remain in the hall to meet parents and families. All family members are warmly invited to attend.

During Harmony Week the Year One students discussed what it means to live together in harmony in our community. After reading Whoever You Are by Mem Fox, we brainstormed words about what harmony means to the Year Ones, then they illustrated their idea of harmony to make a class display.

Our Year Five/Six students have been exploring the concept of Democracy as part of their Civics and Citizenship studies, and this week they had the exciting opportunity to participate in a “Pop Up Parliament” incursion delivered by Parliament House. On Monday 23 March, our presenters, Jordie and Tory, guided students through a hands-on simulation of how a bill passes through both the Lower House and the Upper House. They also helped students unpack the important roles played by key parliamentary figures throughout the law making process. The session was highly engaging, giving students the chance to step into the shoes of members of parliament, debate ideas, and understand how decisions are made at a national level. Our students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and walked away with valuable insights into how our government works and why active participation in a democracy is so important. 

This term in Auslan, students across the whole school have been building their signing skills through a range of fun and engaging games. These activities have helped students consolidate their growing vocabulary while strengthening their receptive skills. I have loved watching students confidence grow as they participate in both group and partner games. We have created online class dictionaries, whole class games and learnt a lot about Deaf History and Culture!

URSTRONG’s whole-school friendship strategy has improved the social climate in schools around the world, connecting over a million kids, parents, and teachers with a common language of friendship. We are proud to be a URSTRONG School and are committed to empowering your children with friendship skills.

You are invited to take advantage of a FREE Parent Membership to access hundreds of resources – including an eight session video series. This will allow you to learn the same language & strategies being taught in the classroom through the Friendology 101 curriculum. We hope that, as a URSTRONG Family, you will reinforce the important messages of empowerment, self-compassion, & kindness at home.

As a next step, we would recommend:

• Click here to view an overview of URSTRONG.
• Activate your FREE Parent Membership and explore all the resources available to your family.
• Explore the hundreds of resources available to you!

We believe that empowering our students with these skills will create a culture of kindness at our school and we hope that, together, we can support your children to have healthy, feel-good friendships.

“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”  

This one’s for the kids navigating those tricky friendships right now.

Maybe your friendship is fading and your heart’s not quite ready to let go? Maybe you’ve got a friendship in the Red-Zone and you’re trying to find your way around the Friend-o-Cycle? Or, maybe you’re summoning the courage to use a Quick Comeback with someone who’s being Mean-on-Purpose?

This month, our URSTRONG Schools are focusing on COURAGE – and wow, it seems to show up in friendships every single day.

It takes courage to:
Spend less time in a friendship that’s no longer in the Green-Zone
Move on to Forgiveness after a Friendship Fire
Include someone new & create those Horseshoe Friendship Groups
Be your true self… (Hello, Inner Ninja!)

So to all the kids doing the hard, brave work of friendship…
Just keep swimming. (And, we’re swimming right beside you, cheering you on!)

The P & F would like to extend a huge thank you to our wonderful school community for your generosity in supporting this year’s Easter Raffle. Thanks to your donations, we were able to put together 14 fantastic prizes — a truly impressive effort that reflects the spirit of our community. We are so grateful for every contribution received. The raffle raised $900.90, which will go directly back into supporting our students and school initiatives.

We’d also like to remind parents about the short P & F survey that has been shared via SeeSaw and again via this link. If you haven’t had a chance to complete it yet, we would really value your input. Your feedback helps us shape events and opportunities that are enjoyable, inclusive, and meaningful for our families.

We would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Tony for his time at OLSOTS this term. He has been a friendly and welcoming presence at the gate, a great supporter of parents, staff and the wider community, and has guided the school so gracefully during this period of transition. We wish him all the very best and hope to see him back in Esperance again in the future.

Wishing all our families a happy and relaxing holiday break — we look forward to seeing you next term.

Tash McCarthy

P & F Chair