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WELCOME TO OLSOTS! 

We welcome Murphy (Pre-Kindergarten) and his family, to our school community.  

NATIONAL EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARDS 

I congratulate Mrs Laura Connolly (Pre-Primary Teacher and Literacy Coach), Miss Melissa Hayes (Year One Teacher) and Miss Hannah Starcevich (Year Four Teacher) on their nominations for a National Excellence in Teaching Award! 

For over 30 years, the NEITA Foundation has been acknowledging exceptional educators in early learning centres, primary and secondary schools across Australia and New Zealand. 

Our teachers are not just exceptional professionals. They are also talented, committed, caring, innovative, passionate, and dedicated to their students, schools, and the community. 

Nominations are now open, until Friday, 27 June 2025. Please consider visiting https://www.neita.com/ to nominate one of our outstanding teachers or school leaders – it only takes a few minutes to nominate! 

SCHOOL FEAST DAY 

Following the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians on Saturday 24 May, our school Feast Day took place on Monday 26 May. This day is always a highlight on our school calendar as we learn more about our faith story. We began our day with Mass, before engaging in collaborative activities and finishing the day with a tabloid sports afternoon. We focused our learning on our factions this year, specifically our faction names. Over the last few years, we have strived to enhance our factions by initiating faction tokens, ensuring students use the correct names and introducing faction shirts. During our Feast Day our students increased their knowledge about why our factions are called MacKillop, Xavier and Salvator, bringing a greater richness to their understanding. 

STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY 

On Tuesday 3 June our teachers and education assistants gathered for a professional development day focusing on the Religious Education Curriculum. This day supported the achievement of our School Improvement Goal to better understand Religious Education as a rigorous learning area, upskilling on assessment practices and Religious Education data analysis. The day was facilitated by members of the CEWA Religious Education and Faith Formation Team, with a focus on planning, teaching and assessing. I thank Lorna Russell for organising this day. 

NATIONAL VOLUNTEERS WEEK 

We recently celebrated National Volunteers Week across Australia, 19 – 25 May. I take this opportunity to thank all parents who volunteer to assist in our school community, whether that be through attending excursions, at the sport carnival, or in another capacity – thank you! I particularly thank members of our School Advisory Council and Parents & Friends Committee for the work they do as part of these important groups. To Nicolene, Hilton, Gen, Simone, Anna, Shannan, Tash, Faye and Brooke – thank you! 

PARENTS & FRIENDS COMMITTEE 

I am delighted to welcome Brooke Bone to our Parents & Friends Committee for the remainder of the school year. Brooke joins Tash and Faye as our Committee members for 2025. We still have three vacancies on the Committee, and I invite interested parents to join. If you are interested in joining the Committee for the remainder of the school year, please let me know or make contact with Tash McCarthy (Chair). 

DONATION TO PLAYGROUP 

A big thank you to Tamara Virgo from TV Financial Services for the generous donation of $300 to support our community playgroup! Your generous donation is greatly appreciated! 

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM

As part of the Sacramental program for the children who will be receiving Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Conformation this year, there are some important family meetings with Fr Paul. Parents and Caregivers of sacramental students are asked to attend the following Sunday Mass where Fr Paul will discuss with the families how to best prepare their children to receive the sacraments. Please keep the children who will be receiving a sacrament this year in your prayers.  

Sunday 3 August- Mass and Sacramental parent workshop, 9:00am, in the Church. 

The Sacramental Workshop run by Mildred Rego will be in Term Three, Tuesday 16 September 

NATIONALLY CONSISTENT COLLECTION OF DATA (NCCD) ON STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (the national data collection) is an annual collection that counts the number of school students receiving an adjustment due to disability and the level of adjustment they are receiving to access education on the same basis as other students.  For more information regarding the NCCD data follow the link below  

FACT SHEET FOR PARENTS, GUARDIANS AND CARERS 

Please ensure all Book Club orders have been submitted before the 11th of June. Book Club Issue 4 

How Parents can order from Book Club online: 

1. Log in, or create a new account at LOOP
2. New parents can follow the Wizard to set up a child’s profile  
3. Click the Order tab, and select the child’s school and Issue of Book Club  
4. Select your child’s name  
5. Enter the product item number from the Book Club catalogue  
6. Apply promotional codes that children may have earned from previous issues  
7. Make a payment via credit card  
8. Feel great about the Scholastic Rewards that have been earned for the school 

In Year 4 Civics and Citizenship, we have been learning about the three levels of government: local, state, and federal. We explored the different roles and responsibilities of government members, with a particular focus on the role of a councillor.

Students then brainstormed various ‘class issues’ they would like to campaign for if elected as class councillor. They prepared and delivered campaign speeches, outlining their goals and ideas. This was followed by a class election, where students learned how to use a ballot paper correctly and voted for their preferred candidates.

We have had so much fun implementing new class rules and are excited to see our class government continue to grow and develop!

Students in Pre-Primary to Year Six have spent the first half of the term exploring music and dance performances from Musica Viva. Classes learnt about Taiko – different kinds of Japanese drums and drumming styles that are deeply rooted in Japanese history and culture. Students also reflected on interpretive dance performances that accompanied the Taiko musical compositions. Students experimented with creating their own dances inspired by the Taiko music, interpretive dance movements and different aspects of water.

In Week Four, the Musica Viva ensemble ‘Water Rhythms’ visited Our Lady Star of the Sea. Students were excited to see the performers that they had been studying ‘in real life’ and hear the music they had been investigating performed live. Students’ comments about the performance included:

‘I liked when Bridget did heaps of cartwheels on the spot’

‘The drums were really loud, I could feel my whole body vibrating’

‘The singing bowl was cool’

‘I got to go on the stage with them – it was fun’

‘They had heaps of energy’

URSTRONG Schools teach children that, “Trust is when you can count on your friend – you believe them and know they are true to their word.” For children, trust is earned over time through tiny moments like… Their friend promises to be their partner and keeps their deal! They borrow their friend’s markers – they take good care of them and give them back! Their friend tells them the truth! They take turns playing the game and it feels fair!

Friendship Fires ignite when trust is broken and a healthy friendship cannot exist without it. Trust creates security and safety in a friendship, which is necessary for connection and belonging.

Friendship Fact #3: Trust & Respect are the two most important qualities of a friendship. 

But, what exactly is trust? How do you know that your friend trusts you or you trust your friend? In Brene Brown’s research, she identifies The 7 Elements of Trust that follow the acronym: BRAVING:

• Boundaries
• Reliability
• Accountability
• Vault
• Integrity
• Nonjudgment
• Generosity

FREE & Fun Healthy Lifestyle Support from a Health Professional – Get your Kids Moving & Eating Well!

Want to build healthy family habits — for FREE? Jump into our Better Health Program to get tailored and interactive support with nutrition, physical activity and behaviour change!

💻 1 – 2 hours of online FUN for 10-weeks!

🍎 Learn about healthy eating, balancing screen time & staying active

⭐ For kids 6 – 12 & their families

📢 Online program available year-round. NO Waitlists!

🔗 https://betterhealthprogram.org/ or 📞 1300 822 953 Still unsure? Hear how one of our participating families ‘set in really good habits [to enhance their] healthy lifestyle’.

“FREE Health Coaching for your family! 

The Onyx Movement: Winter Holiday Youth Movement Program. This exciting program is designed to keep young minds and bodies active during the holidays with a focus on creativity, health & wellness, and community connection.

 The program is open to all children in the community and offers a safe, engaging environment during the school break.

Key Details:

• Who: Children aged 6 – 11
• What: A dynamic youth movement program with movement classes (Yoga, onyx flow, contemporary dance, sports skills) team games, creative & dynamic prop movements, and more
• Where: Esperance Civic Centre – Reception Room
• When: Tuesday 8 July – Friday 11 July 2025
• Sessions: Session 1: 9am – 12pm each day (6 – 8-year-olds)

                                     Session 2: 1pm – 4pm each day (9 – 11-year-olds)

• Event Link: https://www.trybooking.com/DBZKG