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Dear Parents, Caregivers, and Staff,

This week brings a mix of professional milestones, personal updates, and a renewed focus on what matters most for our students here at OLSOTS. 

Off to Canberra: APPA Conference 

On Monday, I will be heading to Canberra for two days to attend the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) Conference. Having been awarded Life Membership many years ago, I have attended nearly every conference for the past 37 years. 

While there, I will be sharing some bittersweet news regarding SchoolAid, the youth mental health charity I founded back in 1999 at the APPA Conference in Hobart. After incredible years of growth—involving over 60% of Australian schools, raising more than $6.7 million, and supporting over 150 charities—SchoolAid will unfortunately be winding down or merging due to changing operational landscapes. 

While I am naturally heartbroken to close this chapter, I am endlessly proud of what we started as a bush school in Bega, NSW, helping young people navigate anxiety and depression. 

Nurturing the Whole Child at OLSOTS 

Youth anxiety is a growing challenge nationwide, and it is something we tackle head-on at OLSOTS. We are deeply committed to nurturing children both academically and emotionally, so they feel confident stepping into the world. 

The spiritual foundation of our education delivers powerful messages during these formative years. Concepts like Hope, Optimism, and Agency are subtle yet profound—they are the building blocks of a happy, well-adjusted life. Inspired by the life of Jesus, our intentional focus on whole-child development helps engender a critical sense of wellbeing. In future newsletter editions and upcoming parent meetings, we will share more about how we support this journey. 

Staff 

Last week we farewelled Miss Cairnduff after her 5 week stint teaching Year One while Mrs Tyrrell took some well-earned long service leave.  We are delighted to welcome Erin back and sincerely thank Maggie for her terrific work with us this term.  

Mr Colace is away for a few weeks as well on some long service leave and we are fortunate to have Year Five/Six in the capable hands of Mr Pat McCarthy in David’s absence.  

Book Week 

The Book Week energy through the library has been terrific and I love anything that encourages our young people to read from printed pages (as opposed to from screens). I really appreciated the effort, organisational skill and artistic effort on display from Miss Rosey Ryan that made this week so enjoyable.  

A Quick Personal Note 

Finally, thank you to everyone who sent kind wishes regarding my wife Jo-Anne’s shoulder surgery in Brisbane on Thursday.  We hope she will soon be back to teaching at Geebung Special School before joining me here permanently in 2027. 

With Best wishes, 

Sean 

Mr G’s Quote for the Day: 

“It’s not what you do for your children,
But what you have taught them to do for themselves
that will make them successful human beings.” 

Ann Landers 

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Prayer Assembly 

Thank you to the Year Two class and Miss Fish for leading our Prayer Assembly celebrating St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Through your presentation, you guided us in following the footsteps of St Mary and reminded us of her inspiring message: 

“Never see a need without doing something about it.” 

Your thoughtful assembly encouraged us to reflect on how we can show kindness, compassion, and service to others in our daily lives. Thank you for sharing this important message with our school community.  

Socktober 2026 – Malawi: Wednesday 23 September 

This year, our Socktober fundraiser is supporting communities in Malawi, helping to ensure children have access to food and education and providing them with opportunities to build a brighter future. 

Students are invited to wear their silliest socks with their sports uniform and bring a gold coin donation. Get creative with odd socks, brightly coloured socks, or even decorated socks! 

We will finish the day with a fun-filled Tabloid Sports Afternoon, celebrating our efforts while having plenty of fun together. 

Let’s come together, make a difference, and support children in need.  

To learn more about the cause, watch this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BWix1Pm2s8 

Thank you for your generosity and support of this important initiative. 

Dance Showcase and Open Afternoon

Our Dance Showcase and Open Afternoon will be held on Tuesday 15 September, Week 9. This is an opportunity for families to view the wonderful work the children have been doing in class.  

WHEN: Tuesday, September 15. 

TIME:  1:15 to 3:30pm

• 1:15 – 1:30pm – Sean Gordon OAM Principal Address
• 1:30 –2:00pm – Dance Showcase  
• 2:00 – 3:30 pm – Open Classrooms and school tours 

WHERE: All classrooms are open throughout the school. 

WHO: Family and friends. 

WHY: To share and celebrate the children’s learning this term. 

💙 Help Our School Be Recognised!

We would love your support! Please scan the QR code or follow the link below and vote for Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School in the CEWA QCE Awards – “Intention to Impact”.

Since 2023, our school has been on an inspiring wellbeing journey, strengthening connection, belonging and shared responsibility across our students, staff and families.

Through BSEM, URSTRONG and AWES data, supported by Wellbeing Boost funding and our dedicated team, we have embedded a holistic, evidence-based approach to student wellbeing.

This work has helped create a consistent, inclusive and relational school culture, resulting in measurable improvements in student wellbeing, belonging and hope, while also building staff capacity.

Most importantly, our approach ensures that every member of our school community is known, valued and supported to flourish. 💙

🙏 We would be so grateful for your vote!
📱 Scan the QR code and vote for OLSOTS!

Thank you for supporting our school and celebrating the wonderful wellbeing journey of our community! 🌟

Intention to Impact – CEWA QCE Awards

In Year Two, we have been learning to code using Indi Bots and coloured mats. We explored how different colours give instructions to the robots and used these commands to create pathways, complete challenges and guide our robots to different destinations.

Working in pairs and small groups, we designed our own courses, predicted the movements our Indi Bots would make and tested our algorithms. When our robots did not go where we expected, we used our problem-solving skills to debug and improve our code, helping us develop our understanding of coding and computational thinking.

This term, our Year Three/Four students have been learning about Australia’s colonisation, early explorers and the journey of the First Fleet. Alongside this, students have explored First Nations Peoples’ perspectives, including their deep connection to Country and the impact colonisation had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures and ways of life. To demonstrate their learning, students are currently developing a website using Canva, allowing them to showcase their knowledge while also enhancing their Digital Literacy skills. Through this learning, students are being encouraged to consider different perspectives and develop a deeper understanding of how these events have shaped Australia and continue to have an impact today.

Term 3 in Dance – SHOWTIME!

In term 3 students are excited to be putting together their items for the dance showcase at the end of the term. Each year group has been given a different dance style to study, looking into the origins of dance style, traditional costume and basic steps. They have also all been learning and practising a short routine that they will perform. The Pre-Primary students are using their energy with the heel and toe polka, the Year One students are putting the yeeha into boot scooting, while the Year Two are getting their groove on with a disco. The Year Three/Four class are making some noise with their tap shoes whilst the Year Five/Six students are getting their head around a very quick jive routine. Everyone is doing really well learning a routine in such a short time. Well done everyone!

Students have also been putting together a project book on the dance styles including maps and flags of the country of origin and picture of traditional costumes. They have been working towards making some costume items and accessories to wear as a part of their costume for the showcase. As this will be the first performance for many students, we have been discussing important performance techniques and ways in which to keep nerves at bay allowing them to enjoy the performance. Although nervous, students are excited to be able to perform in front of the school community and are looking forward to showcase day!!!