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THANK YOU 

Families received an email from Mrs Nicolene Vallentgoed (School Advisory Council Chair) on Tuesday 18 November, advising of my appointment as Principal of St Brigid’s Primary School in Middle Swan from 1 January 2026. This is truly a bittersweet feeling for our family, as we are both excited about the new opportunities that await, and sad to say farewell to this wonderful school community. I thank the parents who have reached out to me, offering their best wishes, following the announcement. It has been an absolute privilege to serve as Principal of Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School over the last five years, and I thank all members of our community for making this place so wonderful. It’s not goodbye just yet, and I look forward to connecting with families as we finish our school year together.  

SACRAMENTS – FIRST HOLY COMMUNION & CONFIRMATION 

Please keep Pippa, Nate, Mitchell, and Eli in your prayers as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday 23 November. May they be filled with the Holy Spirit and strengthened in their faith. We ask for your support and blessings during this important milestone in their spiritual journey. It was wonderful to have Bishop George visit our school this week. Bishop George enjoyed chatting with our Year Six students, prior to Confirmation this Sunday. I thank Mrs Erin Tyrrell for preparing our students. 

ANNUAL COMMUNITY MEETING 

Our Annual Community Meeting (ACM) will take place on Monday 1 December, beginning at 4:00pm in the Dance Room. Drinks and snacks will be provided prior to our ACM, from 3:30pm. Please come along as we celebrate all we have achieved this year and look forward to 2026. Reports from the School Advisory Council and P & F Committee will be presented, along with my report. I thank all who have nominated to join the School Advisory Council or P & F Committee in 2026. While the nomination period has ended, we still have one vacancy on our School Advisory Council to begin a three-year term in 2026. Please contact me directly if you are interested in this position. 

MOVE-UP MORNING  

We look forward to our Move-Up Morning on Friday 5 December. This is an exciting event, as students move up to their 2026 classroom with their 2026 teacher/s. Students will meet in the hall where class teachers for 2026 will be announced. Students will then move to their new classroom to complete an activity and begin building relationships with their 2026 teacher/s. Parents will receive an email soon after Move-Up Morning, advising class teacher placements for 2026. 

STUDENT LEADERSHIP SPEECHES 

Mrs Erin Tyrrell is currently assisting our Year Five students as they prepare speeches for Year Six leadership positions. Students wishing to nominate for School Captain and/or Faction Captain positions will deliver their speeches on Friday 5 December at 9:00am. Students from Years 3-5, as well as staff, will then vote for our two School Captains and three Faction Captains for 2026. Our elected leaders will continue to be supported by Year Five and Year Six students who choose to nominate for involvement in our Making Jesus Real (MJR) Ministry or Wellbeing Ministry. This approach provides additional leadership opportunities and builds leadership capacity in our future leaders.  

CHRISTMAS CONCERT & CORE AWARDS  

Our annual Christmas Concert & CORE Awards evening takes place on Wednesday 10 December. All students are to be in class at 5:15pm, ready to walk to the hall as a class to begin at 5:30pm. CORE Awards for students in Pre-Primary to Year Six and will be presented at the conclusion of our Christmas Concert. I look forward to seeing you there. 

GRADUATION & THANKSGIVING MASS 

Our Graduation & Thanksgiving Mass will take place on Thursday 11 December at 9:00am. This is an opportunity to farewell our Year Six graduates and give thanks as a school community for the 2025 school year. 

END OF YEAR REPORTS 

Our teachers are busy preparing End of Year Reports, which will be available via SEQTA Engage on Friday 12 December. Please take the time to read through your child’s report, celebrating their achievements and acknowledging areas for growth. More information regarding reporting can be found in Mrs Russell’s news. 

TERM DATES 2026 

Term Dates for 2026 are now listed on our website . Should these need to be changed, parents will be notified accordingly. 

ENROLMENTS FOR 2026 

We continue to prepare for the 2026 school year. Our Pre-Kindy classes (Tuesday and Friday) for next year are very close to full, with just a few spots left in each class. If you would like your child to join Pre-Kindy next year, or know someone who does, please complete an enrolment application as a priority. Please note that we are only reviewing enrolment applications for students who are three-years old during Semester One of 2026, at this stage. We also have vacancies in all year groups, Kindergarten to Year Six. 

PARISH AND SCHOOL CHRISTMAS TREE APPEAL

In the spirit of Advent and preparing our hearts for Jesus this year, our school community along with our Parish community are collecting nonperishable food items to be distributed to local charity Esperance Care Services.  We are seeking donations of  

• Canned meat, canned beef stew, canned chili, canned soup, canned fish tuna, canned fruits, canned vegetables,
• Baking mix, pasta, rice, noodles, sugar, shelf stable milk, evaporated milk, powdered milk, flour, cereal,
• Spreads, jam, juices, pasta sauce.

All donations can be dropped off at the school office or to the children’s classrooms until Friday 12 December. Thank you for helping to Make Jesus Real in our school community. 

CHRISTMAS CONCERT AND CORE AWARDS

Our End-of-Year Christmas Concert and CORE Awards will be held on Wednesday, 10 December, starting at 5:30 pm in the school hall. 

Please drop your child off at their classroom by 5:15 pm, then make your way to the hall to find a seat. 

The evening will begin with the Christmas Concert, followed by the presentation of our CORE Awards. 

Student Dress Code: 

• Year 4–5: Black dance T-shirt 

• Kindy–Year 3: White dance T-shirt 

• All students: Denim shorts or skirt, and something festive (e.g., a Christmas headband). 

At the conclusion of the night, children will return to their classrooms and can be collected by parents. 

END OF YEAR REPORT  

This report provides parents with an overview of how their child has progressed, across the entire year, in relation to the end of year Achievement Standard for each learning area for their year level. The grade provided is based on the curriculum which has been taught and assessed across the entire year, not just Semester Two.  

Understanding the Grading System – Pre-Primary 

 ACHIEVEMENT DESCRIPTORS  

The student demonstrates excellent achievement of what is expected for this year level.  

The student demonstrates high achievement of what is expected for this year level. 

 The student demonstrates satisfactory achievement of what is expected for this year level. 

The student demonstrates limited achievement of what is expected for this year level. 

The student demonstrates very low achievement of what is expected for this year level.  

The descriptors summarise the standard (or quality) of achievement associated with each level. The scale describes the depth of knowledge and understanding and the range of skills that students typically show.  

Maintaining a level in a learning area from one semester to the next is an indication of positive achievement and expected development. 

 A child who is on an Individual Education Plan will have progress reported against learning outcomes outlined in the Individual Education Plan. 

Understanding the Grading System – Years 1 – 6 

GRADE DESCRIPTION  

A The student demonstrates excellent achievement of what is expected for this year level. 

B The student demonstrates high achievement of what is expected for this year level. 

C The student demonstrates satisfactory achievement of what is expected for this year level. 

D The student demonstrates limited achievement of what is expected for this year level.  

E The student demonstrates very low achievement of what is expected for this year level.  

The A – E grade scale summarises the standard of achievement associated with each learning area. The scale describes the depth of knowledge, understandings and skills that children working at that standard typically show. If your child receives a ‘C’ grade, they are achieving at the required level for their year. 

Maintaining a grade in a learning area from one semester to the next is an indication of positive achievement and expected development.  

A child who is on an Individual Education Plan will have progress reported against learning outcomes outlined in the Individual Education Plan – not using A-E grades. 

Is a ‘C’ grade good? 

Yes, you should celebrate C grades as this indicates that your child has progressed to the desired level of understanding for his/her year level. 

 Is a ‘C’ grade just a pass like when I was at school 

No, a C grade today, is the expected Achievement Standard for each year level and each learning area.  

Does an ‘A’ or ‘B’ grade mean my child is working a year or two above their current grade? 

No, an ‘A’ or ‘B’ grade means that your child is responding to the content taught to a deeper level. They may be thinking more critically about the content, which is a wonderful skill to demonstrate.  

How are final grades determined?  

Teachers collect numerous samples of work and assessments to determine the final grade. The grade is determined with the use of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority’s (SCSA) Judging Standards. For more information on this go to https://parent.scsa.wa.edu.au/how-will-my-child-be-assessed 

SEQTA Engage Reports: 

Parents new to our school should have received a welcome email inviting you to create a login to SEQTA Engage.  Once you have created your login and password you will have access to SEQTA Engage.  On Friday, 12 December the school reports will be available for you to view through SEQTA Engage. Please ensure you have followed the steps to login to your SEQTA account, or you will be unable to view your child’s report. Follow https://olsots.wa.edu.au/our-community/seqta-engage/ for more information. 

Please note that changes to dates may occur, always check the school calendar for live up-to-date information.

✨ Back to School Uniforms – Get Ready for 2026!

It’s time to get organised for the new school year! Our preferred method for ordering uniforms is simple, complete the Uniform Order Form on our school website and either:

✅ Email it to admin@olsots.wa.edu.au, OR
✅ Drop it into the front office before the end of term

This helps our “uniform fairies” pick and pack your items so they’re ready for you to pay and collect on:

📅 Thursday, 29 January
🕗 Uniform Shop Open: 8:30am – 2:00pm
Perfect for your back-to-school shopping!

Extra Request:
If you have any spare paper shopping bags that can be repurposed, please donate them to the Uniform Shop before the end of term.

Need more info?
Uniform expectations, order forms, and opening hours can be found on our school website, at Uniforms.

We had a fantastic day at our Faction Cross Country in Week 4! It was wonderful to see all our students from Pre-Primary to Year Six taking part in the event. Everyone showed Courage by giving it their best, stayed Optimistic about their personal performance, demonstrated Respect towards others, and strived for Excellence in their efforts.

Congratulations to MacKillop for winning the overall faction points! Well done also to our Champions and Runners-up on their outstanding achievements.

A big thank you to Miss Swan for her organisation and hard work in making the day such a success.

MacKillop 112 pts

Xavier 81 pts

Salvator 79 pts

In Pre-Primary we have been learning all about the Holy Spirit. We listened to stories teaching us about how Jesus used words and actions to show love. We then learnt about how the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and explored signs and symbols that represent the Holy Spirit. We had fun acting out ways we can follow the example of Jesus by making good choices with the help of the Holy Spirit.

This term in Digital Technologies, our Year Four students have been exploring how to use simple visual programming to create sequences of steps (algorithms) and make decisions using branching. Students have practised these skills across a range of engaging platforms, including Botzee robots, Minecraft Education, Swift Playgrounds, and Scratch.

Throughout our lessons, students have worked collaboratively to problem-solve, test, and refine their code, showing fantastic creativity and perseverance.

A highlight of the term has been sharing our learning with others. Our Year Fours loved teaching our buddy class and younger students about recognising and creating patterns using the Sphero Indi Robots. They demonstrated confidence, leadership, and excellent communication while guiding younger learners through hands-on activities.

What a fantastic time we had at our Slime and Colour Run on Friday! I hope everyone managed to get clean easily afterward—I’m sure the kids were ready for a well-earned rest after such a high-energy afternoon.

Thank you again for supporting our school!