Our Lady of the Cape Primary School
Newsletter - 26th October 2023
CONFIRMATION PRAYER
Spirit of God grant me:
The gift of wisdom
to see the world through your eyes,
The gift of counsel
to make difficult decisions,
The gifts of knowledge and understanding
to use my mind to know you and to love you,
The gift of fortitude
to have the courage to live in the faith
despite the difficulties and disappointments,
The gift of piety
to be able to express my special love
and commitment to you,
and the right kind of awesome fear
that makes me pause to wonder and revere
God’s Love.
Amen
Dear Parents and Community Members,
One of the things I noticed in my first days at OLC was the way students greet, treat and speak to people. Last Saturday morning, I was out running and coming towards me was a group of children on their bikes. I said ‘good morning’ as we passed each other, and they all said ‘good morning’ back to me. I thought to myself, ‘oh, they are just like OLC students!’ Imagine my surprise, when following the students, I recognised some of our Year 6 parents, so the students I had seen were actually OUR students. They were going by so quickly, all wearing hats and helmets, so in the moment, I didn’t realise who they were, but their actions spoke volumes, and there they were, making Jesus real to all in the community! How wonderful!
Bushfire Parent Evacuation
Thank you for your support with our bushfire parent evacuation practice last week. It went incredibly smoothly and is an important part of our preparedness in case of a real event. Our staff used an internal communication ‘WhatsApp’ group for the first time, and this worked exceptionally well to ensure everyone knew what was happening and was able to do what was needed to get students home safely.
Should we ever have to do this in an actual emergency, I am confident that our students would know exactly what they needed to do, which is why the practice is so important, and we are grateful for parent cooperation.
One area that we noted we needed to clarify was the emergency contacts that parents have in place. This contact may be different from the emergency contact that you have already provided, for us to contact if we are unable to contact you. We realise that for a bushfire evacuation, you might use another contact, such as a friend or neighbour. Please note that it is the parents’ responsibility to arrange someone to collect your child. We are not able to contact the emergency contact that you have given us for school records. If you are not collecting your child, but someone else is collecting them for you, please call the school and state your child’s full name, class, classroom teacher and the name of the person collecting them. We will get the message to the classroom teachers and the children will be released to the nominated people. Please note that the phone lines will be busy for a short time, but we have multiple staff members attending to calls, so please keep trying.
Thank you very much. We managed to successfully evacuate nearly the whole school in approximately 30 minutes.
World Teachers’ Day
Internationally, World Teachers’ Day is celebrated on the first Friday in October.
However, as this is usually during Australian school holidays, Australia celebrates on the last Friday in October of each year. World Teachers’ Day celebrates the work of teachers, acknowledging the important contribution they make to the community. The day allows students, parents and community members to show their appreciation for teachers and the positive impact they make on society. I am extremely proud of our teachers and staff for the way they always go ‘above and beyond’ for our students.
In 2023, the theme for the day is: ‘Hats off to teachers!’
Our teachers work so hard so they can give our students the best future possible.
I would like to acknowledge and celebrate our educators at OLC. Teaching is a difficult job. It is challenging, tiring, energising, surprising and no day is ever the same. It is fun, but most of all, it is so rewarding. Thank you to our staff for their dedication, which is valued and appreciated. If you get a chance, please thank a teacher this week! Special thanks to our P&F who are planning a celebratory morning tea for our teachers on Friday.
Confirmation
The celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation will be held on Saturday night, 28 October at 6.00pm at the Church. Congratulations to the candidates and their families. Please continue to pray for our students at this special time in their faith journey.
Annual School Community Meeting
Notes will be coming home next week with information regarding our Annual School Community Meeting (ACM) to be held on Wednesday 8 November at 5.00pm. A nomination form will be attached for those who wish to nominate for a position on the School Advisory Council (SAC) or the P&F Executive. If there are more nominations than positions, a vote will be held at the ACM.
Interschool Champions!
P&F News
Our dedicated P&F committee is planning a First Aid course for parents, several fund-raising activities like tea towel art organised by Kindy parents, and Calendars organised by Year 2 parents. They are also planning on treating our teachers and staff to a special morning tea to celebrate World Teachers Day tomorrow. They are currently preparing tickets for the School Fees raffle. The raffle will be drawn at our Christmas Concert. Many parents contribute to ensure the success of these events and activities, and we sincerely thank all who contribute.
As the current P&F leadership group are coming to the end of their time at the helm and will be stepping down from executive positions, nominations will be called for to be announced at the upcoming ACM. I would like to sincerely thank the current group for the exceptional work they have done in their roles, and the tremendous achievements to support the school in so many ways. The nomination forms will be sent home next week, together with the School Advisory Council nomination forms. Please consider if one of these roles would be of interest to you. The work of the P&F is essential in our school community, to help with those extra things that enhance our school, as well as those events that bring people together.
Message from our current P&F Chair, Leah Pearson:
After 2 years as Chair of the P&F Committee, I will be stepping down from this role at the end of the school year. Throughout my time as chair, I have formed lasting friendships and gained a deeper understanding of the school. The P&F committee has two main roles, fundraising and friend raising. It has been a privilege to work closely with committee members, senior staff and class reps to work towards these 2 goals. I am proud of what the committee has achieved over the last 2 years and I thank them for their support, advice and friendship. My personal highlights have been what we achieved with the Artist in Residence program and our fundraising resulting in extensive contributions covering IT resources, science equipment, ipads, a school garden and many more.
As the school seeks a new committee, I highly encourage you to get involved in the P&F. It is a rewarding experience in which you will get to share your ideas, vision and encouragement for the school, and your kids absolutely love seeing you at school getting involved.
Many thanks,
Leah Pearson
P&F Chair
Grandparents’ (or Significant Elders in the lives of children) Day
We are looking forward to being able to celebrate ‘grandparents’ next Friday 3 November, starting at 9.00am with an Assembly in the hall, classroom visits from 9.30am, and morning tea at 10.40am.
Grandparents play an important role in the lives of our children. We ask that parents send to school with their children some morning tea treats to be shared with their families’ guests. It is always a delight to see the grandparents sharing this special time with their ‘grandies’.
Kindy 2024
We welcomed new Kindy families to their introduction to our school through their attendance at the information meeting in the hall last Friday. We will have two Kindy classes next year, in two new classrooms, attending on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. There is an option for students to attend an additional fourth day, which will be Mondays, and will be a mix of students from both classes, and will be an alternate program, separate from the regular Kindy program. Places are limited, so enrolment in the extra day is a priority for parents interested in this option.
The Kindy 2024 Orientation play session will be held on Friday 10 November. Please note that this is a Pupil Free day for OLC students.
School Fees
A reminder to parents to please finalise your fee accounts as soon as possible, or make a confidential appointment to discuss options if you are having difficulty. Thank you for your support with the payment of fees.
Student Attendance at School
School attendance matters as early as Kindy. Children who regularly attend school have opportunities to socialise, problem solve, and learn in an enriched environment. Studies show that children who miss too many days, even as early as Kindy and Pre-Primary, struggle academically in later years. This also applies to other school years. It only takes one absence every two weeks for attendance to be concerning.
Attend today and achieve for a lifetime.
After school activities are just that – AFTER school activities. Please let your child complete the school day before collecting them for after school activities. Missing out on school time means that they are ‘out of the loop’ and may not keep up with important class information. This makes some children feel more anxious.
Canteen
Students Leaving OLC at the end of the year
If your child will not be returning to OLC next year, please let the office know in writing (email) as soon as possible so we can plan for next year. Thank you.
Enrol Now
We have some places available for 2024. Please spread the word if you know of other families who are interested in coming to our lovely school.
Early Childhood Playground after school
Please be mindful that there are no staff members on duty after school, so once collected from the classrooms, students are in the care of their parents. It has been noticed that students (particularly older siblings of our Kindy and Pre-primary students) are playing unsafely on the play equipment after school and not following the rules and guidelines we have in place during the day for safety reasons. The staff are concerned about the safely of all students in our playgrounds. Thank you for your support.
Wishing you a wonderful week.
May God bless you.
Mrs Angela Hegney
Principal
Wellbeing Focus Mastery
From the CEWA Wellbeing Framework, our focus this term the Mastery Domain. This involves the 3 sub-areas of:
Purpose
Coping
Goal and Accomplishments
Last week we conducted a survey with 4 questions directed at the Mastery Domain and it’s sub-categories.
Our results included:
- 89% of out students believe that what that learn at school is important for life.
- Over ¾ of our students use breathing strategies to cope when things get difficult. (Great feedback for us as we often have whole-school square breathing sessions.)
- 90% of students find that setting goals is helpful when learning something new or challenging.
- 61% of the students surveys said that they sometimes get a chance to set goals at school or outside of school.
Number 4 will be our focus for the reminder of the term – Goal setting – setting controllable and realistic goals.
Mr Torrese
Wellbeing Coordinator
Assistant Principal
School Photos
Tomorrow Kindy Red will have their photos taken.
Pre Primary classes will also have their photos taken. Pre Primary children should wear their faction polos as normal for a Friday.
Sibling photos will commence at 8.10am.
Parents have 3 weeks from photo date to do their online orders.
OLC Intergenerational Pen Pal Project
For the past few years our caring and compassionate students have been bringing smiles to the faces of local Busselton and Dunsborough Cape Care residents. They have sent letters telling their pen pals all about themselves, pictures of their favourite things, crosswords, puzzles and all sorts of little snippets of joy.
They have in turn received some beautiful letters and cards from the likes of Irene, Margaret, Anthony, Nancy, Meryl, Beven, Ronald and so many more.
One of our recent letters was written by Betty who just turned 101 years young!! She was born in Cottesloe and has 12 grandchildren.
Mrs Yates also wrote to tell us that she is 93 years young and loved her life on the farm driving tractors, chasing sheep and looking after her kids. She loved all the wonderful pictures the children sent to her.
Liz from Cape Care Dunsborough donated some colourful artwork she created. She likes to paint all day and wanted to share some art to ‘brighten’ up the children’s day. Liz loves to paint cowboys and grew up on a farm, was an exceptional horse rider and she loves kelpies.
Another amazing resident, Nancy, sewed some beautiful bags for the children in Kindy and Pre Primary to use!! So amazing and generous!!!
Hopefully the students will soon be able to go and visit their pen pals in person!!! But until then…they will continue to send love and happiness via snail mail!!!
Scholastic Book Club
Issue 7 is now out for the Scholastic Book Club. Catalogues will be sent out by the end of the week. Please note that orders close on 27 October. Orders are by online only via the following link scholastic.com.au/LOOP OR you can download the LOOP app. Sorry, no cash orders are accepted at Our Lady of the Cape. Thank you, Leah Reilly.
NEWS FROM THE P&f
The first of 2 free first aid sessions will be held next Tuesday 31 Oct in the school hall, 9am-11am.
Don't miss out on this excellent opportunity to learn or refresh your first aid knowledge, kindly sponsored by Zonta Club Dunsborough.
Secure your free ticket using the try booking code below;
Announcing our final raffle for the year and the prize is a big one. $2000 credit on your family account towards 2024 school fees. Tickets available online or via cash or card at the office. Get the grandparents, family and friends to get involved and help win this massive credit on your account.
Goodluck!!!
http://olcprimaryschool.bigcartel.com/product/school-fee-raffle-ticket
Finally, one last opportunity to load up on sunscreen prior to the hot summer ahead. An order form should have been sent home with your eldest child, however spares are available from admin. Orders close Friday November 17.
COMMUNITY NEWS
More about us
Email: admin@ladyofcape.wa.edu.au
Website: www.ladyofcape.wa.edu.au
Location: 245 Cape Naturaliste Road, Dunsborough WA, Australia
Phone: 9781 3200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OLCDunsborough/