Dear parents and Caregivers,

I hope you are all surviving the humidity and keeping well.

We are currently in our third week of Lent. Last Sunday the Gospel reading of John spoke to us of Jesus driving the traders out of the temple saying, “Stop making my Father’s house a market place!” Jesus cleanses the temple because values have gone astray. This cleansing is symbolic of reform and renewal. We are the Church - it is through our actions and works that we are the hands and feet of Christ in our world today.

St Oscar Romero once wrote, “Aspire not to have more, but to be more.” This is a wonderful invitation for us to rethink what is important to us, what renewal or reform is needed in our own lives and as a community. Being in communities we are able to be architects of our own development, and this brings about a change in us. We are invited to be part of the story, of working in partnership for a better world.

How can you, ‘be more’?

As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter we, as a Catholic school, are required to have a Code of Conduct as part of the System Agreement with the Minister for Education. Clause 6 (3) of the System Agreement states: By 2017, all schools in the system will be required to adhere to a Code of Conduct on child safety in accordance with a standard determined by the Minister under section 159 (1) (I). This Code of Conduct will not only need to be abided by the staff of Our Lady of Fatima, but also the parents, students, volunteers and visitors of the school.

I am sure that you will be aware of this code form previous years, but I thought it was a good idea that we revisit the Code and refresh our minds. Catholic Education WA developed a Code of Conduct that was implemented in all catholic schools on the 1st January 2017. This code formulates staff employment and professional conditions as well as the enrolment policy of families new to the school, and also applies to all existing families, staff, volunteers and visitors.

The best way to protect children everywhere – including beyond the school gates – is to teach them to choose healthy relationships based upon modelling what those relationships look like.

The Code of Conduct describes healthy relationships.

Last week I mentioned that we would look at the Code of Conduct over the first few weeks of this term. There are 12 statements in our Code of Conduct that describe minimum standards of conduct in all behaviour and decision making to ensure the safety and well-being of our students. Over the next 4 weeks we will look 3 statements per week.

THE CONDUCT STATEMENTS

1. YOU ACT SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY.

• Putting the safety of all students ahead of every other relevant but secondary consideration, performing our roles professionally, students and parents receiving accurate information, informing the Principal of any relevant information in regards to maintaining student safety and well-being (this can be in regards to people’s behaviour, maintenance issues…), referring students to appropriate experts if a student requires skills and experience outside our core competencies.

1. YOU GIVE PRIORITY TO STUDENTS’ SAFETY AND WELL-BEING IN ALL YOUR BEHAVIOUR AND DECISION MAKING.

• All decisions and actions taken need to ensure the safety and well-being of the students as the primary focus, we all respectfully communicate in plain language and in a way that all understand, ensure that the student has a voice, we recognise the importance of the students education – being to class on time, limit family vacations throughout the school term, parents are not to take action for their children by means of solving issues by approaching other students or other parents – a need to follow due process is required.

2. YOU ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE VALUES OF THE GOSPEL AS DEFINED IN THE CODE OF ETHICAL CONDUCT.

• All stakeholders keep the Gospel values at the forefront of all decision making, that we all strive to live out our relationships with all stakeholders in the school in a manner that is based on gospel values, respect and dignity for each person, commitment to building and fostering welcoming and positive relationships, confidentiality – we don’t speak about others, being held accountable for our actions.

DO YOU SEE AN OLD LADY OR A YOUNG LADY?

As you can see, at the beginning of this section there is a picture.

The picture reminds us that there are two ways at seeing things. In this case how do you see our Code of Conduct?

Is it a waste of time, or is it our greatest gift to child safety and wellbeing? Is it political correctness gone mad or is it common sense? Is it an invitation for parent complaints or is it an invitation for staff/parent expectations? I’m sure that the questions go on, but something to ponder on.

We will continue our 12 statements in our next newsletter.

This coming Sunday 14 March the School Advisory Council (ex-School Board), Staff, New parents to the school and Parish council member will be commissioned at our Sunday 9:45 am mass. I would like to thank all these wonderful people on these committees and staff members for the magnificent work they do to keep this wonderful school running.

Next week we will celebrate Harmony Week! Harmony Week acknowledges Australia’s cultural diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Classes will be involved in a variety of cultural activities over the week and will finish the week off with a community cultural dress day (Friday 19 March) where children can come to school dressed in something that reflects their cultural heritage. This could include:

Traditional cultural dress

Dressing in the colours of your flag of heritage

Wearing your country's sport attire or

Wearing orange, the colour adopted by Harmony Week

This year we are starting a new initiative at Our Lady of Fatima by offering enrichment classes for all year levels from Year 1 – 6. The enrichment program is designed to expand a child’s thinking and skills exposing them to new strategies and opportunities. It does not focus on teaching children the curriculum of future years as this can be counter-productive to their growth and work as they progress through their schooling. Due to staffing changes, a shortened term and the need to evaluate student performance, the decision was made to begin this program in Term Two. The program will be organised and run by the Leadership Team, with the input of classroom teachers as to which students would be best suited. Mrs King will be working with the Year 1 - 2; I will be with the Years 3 - 4 and Mr La Roche will be with the Year 5 - 6 classes. The enrichment program this year will look a little different in the way that we will offer a larger scope to students in different curriculum areas and provide them with an opportunity to extend their talents and abilities. Term 2 will focus on Mathematics, with different learning areas and skills being covered in Term 3 and 4. I would like to thank Mrs King and Mr La Roche for giving up some of their valuable administration time in order for students to have these opportunities.

Our Parent Teacher Interviews will commence the week of 22 March. These interviews are an opportunity for you and your child’s teacher(s) to have a 10-minute meeting to discuss your child’s progress. Your child’s class teacher(s) will inform you via Seesaw when a Parent Teacher Booking Sheet will be put outside their classroom. Please write your child’s name in one of the allocated timeslots. There will be meeting options before/after school and by phone if required. If you have had a meeting this term with your child’s teacher and feel that you are informed about your child’s progress, then these interviews are optional.

Sandro Coniglio

Monday 19 April

Tue 8 June

Friday 2 July

Monday 16 August

Monday 11 October

In an effort to keep both the OLOF and wider community informed of the fantastic work our students and teachers are doing, Fatima has joined Instagram! Our school Instagram account will complement our Facebook page and we will upload posts and stories to both regularly. We have a school policy of not name any individuals however if you would not like your child to appear in any photos, can you please inform the front office. The school Instagram account is under username: olof6157 and don’t forget to Follow, Like and Share!

Kind regards

Rob La Roche

Over the past three Wednesdays, the Year 1 and 2 classes have been participating in a Fremantle Football Club Fundamentals program run by UNDA students. The children have enjoyed participating and learning new football skills. In the last week of term, both classes have been invited to a special "Gala day" at the Cockburn ARC where they will participate in a series of fun skill clinic stations and interact with AFL men’s and women’s players while also having the opportunity for signatures. We look forward to this wonderful opportunity for our students at Our Lady of Fatima.

Mrs Sabrina Reardon

Year 1 Classroom Teacher.

Hi Everyone! I am Lucas Prince, the Learning and It Year 6 Leader this year.

We have a special Lent themed newsletter challenge this fortnight. The challenge is for Years 1 and 4, but everyone can have a go. You need to write a Lent prayer about anything to do with Lent. There will be a winner from each class and these prayers will be read out over the PA system during our daily announcements.

Only the Year 1s and 4s can win Ollie the owl. The winning class will be the one that brings in the most prayers.

AFL State trials for boys born in 2009 or 2010 that you believe may be interested in state schoolboys AFL team. In order to nominate for the trials please follow School Sport WA website link https://www.schoolsportwa.com.au/interstate/afl/boys-12s/ . All relevant details can be found on this webpage. If you have any queries, please don't hesitate in making contact or by calling the School Sport WA office (9264 4879).

Gilbert's Support Our School Program donates 1% of the money spent by you to your nominated school every time you shop with us! Sign up for free at the checkout and scan each time you shop.

As at 16/06/2020 the Gilbert’s Fresh, Hilton SOS Program has 31 schools, and 2,236 customers signed up, plus, Gilbert’s has donated $40,945.00 to local schools since the program commenced in October 2017.

The Foodies Basket, Attadale donates a $1 for every 100 points accumulated. Just give our School name or show your card each time you purchase.