OLOF TIMES
23rd July 2021
Our Vision
Our Lady of Fatima Palmyra is a Catholic School that aspires to
provide a respectful, secure and caring learning environment
where our community is committed to following
the teachings of Jesus.
From the Principal
Dearest Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome to Term 3!
I have thoroughly enjoyed my first week at Our Lady of Fatima and it has been a privilege to get to know the students and staff over the past few days. I am looking forward to meeting you all and the wider community as the term progresses. I visited each class on Monday and asked them all what they think makes Our Lady of Fatima so special. There were some brilliant responses, such as the wonderful teachers, that it is a place where we remember Jesus, that there are beautiful friends and that everyone knows each other. But, the response that made me laugh the most was “the holidays”! I am sure there will be many opportunities this term and over the next few years for me to discover on my own what makes this school so special.
I would like to express my gratitude to Sandro Congilio for his work as Principal over the past 6 months. I am extremely grateful for the expertise and support that I have experienced from Sandro, Assistant Principals Renae and Rob and the administration team of Gaynor and Amy.
As a staff and school community, we welcome Asher, the beautiful newborn son of Mrs Lionti, who was born earlier this week. He has a gorgeous head of hair and has adjusted well in his first few days.
This week, we have celebrated NAIDOC week in our classrooms. The focus of the 2021 NAIDOC celebrations is Heal Country!, which explores the connection of First Nation’s people to country, ensuring that there is protection for lands, water and sacred sites. The students have been completing a range of learning experiences to deepen their understanding, culminating in a Koorlong Songs in Schools workshop today.
On the weekend is the memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, who are considered the parents of Mary and grandparents of Jesus in the Catholic tradition. To coincide with this, parishes around the world are celebrating the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on 25 July. This might provide a great opportunity for your family to honour the role of grandparents and celebrate together at mass in the parish.
COVID-19 UPDATE
As I have previously emailed, Western Australia is currently at Phase 5 restrictions. We all are reminded to maintain physical distancing of 1.5 metres between adults of different households and to encourage good personal hygiene. Phase 5 allows for parents and carers to drop off and pick up their children directly from their classrooms and this will resume at Our Lady of Fatima School from Monday 26 July. We still strongly encourage all parents to support their children’s independence around getting themselves organised for their school day. It is important to note that Australia is in a particularly challenging situation at the moment and that the current level of restrictions may change rapidly. As a school, we will ensure that we keep you informed of any developments.
COMMUNICATION
At Our Lady of Fatima, we honour the importance of a strong partnership between home and school. To foster this, strong communication is vital. The best way to discuss complex issues is through face-to-face meetings or even phone calls, but we recognise that this is not always possible and that emailing is necessary at times, by making direct contact with either your class teacher or specialist teacher. Please be advised that teachers will respond to emails in a timely manner from Monday to Friday during work hours.
SCHOOL CLIMATE SURVEY
On Monday 26 July, we will be sending information out about the NSI School Climate Survey. This survey collects feedback from students, parents/carers and staff members to help guide school improvement. We greatly value the feedback we receive from all members of the school community and encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas. More information about this will be shared with you on Monday.
GREEN AND GOLD DAY
Two of our school leaders, Sophie and Olivia, have been talking with me this week about how our school community can celebrate our Australian athletes as they compete in the Olympics. They have written some information for you about this below, so please note it in your diaries:
Tonight the Tokyo Olympics will begin, so on Friday 30 July we encourage all students to wear the colours green and gold to show their support for all the Aussies who are competing at the games. We will also be dressing up to celebrate the 2032 Olympics being held in Brisbane as it is an amazing achievement for all of Australia. There will not be a gold coin donation for this as it will be a fun dress up.
(Sophie).
Because the Olympics are right around the corner, next Friday July 30, the Year 6’s will be hosting the OLOF Olympics as well. There will be 3 groups: Pre-Primary to Year 2 will go first, then Year 3- Year 4 and then Year 5- Year 6. Each group will have 30 minutes going to each game and having fun. The sports are newspaper hockey, tug-o-war, dribble knock out, rob the nest, handball in the hole, hula hoop contest, obstacle course relay, beanbag bucket and sumo. Just a reminder to wear sneakers for the day. If you have any questions about the OLOF Olympics, go to the Year 6’s or me (Olivia O).
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
Jacinta Petersen
Principal
Parent Skills and Talent Register
Our School Advisory Council and Parents and Friends Association often work on projects that benefit our school community and we would love to consult with parents that have expertise and can contribute to these projects! By completing this form, we could call on your business to quote on school based capital works projects, school maintenance, advertising or event management. Your assistance in completing this form is appreciated!
Days to remember 2021- please check our updated calendar on our website
Pupil free day - Monday 16 August
Pupil free day - Monday 11 October
Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten 2022
At Our Lady of Fatima School we believe education should always be fun. We provide our students with the foundations for life-long learning which empowers children to thrive in their community with a real sense of belonging and enjoyment of education.
Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten enrolments for 2022 are open now. Please find our enrolment form at: https://olof.wa.edu.au/assets/files/Application-_OLOF20212.pdf
Enrolment interviews for Kindergarten 2022 have commenced. Parents and Carers of students currently attending Our Lady of Fatima School are reminded that they are required to submit an Enrolment Application Form if they intend to enrol a younger sibling into the Kindergarten program for 2022 or beyond. We are excited to share that in 2022 we are adding an extra fortnightly Kindergarten session and Kindergarten classes will run Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday each week next year and a full day on a Thursday for Pre-Kindergarten!
Teamwork
Children enjoy learning about social skills and working with others. We can learn a lot through working in a team (eg. empathy, respect, compromise, tolerance, communication, collaboration & negotiation skills, problem solving, critical thinking). To access this learning, some children may require positive cues from adults to assist them in their social skills and guidance with how to work well with others:
- overly-emotional children can be taught how to self-regulate their emotions;
- children with distractibility can be taught to persist on a task when they become frustrated or angry; and
- the use of a correctly-phrased cue after disruptive or unwelcome behaviour is one of the most important tools.
With patience and good role-modelling we can help children develop some sort of social antenna of how their actions have consequences and how they can positively contribute, benefit from and enjoy their teamwork experiences.
In essence, we can help our children learn the skills required to work successfully within a team such as eye contact, smiling, listening, asking appropriate questions, etc.
We can also help our children to deal with challenges that arise in teamwork situations eg. direct instruction and verbal cues with how to react to conflict and feelings of being overwhelmed. As adults we find this hard, so imagine how our children feel at times?
Try these positive cues to encourage Team problem-solving skills:
- You can figure this out.
- Go talk to (teammate/s) and get a plan. Then come back and run it by me.
- Let’s look at things from a different point of view.
- Everyone has a role, what’s your role?
- What strengths can you use to contribute?
- You are smart enough to know how to handle this without getting upset.
- I wonder what positive things you will say to yourself/your team when things get tough?
- Put your heads together and come up with something different than fighting.
TEAMWORK
Together We Achieve our Best!
P&F Mulch Drive
P & F Fundraiser Subway Lunch
Support our school at Gilbert's fresh market and The Foodies Basket
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.
Keyed Up Music Lessons
Keyed Up Music Lessons
Keyed Up Music will be teaching keyboard and guitar lessons in Term 3 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday during school. Lessons start at $18.65 for groups of four per lesson. If you are interested in your son/daughter learning an instrument, ring Savanna on 6107 8841 or 0479 171 424 or enrol at www.keyedupmusic.com.au/enrolment-form
Uniform Shop
Contact Us
Email: admin@olof.wa.edu.au
Website: www.olof.wa.edu.au
Location: 3 Harris St, Palmyra WA, Australia
Phone: 08 9333 7900