OLOF TIMES
7th May 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
As I was thinking about Mother’s Day this coming Sunday and what to write to our community, it was nice to just pause for a moment and think about my mum before writing anything further. Here is a lady, like many other migrants who left home for a better life at a young age. My mother was married to my dad at 18 years of age. Two months later, dad was on a boat to Australia to find a new and better life for them. Two years later, mum arrived in Australia with no language and scared of the unknown. To think of their hardships, determination and resilience, I still find it hard to comprehend. To me, my mum is a lady who just has something special about her in what she brings to our world. To me she is my Mother Teresa.
One word to describe her is - humble. I honestly cannot recall a time in my life where I have seen mum worry about herself or do something for herself. That’s not to say she hasn’t, but I just have never seen it. Mum has always been one to worry about others, whether it is her family or friends.
I found this quote below which I think describes my mum best:
When I think of mum, I see this humbleness, in abundance. Her kitchen is like a restaurant. At times, she will have 3-4 different dishes cooking for different family members or even friends. Not that any of my siblings have asked for it, but because she thinks that we are all so busy that from time to time, it’s nice to have a meal cooked for the family or for friends who may not be well. So, on any given afternoon I will get a call from mum, “Come over because I have cooked lasagne or cutlets or ravioli!” and the list goes on. Not only do I go and get the dish from mum, but I also walk away with added bonuses; eggs, bread, fruit, vegetables… (Just in case we don’t have these things at home!!!).
Mum, from a young age, would always tell my siblings and I to count our blessings and not to worry about what others have and don’t have. To always be friends with people, never quarrel with your friends, always forgive each other… To be told that is one thing, but to see a person walk the talk is something that hits you as you grow.
I could go on and on about my mum and how special she is to us all, but when I think of her this week, and when we catch up at some point on Sunday, I know there is something pretty special about what she has brought to the lives of all those she meets. What she has brought to her part of the world within her community. Mum, quietly goes about things, loves a cuppa and a chat and loves tending to her garden patch. She started on the garden after dad passed away. She loves visiting people and loves people visiting her. More importantly she loves it most when her grandchildren visit her. My favourite times are when I pop in for a cuppa and am just on my own with her. As the years go on, you appreciate these times and hold them so preciously. Even on these visits I walk away as if I’ve been to Coles!!!
To all our mums and grandmothers of Our Lady of Fatima School, always remember how precious you are to all those in your world, especially the little ones that love you unconditionally. We see this every day in our Kiss and Drive or as you drop them off at the gate. It just brings a warmth to the start of the day. One doesn’t have to be an Einstein to see what your children mean to you. Personally, I see it in your eyes and your smiles. A Mother’s love is so obvious. Take special care this weekend and may your day be filled with great joy, goodness and blessings of appreciation.
To all our families who have lost their mothers or grandmothers over the years, they always remain close and, in our hearts, especially when we most need them. We hope you are all okay and take comfort in knowing they will be with you on Sunday showering their blessings from above, upon you and your families. It is just what they do. Our mums are like our guardian angels, always looking out for us. They do it without the want of recognition, they just go about it quietly, mostly without us even knowing and remaining humble throughout.
MOTHER’S DAY
A big thank you to all our mothers and grandmothers who were able to attend our special Mother’s Day Mass on Thursday. Our Year Ones prepared a beautiful service with a touching song at the end. A big thank you to our Year One class and to Mrs Reardon for preparing the children. It was fantastic to be able to gather in reverence for a whole school mass. Let’s hope that we have the opportunity to be able to do more of this in the future. I sincerely apologise that we had to cancel the morning tea; however, with the inclement weather coupled with COVID restrictions there was nothing else we could do. Thank you for your understanding and a huge thank you to Natasha Goncalves who supplied the beautiful roses at short notice for our special mothers!
CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE VISIT
Last week I was fortunate to visit Corpus Christi College. Mr Frank Italiano, the current Principal, was kind enough to spare some time and show me around the college. I know that we have some families and staff who have children there, but I would like to add what a wonderful opportunity the students at Corpus Christi have. The technology around the college is phenomenal, the learning areas are fully resourced, the gym needs to be seen to believe and the performing arts/theatre is unbelievable. I would fully encourage parents to take a tour of the college. We are fortunate in this area as parents have an excellent range of high school to choose from.
OUR LADY OF FATIMA FEAST DAY (WEEK)
Our activities will commence on Thursday the 13th May with a whole school mass in the parish church. The children will then attend a movie at Garden City, Booragoon. From Friday 14 May to Wednesday 19 May, the children will be involved in various class activities and buddy activities focusing on Our Lady of Fatima. Some of the activities will be creating decade rosary beads, mapping where Fatima is, who Fatima appeared to, the story of Our Lady of Fatima, art and craft activities and looking at the history of the school. This promises to be an exciting week for the students!
TREE CLEARING
On Monday 3 May, we called up a new tree lopping company called Conigli-LaRoche, to do some clearing for us along Harris Street. The area to be cleared was along the sand-pit, with branches well over-grown causing the fence to buckle under their weight and also causing a danger for the students climbing on the adventure playground with branches at eye level. Vision into the school from Harris Street was also obscured. The clearing has made a huge difference and opens the area up a little more. Hopefully, soon we will be able to have some new signage around the school in this area.
I must also say that the two lumberjacks worked extremely hard and did a magnificent job. One of the workers even had his father in attendance to assist and see if he could use the chainsaw properly!!!
COVID-19
I would like to thank all our parents, staff and students for being so supportive and understanding with the continual updates for COVID protocols within the school. You have been brilliant as have been the visitors coming into the school. Grazie!
NAPLAN
Next week our Year 3 and 5 students will be sitting their NAPLAN assessments. Overall, NAPLAN is an important tool for parents, educators and the public to see how Australia’s children are meeting essential literacy and numeracy standards. It’s a point-in-time snapshot assessment of students’ achievements in these important areas. For us as a school it assists us to plan and set our goals for our Curriculum Plan and School Improvement Plan. I would also like to reiterate to all parents that
NAPLAN does not replace the important assessments and day to day work that regularly occurs in classrooms. We need to keep things into perspective. For a complete view of how best to support your child or to see how your child is progressing you should talk to your child’s class teacher.
My main worry about NAPLAN is the children and the anxiety that this assessment can instigate. The amount of pressure that is placed on them for a one-of assessment is ridiculous. It should be low key and hardly mentioned. Therefore, I encourage all parents with children in Year 3/5 to keep NAPLAN in context and to keep it low key at home. At a school level, that is what we will be doing. NO PRESSURE! Just tell your child to do his or her best without added pressure! When we look at NAPLAN, it is an assessment that is only taken four times in a child’s schooling life. Over three days, there are four tests (in the areas of Numeracy and Literacy) that take approximately one hour each to complete. There are no prizes or repercussions for doing well or not in these assessments. It is purely data gathering.
THE CONDUCT STATEMENTS
Last term we commenced looking at sections of the Code of Conduct. This week we continue looking at statements 6 - 8.
CONDUCT STATEMENT 6 -YOU TREAT PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY AS PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL.
- You have ethical and legal obligations to treat personal information as confidential. You protect the privacy of each member of the school community by treating the information gained in the relationship as confidential, restricting its use and disclosure to the purposes defined in your school Privacy Policy.
CONDUCT STATEMENT 7 - YOU GIVE AND SEEK THE BEST, HONEST AND MOST ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EDUCATION AND CARE OF STUDENTS.
GUIDELINES
- Parents and teacher are to work together in seeking and giving information relevant to the education, safety and well-being of students, based on primary rather than secondary sources.
- Do not rely on hearsay, opinion, rumour or assumptions.
CONDUCT STATEMENT 8 - YOU SUPPORT ALL MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY IN MAKING INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT STUDENTS.
GUIDELINES
- Parents are the first educators of their children and equal partners in the education of students.
- You treat the opinions of parents and school staff about the education and well-being of students with respect and dignity, even if you do not agree with it or believe it is misinformed or misguided.
Lastly, just letting you know that I am on leave until Thursday 13th May.
God Bless
Sandro Coniglio
Principal
Days to remember 2021- please check our updated calendar on our website
Pupil free day - Tue 8 June
Pupil free day - Friday 2 July
Pupil free day - Monday 16 August
Pupil free day - Monday 11 October
A prayer for Mother's Day
School Fee Statements
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!
Entertainment books - Give. Get. Share. Mothers Day Special
For the first time EVER! – for a limited time only, receive a BONUS $20 Priceline or Woolworths eGift Card when you purchase a Single City Membership or a $40 The ICONIC or Priceline eGift Card when you purchase a Multi City or Multi Plus Membership!
So, you’ll need to hurry! Offer ends at 11.59pm Monday, May 10 2021 AEST.
We can celebrate Mums every day of the year with more than just a bunch of flowers on Mother’s Day. An Entertainment Membership is the gift that keeps giving all year round!
Keyed Up Music Lessons
Keyed Up Music will be teaching keyboard and guitar group lessons next term on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday during school. Lessons start from $23.65 for a group of 2. If you are interested in your son/daughter learning an instrument, ring Savanna on 1300 366 243 or enrol at www.keyedupmusic.com.au/enrolment-form
optimistic thinking
Book club
For decades, Scholastic has been proudly bringing adventure and the unrivalled enjoyment of reading to multiple generations of Australian families via Book Club. Each Issue of Book Club contains specially curated, age-appropriate titles that have been carefully selected and levelled by a team of professional booklovers.
Just a reminder to please place your orders online as we are not able to receive cash for this at the office.
Welcome to K2Dance
K2Dance is an innovative, dynamic and professional Dance Company that prides itself on quality and elite teaching. We provide specialist Dance tuition in Acrobatics, Classical Ballet, Hip Hop, Commercial Jazz, Tap, Contemporary Dance, Lyrical Dance and Musical Theatre for children, teenagers and adults.
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.
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