Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome back to Term 4! Another exciting and busy term is ahead of us! Keep your eye on the school calendar and Seesaw for all of the details and key dates.

Last term, our staff spent a significant time focusing on what we believe our purpose is at Our Lady of Fatima School. As a result of this, we have updated our vision and mission statements. I sincerely thank Miss More and Mrs Reardon for coordinating this process.

A vision statement focuses on the purpose of why we are here, which is our students! Therefore, the emphasis is on what we hope our students will be and become as a result of their education at our school. The updated vision statement is:

Nurturing lifelong learners who live out Jesus' message of love and peace.

A mission statement aims to capture how we as a school strive to foster the vision. The updated mission statement is:

At Our Lady of Fatima School, we:

• Provide a holistic Catholic education where the teachings of Christ are lived, valued and promoted.
• Strive for excellence and through contemporary pedagogies, support the resilience, curiosity, creativity and social and emotional wellbeing of each child.
• Foster a sense of community through meaningful relationships with students, staff, parents, parish and wider community.
• Maintain an innovative learning environment, embracing sustainable practices.

Our students explored these in buddy classes, discussing with each other what they thought each statement means. As usual, these responses were thoughtful and profound, showing that they understood what each really meant:

These statements will help frame Our Lady of Fatima School’s strategic focus as we move forward.

We finished off Term 3 with some special events:

CREATIVE EDGE

On Saturday 18 September, our Year 5 and 6 students in the Society and Environment team for the Creative Edge competition competed in the final against Frederick Irwin Anglican School and St John Bosco College. The students were given their challenge at 9am and then had to work independently for 3 hours to prepare their response and presentation for the afternoon. I certainly am biased, but I was so impressed with what they came up with to respond to the challenge. The students received an Honours Certificate and I know I speak for the whole school community in expressing how proud we are of them.

OPEN AFTERNOON

The buzz around the school for the Open Afternoon in Week 10 was terrific! It was lovely seeing the pride students had in showing you all of their hard work in their classrooms and specialist areas. Thank you to all of the staff who helped facilitate this important school community event.

YEAR 4 MASS

Our Year 4’s led the whole school community in Mass at the end of the term. It felt very special to have members of the parish join us to celebrate, particularly considering the impact of the pandemic. Thank you to Mrs Ahern, Mrs Plain, Mrs Szefczyk and Mrs Bennetts for helping to coordinate this Mass. Some of our students have shared their reflections below:

The Year 4 Mass was held on 23 September. The Year 4’s prepared for the Mass for 3 weeks and read beautifully. The theme for the Mass was Kindness, which we hope everyone is practising in our school. We were so excited for the Mass because it was only the second time we were able to receive the host at school. Thank you to all the parents who participated in our Mass. A special thank you to Hope for running the PowerPoint.

(Flynn and Amy)

Here are a few other important bits of information:

WHEELCHAIR FOR KIDS

Earlier this year with Mr Coniglio, Our Lady of Fatima School was collecting metal rings from cool drink cans and crocheted blankets to support the Wheelchair for Kids charity https://wheelchairsforkids.org. If you wish to still contribute to this, please drop items to the front office. When Mr Coniglio popped by late last term, he was delighted to see the collection. Thankyou to everyone who has already contributed. A student shares her family’s contribution below:

Near the end of last term and the start of this term, Levi and I have brought in 3 crocheted blankets that our grandma had made. We do encourage more people to bring in knitted and crocheted blankets. Thank you.

SUPERVISION

A gentle reminder to parents collecting children from the Kindy, Pre-Primary, Year 1 and 2 classrooms, that children need to remain in close proximity to you and need to only play on the grass before and after school. For safety reasons, it is important that children do not use the equipment. Thank you for your support with this.

MORNING DROP OFF

Please be reminded that students should arrive at school no earlier than 8:15am, other than for extra-curricular activities. If your child needs to be at school before this time, please contact Camp Australia, who offer a before and after school service.

SUNSMART PROCEDURES

As we move into warmer weather and a higher daily UV index, it is timely to remind all students of the importance of wearing their school hats during outside play. If the children do not have their hats, there are shaded areas that they will be directed to play in during recess and lunch. Applying suncream at home in the morning is important and all classes have a supply of suncream for students to apply during the day. If your child has a sensitivity to suncream, I encourage you to pack a suitable option in his/her school bag for personal use. If you are volunteering at school in the classrooms or on excursions, please ensure you bring along a wide-brimmed hat. You can find Our Lady of Fatima School’s Sunsmart Procedures here: https://olof.wa.edu.au/assets/files/sunsmart-procedures-our-lady-of-fatima.pdf.

30 YEARS IN CATHOLIC EDUCATION

Congratulations to Mr Celenza, who this morning was recognised for 30 years in Catholic Education. This is a wonderful achievement!

BUS STOP ON CANNING HIGHWAY

Our school has been approached by the City of Melville to paint a bus stop on Canning Highway to promote road safety. Students in our Years 4 to 6 classes are submitting designs for this initiative. Mrs Bennetts is coordinating this project with the support of classroom teachers and we will be seeking some parent help later this term to help bring the ‘winning’ design to life.

UNIFORM IN THE EARLY YEARS

The School Advisory Council is seeking parent feedback about uniform requirements in the early years at Our Lady of Fatima School. We are investigating the possibility of students in Year 1 in 2022 (and possibly Year 2 moving forward) only requiring the sports uniform, as opposed to introducing the more formal summer and winter uniform. The purpose of this potential change is to ensure that students have comfortable and practical clothing to support the play-based focus in the early years. If you wish to provide feedback, please submit this via the following form: https://forms.office.com/r/WXdHQ2xAAW

PARENT INFORMATION EVENING- THE TEENAGE YEARS AND THE TRANSITION TO HIGH SCHOOL

As communicated in the SEQTA email today, we have arranged for Jason Edmunds, Deputy Principal of Seton Catholic College, to come to speak to interested parents on Monday 25 October at 6:30pm in the school hall. Jason will present on the following topics:

1.Community standards

2.Social media and gaming

3.Sleep

4.Parties and gatherings

5.School refusal

6.Progression to high school and beyond

7.Parenting teenagers 101

Please complete the RSVP at the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/w5nCraTFkn.

THIS SUNDAY’S GOSPEL

In the Gospel this week, Jesus is reminding us that in order to lead, we need to remain humble and focus on serving others:

(Mark 10:42-45)

Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognised as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Have a lovely weekend!

Jacinta Petersen

Principal

Many thanks

Amy Sheridan

Finance Officer

amy.sheridan@cewa.edu.au

Wednesday 20th October

Year 6 Parent Meeting for Camp and Graduation at 630pm

Friday 22nd October

ASCS Athletics Carnival 9am to 2pm

(Len Shearer)

Monday 25th October

Parent Information Evening, transition to high school

Wednesday 27th October

Subway order day for students

Friday 29th October

OLOF P&F Fun Colour Run

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!

On Tuesday, the Year 1 class had their second Liturgy Club in the Library run by Hope (Ministry Leader). We had so much fun. Thank you Hope for your hard work and organisation with this club

For the last 4 years, Charlie and Millie have hosted a cake sale with their friends on the family front lawn every year to raise money on the Telethon weekend.

The students walk around the streets and hand out flyers to encourage local residents to come and they would absolutely love your support too.

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.