OLOF TIMES
16th October 2020
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
Dear Parents,
It has been great to see all the smiling faces back at school after the fortnight holiday break. The children seem to have enjoyed the turn in the weather and many families seem to have travelled far and wide across WA to enjoy some holiday time. We have the usual busy time ahead for Term 4 as we prepare for the coming of the Christmas season on what has been a very different 2020.
Well-Being in the OLOF Community
We had a very special event take place in our community this morning, a before school well-being session for parents and children which involved a “Mindfulness Movement” session which started at 7:15am. The sessions was facilitated by Marianna Garaboni, Ian’s mum from our Kindy class. This is another activity organised by our P&F with a focus on parent well-being. Congratulations to all the families who participated, and special thanks to Marianna for facilitating the session and Maria Doolan for coordinating this opportunity.
30 Years of Service to CEWA
Lorraine Szefczyk and I were invited to a special CEWA breakfast this morning at Crown Towers to be recognised for 30 years of service to Catholic Education in Western Australia. We had a lovely breakfast and it was really nice to be recognised for our commitment to our vocation. I know I speak on behalf of Lorraine when I say that we have felt very privileged to have had the opportunity to assist and support so many children and families in Catholic communities over such a long period of time. I guess it also means we are starting to get old!!
Pre-Primary Mural
Over the holidays, we had Dixie Bonney here painting an updated mural outside our Pre-Primary classroom. Dixie is currently a Year 12 students at one of our Catholic secondary schools and once the mural is completed, Dixie will be connecting the mural with our NAIDOC week activities with a number of groups of students at our school. The mural depicts the six seasons in the indigenous calendar and we will be drawing a connection between the calendar and the bush tucker planting programme that took place at the start of the year. The children throughout the school will also be painting some banners representing the different seasons when Dixie comes back to visit for a couple of days during NAIDOC week this term.
Book Week Excursions
We have needed to separate some of our Book Week activities this year as opposed to condensing everything into the same week. Our children from Pre-Primary to Year 6 will be visiting either: Bull Creek Community Centre, Kitchen Studios at Heathcote Precinct and AH Bracks Library between Wednesday 21st October and Friday 23rd October as we continue to provide experiences for the children to develop their love of literature.
Interschool Athletics
Next Friday 23rd October is the annual ASCS Athletics carnival at Len Shearer reserve for the children in Years 3-6. The parents of the children participating will have received a note earlier in the week with all the relevant information for the day as well as some information regarding some training sessions in preparation for the carnival. We wish the children well as we strive to achieve our best as a team representing our school next Friday.
Cyber Safety
In conjunction with the P&F, we have organised a Cyber Safety session for the Year 5 and 6 children in the afternoon from 1:45pm on Monday 26th October. The presenter, Paul Litherland will return to the school at 6:30pm to address the parents for approximately an hour and a half. Technology and the way our children use it is a constantly evolving landscape and this is an opportunity we offer parents every two years to ensure they can stay abreast of the changes as we guide our children to responsibly engage in the on-line world that they are immersed in. All parents are welcome but the information shared will be more pertinent to the parents of children in the top half of our school. I do encourage as many parents as possible to take up this opportunity.
Reconciliation Programme
Our Year 3 children have been working very hard to prepare for receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation after starting with their retreat day late last term, the programme will culminate with the children receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation on one of three consecutive afternoons from Tuesday 27th October to Thursday 29th October from 4pm where the children will join with their families and the catechist children and their families, to receive the sacrament, an important milestone in the spiritual life of the children.
Camp Season
The start of Term 4 always signifies the final preparations for the Year 5 and Year 6 camps which take place during the final term of the school year. Our Year 5’s head down south for the Surf Camp, staying in Busselton and enjoying a couple of surfing sessions at the river mouth in Margaret River while our Year 6’s enjoy an outdoor education camp at Forest Edge in Waroona. Parent meetings are held at the start of the term to finalise details before the Year 5’s go on camp in week 4 and the Year 6’s in week 5. This time of the year is always a highlight for the older children as they get the opportunity to enjoy a range of new experiences.
Transition to Summer Uniform
Thank you to all the parents for ensuring such a quick transition into the summer uniform, it is always the easier uniform to transition into and the children across the school have generally come back to school looking sharp. A reminder that the black shoes to be worn with the summer uniform need to be leather or leather lookalike, as opposed to the mesh sport shoes, which a few children in the top half of our school are wearing at the moment. A reminder that the uniform shop is open on Thursday mornings from 8:15am.
Planning for 2021
You may have heard through the media late last term that Catholic Education Western Australia have announced that there will be a 0% increase to 2021 school fees across the state, reflective of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the current recession. Although Western Australia has not been affected as much as other states of Australia or countries around the world, some families may have been and may continue to be affected financially by the events this year and the state of the economy, and this decision seeks to provide some certainty and support during a challenging time.
If there are any families who are looking at an alternative school for their child/ren in 2021, I ask that they let us know as soon as possible as we have had a significant number of inquiries from potential new families over the past month or so. Having said that, we are still a little lower than expected in our Pre-Kindy and Kindy cohorts for 2021 at the moment. We have recently distributed some flyers out in the community and ask families to assist us in promoting our community and programmes here at Our Lady of Fatima.
Best wishes for the coming fortnight.
Paul Hansen
Principal
Dates to Remember
Tuesday 20th October
Year 6 camp meeting for parents at 6:30pm
Wednesday 21st October
Year 3’s and 4’s visit Bull Creek Community centre (Book Week)
Thursday 22nd October
Year 5’s and 6’s visit Kitchen Studios, Heathcote (Book Week)
Friday 23rd October
Year 2’s visit AH Bracks library (Book Week)
Friday 23rd October
Year 1’s visit AH Bracks library (Book Week)
Friday 23rd October
Pre-Primary’s visit AH Bracks library (Book Week)
Friday 23rd October
ASCS Athletics Carnival (Years 3-6)
Monday 26th October
Cyber Safety presentation for parents by Paul Litherland at 6:30pm
Tuesday 27th October
Reconciliation service at 4pm for Year 3’s
Wednesday 28th October
Reconciliation service at 4pm for Year 3’s
Thursday 29th October
Reconciliation service at 4pm for Year 3’s
Wednesday 4th November to Friday 6th November
Year 5 Surf Camp
Friday 6th November
P&F Walk To School Day
Monday 9th November
Catholic Day (Pupil free day)
Kindergarten 2021 Enrolment Applications
If you have a child born between 1st July 2016 – 30th June 2017, they are due to attend Kindergarten in 2021. Application forms are available on our website or at the school office. Please return application forms to the school office ASAP. We don’t want you to miss out!
‘Online & Technology Safety’ with Mr La Roche
Fitness Trackers
Wearable technology has become commonplace in our society. It can help us stay connected, track our health and be a valuable tool. We are starting to see a growing trend of students wearing wearables, in particular fitness trackers. This can have many benefits and we currently allow them at school as long as they don’t become a ‘toy’ or distraction. Today’s link provides some helpful information on some of the benefits and potential problems of children wearing fitness trackers. I hope you find this useful.
‘P&F Wellbeing Theme for Term 4 Wk 2 & 3
Wellbeing Themes
Let’s start this term with a sneak peek at the Wellbeing Themes we’ve got planned.
Wk 1 Let’s Reconnect
Wk 2 & 3 Respect
Wk 4 & 5 Patience
Wk 6 & 7 Kindness
Wk 8 Let's Reflect
Wk 9 Celebration
The Yoga & Coffee event this morning was a fantastic way to start the day, reconnect after the holidays and set a positive frame for the term to come.
Many thanks to Marianna Garaboni for her expertise in leading the yoga session this morning.
If you have any feedback, the P&F Wellbeing committee would welcome your input via the OLOF Facebook page or olof.paf@gmail.com
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.
School Lunch orders every Monday and Thursday.
P & F FUNDRAISER PASTA NAPOLETANA LUNCH IN CONJUNCTION WITH LOCAL IL SORISSO CAFÉ
To order please go via school lunch online.
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