Principal’s Message

In reflecting back on what has been a very busy term, I’m not surprised that our students are ready for a break. Unlike many around our country and around the world, we have been able to complete a full term of face to face learning. It’s weird that something that we took for granted, such as simply coming to school, has become almost a rarity.

At OLA this term, I have been thankful for many things such as the dedication of the staff to provide such a great learning environment, the behaviour of the students and the way that you, the parents, are so willing to lend a hand when required. The number of parents who do things like assist in class for reading rosters, help out in our cooking lessons and attend our events is amazing. Thank you for being there for your children and for our school. Next term, we really need your support to help make the fete run smoothly, no doubt the majority of our community will be here at the fete, please sign up to give 45 minutes of your time to help us get this event off the ground. This can be done via the link that was sent out via SMS or by writing your name on the forms on the admin office windows.

Remember that the biggest gift we can give to our kids during the break is our time, sure kids are saying they want to go on holidays, to the Royal Show, to get a PS5 etc. but the thing they want more than anything is to spend time with you.

I hope you enjoy the break, it looks like the sun will be out which is great. If you are travelling, drive safe, and we will see you in Term Four.

Mr Michael Morris
Principal

Leadership Team Message

Athletics Carnival

What an awesome day! We were blessed to have perfect weather, a fantastic parent turnout and kids that we should all be proud of. The real show of character of our students includes examples such as kids from other factions clapping for kids who weren’t at the front of the race, or kids stopping to help another student stand up when they’ve fallen, the great behaviour of the students in the faction bays or the child who gave up a ribbon in a race because they picked up another child’s shoe during the race. This sportsmanship and behaviour is what we stand for and what our values look like in practice. Congratulations to each and every child for their performance yesterday. Yesterday saw the first running of what was a very successful parent event, the inaugural, ‘Tug of Roar’, awesome work Goretti parents, you pulled on the rope so hard that it snapped! Please see the Physical Education page of this newsletter for all of the exciting results from the day.

Italian Week

Last week, we celebrated Italian Week at OLA, thank you to Signora Pizzo for organising our celebrations throughout the week. It was absolutely amazing to see so many different Italian activities taking place. The kids loved every moment of it and we are lucky to have such a committed teacher in Signora Pizzo. Our students were lucky enough to cook authentic Italian food, eat gelato, play Italian games and perform in the Italian Assembly. What a week!

Clubs Term 4

Please note that all clubs will have their final sessions in Week 7, concluding Friday 26 November.

Calendar Term 4

Attached is the updated Term 4 Parent Calendar. A reminder for parents to please check the interactive calendar on the school website for the most up to date information. The PDF document is only updated at the start of each term. Term 4 commences for staff and students on Monday 11 October.

Click here to download a copy of the School Calendar

Nell Gray Information

Please find attached a copy of the 2022 uniform price list together with an information flyer advising about their Term 4 appointment system, layby facilities, Back to School opening times etc.

Nell Gray Uniform Flyer

Class Placement Requests 2022

We have come to the time of year where many parents are beginning to think about what classes their children will be in next year. Teachers spend a large amount of time looking at the myriad of combinations of students, trying to find the optimal combination for the classes, taking into account the social, behavioural and academic variables before settling on the classes for the following year.

If you have a request for your child’s 2022 class placement, please email Assistant Principal, Rebecca Smith, with your request and reasons. Please note that this is a request only and there is no guarantee that your request will be fulfilled in 2022.

Parent-Teacher Meetings and Interim Reports

Thank you, parents, for taking the time to meet with your Class Teachers on Monday or Tuesday. The Interim Report and Parent-Teacher Meetings are a great way to initiate a conversation about your child’s social and academic progress before we begin the home stretch into Term Four and teachers complete semester reports.

Assemblies in Term 4

Parents, we will be slightly changing the order of our assemblies next term. Instead of doing the entire school’s merit awards at once, we will present the junior awards (Pre-Primary to Year 3) before the class item and then the senior awards (Years 4 to 6) after the item. Please take this into consideration if your child will be receiving an award and you are coming to the assembly as we do not want parents to miss their child’s presentation.

Team Colours Day

It’s that time of the year again, showing our support for all of the different teams we support, across all of the different sports we follow on Team Colours Day!

Staffing

We wish Mrs Maree Noonan all the best for her Long Service Leave in Term 4, Miss Liana Anastasio has already been spending time with the class and we know that PPG will be in capable hands for the rest of the year.

We also wish Mrs Karen Meleca a restful Term 4 as she takes Long Service Leave for the remainder of the year.

We have begun to look forward to planning for 2022, final staffing will be released later in the year, but to give you an idea of who’s going where we thought we would inform you of the following confirmed changes. We wish all staff members going on leave a restful break and those leaving us all the best into the future.

• Miss Rebecca Smith – Long Service Leave 2022
• Mrs Colette Meyerkort – Long Service Leave for 7 weeks in Term 1 2022
• Mrs Mary McAuliffe – Long Service Leave for Semester 1 2022
• Mr Brian McIntyre – 1 Year Leave for 2022 (to visit the UK)
• Ms Lauren Dean – Long Service Leave for Terms 2,3 & 4 2022
• Mrs Ella Galipo – Maternity Leave from March 2022
• Miss Stephanie Figueira – Leaving to take up a position at Mel Maria Attadale

Mrs Jane Sloss has also been appointed to continue in her role as the Administration Officer of the school.

Have a wonderful holiday break!

Thank you.

Michael Morris and Rebecca Smith

The OLA Leadership Team