School Voices

It has been a most productive and exciting few weeks at Our Lady’s Primary School, with Shrek rehearsals in overdrive, Bike Ed, Hooptime, Soccer Day, Fire Brigade Incursions, the Global Citizen project, the Rotary Speech Competition and, the Maths Competition all taking place alongside the regular curriculum.

It was wonderful to celebrate the feast day of Mary MacKillop on 8 August.  We made direct connections to our inquiry, “How do we make changes that matter?”  Mary Mackillop made changes that mattered, particularly caring for the vulnerable, and made courageous decisions to support the indigenous students within her community.  We explored her motto; Never see a need without doing something about it.  We acknowledged that so often the needs that matter are the littleones.  We prayed, sang, and were inspired by the life of Mary Mackillop.  We also delighted in our junior skippers, showing off their skills.  We enjoyed learning in multi age groups, through games, stories and quizzes.

Science Week was held across all Victorian schools during the week and at Our Lady’s, we have devoted a whole ten weeks to focus on science.  Our lessons continue to provide our young people with a strong immersion into the world of physical and chemical science.

Our Annual School Fete will be held on Saturday, 14 October and preparations are well underway.  We are hoping that crafty and creative parents, grandparents and friends may like to provide hand made items for our Maker’s Market Stall.  If you are able to assist please contact Katy Landy via the School Office.

I recently visited the Tiwi Islands as part of the Principal Conference to Darwin.  I was delighted to meet Sister Anne as she showed us through St Therese’s Catholic Church which was built by Tiwi labour from local timber many years ago.  This church is regarded as one of Australia’s most distinctive places of worship with a unique history.  Unfortunately, this heritage-listed building is currently falling into a state of disrepair.  Now at 92 years of age, Sister Anne would love nothing more than to see this church, which has served the Tiwi people for decades, fully restored so that it can be a place of communal prayer and gathering for generations to come.  To assist in this project the staff and students at Our Lady’s will participate in a fundraising event in the final week of the term.  This fundraising event will involve schools of all the Principals that attended the recent conference in the Northern Territory.  I will share more details closer to the date.

St Therese Catholic Church, Tiwi Islands

By Annie Engellenner, Principal at Our Lady’s Primary School