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Brendon Napier
Principal
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
This week, we join with Catholic schools across Queensland to celebrate Catholic Education Week—a time to recognise and give thanks for the gift of Catholic education in our communities.
Celebrating Catholic Education in Queensland:
Catholic Education in Queensland has a rich history of providing students with a holistic education grounded in faith, service, and a commitment to the dignity of every person. It is a celebration of the dedicated educators, families, parish communities, and support staff who work in partnership to nurture not only academic success but also spiritual and moral development. During this special week, we honour the legacy of those who have gone before us, while looking forward with hope and purpose as we continue to live out the Gospel values in our learning and in our service to others.
Sacramental Program:
Last Sunday, a number of our students began their preparations for the Sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation through the Parish Sacramental Program. This marks an important step in their faith journey as they grow in their understanding of God’s love and their place within the Church community. We look forward to celebrating these Sacraments together on Wednesday, October 29th at 6:00pm with Bishop Joe and Fr Nathan. Please keep these young candidates and their families in our prayers during this special time of formation.
Year 5 Leadership Retreat
On Friday 29th August our Year 5 students will attend a leadership retreat— ‘Called to Lead’—where they will explore the idea of servant leadership in a Catholic context. This day will help them reflect on their gifts and decide whether they wish to nominate for a specific leadership role. Even those who do not nominate will be encouraged to reflect on their role of a Year 6 leader.
The leadership process and timeline will be as follows:
Combined Schools Parish Mass
We warmly invite all families to our Combined Schools Parish Mass on Sunday, 10th August at 5:00pm. This special celebration will be a family-focused Mass, with an emphasis on student participation and involvement. Following the liturgy, everyone is welcome to stay for a light supper of pizza, offering a wonderful opportunity to connect as a school and parish community. We look forward to seeing you there.
Project Compassion
With gratitude and blessings,
Dr Toni Foley
Assistant Principal - Religious Education
Dear Families,
I hope this message finds you well and that Term 3 has started smoothly for your family. I have been extremely impressed with the student’s behaviour upon returning from holidays and look forward to what the rest of the term brings.
NAPLAN Student Reports
We would like to take this opportunity to inform you that individual NAPLAN student reports will be sent home tomorrow, Wednesday July 30. These reports provide valuable insights into your child’s progress in literacy and numeracy. When viewing your child’s report, please remember that these assessments were completed earlier this year in March, approximately four and a half months ago. A considerable amount of time has passed since then with various learning opportunities provided to your child.
Students in Year 3 and Year 5 will receive their reports in a sealed envelope, addressed to the main contact listed on their student file. These envelopes will be handed directly to students to take home. To support this process, a broadcast message will also be sent to all Year 3 and Year 5 families tomorrow as a reminder to check school bags for this important document.
Attendance Matters
I’d also like to take this opportunity to highlight the importance of regular and punctual attendance. Every day at school contributes to your child’s learning experience, and even small chunks of missed time can add up and have a significant impact on their learning.
Arriving late, even by 30 minutes, can mean missing out on the morning routine, which includes targeted learning activities that set the tone for curriculum currently being covered or as a review of curriculum already taught. It can also be unsettling for students to enter a lesson partway through, unsure of what they’ve missed or how to catch up.
We understand that mornings can be busy, and we appreciate your efforts in helping your child arrive on time and ready to learn.
Inclusive Opportunity – All Abilities Cricket Blast
We’re excited to share an opportunity for students living with a disability to participate in a six week All Abilities Cricket Blast program. Please see the image below for more details. This is a fantastic way for students to build skills, make friends, and have fun in a supportive environment.
If you have any questions or would like help registering your child, feel free to contact Trish Spry on the details provided above.
Karina Brady
Assistant Principal - Administration
Lauren Blenkinsop
Finance Officer
Library News
Jill Watson and Paula Tindall
Borrowing Days
Please ensure your child brings their library bag and returns ALL borrowed books at their weekly session.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Year 1 | Year 6 | Year 5 | Year 2 | Year 4 |
| Year 3 | Prep |
Overdue Books
A number of emails have been sent to many of our families requesting the return of overdue library books.
If you receive an overdue list, please take the time to search all the great book hiding places at home. Any library books not returned will be added to the school fee account next term.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the library staff if you have any queries. We would like to thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
VIP Read and Sip!
Our first VIP Read and Sip was a huge success with Senior Sergeant Carla reading 'Mums don't Fart'. The students sipped on warm milo while giggling away to Carla's book. Book in via the trybooking link for the coming weeks.
Week 6 Book Week
THREE WEEKS LEFT to organise your 2025 costume/s
There are only THREE WEEKS left until the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book Week. This year’s theme is ‘Book and Adventure’.
On Wednesday 20th August (Week 6), students are invited to come to school dressed in a sun safe Book Week costume, based on either this year’s theme or their favourite book character. They will need to bring their character’s book (or photocopy of the cover) to school.
On the dress up day, there will be a parade at 8.10am where all the students will show off their costumes. Parents, carers and family members are welcome to join us. There will be prizes for the best dressed students and staff members.
So start planning your child/ren’s creative costumes now and stay tuned to future newsletters and facebook for more information about this exciting event.
Important Library Dates
These are some important whole school library dates and celebrations coming up for the remainder of this year. We will release more information about each activity closer to the date.
|
Term |
Activity |
|
3 |
● Week 6 Book Week (includes dress up and parade) Wednesday 20th August |
|
4 |
● Week 4 Book Fair |
Happy Reading,
The Library Team:
Paula Tindall and Jill Watson
The MyCE app will now be our main way of communicating with parents. If you have more than one student attending at different catholic schools, you will be able to see all of them on the one app, instead of accessing the different school portals.
Things that will be able to be seen/accessed on MyCE:
- School Reports (via The Learning Dashboard, NOT Academic Reports)
- Edsmart slips
- Advising of absences
- Access to newsletters
- School Calender, etc
If you require any assistance with the MyCE App, please contact the office.
See some happy snaps from our excursion below!
If you miss the cut-off for Flexischools, you can ring and order through the Tuckshop directly and pay by credit card over the phone.
Carmen Mellor
Tuckshop Convenor
Hi OLHOC community,
Our next P&F Meeting is being held on Tuesday 12th August at 5.15pm in the STEM Lab.
Babysitting and pizza provided.
Hope to see you there.
From the P&F Executive Team
The disco was a huge success!
The Redlynch High School live production students were outstanding, and a lot of fun was had by all.
Thanks to all our parent volunteers for making this such a fun event for our kids.
From the P and F exec Team
OLHOC Backpacks are now for sale in the office for $75 each.
No pre-order required.
Stock Available now.
| Date: | Thursday August 14th, 2025 (Term 3 week 5) |
| Time: | 8:30am-2:30pm (Parents to arrive at 2:00pm for a presentation of all the ensembles) |
| Location: | St Mary's Catholic College, Woree, in the Hugh O'Brien Centre (HOB) |
Date: Saturday 25th of October 2025
Cost: FREE
Tickets: One ticket per person attending the show. Children MUST be accompanied by an adult.
Seating: Seating isn’t allocated.
Time: 12PM and 2:30PM
Duration: Approximately 1 hour 20 minutes
Location: to be confirmed
World Festival of Magic has been organized as a special FREE outing to bring some joy and laughter to the children, teenagers and families who have been having a hard time due to illness, disabilities, or other health related issues as well as children in protective custody. This also includes those who may be experiencing emotional and/or financial difficulties.
Students of OLHOC who may fit the above criteria are invited to enjoy this opportunity to view the show FREE of charge due to the kindness of the Cairns business community and the Lions Club of Cairns.
Please click here for a preview of past shows: https://vimeo.com/912431457
