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Brendon Napier
Principal
Combined Parish Schools liturgies
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all families who joined us for our recent Year 3 and Year 4 Combined Parish Schools Liturgy last Friday and our Combined Schools Parish Mass on Sunday afternoon. Both occasions were a wonderful celebration of faith and community, enriched by the warmth and joy of gathering together. The social gatherings that followed each liturgy provided a special opportunity to connect, strengthen relationships, and continue building our parish community. Your presence and participation made these events a great success, and we are grateful for your ongoing support.
Catholic Education Week Awards
At our Catholic Education/Grandparents Day Liturgy on Wednesday, 30th July, we acknowledged students from each class and specialist group for living the Spirit of Mercy in word and deed in our community this year. These students have contributed to our Catholic Education community by embracing the virtues of faith, hope, and love, helping to create an inclusive and supportive community in which everyone feels valued. This is a highly respected award, and we congratulate the recipients on the contribution they are making to our community and will continue to make.
| Class | Award Recipient 2025 |
| Prep O | Remy Davison |
| Prep L | Finley Walker-Wilson |
| Prep E | Tia Wylie |
| 1O | Harrison Lloret |
| 1L | Summer Stewart |
| 1E | Eddie Boxsell |
| 2O | Knox Hogan |
| 2L | Magnus Cockrem |
| 2E | Ava Mckenzie |
| 3O | Xeryus Stoehr |
| 3L | Lily Walia |
| 3E | Brooklyn Peeters |
| 4O | Cooper Clein |
| 4L | Matilda Allen |
| 4E | Cienna Doody |
| 5O | Zavier Stanton |
| 5L | Lucas Killeen |
| 5E | Prince Frias |
| 6O | Ruby Andrews |
| 6L | Eden Torrisi |
| 6E | Quinn Lenton-Cater |
| Technology | Emma Kim |
| Health p - 3 | Chloe Paget |
| Health 4 - 6 | Carrie Balk |
| Arts | Jaedda Moffatt |
| School Officer | Mrs Tina Florindo-Soares |
| Classroom Teacher | Ms Erica Robb |
| Early Career Teacher | Miss Gabi McArthur |
Religious Life of our School Weeks 5 & 6
In week 5 the Yr 5 students had their Year level liturgy on their first night of camp and Year 3 will have their liturgy on Thursday 14th at 11:10 am in the Church. In week 6 our Year 4s will have their liturgy on Thursday 21st August again at 11:10 am in the Church. Parents are most welcome to come to the liturgies in the church and we hope to see many of our families attend.
The Australian Catholic Education Commission (ACEC) Conference is being held at Cairns Convention Centre from 20th – 22nd August 2025. Student and staff representatives from every school in the Diocese have been invited to attend the Mass on Wednesday 20th August.
Prior to the ACEC Mass there will be a Youth Formation event hosted by Gen Bryant, Andrew Chinn and Drew Lane; this event has been designed to celebrate our joy-filled witness of Catholic faith in our CEDC context. Approximately 60 of our students will be attending the National event.
Looking forward to a wonderful fortnight of celebrating faith and hope,
With gratitude and blessings,
Dr Toni Foley
Assistant Principal - Religious Education
Dear Families,
Welcome to Term 3 Week 5! As we have well and truly settled into Term 3, I’d like to take a moment to share some important reminders regarding the use of our Stop, Drop & Go on Balaclava Road.
Over the holidays, new road markings were painted along Balaclava Road to improve safety and traffic flow. As part of these changes, it is now illegal to perform a U-turn into or out of the Stop, Drop & Go. Unfortunately, we’ve noticed that some families are still making these turns, which causes significant delays and disrupts the flow of traffic. We kindly ask all families to follow the road rules and help keep things moving smoothly for everyone.
We also want to remind families to please use the zebra crossing when walking across Balaclava Road. We’ve observed several instances of jaywalking, including families stopping mid-road to cross. Balaclava Road is a busy thoroughfare, and using the designated crossing is essential for everyone’s safety.
Additionally, when using the Stop, Drop & Go, please drive as far forward as possible before stopping. Stopping midway, or directly in front of the gate, when space is available ahead causes a backlog of cars, which can extend past Our Lady Help of Christians and impact traffic flow for the wider community.
We understand that mornings can be busy, but by working together and following these guidelines, we can ensure a safer and more efficient experience for all families. If you are looking for a more relaxed Stop, Drop & Go experience, Mestrez Street is available, with a car park out the back behind our OSHC.
Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us keep our school community safe and respectful.
Warm regards,
Karina Brady
Assistant Principal - Administration
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me on 4280 7200 (press 2 for accounts) or email: accounts.earlville@cns.catholic.edu.au
Lauren Blenkinsop
Finance Officer
Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee
In Week 3, thirty students in the two highest level Spelling Mastery classes participated in the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee. In this online competition students have to spell 30 words, and the results are based on speed, as well as accuracy. Congratulations to the Year level champions:
| Year 4 | Luis Estrada | 28/30 | 1 min 45 sec |
| Year 5/6 | Ollie Oastler | 25/30 | 2 min 33 sec |
Events in the Enrichment Calendar T3
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Weeks 4-7: |
ICAS Assessments |
|
Weeks 1-7: |
Opti-MINDS |
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Week 8: |
Inter-school Chess Tournament |
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TBC: |
Wonder of Science |
Alison Williams
Enrichment Teacher
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 |
Book Week Dress Up Parade NEXT THURSDAY
Each year the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) brings children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. It is a time to celebrate Australia’s amazing children authors and illustrators.
During this week, libraries across the country create colourful displays, develop activities, run competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading. This year’s theme is ‘Book and Adventure’ and we have been slowly transforming our library for this important event.
NEXT THURSDAY (21ST August), students can 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 starting at 8.15am 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 putting those final touches to your child/ren’s costumes. We look forward to having everyone join us to celebrate the 2025 Book Week and seeing the amazing creations people have been working on.
Overdue Books
We still have a large number of overdue library books. If you receive an email about overdue items, 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 accounts 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.
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.
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Term |
Activity |
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3 |
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4 |
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Happy Reading,
The Library Team:
Paula Tindall and Jill Watson
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
OLHOC Backpacks are now for sale in the office for $75 each.
No pre-order required.
Stock Available now.
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.
| 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
