Our Lady of the Cape Primary School

Dear Parents and Community Members,

Tomorrow morning, Friday 8 May, the students in Year 1 are hosting our whole school Liturgy with a focus on ‘Mothers’. Following the Liturgy, the P&F are preparing Morning Tea. Please note that morning tea is just for the adults, as the students will be returning to their classrooms with their teachers. We hope all our ‘Mothers’ and mothering figures in the lives of our students have a lovely day on Mother’s Day.

Every two years, Catholic schools are required complete a School Climate Survey. All students from Year 1 to Year 6, staff and parents/carers will be able to take part. Our survey is now available and must be completed by the end of Week 4 (Friday 15 May). The information collected will help us make informed decisions about how we can improve Our Lady of the Cape Primary School to further build and maintain a positive school climate in which your child/children will flourish. Please check your emails for survey information and see below for the web address and code for access. Please note that if you would prefer to complete a paper copy, there are some available at the school office. These are anonymous and can be returned to the office once completed. We hope to have as many people as possible respond to the survey and thank you for your assistance with this. We strive for continuous improvement, and this is aided by feedback.

Our Year 6 students are undergoing preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop George visited our students last week. A parent/child workshop was held on Wednesday this week. A retreat will be held on Friday 15 May and the celebration of the Sacrament will be on Sunday 17 May at 8.30am at our Parish Church, followed by morning tea. We pray that God continues to bless these students and families as they grow in faith.

Thank you to the families who brought students to participate in the march and represent our school at the community ANZAC day commemoration service. Our Lady of the Cape representation was absolutely outstanding. Thank you to all our students who attended, and to their parents for bringing them along. Almost 60 students were wearing their uniform, and many others attended with their families.

All students had created poppies during their Visual Arts lessons, which cumulatively made an incredible display as an art installation. Our school choir proudly led the singing of the national anthem and then delighted all present by singing 'We are Australian'. We are so proud of our school community. Thank you to everyone involved.

Thank you, also, to the Student Leadership Council for presenting our school commemoration service. It was a moving service, and our students were attentive and engaged.

Lest we Forget.

The P&F generously support many school projects each year. So far this year, they have had several successful activities to raise additional funds for our school including the Mother’s Day raffle. Without the tireless work of our P&F Executive and all the volunteers and every person who supports our fund-raising initiatives, we would not be able to fund additional resources for our students. The next stage of the Pre-primary playground is being planned and it is hoped that it will be installed this term. The P&F are also looking at options for an addition to the nature playground. Have you seen the new water bottle refill station/drink fountain outside the Year 6 classrooms, near the oval? Thank you to the P&F for the purchase and installation of this addition. The students are loving it!

The next P&F meeting is on Thursday 14 May at 9.00am. All welcome!

The next SAC meeting will be held on Tuesday 19 May at 5.00pm in the school staff room.

Interviews for new families are being held this term. If you are an existing parent with a child entering Kindy next year, and you would like an interview, please contact the office to make an appointment. If you have a younger sibling of an existing student and have not submitted an enrolment form for your younger child, please do this as soon as possible. Our Kindy class for next year is filling quickly, and we don’t want you to miss out.

If you have any friends or family who you know might be interested in exploring enrolment for their child for next year, please let them know that they need to apply now.

In Week 1, the Year 6 classes went to Woodman Point recreation camp.

Everyday we did activities, like rock climbing, vertical challenges, abseiling, coastal bike ride, flying fox, orienteering, escape from quarantine, archery and ultimate sports.

Orienteering was really fun because we got to go all over the camp and see everything. The vertical challenges were fun because you worked in a team to get to the top and everyone had an important role to help each other. We got to ring the bell when we got to the top.

The night activities were good. One night we had a scavenger hunt in the dark using torches to find hidden pictures of obscure places back at OLC.

The food was good, particularly the butter chicken, the scones with jam and cream and the hash browns for breakfast were the best.

The beds were quite comfortable, but the bunks were pretty squeaky. Some people got enough sleep, others didn’t.

The bus trip was really long – longer on the way there than on the way back.

We were sad when we left camp and wish we got to stay there for 5 days. Thank you to our teachers who made it possible for us to go on camp.

Written by Sayer T and Jackson G

This year, each class will have an opportunity to present a class item at a Friday morning Assembly. This performance Assembly will link to class learning and will provide an insight into what has been covered in classes throughout the year. Students will have a chance to display their speaking and listening skills as well as share what they have been learning about in class.

Last week, Year 1C presented their class assembly, entertaining the audience with their twisted tales of popular stories. Who would have thought that the Gruffalo, Goldilocks, Pig the Pug and the Very Hungry Caterpillar could combine to all feature in the one story!

"Laudato Si" refers to an open letter to the world written by Pope Francis in 2015 encouraging us all to take responsibility for caring for our world.

The Laudato Si team at OLC care for our school, our community, our Earth - our common home. Guided by our OLC School Values of, Compassion, Appreciation, Respect, and Excellence, we make choices that will provide us with a more sustainable future. Together, at OLC we can take small steps to create a greener, kinder future for all.​

Our goals for this year are:

To complete a Waste Audit for OLC to understand where the waste is coming from.

To achieve Waste Sorted Accreditation for OLC

To establish a Containers for Change recycling program at OLC – look out for the bins.

To improve and sustain the cultural area of our school and our veggie gardens.

Create outdoor learning spaces at our school.

Establish a walk or ride to school designated day every week – Wheelie Walkie Wednesdays to return.

Create a team at OLC of students responsible for assisting in this work – The Green Dream Team.

To enable us to achieve accreditation as a Waste Sorted school, the first step is a waste audit to understand our waste stream, and to decide on steps to reduce waste across the school. This will be happening on Tuesday next week, assisted by the Green Dream Team. We can all play a part in caring for our earth, starting with small steps like reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

Dunsborough Police will present a Think U Know cyber safety session for parents on Tuesday, 2nd June 6.00pm in the school hall. Parents from all year levels are invited to attend this informative session about keeping children safe online.

This week’s ‘Big Life Journal’ article from Mrs Capell is about teaching your child to stand up for themselves.

Have a wonderful week.

May God bless you.

Mrs Angela Hegney

Principal

In line with our present focus on Laudato Si and sustainability students from most classes will participate in Visual Arts activities that utilise recycled materials. I am presently collecting the following materials for use in Visual Arts pieces.

· Plastic bottle tops. All sizes and colours.

· Shoe boxes

· Laundry detergent bottles

· Fabric. Thread. Wool/yarn.

· Cardboard. Corrugated. Flat. All types.

· Newspapers

· Natural items. Gum nuts. Seedpods. Interesting leaves. Grasses etc.

These items can be dropped at the Visual Arts room on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings before school.

Following on the interests of the children I would like to start a Crafters Club at lunchtimes on Wednesdays, beginning in Week 5 this term. For this to work well I would need some experienced crochet and knitting superstars to help the students get started. I am hoping we may have some parents and grandparents out there who would like to help. 12.45pm – 1.20pm Please let me know if you are interested.

In term four, as part of our 30 Year celebrations, we will have an exhibition of student artwork. The organisation and presentation of this artwork is a mammoth job. I would love the help and support of a small group of interested parents. If this sounds like something you would like to be involved in then please let me know.

Julie Birch

Visual Arts Teacher

The Book Fair is a fantastic way to encourage your kids reading more with the families. Depending on the amount of money spent, OLC library gets a percentage to spend on books and we take some of this as cash so we can support local bookstores.

Parents are welcome to attend the bookfair before and after school:

Tuesday 12th May: 8-8.40am

Lunchtime 12.45-1.10pm

3-4pm

**CLOSED WEDNESDAY**

Thursday 14th May: 8-8.40am

Lunchtime 12.45-1.10pm

3-3.30pm

If your child is bringing cash, please limit it to $20. We are not responsible for if it gets lost etc.

There will also be a simple competition open to all students regardless of whether they buy a book or not. There is one prize per year level, allowing your child to choose a book to their liking.

EFTPOS facilities are available

Congratulations to Poppy Ramsay, who won overall champion show pony and came first in all three Show horse competitions and fifth in her dressage.

We have a large amount of lost property, shoes, bathers, towels and uniform items. Please check to see if any of your child/ren's items are there as these will be donated in Week 4 if not claimed by the end of this week.

The paid position of crosswalk attendant has still not been filled. We have many students who walk or ride to school, and need to cross Cape Naturaliste Road each day. Their safety is a great concern for us. Until an attendant is appointed, we will endeavour to provide school staff to attend the crossing. Please note that students who ride their bikes to school will need to wait for supervision before walking their bikes when on school grounds to get to the crossing.

We are working closely with the Dunsborough Police to promote the position and would appreciate your assistance in spreading the word if you know of anyone who would be available.

For more information you can contact the Children's Crossing Unit on (08) 6274 8731 or email on childrenscrossingsunitsmail@police.wa.gov.au.

We have various P&F events taking place this week as we celebrate all Mothers & Carers of Our Lady of the Cape Children. Thank you to those families who have already supported these events. There is still time to be involved in the raffle and/or purchase a lovely candle thanks to Yallingup Candle Co.

Thank you to Windance Wines, Yallingup Aboriginal Art and House of Cards Wines for kindly donating product packs for this raffle. Your support is really appreciated, and we also pass on our gratitude to the family who anonymously donated the $1,000 cash, thank you.

Winners will be announced at the Mother’s & Carer’s Morning Tea on Friday 8 May. If you are not able to attend Friday’s morning tea then Fran in the School Office will call you if you are a lucky winner.

We look forward to celebrating all Mothers and Female Caregivers of Our Lady of the Cape Children at Morning Tea this Friday 8 May at 9:45am, outside the school hall (After the 9am Mother’s Day Liturgy to be held in the school hall).

Thank you to Carly Cooper Hair for kindly donating the lucky door prize for this event and thank you to Year 1 Families for organising this morning tea.

Flowers

Thank you to Gemma at La’Myrtle Style House for providing flowers for families to order with all proceeds being donated to the P&F.

Flower orders can be collected at 3pm on Friday 8 May outside the school office.

Candles

Thank you to Yallingup Candle Co. for providing candles for children to select as a gift for their special mum and/or carer.

Candles can still be purchased from 2 stalls on Thursday 7 & Friday 8 May at morning drop off and afternoon pickup.

SAVE THE DATE AND GET READY TO DANCE! Friday 19 June

Further details on this event will be provided in the next few weeks.

Thank you to our Grounds & Maintenance Legend Rob who has installed a dedicated P&F Noticeboard on the wall to the left of the school office entry. This noticeboard will be filled with information on our planned events for 2026 as well as store P&F correspondence including minutes from previous P&F Meetings.

We are welcoming families to provide feedback on any of the 2026 P&F events or share ideas for future events. Envelopes have been provided on the P&F noticeboard should you have positive feedback or suggestions for improvement please place your feedback in an envelope and provide it to Fran at the school office. Contact details of the P&F Committee Chair, Vice-Chair/Class Representative Coordinator, Treasurer/Secretary can be requested from Fran at the school office should you prefer to provide your feedback directly to a committee member.

Thank you to those families who bring in their much loved but outgrown uniforms for donation to the P&F second hand shop. All second hand uniform sales and donations are always greatly appreciated.

Our next P&F Meeting is scheduled on Thursday 14 May at 9am in the School Staff Room. This is an open invitation to all Parents & Friends to attend. The Committee welcomes you joining this meeting to share your views and ideas.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

School camps provide valuable learning and personal development opportunities for students; however, we recognise that the associated costs can be challenging for some families.

Saver Plus is a free matched‑savings and financial education program that can support eligible families to plan and save for school camps and other education‑related expenses.

How the program works:

• Families save up to $50 per month for 10 months
• Complete free, online MoneyMinded financial education workshops
• Savings are matched dollar‑for‑dollar, up to $500

This means families could access up to $1,000 to use towards:

• School camps
• School uniforms
• Laptops or devices
• Stationery and other education‑related costs

Families can join at any time throughout the year. Once the program is completed, matched funds are available to use for approved school expenses.

Eligibility (all criteria must be met):

• Hold a current Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card
• Receive an eligible Centrelink payment
• Have a child in school (including children starting school next year or homeschooled), or be studying themselves
• Have a regular income (from employment, Carer Payment, Child Support or cash income)
• Be 18 years or older
• Agree to participate in free online MoneyMinded workshops
• Have not previously completed the Saver Plus program

Families can check eligibility or request a callback via the Saver Plus website or by calling 1300 610 355.

Email: admin@ladyofcape.wa.edu.au
Website: www.ladyofcape.wa.edu.au
Location: 245 Cape Naturaliste Road, Dunsborough WA, Australia
Phone: 9781 3200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OLCDunsborough/