Our Lady of Good Counsel School
Term 3 Week 8 Newsletter
Prayer for our Pope Francis
Loving and Merciful God,
We come before You in prayer, lifting up Your servant, Pope Francis, in his time of need. You are the Source of all healing, and we ask You to surround him with Your loving presence, granting him strength and recovery. May Your divine grace rest upon him, restoring his health and filling him with renewed vigor to continue leading Your Church with compassion and wisdom.
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord.”
(Jeremiah 30:17)
We place Pope Francis into Your hands, trusting in Your eternal care. May he be comforted by the love of the Church and the prayers of all the faithful. We ask, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that his recovery be swift, and his spirit be strengthened in Your peace. May Your will be done in his life, O Lord, and may Your healing power be with him always.
We offer this prayer in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dear Families,
It’s hard to believe we’re already in Week 4 of the term – time is flying by! As part of our 2025 School Improvement Plan, we’re focusing growth and consolidation. We recognise that as teachers, we consistently encourage our students to learn, grow, and develop their skills and knowledge. The best way to model this is by continuing to learn, grow, and develop ourselves as professionals. Embracing the discomfort that comes with challenging tasks and persevering through the process of learning new skills serves as a reminder of the challenges our students face every day in the classroom.
Over the past few years, our OLGC staff have demonstrated exceptional commitment to their own growth and development. The introduction of the Soundswrite Phonics program and the Talk4Writing program in 2024 required a shift in pedagogy and knowledge. Through this commitment, our staff have seen significant learning growth in students. Additionally, by incorporating Elastik, a data analysis platform, our professional learning conversations have allowed us to fine-tune our teaching and closely monitor student progress.
During the Christmas holidays, I read Atomic Habits by James Clear. He highlights that the key to meaningful change is not just the end goal, but the process itself. This is something we should keep in mind when supporting our students' learning. The journey of learning is what truly matters, not just the final outcome. I encourage you to ask your children about their learning processes. For example: What did you do to make your writing more engaging? How do you figure out how to spell a word you don’t know? What steps did you take to solve that maths problem?
Let’s encourage our students to become active participants in their own learning, focusing more on the journey of growth and less on the end result.
Code of Conduct
As discussed at the Parent Information Evening , I ask all parents to refamiliarise themselves with our Code of Conduct. This document is a CEWA developed document, and is utilised by all CEWA schools. It provides a framework (or set of norms) to ensure that school communities continue to operate harmoniously.
As always, we kindly ask parents to address any concerns regarding their child directly with the school. To avoid discomfort or misunderstandings, please refrain from approaching other parents with concerns related to school matters. These situations can be perceived as confrontational. If you have a concern, we recommend reaching out to the classroom teacher first.
The Code of Conduct document can be found HERE
Parent "OLGC School Values Award" Nomination
Please use THIS LINK or the QR code to nominate a parent who demonstrates the school values of Love, Respect, Excellence or Justice across the life of our school community. An award will be presented to one parent at the end of each term, from the nominations received.
Uniform requirements
Please note, that from 2025 it is compulsory for students in PP-Y6 to wear the school socks. These socks are available to order on the OLGC Permapleat order page.
A reminder to all families that the uniform requirements can be located on the school website HERE and details on how to order under the Uniform Shop tab HERE.
Lent: A Time for Reflection, Prayer, and Giving
Next week we will enter the sacred season of Lent, and we are reminded of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, preparing for His ministry through prayer and sacrifice. Lent is a time for us to reflect, grow in our faith, and strengthen our relationship with God.
During these 40 days, we are invited to focus on three key pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Through prayer, we draw closer to God. Through fasting, we make small sacrifices to remind ourselves of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. Through almsgiving, we show kindness and generosity to those in need, just as Jesus taught us.
At Our Lady of Good Counsel, we encourage our students to embrace the Lenten journey by participating in acts of kindness, prayer services, and fundraising initiatives that support those less fortunate. Together, as a faith community, we prepare our hearts for the joy of Easter, living out the values of love, compassion, and service.
May this season of Lent be a meaningful time of growth and renewal for all.
At Our Lady of Good Counsel School, love is at the heart of everything we do. As a Catholic school, we are called to follow Jesus’ greatest commandment:
“Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)
This value extends beyond words—it is seen in our daily interactions, our care for one another, and the way we serve our community. Love is not just about kindness, but also about compassion, forgiveness, and selflessness, reflecting Christ’s love for us.
Jesus teaches us the power of love in many ways:
Love in action: “Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)
Loving our neighbour: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mark 12:31)
Forgiving with love: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
At OLGC, we see love in the friendships between students, the dedication of our teachers, and the generosity of our families. Through our service projects, prayer, and everyday kindness, we strive to be a school that reflects God’s love in all we do.
May we continue to walk in love, supporting and uplifting one another as a school community.
Project Compassion Boxes
As part of our Lenten journey, students will be bringing home Project Compassion boxes (next week) to help support those in need. We encourage families to place spare change in the box throughout Lent, teaching our children the importance of generosity, compassion, and giving to others.
Every donation, big or small, makes a difference. Please return the boxes to school by the end of Term 1.
Thank you for your support in living out our faith through action.
This week our Year Three and Year Five students participated in a Coordinated Practice Test for NAPLAN. All West Australian students in these year levels were given the opportunity to practice how to log in with their unique NAPLAN codes and participate in a session. Year Three and Year Five students undertook an ‘omnibus’ test which allowed them to answer questions on reading, language conventions and numeracy. The Year Five students also completed a writing task. Congratulations to the students for their mature approach to the practice tests.
All students in Years 3 and 5 will participate in NAPLAN on the following dates:
12th March: Writing
13th March: Reading
14th March: Conventions of Language
17th March: Numeracy
Uniform update:
Samples are available to try for size at the school office.
All uniforms are now available on line through the schools website. Click on 'Uniforms' and it will take you to the Perm -a -Pleat website where all details will be shown.
All uniform orders need to be collected from the School Office and will not be delivered to the classrooms. The orders are delivered to the school every Tuesday. (Cut-off is Thursdays for a Tuesday delivery.)
Girls Summer Uniform
- Blue check dress
- School white socks with navy and sky blue banding
- Black school shoes or navy sandal (no socks)
- Navy school hat
- Navy blue hair accessories
Boys Summer Uniform
- Blue Shirt with school crest
- Navy shorts – same style from yr. 1- 6
- School navy sock with gold and light blue banding
- Black school shoes or navy sandals
- Navy school Hat
Both boys and girls are to wear the official winter school jumper ( not the track suit jacket as it’s for the sport uniform only)
Sport Uniform
- Sky Blue polo
- Faction Polo
- Sport skort or navy sport shorts
- Navy school hat
- White school socks with navy and white banding
- White runners
- School Track top
Compulsory items as of 2025
- White and navy school socks
- School bag - Years PP – Yr. 6
- Homework bag - Yr. 1 – Yr. 6
- Waterproof library bag - Kindy – Yr. 6
Pre primary
- Full sport uniform including sport shoes, school socks and school bag
- Waterproof library bag
Kindy
- Sky blue or royal school tee
- School hat
- No school bag (school supplying)
- Waterproof library bag
Pre Kindy (not compulsory)
- Yellow school tee
- School hat
- No school bag ( school supplying)
If you wish to order items please go to the uniform website
All Uniforms to be ordered on the Perm-a-Pleat website which is available to navigate from the OLGC website, all instructions , uniform guidelines, sizing chart, returns information, delivery options available there.
If some items are showing out of stock they have been ordered and will be available before school commences in 2025.
Please note the closure of Perm -a-Pleat over the Christmas break and the details of last delivery drop to the school. If you have ordered and have missed the last drop off all orders will be dropped to the office the week before school starts or you can get it delivered to your home address.
Second hand Uniforms – Facebook: OLGC Uniforms – Sale or Swap page
Kids just grow so fast! Do you have outgrown uniforms that could benefit another family? Maybe you're hunting for a spare polo shirt or some extra buttons?
Here at OLGC we have a second-hand uniform sale or swap page on Facebook. This is a closed group for the OLGC families who wish to sell, swap, or provide free uniforms to our school community.
To join simply click here or search on Facebook for "OLGC Uniforms – Sale or Swap".
It is important that all sales and swaps are done without consuming the precious resources of the school. Please contact each other directly and don't ask the office to hold items awaiting pick up.
Please contact the group administrator with any questions - Terri-Ann Shilcock - jtashilcock@gmail.com.
Parish Priest: Rev Fr Bernard Lanarolle
bernard.lanarolle@perthcatholic.org.au
Deacon: Gregory Lowe
greg.lowe@perthcatholic.org.au
Parish Office 19 Phillips Grove, Innaloo
Parish Office phone: 9446 1666
