Year 6 students from Our Lady of the Angels, Rouse Hill recently faced off against students from their neighbouring school, Our Lady of the Rosary, Kellyville, in a tense debate.
Our Lady of the Angels students were pleased to be given the affirmative side of an interesting topic, “Mobile phones should be banned for primary school students”. In an era where it has become almost impossible to exist without a mobile phone, OLA students had a challenging debate ahead of them.
Armed with a host of well-researched facts about the negative impact of mobile phones on young children, including: being a distraction, being a tool for bullying; and lack of maturity in appropriate mobile phone use, the students did their school proud.
For those watching the debate it was difficult to tell that it was the team’s first debate. Students Georgia Nemitsas, Akeesha Gunasekara, Sienna Younes, Makiah Arora, and Charlotte Zahra proudly represented their school and demonstrated strong arguments and refutes on the day.
In recognition of the great work done by OLA’s debaters, Akeesha Gunasekara and Sienna Younes were given the Debating Star of the Week award at the end of Term Two. Sienna was recognised for the strength of her speech as third speaker, and the outstanding preparation she put into the debate.
Unfortunately, due to illness, Sienna was unable to deliver her speech, but her fellow teammate, Akeesha, rose to the challenge of presenting someone else’s speech and spoke confidently, doing her school and fellow teammate proud.
Our Lady of the Angels is lucky to have such a strong debating team prepared to challenge themselves and work together to do the best they can.
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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19 Aug 2026
From Facebook
We’re looking forward to welcoming Sue Whiting, an Australian children’s author, to OLA this Friday for a special Book Week experience with our K-2 students. Sue will share her stories, writing process, and the inspiration behind her books, giving students a wonderful chance to learn from a real author and spark their own love of reading and storytelling. This will be a perfect way to build Book Week excitement across our Infants classes!
19 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Our primary students had an amazing session yesterday with illustrator Marcelo Baez. They loved learning how characters are created, how illustrators bring stories to life, and how creativity starts with simple ideas and lots of imagination. Many students walked away feeling inspired to become illustrators themselves, proudly sharing their sketches and new techniques. It was a fantastic way to spark excitement and get everyone ready for Book Week next week! A huge thank you to Marcelo for such an engaging and motivating visit!
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19 Aug 2026
From Facebook
We’re looking forward to welcoming Sue Whiting, an Australian children’s author, to OLA this Friday for a special Book Week experience with our K-2 students. Sue will share her stories, writing process, and the inspiration behind her books, giving students a wonderful chance to learn from a real author and spark their own love of reading and storytelling. This will be a perfect way to build Book Week excitement across our Infants classes!
19 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Our primary students had an amazing session yesterday with illustrator Marcelo Baez. They loved learning how characters are created, how illustrators bring stories to life, and how creativity starts with simple ideas and lots of imagination. Many students walked away feeling inspired to become illustrators themselves, proudly sharing their sketches and new techniques. It was a fantastic way to spark excitement and get everyone ready for Book Week next week! A huge thank you to Marcelo for such an engaging and motivating visit!
18 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Today we celebrate and appreciate Mr Calabria on Principal's Day- a leader who brings warmth, care and joy to our OLA community every single day. He ensures our school is a place where everyone feels safe, happy and supported, and where each day is filled with faith, fun and learning. At our assembly, the students shared a beautiful acrostic poem they had written to show just how thankful they are for him. Their words reflected the positivity he brings to our school. Mr Calabria knows our students, supports our teachers, welcomes our families, and helps make OLA a place where everyone belongs. On behalf of our students, teachers, parents, and the whole OLA community, we thank him for who he is and for all he does. We are truly grateful!
17 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Recently we had 1 girls' team and 2 boys' teams participate in the Stage 3 Soccer Gala Day at Jamison Park, Penrith. It was a very successful day for all 3 teams, who all finished 2nd in their pool. All 3 teams played exceptional soccer and had lots of fun scoring awesome goals along the way. A very big thank you to the parents who volunteered as coaches- Mr McKee, Mr and Mrs Shnoudi, and Mr and Mrs Newman. Thank you also to the many parents who supported our teams during the day, and to Mr Cauchi and Mrs Boatfield for being there to support our teams!
16 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Our Year 2 students enjoyed a wonderful incursion last week with Koori Konnections, deepening their understanding of Aboriginal cultures, history and connection to Country. Through fun, hands‑on and interactive activities, students learned about: - Aboriginal ways of caring for the natural environment - Traditional knowledge and sustainability - Stories, culture and history shared by First Nations people It was a rich and engaging experience that helped bring their HSIE learning to life and strengthened their appreciation for Australia’s First Peoples!
16 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Our Year 4 students had a fantastic day at the Australian National Maritime Museum on Friday as part of their HSIE learning. They explored real vessels, interactive exhibits and hands‑on displays that helped them understand how people have travelled, traded and connected across oceans throughout history. Students loved stepping aboard historic ships, discovering stories of explorers and migrants, and learning how maritime technology has changed over time. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring their HSIE unit to life and deepen their understanding of Australia’s past. A big thank you to our teachers for organising this, and to our parent helpers for supporting such a memorable learning experience!
16 Aug 2026
From Facebook
15 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to all the Voice of Youth finalists who presented their speeches this week at the grade final. Your hard work and dedication were on display for all to appreciate. Thank you to the parents and family members of the finalists who attended to support their children, and to the Year 6 teachers for your organisation and preparation of the children. The quality of the speeches was incredibly high, and the variety of topics was very interesting to listen to. From the fifteen finalists, two students have been selected to represent Our Lady of the Angels at the Cluster Final, which will be at St John XXIII, Stanhope Gardens on Tuesday 18th August. Well done to Lucy and Akira who have been chosen to represent OLA at the Cluster Final!
15 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to our Outstanding Achievement and St Francis award recipients for Week 4!
15 Aug 2026
From Facebook
We are so excited to welcome Marcelo Baez, a celebrated Australian illustrator and comic artist, to OLA this Tuesday for our Years 3–6 Book Week workshops. Marcelo has created artwork for Marvel, Apple, National Geographic, Scholastic, and many well‑known Australian publishers. He is also the illustrator behind popular children’s series including Rise of the Mythix and E‑Boy, by Ahn Do.