Our first stop was Echo Point to see The Three Sisters.
Year 5 students from OLA, Rouse Hill, went on an overnight excursion to Bathurst. The first stop was Echo Point where we saw The Three sisters and had morning tea before we continued on our trip to Bathurst.
About two hours laters, we arrived at the Bathurst Goldfields where we started the day with gold panning. This was a lot of fun. We had a short demonstration on how to pan and finally it was our turn. Gary, our guide, gave us a pan and a mini jar for us to put our flakes of gold into. Some of were lucky to find some specks of gold while others were not so lucky.
Following this, we went to a museum and saw what mine shafts would be like and learnt about how they mined for gold. We learnt that they marked the candle to show every hour allowing miners to see how long they had mined for and when to stop.
Nicholas, Zac S, Julian, Kenneth and Felicity searching for gold.
At the end of the day, we went to the store and bought a few things to remember our time in Bathurst. Once finished we went to the bus where to collect our bags and made our way to our room. Some of us unpacked their bags, where others sat on the bed and relaxed or had a shower. For dinner we had pasta, hot chips, bread and an ice-block for dessert.
To finish the night, we sat around and listened to a story about Wahlu and the Aboriginal history of Mount Panorama before we participated in some aboriginal art.
Students cooking their damper before filling it
The next morning, we woke up and started packing our belongings. We had a yummy breakfast before we went to Bathurst’s Old Cemetery where we had a treasure hunt, etching and learnt about the history of the cemetery and some of the headstones.
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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03 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Today we joyfully celebrated the beginning of Catholic Schools Week with a beautiful liturgy led by our Student Leaders. Reflecting on the Samaritan woman at the well in the Gospel of John, we were reminded that Jesus meets us in the ordinary moments of our lives and fills us with “living water” — hope, grace and renewal. It was a powerful reflection on our mission in Catholic education: to nurture faith-filled learning, inspire excellence, and empower every child to grow, thrive and live out the Gospel through faith, learning and service. A sincere thank you to Ms Grima for thoughtfully organising our celebration, and to our School Captains for leading and presenting the liturgy so reverently today.
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03 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Today we joyfully celebrated the beginning of Catholic Schools Week with a beautiful liturgy led by our Student Leaders. Reflecting on the Samaritan woman at the well in the Gospel of John, we were reminded that Jesus meets us in the ordinary moments of our lives and fills us with “living water” — hope, grace and renewal. It was a powerful reflection on our mission in Catholic education: to nurture faith-filled learning, inspire excellence, and empower every child to grow, thrive and live out the Gospel through faith, learning and service. A sincere thank you to Ms Grima for thoughtfully organising our celebration, and to our School Captains for leading and presenting the liturgy so reverently today.
03 Mar 2026
From Facebook
03 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations again to Aiyonce who represented the MacKillop Girls Cricket Team in Armidale recently, where the team remained undefeated and won the NSWPSSA State Championship. She performed strongly with both bat and ball and has once again been selected to represent the NSW Girls Cricket Team in 2026 - her second consecutive selection. OLA are so proud of you!!
02 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to our Outstanding Achievement and St Francis award recipients for Week 5!
02 Mar 2026
From Facebook
On Friday, we gathered as a school community to officially welcome our newest OLA learners at a special Assembly. Each child was proudly named on stage, greeted with smiles and applause, and it was beautiful to see their confidence shining through. One of the highlights was hearing them begin to learn and sing our school song- a beautiful moment that marks the start of their journey at OLA. We are so excited to watch these students grow, learn, and thrive. Welcome to our OLA family- we’re so glad you’re here!
02 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Today we had our OLA school cross country! 🏃♀️🏃♂️ Congratulations to all of our students for a fantastic effort. It was wonderful to see everyone giving it their best and showing such great determination and school spirit. Well done to you all! 👏💙 A special thank you to Mrs Batten for organising the event, and thank you to all of our teachers and parents who helped on the day. We truly appreciate your support! 🙌✨
01 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to all of our OLA students who competed in the Hills Zone Swimming Carnival on Thursday at Parramatta Aquatic Centre. Every student displayed outstanding sportsmanship and individual determination- a true reflection of our OLA spirit. We are also delighted to share that the following students will move forward to represent Hills Zone at the Parramatta Diocesan Carnival next Wednesday at Blacktown Aquatic Centre. - OLA Senior Boys Relay Team: Miguel, Samuel, Joshua, and Hamish - Individual Events Jackson: U8 Boys 50m Freestyle Ashton: U11 Boys 50m Breaststroke Miguel: Senior Boys 50m Breaststroke Gabriella: U10 Girls 50m Freestyle; Junior 50m Backstroke; Junior 50m Breaststroke; Junior 50m Butterfly; Junior Girls 200IM Hamish: Boys 100m Freestyle; U11 Boys 50m Freestyle; 50m Backstroke; 50m Breaststroke; 50m Butterfly; Senior Boys 200IM Outstanding performances bring outstanding rewards, and two of our OLA swimmers earned special recognition for their efforts at the carnival: Gabriella: Hills Zone Junior Girls Age Champion 2026 Hamish: Hills Zone U11 Boys Age Champion 2026 We are incredibly proud of all our swimmers. What a wonderful achievement for our OLA family!
01 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Last week, our Year 5 adventurers enjoyed their excursion to Sydney Zoo! Despite the heat, students had a fantastic time exploring the zoo and diving into their learning about animal adaptations. So many curious questions, big smiles, and memorable moments. A huge thank you to our Year 5 teachers and parent helpers for making the day run so smoothly.
24 Feb 2026
From Facebook
OPEN DAY for 2027 Kindergarten students- register your interest to visit our school on Friday 6th March using this Google form on our school website: https://info.parra.catholic.edu.au/open-day/olarousehill... We can't wait to see you there!
22 Feb 2026
From Facebook
As part of our Religion unit, "Why are people hungry?" the Year 4 students participated in a sandwich-making activity. The purpose of this activity was to share a meal as a grade from the making (breaking), to the eating. We reflected on the Eucharist and how it nourishes not only physically but spiritually.