Creative Arts Expo

The jungle group gathered together to pose for a photo.

A special group of students participated in a Creative Arts expo along with four other schools in the diocese.

After months of practice during lunch times, the students showcased their amazing dancing and drama talent. The planning for this night began last year, when the teachers put their heads together to come up with a theme.

It was a story about two Australian boys who wanted to travel to Rio in Brazil for the world cup. On their travels to the stadium they got lost among the Amazonian jungle, the beaches in Rio and Carnivale before finally making it there. Mrs Rizk and Miss Theoharous created the dances to match these different places they visited and Mrs Byrne, along with the amazing parents, designed and created the gorgeous costumes. We were lucky to have such supportive parents and teachers to make the performance possible. A lot of time and energy by all is put in behind the scenes for a nine minute performance and often people don’t realise how much hard work goes into it. Thank you to anyone who helped out prior to or on the night.

The students spent the day rehearsing on the stage with the lights, music and props at the Evan’s Theatre at Penrith Panthers. The five schools came together to practise their finale, which they had all rehearsed prior at school. Our OLA students were patient to wait for their turn and showed great respect when watching the other performances. They were all filled with such excitement and energy for that night. When the students caught the bus back to school, the teachers organised the costumes and made sure everything was right, so that the evening would run smoothly.

Our beach girls and soccer stars ready to go on stage and dance.

These students formed part of the Carnivale scene.

The students started arriving back to the theatre around 5:30pm and then it all began. We had parents doing the students hair, other parents touching up their makeup and teachers helping to put on their costumes. Endless amounts of bobby pins, hair spray and blush were used to make our students look absolutely stunning and amazing.

Jeremy, Alivia, Luca, Bethany, Hayden and Imogen in the Carnivale scene.

We were the first group on the stage and Miss Theoharous was lucky enough to watch the performance from the audience. Their performance was full of energy, smiles and their costumes lit up the stage. They all did such a great job and we are very proud to say that they were from OLA. It proved that all their hard work and rehearsals were worth it in the end. Every student had fun and enjoyed the night and were still buzzing with energy from it the following day.

Sharmayne, Ella, Emma and Shanyce

This was a great experience for all and well done OLA! You did a fabulous job and we are all very proud of you! We would like to extend an extra big thank you to Mrs Byrne for coordinating this evening. She had endless meetings and ran around to make sure everything was organised and would run flawlessly.

Written By

Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au

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16 Aug 2026
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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
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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!