Rylan, Kenneth, Zac and Nicholas dressed up as convicts for our Colonial Day.
What a start to the term! On our third day back and we hosted Colonial Day.
The purpose of Colonial Day is to come to school dressed up as a convict or colonial person so we could have the experience 'being in their shoes'. You won’t believe what day we had! It was great and everyone had fun.
In the words of of the students:
It was time to discover who we were for the day, so we had to write about when our convict person identifying where they were born, about their job, death and other things as well. After we had written that, we published it onto a piece of paper then we completed our ticket of leave and an envelope. With the ticket, we were sent to a class where the teacher would sign our ticket of leave if they believed we were sorry for our crimes.
I think that we all had a blast and everyone enjoyed it. I think that was one of many memorable moments to come in Year five.
Felicity and Gemma playing quoits.
To end the day, we went outside and did sport. In sports, we played simple school games from those days to see how they entertained themselves. We could play marbles where you had to flick marble see if you could get it to the nearest marble in the middle. There were quoits, hula hoops, sack races, skipping and hopscotch.
Students were blindfolded and cramped into a small room to experience the conditions on the ship.
We started off when we all had to be squashed together and had to experience how hot it would have been at that time. We had to then move into a cramped-up space and shut our eyes and think what it would have been like on the ship. We all listened to these different sounds, in one voice it sounded like a baby crying maybe from starvation, there was another sound that like a person softly screaming the last voice sounded like some person laughing.
We also got sprayed by water that felt like we were getting splashed by the waves. We had a good experience on that activity. As we left the room, we were given different names for the day received a bottle of water for the day and four biscuits each. The bottle of water and the four biscuits were supposed to last the whole day.
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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24 Oct 2025
From Facebook
We wrapped up a busy week with something truly special this afternoon- a live performance by Alyssa Delpopolo, current semi-finalist on The Voice! Alyssa wowed us with her beautiful vocals, answered thoughtful questions from our students, and shared powerful messages about chasing dreams and overcoming fear. Her words and music lit up the assembly- and the cheers, posters, and proud smiles said it all! Some of the most magical moments were when Alyssa joined our school choir for a beautiful song, and her cousin in Kindergarten proudly presented her with a special gift on behalf of our school. Thank you to Alyssa and her family for visiting us, and to Mr Cauchi for making it all happen. Thank you also to all of the family members who joined us for this special event. We’re cheering Alyssa on for her semi-final this weekend and beyond- our school community is behind you all the way! Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
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24 Oct 2025
From Facebook
We wrapped up a busy week with something truly special this afternoon- a live performance by Alyssa Delpopolo, current semi-finalist on The Voice! Alyssa wowed us with her beautiful vocals, answered thoughtful questions from our students, and shared powerful messages about chasing dreams and overcoming fear. Her words and music lit up the assembly- and the cheers, posters, and proud smiles said it all! Some of the most magical moments were when Alyssa joined our school choir for a beautiful song, and her cousin in Kindergarten proudly presented her with a special gift on behalf of our school. Thank you to Alyssa and her family for visiting us, and to Mr Cauchi for making it all happen. Thank you also to all of the family members who joined us for this special event. We’re cheering Alyssa on for her semi-final this weekend and beyond- our school community is behind you all the way! Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
24 Oct 2025
From Facebook
Lots of smiles from our Infants students at the Athletics Carnival this morning!
24 Oct 2025
From Facebook
This morning, our youngest students took to the field for a joyful and energetic Infants Athletics Carnival! From sprints and long jump to shot put, discus, and basketball skills, the day was packed with movement, laughter, and plenty of cheering. We were so proud to see wonderful sportsmanship, students supporting their peers, and big smiles and brave efforts in every event! A huge thank you to Mrs Batten for organising it, our dedicated teachers, and all the parents and families who came along to cheer and support!
24 Oct 2025
From Facebook
On Wednesday, our Year 2 students were captivated by an exciting visit from Starr’s Planetarium. Inside the incredible inflatable dome, the children explored the wonders of the day and night skies, learning about the movement of the Earth, the changing positions of the Sun and Moon, and why we experience different seasons. The experience sparked their curiosity and deepened their understanding of the world beyond our atmosphere. It was a truly out-of-this-world learning adventure!
24 Oct 2025
From Facebook
On Monday, our Year 1 students took part in a fun and exciting Science Incursion to launch our Term 4 unit, Energy. This term, students are learning about light, sound, and heat energy, and how they are made and used. During the incursion, students explored these concepts through hands-on activities and exciting experiments. It was a wonderful day full of curiosity, discovery, and lots of smiles!
24 Oct 2025
From Facebook
It's been a HUGE week at OLA, with so many exciting events that have happened!! First of all, we have supported Socktober all week, where we have raised funds for mission programs supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Zambia this year! Our FIAT team have organised lots of fun 'sockball' activities, and we all loved wearing our silly socks on Wednesday! Thank you to the FIAT team and Mr Lee for organising this initiative and to our generous families for your donations!
24 Oct 2025
From Facebook
Congratulations to our Outstanding Achievement and St Francis award recipients for Week 2!
23 Oct 2025
From Facebook
We are excited to have secured a special visit to OLA from one of the current contestants in 'The Voice'. Alyssa Delpopolo, who is a local resident, and proud CSPD former student, will visit OLA tomorrow to share her story and journey so far on 'The Voice'. Please see details below: When: Tomorrow, Friday 24th October Time: 2:10pm Where: OLA Undercover Area Alyssa will talk to the children around key messages of 'Following your Dreams', 'Resilience', 'Believing in yourself', 'Coping with pressure' etc. Alyssa will also perform some of her songs for the students, including a performance with children in the choir. Selected students will have the opportunity to ask Alyssa a question on behalf of their grade and have a photo taken. Parents are welcome to attend this special assembly! Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
23 Oct 2025
From Facebook
21 Oct 2025
From Facebook
Year 6 had a fantastic day at Bungarribee Park for their Ranger Jamie Science excursion today, diving into the world of solids and matter! Through hands-on activities and outdoor challenges, students explored solids, liquids, gases, and non-Newtonian fluids. It was a brilliant way to bring science to life! Thank you to our Year 6 teachers for organising it!
21 Oct 2025
From Facebook
Today, KW and 5B enjoyed a well-deserved pizza party for being the Infants and Primary classes with the most participants in this year’s Premier’s Reading Challenge! Well done to all our enthusiastic readers- your love of books is something to celebrate! Thank you to Mrs Kennedy and Mrs Wagner for organising the PRC and Pizza Party- at OLA, we proudly 'Read to Succeed'.