Dear Families,

Spring is with us, and it really is a wonderful time of the year. Thank you for ensuring your child/ren are wearing their summer uniform correctly each day.

NAPLAN SUCCESS

Earlier this year, our year 3 and 5 students participated in NAPLAN testing. NAPLAN is a ‘point in time’ test, however, it does provide us with feedback regarding our student growth and our teaching and learning. Individual students' results provide parents with an indication of their child’s strengths and areas for potential improvement. For some students, it reflects their growth and ability, and for others, it is not. The test forms one part of their overall academic reporting.

However, the overall Lourdes results for 2025 are very strong. Lourdes students achieved above State, Diocesan and National averages in all areas.

I am very proud of our students. I am also very proud of our staff, for their continued dedication to student learning, academic success and growth.

Enrolments

There are limited vacancies across different year levels for 2026. If you have family or friends looking for a place at Lourdes, please recommend they contact the school officer for further information, or visit our school website to apply. We currently have a waiting list for Prep.

Little Miracles Community Kindergarten, have vacancies for next year should you know of anyone looking. They are holding a ‘Come and Play’ day on Friday September 5- please see the flyer in the newsletter for more information. They are located behind the tennis courts.

Loving the Arts at Lourdes

We are looking forward to the student presentations of music and artwork on Friday September 12. Don’t forget to come along anytime from 5.30 pm and view your child/ren’s art work- every child across P-6 has incredible art work displayed.

P&F Thank You

Today our P&F provided the Father’s Day stall for all children to purchase a gift for dad. Many hours of preparation went into this- thank you to the key volunteers who give so much of their time. We appreciate your passion for our students and for Lourdes.

Bridget

Ms Bridget Trenerry
Principal

Upcoming Events

Pupil Free Day – CTJ Day

This Friday 5th September is a pupil free day for Consistency of Teacher Judgement (CTJ) Day. At Lourdes, we are committed to ensuring every student receives a high-quality education. One of the key ways we achieve this is through our Consistency of Teacher Judgement Day—a dedicated time for teachers to engage in professional conversations that align curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and reporting.

This day is part of a broader moderation process that occurs at multiple points throughout the teaching and learning cycle. It helps teachers make informed, consistent decisions about student achievement and progress. These moderation processes are not just about marking; it’s about making sure every child is known and supported. By investing time in these professional conversations, our teachers ensure that your child’s learning journey is guided by clear expectations, consistent standards, and a deep understanding of their individual needs.

If you have any questions about how we plan for, teach, assess and report on student learning, please don’t hesitate to ask these questions at your upcoming parent teacher interview. We value your partnership in supporting your child’s success.

Loving the Arts at Lourdes

We warmly invite you to join us next Friday evening 12 September at 5:30pm for our spectacular celebration of creativity and talent – Loving the Arts at Lourdes!

This special event is a wonderful opportunity to admire the incredible artworks your child has created during their Art lessons this year. You’ll be amazed by the creativity and effort on display!

Our talented Year 5 and Year 6 students will also take the stage with inspiring performances of singing, poetry, and dance – a true showcase of their artistic expression and confidence learnt during Music and Drama lessons this semester. Our talented Choir will also perform.

After the student performances, relax and enjoy:

• Artwork displays
• Delicious nibbles
• Drinks from the bar for purchase
• Live musical entertainment from the Gypsy Jumbucks
• An Art Auction hosted by our MC, Neal Young, featuring a piece by our Artist in Residence, Sandra Miller – with all proceeds going directly back to support our school.
• Interactive creation of an artwork on the night with Sandra Miller

Artwork to be Auctioned

Artist:    Sandra Miller

Title:      Trust

Size:       600 x 900

It promises to be a joyful and memorable evening. We hope to see you there to celebrate the amazing talents of our Lourdes students!

Kind regards

Miranda

Miranda Murray
Assistant Principal

It’s Spring!

Welcome to Spring – it is amazing to see the pop of colour appearing in the school garden. Mrs Broderick and her merry band of gardeners have been getting the school gardens ready for the Carnival of Flowers judging. We wish them all the best of luck in the competition.

APMI Retreat

Mrs Moore went to the Bunya Mountains for an APMI Retreat on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Week 7. The Retreat was led by Brother Damian Price, Tawana Carmody, our First Nations Education Leader and Paul Grealy, a member of the TCSO Mission and Identity Team. The APMI’s experienced guided prayer and meditation with the backdrop of the natural environment of the Bunya Mountains.

Our Lady of the Southern Cross Diocesan Mass

On Monday our Year 6 Captains represented OLOL at the Diocesan Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral. We thank the St Ursula’s College for providing us with a bus and driver to transport us to the Cathedral. Bishop Ken Howell celebrated the Mass on the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Southern Cross. Mary, the Mother of Jesus – is also called Our Lady of the Southern Cross - the Patron Saint of the Toowoomba Diocese.

Father’s Day Mass and Sausage Sizzle

Tomorrow, we celebrate our annual Father’s Day Mass. We thank all the Dads, Grandads, Pops and Pas who can come along to celebrate with us. We hope everyone – Guests, students and staff enjoy our Sausage Sizzle morning tea. We thank the many cooks and helpers who are coming along to cook and serve us. Cooking starts at 8:30 am - Mass at 10 am in OLOL Hall. We look forward to a wonderful community event!

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Our next gathering for the Sacrament of 1^st Reconciliation is on Tuesday 9th September at 7 pm. A plan for the seating in the church will be emailed from the parish. The children will have a practise of the ceremony during school time on Monday 8^th September and will be able to guide their chosen guests to their seats. We will have short final meeting at 3:30 pm in the church on Monday 8^th  September to check seating, certificates, and final questions. Candidates and their chosen guests are asked to be at the church on Tuesday 9^th  September by 6:40 pm. The children need to know their “Act of Contrition/Sorry” prayer. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the OLOL Parish (07 4634 1453 Monday – Friday 9.00am – 1.00pm) or email  ourladyoflourdesparish@twb.catholic.org.au  

Loving the Arts at Lourdes

Our “Loving the Arts at Lourdes” is a wonderful community event coming up on Friday 12^th September starting at 5:30 pm– Mrs Simmons, Mrs Garcha, Mrs Rosier, the artists, and performers are working hard to share their work. We look forward to the OLOL School Choir singing our new School Song. We thank Mrs Rosier for writing and recording this song – her talent is awe-inspiring.  

Crazy Sock Day

We have our Crazy Socks Coloured Clothes Day on Thursday 18^th September. Wear your craziest socks, with your sun safe coloured clothes, suitable footwear, brimmed hat and bring along a gold coin for Catholic Mission. Also, remember to bring in a pair of new socks for our school donation to The Base Soup Kitchen. Socks can be sent in at any time. It is amazing the sense of dignity someone feels when they have a new pair of socks to wear. Please support both these initiatives to encourage our students to be thoughtful Global Citizens for our local and global communities. 

Dates to remember

There is no assembly on Thursday 4/9/2025 due to the Father’s Day Mass at 10 am and Thursday 11/9/2025 due to school swimming commitments and Art Show Displays.

N.B. There is a Pupil Free Day on Friday 5/9/2025 – Teachers will be gathering for an In-service.

Prep to 2 will be celebrating their Early Years Day on Wednesday 17^th September.

Year 3 will have their retreat at Newtown Park on Thursday 18 September. Year 3 students are asked to bring a towel to sit on, their hat and water bottle. We will be at Newtown park from 11:10 am to 1 pm.

Our End of Term Assembly is at 12 noon on Friday 19th September 2025 led by 5S.

Have a great week

Janice

Janice Moore
Assistant Principal Mission and Identity

(APMI)

Lourdes proudly entered both a Novice and an Open team in this year’s Primary Teams Chess Classic. The event attracted students from the Darling Downs region, showcasing our students’ growing enthusiasm and determination.   Each match offered valuable lessons in focus, resilience, and strategic thinking—enhancing their gameplay and deepening their love for chess. Thank you to our professional school coach, Les Lord for sharing his tips and tactics during Chess Club in the library on Tuesday mornings.

We also thank Mrs Leathart for her ongoing commitment to co-ordinating this opportunity for our students and Mrs Coren for supervising our teams at the Chess Classic.

Congratulations to all participants for representing Lourdes with such teamwork, and willingness to learn. 

Dear Parents and Students

I hope everyone is enjoying PE and Sport as we move into the final 3 weeks of Term 3. Please find below various details and information regarding the Term 3 OLOL PE & Sport Program. As always if you any concerns or questions, always feel free to contact me (0409 069 437) for further information or to discuss your concerns.

Regards

Richard

Upcoming Dates

Term 3

Term 4

 Catholic Schools Yr4 Touch Football Gala Day

• Participants: OLOL Yr4 Students (students will be randomly selected into teams)
• Date: Tuesday 16 September
• Time: 8:30-1.00pm
• Venue: Kearney’s Spring
• Transport: Students will travel to and from the venue by bus.
• Uniform: OLOL Sports uniform including OLOL hat and suitable footwear.
• What to Bring: Morning tea, snacks, water bottle (No canteen available)
• Further details: To be communicated in Week 8

Term 3 Swimming – P-6

Lesson Times – Subject to Change:

Week 8 Yr3-6

Week 9 Prep-Yr2

We respectfully ask parents and other spectators to refrain from attending swimming lessons. It is important that the children are focused on their instructor and what they need to do in the pool. We appreciate your support.

Representative Sport—Toowoomba & Darling Downs Teams

Throughout the course of the year Toowoomba Primary School Sport and Darling Downs School Sport offer trials to eligible students for a variety of team and individual sports. Strict nomination requirements apply, and it is at the sole discretion of the school to decide whether to nominate individual students. OLOL will also host trials for sports which have multiple students seeking to nominate to attend the TPSS or DDSS trials. All trials will be advertised by email to parents, on assembly and in PE lessons, and posted on the Sports Board outside the Hall. The trials listed below are either yet to be advertised or have been advertised and the nomination window is still open.

Concerns and Questions

If you have any future questions or concerns, always feel free to contact me. I am very keen to ensure we maintain a high level of communication and give every possible opportunity for students to play, enjoy, and learn in a friendly, safe, positive, and inclusive environment. Please note that I do not work at OLOL on Mondays except for occasional Sporting School lessons, however I am still available to be contacted to ensure I can support and assist in any way possible

Richard Dugdale
PE Teacher

Book Week 2025 - what a fabulous week celebrating all things books and reading! Thank you to everyone who joined in the activities, to the families who helped students create such incredible costumes and to all those people who helped bring Book Week 2025 to Lourdes. Please enjoy some photos of the week below. There are many more on our school Facebook page – Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School Toowoomba.

Readers Cup Winners

PREP                    Luca F, Jason O, Amelia N, Akayla N

Year 1/4               Joe S, Shiloh W, Koi S, Chase P

Year 2/3               Raf V, Lachlan T, Ellie M, Indiana C

Year 5/6               Ava L, Matt D, Tomas W, Imogen M

Colouring In Competition Winners

PREP                    Lara J, Alfie F, Billie V

Year 1                   Leon K, Wyatt  N, Belle M

Year 2                   Ned H, Ayla J, Ava P

Year 3                   Olivia P, Seb M-H, Harpah P

Year 4                   Joel D, Heidi G, Gloria R

Year 5                   Semisi S, Lara W, Annie Y

Class Postcard Competition Winners

This year each class was given the opportunity to enter a postcard in our Book Week Postcard competition. The WINNING POSTCARD was a delightful note from Paddington about his recent morning tea with royalty. Their photograph and carefully chosen words were utterly charming! 1T has WON a PIZZA LUNCH! The teachers will arrange a suitable day to have this lunch in the near future and communicate this to families.

Book Week 2026 Theme Announcement!

Chess Lessons

On Tuesday 2^nd September we sent along 3 teams of our Year 3-6 chess students to attended the Toowoomba Teams Chess Tournament. We are very proud of their efforts and look forward to sharing their successes once results are available. Please be reminded that there will be NO chess lessons in Term 4.  If you have any questions about chess lessons, please contact: Danielle.Leathart@twb.catholic.edu.au

Parent Borrowing

Parents are welcome to borrow up to 10 additional books from the library collection. We are open at the times below. Please be reminded that parents are unable to borrow from the home reading collection including all On My Own and Read with Me titles. These titles are in high demand for staff and students, and we do not have enough copies to loan to families from this collection.

Additional Decodable Readers

Please access extra Decodable Readers via DRA online (class teachers will have logon details) or Wheelers eBooks (student email and password to logon).

Book Club

Issue 6 orders have now been placed. We expect delivery later this week or early next. We will get items to students as soon as we are able. Please email queries about Book Club to Danielle.Leathart@twb.catholic.edu.au

Important Links:

• AccessIt https://au.accessit.online/ORL13 (email address and password needed to logon)
• Wheelers eBooks Wheelers eBooks (email address and password needed to logon)

Library Opening Times

Happy Reading! 

Mrs Leathart & Mrs Monte

Parish Bulletin – Quick Sign-Up!

Get updates on community news or join a group.

• Children’s Liturgy during Sunday Mass
• Preschool Morning Tea Group
• Children’s Mass Area (Quiet Room)
• Sacraments and Friendship groups

Sign up or update your contact info:
Email: secretary@twb.catholic.org.au
Phone: 4634 1453

Click the link to Sign Up

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