Term 1 Week 9 2025 Newsletter

From the Principal

After just a few minutes of conversation with me, you will quickly realise how proud I am to be the Principal of Our Lady Queen of Peace School. I love sharing stories about our incredible students, the excellent teaching and learning that occurs here, the amazing team of staff I work with, and our wonderful community.

In the past few weeks, there have been several significant moments of sharing and celebration.

Dr Neil McGoran

Earlier this term, I had the pleasure of inviting Dr Neil McGoran, Director of Catholic Education South Australia (CESA), to our school. He graciously accepted and recently toured our school.

During his visit, we discussed several key topics:

The growing reputation of our school
Our increasing enrolment numbers
Future plans and vision for the school
Our impressive literacy and numeracy achievements
The friendliness, warmth, and kindness of our students
The strong sense of community we foster
Dr McGoran was thoroughly impressed with his tour of the school and noted how friendly and welcoming our students are.

National Catholic Education Commission

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) represents Catholic schools and education in Australia, advocating for a high quality and equitable education system for all students. It oversees 1,737 Catholic schools and more than 765,000 students nationwide.

This week a representative from the NCEC visited Our Lady Queen of Peace School to observe our outstanding work in curriculum design and mapping, which cater to the needs of all learners. Our school is recognised as a lighthouse school in this area.

As a school community, we should take pride in this recognition and the visit from the NCEC. Special thanks to Adriana Pilla for leading this initiative and supporting our staff in enhancing their capacity to provide the best learning experiences for our students.

Master Plan

As our school grows, it is essential to create learning environments that accommodate this growth, ensuring the best spaces for student engagement.

After a long journey, we have completed our school's Master Plan. The final step is to receive approval from CESA. We have collaborated closely with:

the CESA Finance Team,
the CESA Planning and Development team, and
strategic critical friends throughout this process.

Recently, I presented the Master Plan to the School Board, which has given its support. My hope is to begin the revision and refurbishment of Bilyonendi Hall before the end of the year, supporting the implementation of Stage 1 of our Master Plan.

This stage involves demolishing an existing classroom area and rebuilding it with a two storey structure. The new building will include:

eight classrooms,
a library,
breakout spaces, and
Wellbeing space.

We are committed to preserving our play spaces by pushing new buildings to the boundary and minimising any disruption to student learning.

To make this vision a reality, I have applied for a Capital Building Grant. We should hear about our potential success later this year. If we are not successful, we will work on a Plan B.

Moving forward

I understand that growth can bring some uncertainty, but it also allows us to achieve more and offer greater opportunities for our students.

My vision for the school is to expand to 16 classes, becoming a full two stream school. This means having two single year level classes for each year level, except for Reception and Year 1, where we would have three classes each. It is essential that quality teaching and learning occurs in our school, a safe and loving environment is maintained, and that out sense of community remains strong.

Lee Abela
Principal

From the Assistant Principal Learning, Engagement & Teaching

Supporting every learner: Our Response to Intervention (RTI) Model

We are committed to ensuring every student receives the support they need to thrive. One of the ways we achieve this is through our Response to Intervention (RTI) model, a structured approach to identifying and addressing students’ learning needs.

What Is RTI?

RTI is a three tiered framework that helps us provide targeted support based on each student’s progress. It ensures that no child falls through the cracks by using early identification, research based instruction, and continuous monitoring.

The three tiers of support

Tier 1 – High quality instruction
Every student receives high quality, evidence based teaching in the classroom. Our teachers use differentiated instruction, formative assessments, and engaging strategies to meet diverse learning needs.

To support literacy development in the Early Years, we implement InitiaLit, providing a strong foundation in phonics, reading, and writing. Additionally, in Years 3-6 Playberry Laser is used as an evidence based program that strengthens students' phonics knowledge, reading fluency, spelling, and comprehension.

By embedding these programs into our core instruction, we ensure that all students have the skills and support needed to succeed.

Tier 2 – Targeted small group support
Some students require additional help beyond classroom instruction. These students participate in small group interventions that focus on specific skills and knowledge that require to be revisited.

To support their learning, we offer evidence based programs including MiniLit, MacqLit, and Bond Blocks. MiniLit and MacqLit focus on structured literacy instruction for students who need extra help with reading, while Bond Blocks supports numeracy development through hands-on, targeted learning of basic number facts.

These programs provide students with the strategies and confidence they need to succeed in their learning journey.

Tier 3 – Intensive Individualised Support

A small number of students need highly personalised intervention. These students receive one-on-one or small group instruction tailored to their learning needs, often with specialist support.

To assist students who need intensive literacy intervention, we implement Playberry TSD 1, 2, and 3, a structured, multisensory program designed to build phonemic awareness, reading fluency, spelling, and comprehension skills. This targeted approach provides the explicit, systematic support needed to help students make significant progress.

We use ongoing assessments and data analysis to track student progress and adjust interventions as needed. By using the RTI model, we are fostering a learning environment where every child receives the right support at the right time. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our intervention strategies, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Together, we can help every student succeed!

Wakakirri Performance Squad Update

The Wakakirri Performance Squad has been busy meeting each Friday to decide on the direction of this year’s story dance. During our last session, the students were split into small groups to brainstorm creative ideas based on a common theme. Their enthusiasm and imagination were inspiring, and they came up with a wide variety of ideas, including:

The journey of overcoming obstacles
A magical world where dreams come true
The power of teamwork in solving challenges
A celebration of nature and the environment

We truly value the students’ input in shaping this performance and are excited to see how their ideas develop. Once the theme and song choices are finalised, we will move on to more structured dance instruction and choreography to bring their vision to life.

Please note that Wakakirri fees were due for Year 4-6 students participating in the performance. Please pay via Qkr!

We cannot wait to share this exciting journey with our talented performers!

Wakakirri Coordinators
Natalie Urdanoff, Druscilla Fabretto, Adriana Pilla

Adriana Pilla
Assistant Principal
Learning, Engagement and Teaching