About Us

Principal’s Welcome

Welcome to our website – I am very pleased that you are interested in learning about our wonderful school!

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School provides education for students in the Beresfield Parish, which is part of the Chisholm Region in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, with enrolments accepted from the geographical areas of Tarro, Woodberry, Beresfield and some parts of Thornton.

The school community is warm and welcoming, with a strong focus on creating a nurturing environment. Promoting the best outcomes for all students is central to our practice as we support children with additional needs, as well as identifying and extending children who display giftedness in their learning.

As a staff, we have a firm commitment to creating and fostering a caring community where parents, teachers and students work together with mutual support and respect.  It is this community aspect of the faith we share that sets the tone, and underpins the culture, of our Catholic school – a culture of GROWTH!

The staff of Our Lady of Lourdes is strongly committed to the development of respectful understanding of the lives of Australia’s indigenous peoples. We provide many opportunities for all students to increase knowledge of, and pride in, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

We proudly host three satellite classes for students of Hunter Aspect School, with ASPECT staff members providing specialised support for children with Autism. Commitment to learning, respectful relationships and care for our students and their families are the foundations of our work at OLOL

Our Lady of Lourdes is a place where the individuality of each student is valued and celebrated. Each student is encouraged to pursue excellence in all fields of education in accordance with their gifts and capabilities. All staff members are deeply dedicated and committed to responding to the learning needs of each student and they are acutely aware that each of us is responsible for the wellbeing of EVERY child.

Our goal is to provide excellent education in a positive Christian environment by integrating all of the different aspects of human development and understandings. This is achieved through the subjects taught in the light of the Gospel and encouraging the growth of the virtues which are characteristic of the Christian person. Our Catholic faith is the foundation of our ministry to students and families.

Our Lady of Lourdes school was established on this site on September 12 1944 by the Sisters of Mercy. We continue to honour the traditions of these amazing women as we nurture the growth of children and provide support for their families. Each staff member is a keeper of the story which began so long ago and is reverenced in the stained-glass windows which are gifted to the school by our Year 6 students as they move forward into their Secondary education.

Our school motto, For the Greater Glory of God, expresses the importance we place on our Christian mission. We are contributors to a culture which is deeply embedded with Gospel values and we continually work to strengthen school and Parish links.

Our VISION is to live God’s call through the Mercy Tradition and our MISSION is to educate through compassion, respect, hospitality, justice, service and courage.

 

I believe that the ministry of educators, the mission of parents, extended families and Parishioners is totally aligned with the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy: WE MUST MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the lives of the people we meet by showing them the face of God and, as the world for our young people becomes more and more complex, there is a sense of urgency about the task! In the words of Mother Teresa:

Each time anyone comes in contact with us,

they must become different and better people because of having met us.

We must radiate God’s love.

Cheryl Henderson

Principal