St Angela's students try to figure out how a hot air balloon landed on their oval
St Angela’s Primary, Castle Hill students arrived at school on 20 August, 2015 to find something unusual.
As part of St Angela’s Writing Festival, a hot air balloon that looked as if it had crashed, was placed on the school oval.
The writing festival encourages all students from Kindergarten to Year 6 to write an informative, persuasive or entertaining piece based on the hot air balloon.
Classes came out to examine the scene and its many artefacts and returned to class to plan and begin their writing.
Principal Tony Calabria said the writing festivals are a great way to stimulate students’ imagination.
‘The students were all curious and had their own ideas about what it was and how it got there,’ Tony said. ‘There was a buzz with plenty of talk in every corner of the playground.’
‘We believe initiatives like the Writing Festival are working to improve learning outcomes and are being reflected in our Naplan results, with 80 percent of our Year 3 students in the top two bands for writing’ he said. ‘This and many other strategies have helped our goal of enhancing the children’s writing.’
All written pieces will be published in a special class display folder to be read by others.
What is inside the top secret box?
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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29 May 2026
From Facebook
St Angela’s Performance Band performing at the Hills Band Festival at St John XXIII. So proud of our students Letting their Light Shine and delighted to see how much they enjoyed performing on stage to such a large audience of families and friends . 🎷 🎺 🪈
27 May 2026
From Facebook
🕊️ Gathered in Faith and Fellowship 🕊️ Following our beautiful whole school morning prayer, our parent community came together for an intimate reflection on Mary Help of Christians, led by our Parent Animator, Anthony Saliba and his wife Maria. Anthony brought his deep knowledge and a genuinely faith-filled perspective to the session, offering wonderful insights into the significance of this devotion within our context. While it was a smaller group, it beautifully reminded us of the scripture: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20). The heartfelt, genuine sharing in the room deeply enriched our connection to one another through the shared power of prayer and faith. Thank you so much to the parents who took the time to join us. We hope this is the first of many such gatherings to come, and we look forward to welcoming even more parents into this warm circle in the future! ✨
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29 May 2026
From Facebook
St Angela’s Performance Band performing at the Hills Band Festival at St John XXIII. So proud of our students Letting their Light Shine and delighted to see how much they enjoyed performing on stage to such a large audience of families and friends . 🎷 🎺 🪈
27 May 2026
From Facebook
🕊️ Gathered in Faith and Fellowship 🕊️ Following our beautiful whole school morning prayer, our parent community came together for an intimate reflection on Mary Help of Christians, led by our Parent Animator, Anthony Saliba and his wife Maria. Anthony brought his deep knowledge and a genuinely faith-filled perspective to the session, offering wonderful insights into the significance of this devotion within our context. While it was a smaller group, it beautifully reminded us of the scripture: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20). The heartfelt, genuine sharing in the room deeply enriched our connection to one another through the shared power of prayer and faith. Thank you so much to the parents who took the time to join us. We hope this is the first of many such gatherings to come, and we look forward to welcoming even more parents into this warm circle in the future! ✨
27 May 2026
From Facebook
✨ Year 2 Leads a Beautiful Whole School Prayer ✨ A huge thank you to our wonderful Year 2 students and teachers for beautifully leading our whole school morning prayer in honour of Mary Help of Christians. They captured everyone's hearts with a deeply engaging imaginative contemplation, guiding us all the way to the quiet town of Nazareth to walk in Mary's footsteps and experience her faithful "Yes" to God. We were also absolutely delighted to see a significant number of families join us for this special morning! Thank you for praying alongside us. Your presence truly enriched our community and made the celebration all the more meaningful. 🙏💙
26 May 2026
From Facebook
In May, we are enjoying Storytime in the morning before school. Mystery Readers have been choosing their favourite books to share with the students, and it is quickly becoming a very popular part of our mornings! Here are a few pictures capturing the fun and excitement 📚✨
25 May 2026
From Facebook
This morning, 4Y led our Pentecost Prayer Assembly, reminding us that the message of the Holy Spirit is alive within us all. Through prayer and reflection, we were encouraged to be brave, honest and joyful, letting our light shine brightly in all we do this week. 🔥🕊️✨
21 May 2026
From Facebook
We are so proud of our Year 5 LIFTED Live students who beautifully led this morning’s Laudato Si’ Week Prayer Assembly. 🌏💚 Through prayer, reflection and powerful messages of stewardship and sustainability, they inspired our community to care for our common home and make a positive difference in the world around us.
21 May 2026
From Facebook
♻️🌏 Another activity part of Laudato Si’ Week, our students participated in an engaging and informative session presented by Cleanaway and proudly sponsored by The Hills Shire Council. Students explored the impact litter has on our environment and the detrimental effects it can have on our world and living creatures. Through interactive learning and discussion, students discovered the importance of disposing of rubbish responsibly and the role we all play in caring for our common home. 🌿💚 A wonderful reminder that even small actions can make a big difference in protecting God’s creation.
21 May 2026
From Facebook
🌏💚 During Laudato Si’ Week, our Year 5 Lifted Live students led our school community in a meaningful liturgy, sharing Pope Francis’ message of caring for our common home. Through prayer, reflection and interactive activities, the Year 5 Lifted Live students encouraged us all to think about how we can be better stewards of creation in our everyday lives. We are so proud of the way they confidently led the liturgy and inspired others to take action with faith, hope and compassion. 🌿🙏
21 May 2026
From Facebook
Hearts and smiles were on full display today! ❤️ Our very first group of Mini Vinnies (Years 4 & 5) paid a special visit to MacKillop Catholic Care. The students brought so much joy to the residents through beautiful songs and wonderful chats. 🎶💬 Thank you to Miss Dersch for leading a beautiful reflection before we left, helping our students prepare their hearts for this experience. We also extend our deepest gratitude to the wonderful parents who generously assisted with transporting our students today- Mrs Chehade, Mrs Dababneh, Mrs Merhi & Mrs Slabak, we couldn't have done it without you! 🙏✨
19 May 2026
From Facebook
Today, Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation ❤️🦕visited St Angela's Primary School in the Hills District, Sydney NSW to talk ‘ROAD SAFETY’ during National Road Safety Week! So lovely for me to go back to where I grew up. We are grateful for the opportunity to share lifesaving road safety knowledge and resources with all the students from Kindergarten to Year 6. Nothing makes me happier than to spread the message of ‘hold my hand ‘ & help children understand how important that simple action is in helping them to keep safe outside a vehicle given their cognitive, physical & perceptual limitations around roadways, driveways and carparks. In addition, the students have made a well informed road safety video for their parents to view around safe drop off & pick up at their school via their Facebook Page. Well done everyone 🙏🏻💖💖💖💖🚌🚙🚚🛵 at St. Angela’s and special thanks to their Principal, Mrs Nettleton and teaching staff for supporting this project….Thanking you all for your amazing attention to protecting your students from road trauma through effective communication and education of your student and parent community. #NRSW2026 #StAngelas #LittleBlueDinosaurFoundation #ChildPedestrianSafetyMatters