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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10 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to our students who received the Learning Excellence and St Angela's Awards from last week. Keep letting your light shine!
08 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🎨 Celebrating Mrs Nettleton on Principal’s Day 🧩 Yesterday, our school community came together to celebrate Mrs Nettleton for Principal’s Day! Our student leaders set up a fun scavenger hunt around the school, sending her to collect pieces of a mystery artwork created by our students. The hunt led to a special assembly featuring a performance by our Dance Crew, a student poem, and the reveal of the completed puzzle wall. Following the celebrations and a morning tea, Mrs Nettleton shared a message of thanks: "Thank you everyone for such a beautiful day at school today. I feel thoroughly spoiled and am amazed at the gestures from staff and students. Thank you for the beautiful morning tea, fun challenge, amazing assembly with Dance Crew and Poem and of course the revealing of the wonderful puzzle on the wall." Thank you, Mrs Nettleton, for your leadership and dedication to our school community! 💙
Latest News More news
10 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to our students who received the Learning Excellence and St Angela's Awards from last week. Keep letting your light shine!
08 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🎨 Celebrating Mrs Nettleton on Principal’s Day 🧩 Yesterday, our school community came together to celebrate Mrs Nettleton for Principal’s Day! Our student leaders set up a fun scavenger hunt around the school, sending her to collect pieces of a mystery artwork created by our students. The hunt led to a special assembly featuring a performance by our Dance Crew, a student poem, and the reveal of the completed puzzle wall. Following the celebrations and a morning tea, Mrs Nettleton shared a message of thanks: "Thank you everyone for such a beautiful day at school today. I feel thoroughly spoiled and am amazed at the gestures from staff and students. Thank you for the beautiful morning tea, fun challenge, amazing assembly with Dance Crew and Poem and of course the revealing of the wonderful puzzle on the wall." Thank you, Mrs Nettleton, for your leadership and dedication to our school community! 💙
07 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🦁 History Comes Alive at Sydney Zoo! 🌿 Our Year One students had a fantastic day exploring Sydney Zoo yesterday to support their History learning this term! The students enjoyed taking their learning beyond the classroom, discovering rich connections to Country, native wildlife, and heritage in a hands-on, interactive way. It was a wonderful day of discovery, curiosity, and outdoor learning! A special thank you to our parent helpers who assisted throughout the day, and to our Year One teachers for organising such a memorable excursion.
06 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🦸♂️ 100 Days Smarter & Super-Powered! ⚡✨ Our Kindergarten superheroes had an absolute blast celebrating 100 incredible days of school on Wednesday 5 Aug! We kicked off our action-packed day with a beautiful liturgy to give thanks, followed by a cozy outdoor rug reading session on our school grounds. The fun kept going with heaps of superhero-themed 100-day activities, before wrapping up with a wonderful family picnic! 🧺🥪 A massive superhero thank you to our amazing Kindergarten teachers for powering up our classrooms every day, and to all our dedicated parent helpers and families who joined our hero headquarters to help out and make this milestone so special. We are so proud of how much our youngest learners have grown, learned, and soared! 🌟
02 Aug 2026
From Facebook
So many bright smiles at MacKillop Catholic Care today! 🎶 Our students loved visiting the residents, sharing some songs, and spending time together. A huge thank you to the parent volunteers Mrs Ballantine, Mrs Conde, Mrs Iskandar, Mrs Low & Mrs Rendon who helped with driving today, we couldn't have done it without you! 💙
31 Jul 2026
From Facebook
Congratulations to our St Angela's Award and Learning Excellence Award recipients this week!
25 Jul 2026
From Facebook
🚜 Highlight of Week 1: Year 2 Steps Back in Time at Rouse Hill Farm! 📜 What a fantastic way to kick off the new term! The highlight of our first week back was Year 2's excursion to Rouse Hill Farm, where our young historians put their detective skills to work. 🌾 As part of their History unit on communication and evidence from the past, students got hands-on with real artifacts, old buildings, and historical clues. It was incredible watching them ask big questions and compare life then and now! 🕵️♀️✨ A huge thank you to our wonderful parent helpers who assisted on the day, we couldn't have done it without you! ❤️
21 Jul 2026
From Facebook
📸 Faith in Action! Our staff spent a wonderful and rewarding day of formation working alongside Cana Farm, The Jeremiah Project, and Jesuit Social Services. It was a truly rich day of serving our community while enriching our own faith journeys through meaningful works of charity. We loved walking this path together as a team! ✨
17 Jul 2026
From Facebook
A message from the OLOR Parish Sacramental Team Confirmation Registrations Extended for Year 6 Students Confirmation registrations have been extended until Tuesday, 21 July. This is the final opportunity to register. If you have any questions or require assistance, please contact the Parish Office at sacraments@olorparishkellyville.org.au. Or scan the QR Code to register.
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CSPD students recognised in Refugee Week Creative Competition
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05 Jul 2026
From Facebook
💛💙❤️ Mufti Day for Venezuela! ❤️💙💛 Today, our school community came together for a fantastic cause! Everyone looked absolutely brilliant trading in their usual uniforms for the bright yellow, blue, and red of the Venezuelan flag. We held this mufti day to show our support for the families in Venezuela who have been affected by the recent earthquake. Through our partnership with Caritas Australia, all funds raised will go directly to Caritas Venezuela to provide emergency relief, food, and essential supplies to those who need it most. A massive thank you to all of our incredible staff, parents, and friends for your wonderful generosity. So far, we have raised $4,858! What a fantastic way to end the term! Thank you all for showing such inspiring community spirit. We wish everyone a safe, happy, and restful break. See you next term! 👋✨