About

About

Principal’s Message

Some of you may know that this is my second time at Our Lady’s School; I was a teacher and vice-principal here between 2002 and 2008.  I may even have taught your children (or you!) and I am thrilled to be back. 

Having worked at St. Patrick’s and St. Joseph’s, as well as at Our Lady’s, my career has been devoted to Catholic education.  It is a tremendous privilege to work in a Catholic school. There is no greater gift than to guide and support children as they learn and grow in the knowledge of God and of themselves, while immersed in the Catholic faith. As a community of faith, we are able to walk together through the liturgical year, marking each special day and season by gathering and learning through prayer and song. 

We gather every Monday for an assembly and we are grateful to Father Leo and Father Alfredo for sharing with us the joy of celebrating the Eucharist every Friday morning.  Everything that we do at Our Lady’s comes from our faith.I feel very blessed to be a part of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help community.  Having the opportunity to work with such a dedicated staff to walk with children as they learn and grow spiritually, academically and emotionally in our faith community is a great gift and a great joy.

Deirdre O’Callaghan, Principal
docallaghan@olphbc.ca

Our Lady of Perpetual Help is an independent Catholic elementary school for girls and boys, from Kindergarten to Grade 7, on the west side of Vancouver. We offer a faith-based and wide-ranging learning program that includes academics, sports, music, drama, technology, and service. We are an inclusive community that welcomes all students, recognizing that each child brings their own talent and gift to the community.

A Positive Catholic Formation

Our Lady of Perpetual Help strives to provide its students with a positive learning environment in the light of the Catholic Faith. The Principal and Staff endeavor to develop in the School a genuine Christian community with each member participating in an active manner for the common good of the whole community. Thus our students are able to have a true experience of community life along with the individual development of academic and physical skills.

Personal Development

One of our goals is the development of well rounded pupils with good work habits as well as play and study habits. Emphasis is on the virtues of self-discipline, self-respect, consideration of others and respect for authority, property and academic excellence.

Active Parental Involvement

The school aims at supporting parents as the primary educators of their children and therefore tries to keep the lines of communication open on their child’s progress, school activities and programs, current education concerns and religious activities. We also invite parents to attend all our School Liturgies, which are prepared by the children under the direction of their class teacher.

Environment for Learning

We, as a staff, are convinced that there are specific, definable attitudes and behaviors of students, parents, and teachers, which help, distinguish superior schools from schools content with mediocrity. For more information regarding expectations please refer to our Parent’s Handbook.