Students learning at Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary Emu Plains

Our Story

Transforming the learning of each student every day.

Celebrating the unique attributes of every child

Our Lady of the Way is proud to be part of Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese's system of 80 Catholic primary and secondary schools operating across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains providing more than 43,500 students with a high-quality, low fee Catholic education.

At Our Lady of the Way Primary we aim to be a Catholic community in which children, teachers and parents nurture a sense of personal worth as they work together in a safe, happy, challenging and faith-centred learning environment.

Celebrating the unique attributes of every child

Boy and girl learning at Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary Emu Plains

We are a community who looks to Mary, Our Lady of the Way, to guide us on our journey and help us live out our school's values.

Whole school expectations:

live respectfully
act responsibly
learn together

Learning space at Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary Emu Plains

"At our Lady of the Way, we are united as one when it comes to fostering the Catholic Faith and Learning of all students. Our Lady of the Way is a bright and happy place to work whereby all voices are valued and heard. I have always felt a sense of connectedness and belonging in the five years of teaching here. As a staff we are passionate about catering to the needs of all students and setting up all students for success with their learning."

Jess (Teacher)

Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary Emu Plains

"I like OLOW because the learning is fun and everyone here is kind and caring."

Ruby (Year 5 Student)

"OLOW provides fantastic learning opportunities and fun activities including gala days, excursions and house sport. It is a great place for me to call my school."

Hunter (Year 5 Student)

Faith at Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary Emu Plains

"We are an inclusive school community who looks to Mary, Our Lady of the Way, to guide us on our journey and help us as we live out the values such as compassion, empathy and social justice. We are committed to providing learning environments where students can thrive, feel supported and are nurtured to grow, belong and be the best people they can be."

Pat (Teacher)

Sports at Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary Emu Plains

"At Our Lady of the Way, our school community helps me feel safe and happy. We get to be ourselves. Our teachers create a fun and exciting learning environment where we can laugh and enjoy school together. We have fun with our teachers and they help us to be the best versions of ourselves both academically and as a person."

Olivia (Year 6 Student)

Our History

Our Lady of the Way Primary was established in 1979 under the guidance of Fr Kevin Hannan, the first parish priest, and a faithful group of parish pioneers.

Emu Plains, from its earliest days, was a place of rest before continuing on a journey over the Blue Mountains. With this thought in mind, the pioneer parishioners decided to adopt Our Lady of the Way as their patron, hoping that we can all pause at times on our journey through life. It was decided that the building of our present church would be delayed until all other needs of the parish had been met, including the establishment of a primary school, high school and senior high school in the area.

This led to Our Lady of the Way Primary opening in 1979, with a total of 52 children in two classes - Kindergarten and Year 1. By 1983, the school population had grown to 223 with nine classes, some of which were housed in demountable buildings. In October of 1982, a new primary block, comprising eight classrooms, was officially opened, and blessed by Bishop Bede Heather, and in 1985, four additional Infants classrooms were added.

Over the years, Our Lady of the Way has continued to grow, evaluate and change the way we engage our students in learning. To enhance the learning environment for our students all our classrooms and outdoor learning areas have been refurbished and updated to provide considerably expanded and modern learning spaces. This includes a large COLA (Covered Outdoor Learning Area) and a sensory garden for our infants’ students.

We are passionate about catering to the needs of all students and nurturing each students’ individual gifts to help them achieve academic success, faith formation, social and emotional growth and development as we continue to provide a Catholic education to families in the Emu Plains and surrounding areas.