Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

Welcome back to the new semester. The two week break was a lovely length of time to refresh, catch up with family, catch up on some jobs and just be at home and for some of us to get away for a well deserved break.

It was lovely to have the students arriving back at School last Monday; there was lots of excitement and the biggest of smiles.

G Day

We loved celebrating our grand, great, good people in our lives at our G Day - Grandparents and Special Friends Day on Monday 28 July. We loved meeting all the Nannas, Nonnas, Grandpas, Grandmas, Gramps, Pops and special people last Monday morning. It was lovely to see the children proudly hosting their special people, showing them around their school and classroom, having them join in with meditation, prayer and morning greeting followed by the Prayer Service in our OLA Church, interviews, activities, games and the sharing of morning tea. The homemade treats looked amazing! We had grandparents arriving in the car park from Epping by 7am, on Zoom in Japan, grandparents making a road trip from Queensland, flew in from Adelaide and even all the way from Chile! There was such a buzz and it was such a precious time. 

We loved hearing from Harry, Sophie and Oliver's grandmother Jenny - thank you Jenny. Jenny represented all our special visitors and spoke about the gift of grandchildren:

They light up our lives! We love watching them grow, achieve, learn and accept support when needed. We love their smiles, their giggles, their hugs and being called by our name (Nanny) - it is wonderful and it warms our hearts. While our own children are our rainbow, the grandkids are our pot of gold. Some days I wish I'd been a grandparent first as its so much fun! 

Jenny also shared with us some house rules when the grandkids stay with her which many of us could relate to:

1. Grandchildren welcome anytime - parents by appointment only!
2. Bedtime is negotiable
3. No such thing as too many hugs and kisses
4. Spoiling guaranteed
5. Everlasting love
6. Tickles mandatory
7. Special bond
8. Presents and treats
9. Icecream after half eaten dinner is okay
10. Storytime always - its never too late

During the Prayer Service we asked our special visitors what tips they would tell their primary school age self knowing what they know now. The messages were beautiful: 

Just be you

Be your own kind of beautiful

Love yourself

Always remember how very much you are loved

Be kind

Make the most of every opportunity

Respect yourself and respect your elders

Be respectful, welcoming and inclusive of all regardless of their differences

We are perfect just the way we are

Grab your life with both hands and shake it

Enjoy your life

This has to be one of our most favourite days of the year and we are grateful for the gratitude expressed to our staff following this special event:

G Day has become a special occasion on our calendar and this year didn’t disappoint. We thoroughly enjoyed our classroom time sharing prayers and activities with our darling grandchild and their fabulous teacher. The Church Service was a highlight - calm, inviting, emotional and filled us with hope for our world. Thank you for sharing the important family and community values that OLA encourages and practises.

Milo's Birthday Party

Treasure hunts and Zooper Doopers with our buddies, decorations, discos, party food ++. We are so proud of our Preps and all their new learning of sounds and letters this year. We hope everyone enjoyed the celebrations.

"Milo’s Birthday Party was so much fun!"

"We love our letters and sounds in Prep." 

"We should have Milo’s party every year!!" 

Running Club

How good is a Friday at OLA! Our awesome staff volunteer their time to lead Running Club before school 8.15-8.30am. A brilliant way to start the day and end the week. We also love the treat of ordering lunch and snacks from the Canteen on a Friday. The great team from Fun Fresh Foods sold over 170 orders with lots of extra treats being purchased over the counter. 

Production

PRODUCTION AUDITIONS - GRADE 5 AND 6 STUDENTS

As you may have heard, our show called 'The Sound of Musicals' will be staged on December 4 at the Kingston Arts Centre. This will be a whole school production, with rehearsals starting towards the end of this term. The Grade 5 and 6 students will have an opportunity to audition for speaking roles in the show in Week 5 on Tuesday August 19 from 12pm. We will prepare for this in Performing Arts classes, but they will need to work on their auditions at home. Each student may try out for two roles (audition pieces will go out next week). There will also be an opportunity for certain roles that involve singing. The students will be asked to focus on the following: 

• Voice Projection, expression and clarity
• Understanding of character
• Stage Presence
• Preparation (knowing lines by heart) 

There are quite a few lead roles 'up for grabs' but of course not one for everyone. Students will also be given the chance to shine during their class act/item and in dancing roles. Some students may experience disappointment in not receiving the part they hoped for. It is hoped that this can be a great learning experience, where disappointment is seen as part of life - and being happy for friends who receive parts is a great strength. I will encourage all students to 'have a go' - who knows what hidden talents we may uncover?

I look forward to hearing the 'sound of music' through the corridors and hallways of OLA in the next few months! 

Trish O'Gorman

Performing Arts Teacher

NAPLAN

We were proud to receive our school NAPLAN results and we are thrilled to acknowledge the great achievement of our Grade 3 and Grade 5 students across all key disciplines. Our data shows that 75% of our students were marked in the strong and exceeding proficiency levels for all five areas; Reading, Writing, Spelling, Numeracy and Grammar and Punctuation. This year we are particularly proud that 91% of our Grade 3 students were assessed within the strong and exceeding proficiency levels in Numeracy and 86% of our Grade 5 students were assessed within the strong and exceeding proficiency levels in Writing. 

We remind families that NAPLAN results add value to teacher assessment and reporting by showing how their students' achievements compare to a wider group of students across the state and Australia. At OLA we use this data to track cohorts of students over the years. It is important to remember that the results reflect each student’s performance at a single point in time. It is a snapshot of one form of assessment and should be coupled with the many forms of assessment undertaken by the school. Teachers in all schools assess their students’ learning in literacy and numeracy on a regular basis. NAPLAN testing complements, but does not replace, the information that teachers gather. Should you have any queries regarding your child’s results, please do not hesitate to contact your child's classroom teacher.

I take this opportunity to acknowledge our staff for their ongoing commitment to presenting rigorous teaching and learning programs and focussing on the growth of each child within our school.  In the busyness of all that we do it is refreshing to see that our daily work is strongly supported by external data sources. Thank you OLA team!  

Lockdown exercise

Your child’s safety and wellbeing are our highest priority. As part of our Emergency Management Planning, we are committed to ensuring that all students are supported in the event of an emergency. We encourage you to partner with us in helping your child understand and prepare for emergency incidents such as evacuations and lockdowns. On Wednesday we carried out a discreet lockdown to add to previous evacuation drills with the support of Risk 2 Solutions. Staff had educated the children in both possible scenarios and the possible responses at OLA. The lockdown report and annual assessment findings stated:

Observations indicated that all entry and exit doors across the site had been secured, with no unsecured access points identified. This demonstrated a high level of security and adherence to lockdown protocols. The noise level across the campus was minimal, with complete silence maintained in most areas, reflecting effective staff and student compliance.

How You Can Help Support Your Child

Talk About Emergency Situations

1. Use age appropriate language to explain what an emergency is.

2. Emphasise that emergencies are rare but we practice drills to stay safe.

3. Reassure your child that adults will help and support them during these times.

Discuss What Might Happen During a Drill

1. Lights and alarms may activate or an announcement given over the PA

2. People might move quickly and quietly

3. Teachers will give clear instructions

4. Your child may need to relocate to a different room or area

It is our aim to ensure that your child feels supported, confident, and safe in the event of an emergency. We congratulate all staff, students, parents and visitors who were onsite and thank them for respectfully participating in this important safety exercise.

Child Safety

The safety and wellbeing of our students is a responsibility that the School takes most seriously. The distressing news of recent events in childcare centres is a reminder of how important our processes and policies are. The School is constantly reviewing our practice, and I would like to reassure parents of our commitment to ensure the safety of all children in our care. This is demonstrated by our rigorous recruitment screening practices and our ongoing commitment to ensure all staff, School Advisory Council members, and volunteers participate regularly in Child Safety awareness training. The School actively promotes a culture of zero tolerance to child abuse. Should any person in our community ever have any concerns about child safeguarding, I would urge them to contact either myself or a member of the School Leadership Team.

Child Safety at TheirCare

With the intense press coverage on child safety in early learning environments, TheirCare (our before and after school care provider) has prepared the following letter for families  to highlight the actions they are taking. This letter and copies of posters will soon be placed at all their services including OLA.  TheirCare's goal is to have a culture where visibility and reporting is encouraged. Part of their program will be an education program to ensure that children and families feel comfortable to say no, use their voice and be able to spot questionable behaviour. 

Working Bee #3

We are so grateful to the many families who have already joined us for our Working Bees so far this year and thank you to those who have rescheduled their Working Bee date if they were not able to make their rostered one.  We also had some cash donations which has contributed towards the purchase of tools and equipment as well as the top up of mulch. 

We are looking forward to welcoming families to the Term 3 OLA Working Bee tomorrow

Saturday 2 August, 10.00am-12.00pm 

We especially welcome the following families who are rostered on:

Community Illness

Over the past month (including the holidays!!), various viruses and respiratory issues have been sweeping through our classrooms, leading to a spike in absences and numerous calls for children to be picked up from school. This is a fitting reminder for everyone to remain vigilant during this challenging period. Please ensure that children stay home if they exhibit high temperatures or cold like symptoms, to ensure this does not impact the wider class or staffing group. 

Calendar

Please open the ‘Key Dates and Events’ tab in this newsletter for important dates or access the OLA Calendar here.  

School Term Dates - 2025

Term 3, 2025

Monday 21 July - Friday 19th September (9 weeks) 

Term 4, 2025

Tuesday 7 October - Tuesday 16th December (11 weeks)

Congratulations

Tee Ball Division Champions

Congratulations to our awesome Tee Ballers for winning Division today. We are so proud of you, your skills, the way you played and the way you represented OLA. We are excited that you now progress onto Regionals - a huge achievement. Thank you to all our supporters for being there to celebrate our success and of course our coach Mrs Thompson.

Judo

We were proud to hear that Rose Frukhtman passed her Judo practical and knowledge test called a grading at the Taketani Judo Academy. This is no easy task and requires a great deal of practice. The grade is awarded by the presentation of a coloured Judo belt.

Junior Judo belts are in varying colours signifying age and expertise. Rose has been awarded a White-Yellow belt.

Book Fair

Thank you to all families who supported our recent Lamont Book Fair. Our total sales amount was $3,546. This is our school's biggest result since 2018 which is great to see!

We receive 20% of total sales which will go towards the purchasing of new books for the school. Thank you to Miss Turner and all the staff who helped with the book fair.

Hockey Victoria Junior State Championships

Congratulations to Emma & Luke for being selected to represent the U/12 Central Metro Flames in the Hockey Victoria Junior State Championships over the school holidays. Emma was selected in the team in 2024 as well and this year she received the honour of being named Captain. Luke was selected essentially as an under age player, even being the youngest on the team Luke was also named a Captain. We're proud to hear that they represented themselves, their family and their club and they shone  as leaders on and off the field over two very challenging days.

School Sports Victoria

We congratulate Cleo K on her extraordinary recognition of hard work and ability in Soccer. Cleo has been selected as the one of the 28 girls in the state to represent  the VIC U12s soccer team!  This selection was part of a state wide process that began with over 400 girls. This is a fantastic achievement as one of the youngest players, displaying her hard work, maturity, dedication, and talent. Being part of this team offers an incredible opportunity for growth and development in her soccer journey. We wish Cleo all the best as she represents her school and community. We can’t wait to see her shine on the field.

Basketball Skills

We are loving basketball this term in PE. Our Sporting Schools grant helps makes this experience possible. What a great opportunity and what a great new skill these children have learnt - the Spider Dribble!

Principal Awards

We all love to receive a visit from extra proud students sharing their best work. These Grade 3/4 students showed a deep respect for their grandparents and wrote a special message in the language of their loved ones. The language included Spanish, Sinhalese, Polish and Tamil. They used Google Translate and copied the writing out to give as a gift on G Day. A beautiful gesture boys.

Principal's Day

Mrs Taig and I were treated to cards and a cake and lots of visitors celebrating Principal's Day. Thank you to Theircare for their thoughtfulness and for all our well wishes! It is an absolute honour and privilege to be the Principal and Deputy Principal of this great school community and to have such an awesome staff team alongside us. Thank you all for your continued support.

Condolences

We ask for your prayers this week for for the Marshall family who experienced a bereavement in the holidays. We pray for Skylar (Grade 3/4 NC) and her family, following the death of their grandmother Marion, (Brendan's Mum). May the Marshall family know of the love of their OLA friends especially at this very sad time.

We hope to see many of you at our Working Bee tomorrow, Saturday 2 August, 10:00am-12:00pm. Enjoy the weekend. Please take it gently if you or your children are unwell. We have many students and staff away at the moment and so we ask you to be patient and understanding as we find the best solutions to cover classes and continue learning whilst we are short staffed.

Richard Jacques

Principal