Principal and Assistant Principal's Page

Principal's Report

What a busy term it has been! We have had a lot of events including 5/6’s ‘Leave No One Behind’ School Production, RoboGals excursion and incursion, Monash Tech School online extension program, school and district athletics , Mie  Prefecture Japan Teachers Visit, Science Week , visitors from Nakamura Gakuen University, Principal’s Day, ICAS competitions, Book Week, frisbee clinics, Literacy & Numeracy Week, Father’s Day morning tea, Year 3-4 Excursion to CERES, Our House Spirit Leadership Day, Visits from Germain Street Kindergarten and Smile Squad. 

School Production- ‘Leave No One Behind’

On the 6th and 7th September, we were privileged to watch our spectacular 5/6 students in the senior school production.  This performance was a showcase of our bilingual learning and student voice. Our students led all aspects of the production, and it was a culmination of learning about the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) throughout the 2023 school year. The acting, singing, and dancing was excellent, and I am amazed how our students remembered their lines, which were mostly in Japanese. It was lovely to see so many families there - parents, siblings, grandparents and also families from other year levels.

There are many people who made this production possible. Firstly, our gorgeous Year 5/6 students who put their heart and soul into the production- writing the script, making promotional posters and the digital program, props, videos, rehearsing and finally performing. To our wonderful families for supporting their children throughout. I’m sure many of them spent time at home rehearsing lines with their child, getting their costume together and attending the performance. Our dedicated staff aptly supported our students throughout the production process. Ryoki Fukaya and Yukiko Shoya lead the coordination of the production with support from Keiko Harada, Nick Tolliday, Audra Simkus, Pete Magart and Eiji Nishikubo. Our Office Manager Gill Penfold and Assistant Principal Naomi Mori-Hanazono did a lot of the ‘behind the scenes’ work and Tadashi Hanazono supported the Year 5/6 Taiko players in a stirring preview performance. Our Education Support Staff- Wakana Karchnak and Yoshiko Hayashi supported students on the night and our broader Education Support Staff have assisted with rehearsals. We thank you all!

I am so proud of the efforts and achievements of our students and it was a genuine celebration of team work, bilingual learning and creativity.

RUOK Day

R U OK? Day is an annual National Day of Action dedicated to reminding people to ask family, friends, and colleagues, ‘Are you ok?’. This year’s R U OK? Day falls on Thursday 14 September. 

The purpose is to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them on a regular basis to make a difference to anyone who might be struggling. It’s a way for us to reach out and demonstrate that we genuinely care.

This year’s message is “I’m here to hear” because a conversation could change a life. With life’s ups and downs that challenge us all, the chances are you may know someone who is struggling. We don’t need to wait until someone is visibly distressed to meaningfully ask them how they are really going. 

You can watch the R U OK Day 2023 video here and visit the R U OK Day website for more useful resources.

Oakleigh Education Plan

Work on the Oakleigh Education Plan continues to thrive. Please find below a newsletter of the latest achievements. 

School Vision Update

In 2016, School Council sought input from staff, students, and parents to create 'Lighthouse Moments.'

'Lighthouse Moments' is a strategic document prepared for the school, and guides school staff and School Council in fulfilling their planning and decision-making. 

Our vision is made up of 4 themes. Each theme comprises of 3 directions. 

As a member of our school community, School Council is looking to refresh this vision and seeks your feedback and input. We are asking all of our families to do a short survey to give us feedback about our vision. 

Please complete the survey using this link:

https://forms.gle/ETNfffV9bs3K8eVz9

We look forward to your response!

I hope that everyone has a great holiday break and can ‘recharge’ ready for Term 4. I am off to Greece for three weeks in the holidays. Naomi Mori-Hanazono will be Acting Principal in the first week of Term 4.  See you on my return!

Ruth Biddle

Principal

Assistant Principal's Report

It has been a busy term in Term 3. The memorial garden is so beautiful with flowers and cherry blossoms. Spring is here.

Inquiry Learning-Grade 1 and 2

Grade 1/2 students have been learning about how to make our house more sustainable throughout Term 3 as part of their Japanese inquiry learning.

Each class made a sustainable model house using unwanted materials from home.

As a “go-public” activity for this term, they presented their model house to students from the other Grade and explained to their partners how they made the house sustainable. 

Soul Sonics

The musically high-ability students, who were nominated by the school, participated in the music extension program called “Soul Sonics”, offered by Musical Futures. The students recorded sounds from their surroundings and used these to make music through contemporary production processes and production tools used widely in the music and creative industries such as film, TV, gaming, podcasting and the creation of content for social media. It culminated in the performance of these original works in groups.

The students utilised their creativity and collaborative skills to the fullest and got a taste of what it looks like to create music through modern technologies. Students were amazed at what they could do with all the equipment and were engaged in the music-making process throughout. (Written by Fukaya Sensei)

Online meeting with Tachibana Primary School

On September 8, during their third lesson, 2B and 2C had an exchange program with Tachibana Primary School in Japan via Webex. The children enjoyed the quizzes about Australia from Huntingdale Primary School and about Japan from Tachibana Primary School in both Japanese and English. During the first session, there was an incident in which the microphone did not connect properly, causing a 15-minute delay in the start time, but the children still waited quietly and were able to start the session without any problems. 

This was the third year for this exchange, and the students were able to learn more about Japanese school and were given the opportunity to try their Japanese language skills and be proud of their strength. 

We celebrated Numeracy Week in Week 8 from Monday 28th August to Friday 1st September.

The students enjoyed the week by using their math skills they learned in math class in their other lessons and in the special pop-up quiz room at lunchtime. In the special quiz room, the following quizzes were asked. Students from Foundation to grade 2 tried to guess how many teddy bear counters there would be in a jar. The 3rd and 4th grade students guessed what the perimeter of the new building would be. For 5th and 6th grade students, we held a math quiz competition using Kahootz. The winner of each quiz will receive a gift at the end of the term! (written by Iida sensei)

Student Support

One of my main roles in the school is to coordinate the student support services in the school- academic, social and behaviour services. This includes programs we offer ‘in house’ as well as external services provided by the Department of Education and other external agencies.

Generally the process happens in the following way:

1. A teacher may have a concern with your child and will discuss it with you or you as a parent may have concerns about your child which you discuss with the teacher.
2. These concerns are then usually discussed with me so a decision can be made on which service can be accessed and is the most appropriate for your child. Permission forms are then signed.
3. Contact is made to the service provider who will then discuss the referral with parents and/or the teacher.
4. A decision will be made on what sort of support the child will need. This could be an assessment, therapy, home program, referral to another agency or in school support.

This process is confidential with only the key stakeholders- myself, the classroom teacher/s and service providers involved.

Often parents will show concern about other children in the school. We as a school cannot discuss the educational, academic or social circumstances of other children who are not your own or detail support services they may be accessing. This is confidential.  Please be rest assured that all efforts are made to support students in the school as much as possible.

Better Place Australia

Child and Teen Counselling and Family Mental Health Support is Available 

Children and teenagers lead busy lives filled with school, family and social commitments. For some, changes in home, family and school environments can be stressful and filled with anxiety. Children and teens may find difficult to cope with these changes and face challenges with social and educational commitments or meaningfully engage with their support and social networks as a result.

Support is available to families that are struggling during this difficult time.

Better Place Australia offers Child and Adolescent Counselling, Mental Health Counselling and Adult Counselling services to youth and their families who are struggling with a range of the following issues:

• Separation and family violence
• Stress and anxiety from changes in home, family life or friendships
• Social issues and isolation
• Significantly increased screen time
• Motivation to learn
• Mental health

Better Place Australia is a government-funded organisation with offices around Victoria offering services in Counselling, Psychological services and Mediation.

We have appointments available now and offer phone and video options to families needing support. 

If you would like to discuss further about our services can meet the needs of your students during this challenging time, please call 1800 639 523 for more information. Visit betterplaceaustralia.com.au to find out more.

If you would like to have a session at school for your child, please contact Naomi at school.

Instagram-Huntingdale Primary School

Please find the attached Huntingdale Primary School Instagram QR code.

You are welcome to join in and connect with our community.

Lost Property

Lost property is mounting up again…Please check the lost property bin in office to see if anything belongs to your child. Please remember, that if you put your child’s name on their lunch box, jacket, hat, etc., there is a better chance of them finding their owner. At the end of each term items left are disposed of responsibly.

The cherry blossoms are beautiful on the street. Please enjoy the time with your children during the school holiday!

Naomi Mori-Hanazono

Assistant Principal