Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

The good times just keep on coming, with the highly successful Sports Colours Day held today. Thank you to the House Team Leaders and Mrs Thompson for coordinating fun activities today - all the students and staff had such a lovely day. A big shout out to Alastair for initiating this great day of fun activities and to all House Team Leaders who shone today - Autumn, Zara, Alannah, Henry, Michael, Kosta, Joe, Eliza and Johnie. Not to be outdone by AFL, it was great to see students representing sports like Netball, Basketball, Taekwondo, Gymnastics, Hockey, NFL, Calisthenics and Rugby!

Thank you all for an amazingly exciting term of learning and fun. So many wonderful opportunities have been provided to the students at OLA in Term 3 helping to create many special memories. There has been so much to celebrate and we congratulate our students, staff and families for all they have given during this term.  These special moments have brought much laughter, joy and community spirit. Over the break, we hope that you are all able to have some rest and recharge. 

Below is a snapshot of what we have achieved this term in 10 weeks:

Term 3 Highlights

• Great, Good, Gorgeous and Grand People's Day at OLA - 'G' Day!
• Olympics, Paralympics & District Athletics & Basketball 
• OLA Winter Cocktail Party
• Inform and Empower Cyber Safety Workshops with Marty McGuaran
• School tours for prospective families, Prep 2025 Interviews & Parent Info Night
• First Eucharist Parent and Child Workshop and the Sacrament for Grade 4s
• Confirmation Parent and Child Workshop and the Sacrament for Grade 6s
• Father’s Day Breakfast, Stall and visit to the classrooms for fathers & special people
• Amazing Class Assemblies celebrating learning
• About Real Life webinars for families and in class sessions
• GATEWAYS & our Tech Leaders attending the Tech Olympics
• The Australian Mathematics Competition 
• Preps 100 days of school celebration & Milo’s Birthday Surprise
• Faith Formation, Positive Behaviour Support and Vision For Instruction Professional Learning for staff
• Grade 1/2 Family Faith Formation Night focussed on 'Our Environment'
• Feast of Mary MacKillop Prayer Service 
• Our Lady of the Assumption Feast Day and Drew Lane Concert
• OLA Performing Arts Night celebrating the OLA Choir, Friday Music Program and Wakakirri
• Book Week - ‘Magic of Reading’ Live-in-School Performance & Dress Up Day
• Visit from author Anna Feinberg
• Wakakirri Performances at Frankston Arts Centre - Wakakirri State Award - such a huge achievement!
• 2024 Art Show, 'Art From Around the World' - a very special highlight of the term!
• iSea and iCare Excursion & Green Schools Conference for OLA Sustainability Leaders
• Prep and Grade 6 Buddy Activities
• Prep Class Prayer Services
• St Agnes & OLA Churches/Schools becoming one parish - Christ Our Light Parish
• STEM MAD Showcase taking away 2 awards and making it onto Channel 9 News

Art Show

What an incredible night of creativity and connection during our 2024 Art show.

This years Art Show celebrated amazing artworks from around the world, with art created in both Visual Art and Indonesian classes. The children loved showing their nearest and dearest their beautiful pieces. The official opening of our OLA Art Show for 2024 on Thursday 14 September was such a brilliant moment to celebrate the great community we enjoy here at OLA. We loved seeing the passion of our talented Art teacher Mrs Hudson and Indonesian teacher Bu Watts and their amazing Arts & Culture Leaders in Katerina, Demi, Katherine, Keira, Indie and Annabel.  

We congratulate all students at OLA for their amazing art pieces. I don't think we will ever forget the respectful 'gallery hands' we saw on the night and the joy in the children's faces as they toured their families around the exhibition. We thank our wonderful OLA Parents & Friends Team for organising the sausage sizzle and drinks along with the second hand uniform shop and Fete rides tickets being available on the night.

MACS School Improvement Survey Extended!

The Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS) has been extended to this Sunday 22 September 2024.

We would love you to participate in the MACSSIS 2024 Family Survey.  If you have already completed this survey we thank you so much. We have had 40 out of 191 families complete the survey. As we have not quite hit 25% of our families ORIMA are extending our deadline with the survey now being closed on Sunday 22 September.

One of the main goals of the family survey is to identify the strengths and areas for improvement in our school.  MACSSIS data benefits everyone within our school and provides valuable community insights on areas that each school can focus on.  Our school believes it is important to encourage families to have a voice and contribute to shaping the ongoing improvement of the school.

The survey is available online, and can be accessed until Sunday 22nd September. 

To complete the survey, please access the following link : https://www.orima.com.au/macsfamily

In the search box under School Name, you must type our school's name followed by the suburb before the portal will recognise and display the relevant school.

You will then need to provide your family's personal identification number (PIN) which was provided when the original survey was sent out. Please contact the school office if you need access to this PIN again. Thank you for your participation in the MACSSIS family survey.

OLA Fete

Term three is over and we’re only seven weeks out from the big day. A huge thank you to everyone who has donated toys, books, clothes, bottles, gold coins – and in every other way to contribute to our fundraising drives. We couldn’t do it without everyone’s support. Please keep good quality books and clothes coming in.

Lucky Bottles & Spinning Wheel Hampers

We still need more bottles for the lucky bottle stall and the classroom hampers still need donations – please grab what you can over the holidays.

CHOCtober 

October is our Choc-o-block drive month. Check out the flyer for what we need – this stall is always a favourite for all ages.

Claire & Mel

Fete Co-Chairs

2025 & 2026 Enrolments Welcome

Please note our new School Tour Dates from now until the end of the year. Please note that our next school tour is at 9.15am on Tuesday 8 October and then Friday 15 November. If these dates do not work for you please call the office to arrange a time that suits you and your family. It has been so lovely to meet with each Prep child for 2025 - we thank all families for joining us at OLA and for helping your child make the best transition possible.

Prep 2025 Transition Dates & Times

Calling for new OSAC members

I take this opportunity to thank Susan Wangondu and Shashi Wijesinghe for their service to the OLA community as active members of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Primary School Advisory Council (OSAC) over the last 3 years. The experience and expertise that you both have provided OLA is very much appreciated. We especially appreciate you both being at the end of the phone for advice and support. Thank you Susan for your exceptional role as Chair of OSAC this year. We know you will both continue to be great advocates for our wonderful school and that you will find new and exciting ways to remain connected.

As two vacancies have become available on OSAC, we are calling for nominations to fill these positions. Please find attached on the OSAC tab, the OSAC Membership Nomination Request, which contains detailed information regarding the role. Also please note the application closing date of Thursday 31 October. We look forward to securing two new members for our team whose skills compliment those of the members already on the School Advisory Council.

Calling for new OLA Parents & Friends members

We thank our 2024 P&F Committee for their support of our great school and we especially thank our Co Chairs Lauren Koukoumanos & Claudelle Salter for creating such a welcoming and positive team. This year has seen a large focus on providing opportunities for the children and parents to have fun, enjoy being part of our great community and to fundraise. Please know that your active support is very much appreciated. We have also loved the social events organised in the different year levels and the support the P&F representatives give their level when there is a need for support for a family, a child or a staff member. These P&F Year Level Reps will be looking for new reps to join them or replace them in 2025. Current P&F Reps please let Lauren and Del know if you are keen to continue or if you have secured a replacement.

If you would like to be part of helping our school next year and adding to our wonderful sense of community, please consider joining the 2025 P&F Team. It is a great way to contribute to the development of the school and meet other parents.

We are looking for two parent representatives from each year level, who are responsible for updating the parents in their year level with important information/reminders, and organising a couple of events throughout the year. For example, the Grade 1 P&F representatives host the Morning Tea for new and current families on the first day of school.

Feel free to chat to this year's P&F members if you would like some more information or, better still, if you would like to get involved. You can also speak with me in person or email any questions or ideas to principal@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au

Class Placements 2025

The staff work together on class lists for the following year from the start of Semester 2. The process will be completed with consideration given to social cohesion, friendship groupings, placement of siblings and positive academic influences. Other factors to be considered include keeping a ‘balance’ of children with social, emotional, physical, behavioural and academic needs, and an even spread of year level numbers and genders in multi-age classes. This is an opportunity for students to either further develop existing friendships or an opportunity to develop new friendships. We see the ability to create new friendships each year as a valuable opportunity to further develop personal life skills for all children.

Parent Input - Meeting with the Principal

If parents have any relevant information that they believe is essential to the class placement process, they are invited to make a time to meet with the Principal to share their thoughts. Parents are requested to make an appointment by 31 October each year. Appointment times can be negotiated with the school office by calling 9584 9488. We will evaluate all input and make a professional judgement on the placement of the child in question. The final decision rests with the school. Please keep in mind the many limitations that are already placed on the staff during this complex process. Appointments relating to class placements must be made by 31 October each year so that staff can have relevant information to assist them with the placement of children. 

'Teacher Shopping'

Parents making requests simply as ‘Teacher Shopping’, without any foundation, are unlikely to receive their requests for the next year. The reference ‘teacher shopping’ is a term used when parents have heard positive comments about teachers in the school from other parents and think that teacher may be good for their child. Likewise, a sibling may have had a teacher previously that a parent wishes for their next child to experience. We would love to meet all requests but there are other elements around class placements, as detailed previously, which may take priority over a request as such. We are blessed with a highly skilled and enthusiastic staff team and we are confident that all teachers will meet the needs of your children. If all parents submitted requests for teachers then our system of student allocation would be compromised. As stated above, parents are invited to meet with the Principal to discuss thoughts that may be pertinent to class placements but we ask that you take on board all of the above information when making your request.

Summer Uniform

We hope that as the children finish Term 3 that you can put away their winter uniform and bring out their summer uniform. However, should it turn cold again, in the first two weeks of Term 4 students are welcome to wear summer or winter uniforms.  By Monday 21 October all students must be in full summer uniform.  We also remind parents that Term 4 has a ‘No Hat – No Play’ Sunsmart Policy. Children without hats at school will be restricted to the undercover ‘quiet’ area. A reminder that girls and boys wear navy socks with their summer uniform and there must be no logos on white sports socks. Black leather shoes must be worn with the summer uniform. There are strictly no variations to the school uniform, for example, non-school hat, alternative sock colours, non uniform long sleeve tops under short sleeve school shirts.  School hats and sunscreen must be worn from day one and "no hat, no play" will apply.  Sunscreen must be applied before school and students are encouraged to re-apply before lunch every day. We are all looking forward to more of this sunshine and warmer days!

Calendar

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

Pupil Free Days for 2024

• Monday 7 October Respectful Relationships 
• Monday 4 November Assessment & Reporting
• Friday 6 December 2025 Planning and Preparation 

Please note on the following dates school finish early at 1pm:

OLA Fete on Friday 22 November

Last day of school Tuesday 17 December

Congratulations

Wakakirri State Award

On Monday 9 September we participated in the Victorian state performance of Wakakirri at Frankston Arts Centre. Congratulations to our Wakakirri students and staff. What a special award and a beautiful story.A HUGE thank you to our Wakakirri teachers and leaders - Tess, Eliza, Shelby, Ann and Rosie. Thank you staff for being extra awesome.

STEM MAD Showcase

Congratulations to Alice, Zarah, Emma, Aaliyah, Jack and Lachlan on being selected and attending the STEM MAD (Making A Difference) Showcase at the Catholic Leadership Centre last week. This is a huge achievement and we thank the students, and their families for supporting their ideas and entries. We also thank Mrs Danson for her support and helping make this all happen. We are so proud of you all.

District Athletics

We are also so proud of our 44 OLA students that gave their absolute best at the District Athletics last week. The extra training and coaching has certainly paid off. We had our best overall OLA performances to date. Congratulations and all the best to those who have made it into Division Athletics. Great to see the training continue through sunshine, freezing conditions and rain!

High Jumper Extraordinaire!!

Congratulations to our very own Tyler (5/6NC) who has been selected to compete at the School Sport Australia Track & Field Championships at Homebush Stadium in Sydney from 28 November until 2 December.  We wish you all the best with your training Tyler and we can't believe that you and your coach have perfected your jump and improved it already by 10cm!

Kite Flying

Our oval and all parts of our school grounds have come to life this week with the kites made during Indonesian classes being put through their paces. Such joy! Thank you Bu.

Prep CH & Prep EJ Class Prayer Services

Our beautiful PCH & PEJ students hosted their families for their Class Prayer Services over the last couple of weeks. We are grateful that so many could join us to pray, sing and share morning tea together. What amazing growth we can see in our Preps!

Have A Ball 

The ‘Have a Ball Foundation’ has been established to put smiles on the faces of young children by providing sporting balls to kids in remote schools and communities in outback Australia. The Foundation encourages a healthy, active, and fun sporting life as well as raises money to support the health and wellbeing of indigenous children. Congratulations to our Grade 3/4 students for helping make this great initiative happen at OLA and thank you to all who gave so generously.

Farewell

Congratulations Mrs McGee on your retirement!! Over 19 years of dedication and support of all in our OLA community. Thank you for all you have done for us. We hope you enjoyed the celebrations over the last week and that you have lots of special memories to take with you as you skip into retirement and the next part of life's exciting journey. 

Thank you to the staff for another amazing term at OLA, and to the students for their hard work and determination. Wishing all our families the most relaxing of holidays and may we all enjoy some special moments together and some time just to be. 

Richard Jacques

Principal