Learning & Teaching

Excellence at OLA

We celebrate achievements at OLA every day in the classroom. Outstanding achievement is celebrated at every assembly in the front of the school. Congratulations to all the students who received an award last week. 

STEM MAD Showcase

On Tuesday, 10th of September, Zara, Emma, Aaliyah, Jack, Lachlan and I attended the STEM MAD (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Making A Difference) Showcase at the Catholic Leadership Centre in the city. We were all pretty tired, because Wakakirri was the night before, but it was definitely worth it as it was such a fun day.

We all had our own tables with a board set up behind us to explain our unique projects and critical thinking behind how the product or innovation would have a good impact on the environment, communities, people with special needs or the everyday lives of those around us. There were lots of judges and teachers who were coming around asking us about our projects, plus sponsors from different businesses and associations like zookeepers, coders, and even a Lego Masters contestant!

In a lucky turn of events, OLA was chosen for a news interview with Allan Raskall for the MACS website and channel 9 news, along with 2 other schools. It was so cool to see the camera and we felt so proud. At the end of the day, there was an award ceremony, and we proudly walked away with 2 awards, one for The Coral Cooler and one for KEZA perfume. It was an amazing day, and I think we all would do it again a thousand times if we could! 

Alice W

Wakakirri

We are incredibly proud of our Wakakirri team—both students and teachers—who displayed outstanding commitment and dedication, delivering their best performance yet at the Wakakirri State Awards Night! The energy was electric, filling the auditorium at Frankston Arts Centre with excitement. We were honoured to receive the Cultural/Social Diversity Community Story State Award, a testament to the values that define our community. At OLA, we take pride in fostering a warm and welcoming environment, and it was wonderful to be recognised for this at a state level.

ISIC Term 3 excursion

Greetings OLA community, we are the iSea iCare and Sustainability leaders. Recently we participated in a fun excursion with a day full of activities. Many schools in the area including us went to Chelsea beach where we continued to learn about caring for ocean life. Firstly we went on the sand and dug up weeds, we spent 45 minutes doing this activity and ended up with a huge pile of picked weeds. Then we went to a garden area on the sand and planted some trees. Together we planted around 100+ indigenous shrubs, this can result in preventing erosion on our beach.

Next we learnt about the litter on our beaches. We sorted through some sand and learnt how to identify rubbish when we clean up our beaches. We learnt many tips on stopping litter, here are a few; If you are ever throwing out hair ties, cut them so animals can’t choke on them. Another tip is putting non-recyclable plastics including ring pulls and other small objects inside a can and squash it down to be recycled. One more tip is recycliing used but clean aluminum foil by rolling it into a ball, using enough to make the size of a golf ball, then it can be properly recycled.

Hudson from Living Culture came and visited us and talked about his Aboriginal heritage. He showed us different instruments and tools that he had collected or made. He showed us his hunting Boomerang and explained how it was used. We also got to view and touch other tools that he had made himself. He explained how sacred Possum fur was to the aboriginal people and how it was used. It was so fascinating to learn about some of the history of the First Nations people.

We were then shown by Hudson a way the aboriginal people hunted, using spears. We got a harmless wooden spear and were showing how to launch it into the air. It was tricky and a bit finicky, but it was a really insightful experience and a lot of fun.  

We are extremely grateful for the many experiences and learnings we have had this year as Sustainability and iSea iCare leaders. This has taught us different ways of looking after our earth and how we can make our future more sustainable. With everything we have learnt we have tried to come up with ways to teach our community because everyone deserves a happy, healthy place to live.

Ben, Isabelle, Ty, Alice

2024 OLA Art Show

It was so lovely to open the doors last Thursday to our 2024 OLA Art Show, ‘A World Full of Art.’ We were thrilled to have so many families join us in celebrating our students' learning and creativity. It was beautiful to see the pride on the faces of our talented artists as they showcased their work. Thank you all for being a part of this special event and supporting our young creators!

District Athletics 

Our recent district athletics carnival was a tremendous success, with 21 of our talented athletes progressing to the Kingston Division, to be held on Friday, 11th October. This is an outstanding achievement and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students. We are incredibly proud of all who participated on the day, showcasing great sportsmanship, effort, and enthusiasm. Every student contributed to the day's success, and their determination is something to be celebrated. 

Premier's Reading Challenge 

Congratulations to all the amazing children who took part in the Premier's Reading Challenge this year! Your dedication to reading has been truly inspiring. Whether you reached or even surpassed your reading goals, you have opened new worlds, learned incredible things, and grown your imaginations. We are so proud of each and every one of you—keep up the great work and continue your love for reading!