Dear OLA Families,

Each week that we enjoy here at OLA is proving to be action packed, full of learning and ful of fun. We have been so proud of the children and grateful to all in our community for helping make life at school so exciting. Highlights from the last fortnight have included: District Cross Country, Grade 5/6MG Mass with the Parish, Junior Mayor Election, Mother's Day, 1ET Assembly, Grade 4 Bike Ed, Chess, Prep 2026 Meet & Greet catch ups, rehearsals for Wakakirri, Running Club, Grade 5/6 Excursion to Werribee Zoo and 5/6 Interschool Sport. All these wonderful opportunities help to develop well rounded confident and compassionate young humans who are learning to be kind and always give of their best.

Junior Mayor

On Thursday 6 May the School Captains went to the City of Kingston Town Hall in Moorabbin for the Junior Mayor Conference. Each year the schools in the City of Kingston participate in an election which involves presenting a two minute speech to all the other participating schools on a specific issue.

This year we had to work as a team and present on the topic which was, what does an inclusive community look like to us and what wonderful programs does our school have to offer. We worked hard to create our speech and presented it to a large audience and the Mayor, Cr Georgina Oxley who is a previous student of OLA and the Junior Mayor winner from last year, Bella K who was our 2024 school captain. Jack did a fantastic job as our head speaker with Chloe, Tyler and Dolores helping with the props.

Twenty six schools from the City of Kingston sent four attendees each to participate in the conference. Whilst we didn’t get nominated to be the Junior Mayor we are so proud of our presentation and especially Jack. Jack delivered an excellent speech learning his words off by heart and was an amazing leader throughout the whole process.

We all had a great time rehearsing for the event and are grateful for the experience.

Dolores & Chloe

Landscaping at OLA

One of our beautiful students recently was overheard saying, “How good does this look!” We have enjoyed seeing the front entrance, Indigenous garden and veggie patches receive some extra love over the last week or two. Planting of these areas will take place after July when the landscaper thinks our dry soils will be ready to hold and nurture new plants. A huge shout out to the 2023 and 2024 P&F teams and all parents in our community for helping make this possible. The stunning mural is also part of this beautifying project with $25,000 being spent over the last two years to make these works possible. Please speak to your children about not walking on these new garden areas unless of course they are retrieving a ball or such like.

Mother's Day Breaky & Stall

On Friday our community came together to honour the extraordinary mothers and great women in our lives. We enjoyed the traditional Mother's Day Breakfast, amazing coffees, open classrooms, meditation and prayer together, the Mother's Day Stall and Assembly.

Mother's Day is such a special day on so many levels, and we hope last Friday at school and last Sunday at home that we all took a moment to celebrate and honour all the mothers and special people in our lives both past and present. Whether it was through breakfast in bed, a hug, a meal together, a heartfelt message, a thoughtful gift, or spending quality time together, it is a time where we get to show our appreciation. It has been a privilege for us on staff to hear the children speak of their gratitude and appreciation for the mothers and great women in their lives. It's so important we recognise the care and love as well as the amazing contributions these great people make in our families and in our community.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in helping make this such a special and memorable day. It really is one of the children's most favourite days of the year and they especially love hosting you and seeing you in action making things happen and helping to create precious memories. Thank you to the generosity of all who made donations of products and time.

Working Bee

We are looking forward to our Term 2 Working Bee going ahead on Saturday 31 May 10am-12pm. Thank you in advance to these families rostered on for joining us on this day:

Please remember if you are not able to make this date you are welcome to let us know and move to the Term 3 Working Bee. Alternatively you are welcome to make a donation to go towards our ongoing maintenance of ensuring our school grounds and buildings are safe, look and feel good.

2026 Enrolment Offers

All Enrolments for Prep 2026 were due on Friday 9 May. We are now loving our Meet & Greets with each of our new and current Prep students and their families. Our Senior students are super proud to lead the children and their family over to the Prep rooms and other places they want to check out again like the playground, Library and Art Room. The excitement of little bothers or sisters popping in to see their sibling is delightful. We aim to complete all of these 'Meet & Greets' before the end of May and make our first round offers at this time.

We have received an overwhelming number of applications, and unfortunately some applications will need to be placed on our first ever Prep enrolment waitlist. Should any places become available, for example, due to a deferral or interstate relocation, we will contact these families if we are in a position to offer their child a place.

Sickness

A reminder to all in our community that if anyone is sick with vomiting or diarrhoea, they should remain at home until their symptoms have stopped for 48 hours, as they may still spread the infection during this time. Please note these bugs are especially contagious at the moment. It is helpful and important that when your child is sick that they do stay home to rest and recover. If you do choose to send your child to school because you think they are well enough please do not give them the words, "please get the school to ring me if you are unwell". You can imagine that this is naturally their go to state of mind.

Uniform

A timely reminder of our high expectations in regards to School Uniform here at OLA. We appreciate that we all have many balls in the air so let's be mindful not to drop this one. Please ensure your child only wears blue or black hair ties and ribbons. A simple chain necklace is welcome to be worn under the children's uniform and studs or sleeper earrings only. No bracelets/anklets/nail polish please - they are a treat for the weekend/holidays. Please also ensure white socks with sports uniform only and no logos and navy socks with our regular school uniform. Please support us as we place a press on this important aspect of school life. Taking pride in our uniform/dress is a lesson and learning for life. Winter Uniforms are to be worn in Term 2 and Term 3. We always give two weeks grace at the start of a uniform changeover to enable families time to get organised and in the swing of things.

Please note:

No nail polish or writing on our skin
During Winter we especially ask that students do not have different coloured short or long sleeve tops under a short sleeve shirt.
If wearing a short sleeve shirt they are designed to be worn outside of the bottom garment.
If wearing a long sleeve short then that needs to be tucked into the bottom garment.

Calendar

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

Week 5
Mon 19 May	Chess Lessons (Grade 1,2 and 5/6)
Tues 20 May	Grade 4 Bike Ed
Wed 21 May	12.00-12.30pm - National Simultaneous Storytime "The Truck Cat"
Thurs 22 May	6.30-7.30pm - Grade 4 First Eucharist Parent/Child Workshop
Fri 23 May	9-11am - Interschool Sports
	2.30-3.15pm - Whole School Assembly

Week 6
Mon 26 May	Chess Lessons (Grade 1,2 & 5/6)
	National Sorry Day
	8.30am-3.30pm - Grade 3/4 Excursion to Healvesville Santuary
Tues 27 May	National Reconciliation Week
	OLA House Athletics Day
Thurs 29 May	9-10am - 2MV Class Prayer Service
Fri 30 May	Newsletter Day
	9-11am - Interschool Sport
	2.30-3.15pm - NRW Whole School Assembly
Sat 31 May	10am-12pm -Term 2 Working Bee

SAVE THE DATE

Monday 28 July - Grandparent's and Special Friend's Day - 'G' DAY

School Term Dates - 2025

Term 2, 2025

Tuesday 22nd April - Friday 4th July (11 weeks)

Term 3, 2025

Tuesday 22 July - Friday 19th September (9 weeks)

Term 4, 2025

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

Congratulations

Running Club

A beautiful morning for Run Club this morning. Such a happy and healthy way to start a Friday!! Thank you to all students, teachers and parents for joining in - the numbers are increasing if not doubling each week!!

Junior Mayor Bella K

We are super proud of Bella K (2024 OLA graduate) for the amazing year of service that she and her family have given to this special role as Junior Mayor. Thank you Bella for representing OLA with such pride and poise. This was Bella's closing speech last week:

Good morning Mayor Georgina Oxley, Deputy Mayor Chris Howe, Councilors, Teachers, Students and Guests. I would like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land on which we meet today and pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

My name is Bella, a proud past student from Our Lady of the Assumption Primary School, current student at Kilbreda College and the current Junior Mayor for the City of Kingston. As I stand here today, I am overwhelmed with emotion as I recall the excitement and nerves I felt a year ago as a hopeful candidate sitting in this room just like you. I wanted to start by congratulating each and everyone of you for being here today as a leader in your community and representing your school - well done!

As the Junior Mayor of Kingston, I have had the most amazing experience, this truly has been an incredible opportunity. Some highlights have been attending Citizenship Ceremonies, the Kingston Youth Awards and Kingston's Women of the Year Awards. I was also invited as a guest speaker to the City of Greater Dandenong, Children’s Changemaker Forum which was such an honour. I have attended Junior Council meetings where the Junior Council and I, have had a voice in selecting who receives local grants, thanks to the Chelsea Rotary Club. Presenting these organisations with their grant was a humbling experience. This opportunity has been like no other, I have a greater understanding of how Council operates, enhanced my public speaking skills and made new friends, but most of all it leaves me so excited thinking about the possible leadership opportunities I can look forward to in my future.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Kingston Council, Zorica and Tanya from the Youth Services Team and Keith & Sandy from the Chelsea Rotary Club for providing such an amazing initiative and opportunity. This has been an unforgettable experience supported by wonderful people. I would also like to show my gratitude to my grade 6 teacher who is here today, Mr Steve Pertz and primary school principal Mr Richard Jacques for helping to shape the leader I am today. Finally, my advice to all of you presenting today is to take a deep breath, enjoy the experience and be proud of yourself for making a difference. I wish you all the best- you’ve got this!

Graduation

Congratulations to Miss Natasha Lim (classroom teacher Prep NL) on her graduation from Australian Catholic University with a Bachelor of Education (Primary). A very special milestone especially after having such a wonderful start to her teaching career at OLA where she has established a calm and happy classroom where relationships and high expectations are the focus.

Gratitude

Thank you to all in our community who support and partner with us to give the best possible primary education and opportunities to the children in our care. The recent Google Reviews are very much appreciated and prospective families do read these and comment to us how they are so warm and leaves them wanting to visit our great school.

A recent Google Review:

We are in the third year of our journey at OLA, and I honestly could not be happier! I have two children attending the school, who each have a unique set of interests, skills, and learning styles. Each of these have been harnessed to support them to develop a love of learning, and confidence to pursue their goals in a positive school setting. The innovative curriculum and inclusive learning environment have really enhanced their learning experiences as well as their engagement in the classroom and broader school environment. I am often amazed with the new ideas and perspectives that they come home with and use in their daily lives. This is complemented by the teachers’ efforts, who after only a few weeks of each school year, have already developed an understanding of each child’s strengths and learning capabilities, while bringing energy, kindness and compassion in their classrooms.

OLA situates itself with models of belonging and wellbeing. Each of my children have been warmly welcomed as part of the OLA community, developing beautiful connections with their peers, and strong working relationships with their educators. As a parent, the strong sense of community and efforts by the school to facilitate connections with parents and families have also made me feel like a valued part of the school. I have also made lasting friendships with parents and families through the many social opportunities facilitated by OLA.

Thank you to all the lovely teachers, LSOs, office staff, and the School leadership team. We are so happy here!

Principal Conference

Next week, I will be attending the South Central Catholic Principal's Network conference in Broome. My time away will include visiting remote primary schools in Derby and Beagle Bay, and immersing ourselves in learning about faith, culture and community from an Indigenous perspective and within Indigenous communities. In my absence, Caitlan Taig, Josy Reeder and Shelby Turner will be in charge. I know you will all support our great leaders, and I look forward to seeing you upon my return.

Thank you all for your continued support to all in our community. May Term 2 continue being a great term with wonderful learning experiences and opportunities to feel a deep sense of belonging and where the children's friendships grow.

Enjoy the weekend and take comfort in the leadership , words and actions of our new Pope, Pope Leo XIV.

Richard Jacques

Principal

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