Principal's 

Report

Dear Parents, Carers, students and community,

In my short time here at Oak Flats Public School, it has become apparent the number of amazing opportunities offered to our students. Just in this last fortnight we have seen students participate in soccer knockouts, debating, netball gala day, Tournament of the Minds, SRC fundraiser, cybersafety talks from our local police, Aboriginal language, art and dance program, and more. All these opportunities ensure that we are educating the ‘whole child’, providing a range of opportunities for skills, learning and experiences to meet the needs of all students. This also takes a great amount of talent, planning, commitment and time from our staff.

Pedestrian Crossing

As you will have noticed, the council has begun the work on Wentworth St, in constructing a raised pedestrian crossing. To ensure the safety of our students and families, access to our school through the Wentworth Street gate will not be available during this time. If you reside a short distance from the school, it is recommended that families walk to and from school. If you are required to drive to school, parents and carers are encouraged to park in nearby streets and walk a short distance to avoid further congestion, particularly on Griffiths Street.

Although this will cause inconvenience in the short term, this will be of great benefit to the safety of students and our community.

Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week

Last Friday was National Sorry Day, which leads into National Reconciliation Week, from 27 May – 3 June. Reconciliation is an important journey for all Australians not just during this week, but everyday. The work we do here at our school is crucial to shaping our society. We want our students to be more knowledgeable about the wrongs imposed on our First Nations peoples, to learn from our history, and to be committed in words and actions about creating a more just, equitable and accepting country for all.

This week, we had our Student Leaders and 20 of our Aboriginal students attend the Shellharbour City Council Reconciliation Walk. This year’s theme is ‘Be a Voice for Generations’. We all have a voice and we can all choose to use our voice to spread messages of reconciliation. I am proud of the care and respect our students have shown throughout this week,  but know the importance of being this voice every day.

Thank you to the families who were able to be with us for our Reconciliation Week events. Thank you also to the staff for their organisation and preparation for the day and the Canteen and the P&C for cooking a BBQ for 700 people. Congratulations must also go to the wonderful Aboriginal Leaders who led a beautiful assembly with pride and confidence; our preschool children for delivering the acknowledgment of country; and the students and staff of our choir for their beautiful performance. What a lovely demonstration of our whole school community’s commitment to walk together towards reconciliation.

Kindergarten Enrolments for 2024

We are currently taking enrolments for students from our local intake area for 2024. If you or friends/neighbours within our area have children ready to start school next year, please log onto the school website where you can find further information and complete the enrolment online. If you have any concerns or question regarding your child starting school, please don’t hesitate to contact our school office on 4256 1405 to speak with someone.

Cold Weather

Winter is certainly here!! As usual, uniforms can be purchased from the school, and Service NSW Back to School vouchers are still accepted. When the weather is extremely cold and you feel your child needs extra protection from the wind, they may wear a parker, beanie, and gloves on their way to school, but will be asked to remove these during class time as our classrooms are heated. If it is possible to buy these in school colours, please support by purchasing bottle green. A hat must still be worn to play. If you require support with uniforms, please speak with your child’s teacher or phone the office so we can assist.

School Upgrades

Last weekend we had new carpet installed in the administration building and this weekend new carpet will be installed in 5H, 3/4J and 5F classrooms. Thank you to Mr Rod and all our staff for working hard to move furniture in preparation for this. We are also starting proceedings to have a new playground and sandpit installed in the infant’s playground. We can’t wait to share more information with you.

Kind regards

Jodi Niedermayer