Faculty news
Counselling
How to raise amazing kids
Parent talk Thursday 24 March 7.00 – 8.00 pm in the school library
This parenting talk will focus on some of the key issues of parenting, how to deal with these issues and how to guide our children to become amazing kids and young adults. As always, I will be referencing children’s behaviours and appropriate parenting for the child's brain development, and discussing ways to develop a strong Pre-Frontal Cortex (the adult brain). The issues discussed in this presentation arise from some of the main parenting concerns that come my way.
Feel free to bring friends along if you wish, even if they are not from the Oakleigh Grammar community. All welcome!
Please RSVP the number of attendees to counsellor@oakleighgrammar.vic.edu.au
See you on the 24th
Please remember to bring proof of vaccination (3 doses) as this is still a requirement of the school, even at night.
Fiona Baudinette
Student Counsellor
Careers
Applications for the 2023 ADF Gap Year are now open!
An ADF Gap Year is a unique opportunity for students to experience life in the Navy, Army, or Air Force; without needing to make a long-term commitment. Students gain valuable skills, work experience, a great salary package plus free healthcare, make friends with like-minded people and have the opportunity to see more of Australia.
Learn more and apply at ADF Gap Year.
Students might also like to participate in a GAP Year Virtual Information Session on 23 March 2022 from 6.00 pm – 7.00 pm. Register here.
ANU – Australian National University Applications for 2023 Entry
Current domestic Year 12 students who intend to apply directly to ANU for undergraduate study in 2023 are advised that direct applications close on Monday 23 May 2022. Students can start their applications any time and log back in, as needed, to complete the process. Students will need to include their co-curricular activities with supporting documentation, as well as complete a Year 11 Results Form.
Students should read through Application Information before Applying to ANU.
RMIT University Virtual Tours
Students are invited to take a virtual tour of RMIT’s campuses, facilities, a taste of what life is like as a university student at RMIT, and get a look inside specific interest areas including media, art, engineering, and health science.
Take a tour here.
Victoria Police Online Information Session
Learn about the Police role, the recruitment process and training at the Academy. The session is on Tuesday 22 March 2022 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/police-information-session-webinar-tickets-
News from Monash University
New Bachelor of Criminology and Policing in 2022
In a joint venture with Victoria Police, the Bachelor of Criminology and Policing is the only course of its kind in Victoria. In this three-year program, students will complete the core requirements of the Monash Bachelor of Criminology and have the opportunity to apply to undertake a Diploma of Policing, undertaken at the Victoria Police Academy in their third year.
Find out more at Bachelor of Criminology and Policing.
Refreshed Common First Year in Engineering
New students will get to study newly designed first-year units enabling them to become problem-solvers of the future while giving them a taste of the nine engineering specialisations on offer before deciding which to pursue from the second year.
Find out more at Engineering at Monash.
New Economics Major on offer in the Bachelor of Arts
Economics is now available in the Bachelor of Arts as a major and as free electives in any arts single degree. There is no Maths prerequisite – a great option for students wanting to study economics but who do not have Year 12 Maths. However, background knowledge and application of maths is required at the equivalent of VCE Year 12 level.
Find out more at Bachelor of Arts.
Pathway to Physiotherapy
The Doctor of Physiotherapy, a three-year graduate-entry degree based at the Peninsula campus offers students another pathway via a Monash Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Science, or Health Sciences degree.
Find out more at Doctor of Physiotherapy.
Michelle Mascaro
Careers Advisor
Middle Years Programme
Service as Action in the MYP
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” - AESOP
Service as Action is a core element of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP). It seeks to engage students to become caring members of the community who act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and their environment. Service as Action requires students to engage with their local community through community or personal projects and provides opportunities for students to explore, design, implement, and reflect on their efforts to positively impact their local environment. Through Service as Action experiences, students learn the value of community participation and gain a deeper understanding of the issues facing their local, national and international communities.
This term, our Year 10 students are completing one hour of service in the Oakleigh Grammar community supported by Mr Patel, the homeroom teachers and myself. They can work in groups of three, pairs or independently to complete this requirement.
One group recently supported Meow Rescue, a not-for-profit cat rescue to collect 79 towels for the rescued and abandoned cats in their care. Judith, one of the volunteer staff from Meow Rescue came to OG to collect the towels and was deeply appreciative of Catherine, Alexi and Nicola’s donation. Other groups have been volunteering in the library to help Mr Watt and Ms Chitra to shelve books, create displays and support the primary library program. Another group helped me hang displays in the middle school corridor. Will and James held a bake sale at the athletics carnival to raise money for the OG gym, their goal was to raise money to buy a squat rack and barbells.
Students are off to a strong start; however, the programme is in its foundation, and we need community support to grow. If you would like to become involved, please contact me. We would benefit from guest speakers who have service experience or who work in the not-for-profit sector. Additionally, if you have some service opportunities you would like to share with our students, please do let me know. “No act of kindness no matter how small is ever wasted” – AESOP
Mel Fitzgerald MFitzgerald@oakleighgrammar.vic.edu.au
Melissa Fitzgerald
IB MYP Coordinator
Student Representative Council
On Tuesday 8 March, Oakleigh Grammar celebrated International Women’s Day. The campaign theme for 2022 was 'BreakTheBias'. The goal of this year’s theme was to make awareness to create a gender-equal world. Our sociality will be more positive if we live in a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. For that reason, it is very important to celebrate a woman's success and raise awareness against bias. Middle School students made hundreds of purple ribbons and sold them to our school community to support the day and celebrate each woman and their success in our society.
Friday 18 March was the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. This year, Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative celebrated 12 years of action, connecting schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying. The theme for 2022 was 'Kindness Culture'. By building Kindness Culture together, we can promote inclusion, respect and community belonging for all students in schools across Australia. SRC members sold wristbands to the school community and all students were encouraged to wear them to show their support to students who may be experiencing bullying. Remember, whether you're a parent, teacher, student, or member of the broader community, everyone has a role to play in bullying prevention.
Natasha Spanos
SRC Coordinator
LOTE
We are so excited to share the news that our Chinese learning students won 13 awards in the Education Perfect Languages Championships 2022. Our Year 6, 7, 8 and 9 Chinese classes participated in this global competition, which lasted for a week (8 - 15 March).
Students need to answer questions correctly to win points.
Oakleigh Grammar students spent 102 hours on Education Perfect, answering 44,504 questions and were ranked 6th for Chinese on average in Victoria. What an achievement!
Congratulations to the following students:
Emerald Award (5000 points): Mario Ross
Bronze Award (1000 points): Ayden Gorge Gigu, Nilesh Sharma, Samhith Mikkilineni, Varshitha Paravasthu, Archna Gupta, Santosh Upadhyaya
Credit Award (500 points): Sivmeng Te, Arkie Stathopoulos, Maria Mitnovetski, Ilya Umarov, Benjamin Carmody, Minuga Kuruwita
This demonstrates our students have amazing potential and can achieve anything if they put their heart and mind into it. This is also a great reflection of our school theme for this year ‘Success is ours to achieve!’
Lydia Liu
Middle School Academic Learning Leader (LOTE)
Orthodox Studies
Junior school Blessing of the New Academic Year 2022
At the beginning of each academic year, a special Blessing of the Waters (Hagiasmos) takes place at Oakleigh Grammar. At the Blessing of the Waters, regular water is sanctified by the prayers of the priest and sign of the Cross to become a physical carrier of God’s invisible grace. Water is essential to life on earth, and in the Holy Bible is associated with the creation and new life. Countless miracles of healing by water are mentioned in Scripture. Also, water is used to describe the grace of God. On Tuesday 1 March, Father George visited all the Junior School classes, prayed with the students, blessed them with Holy Water and wished them a productive academic school year.
Varvara Pavlidou
Junior School Orthodox Studies Teacher