Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families,

Congratulations to our Grade 5/6 Girls Soccer team who attended the Interschool competition last Thursday. The girls won the competition overall! We thank Mr Glennon for his fantastic coaching of our students, to Mrs Thompson for being the Team Manager and organiser and to the parents who drove and supported the OLA team.

Our school grounds and buildings are looking especially good thanks to an amazing group of OLA families pitching in to help at our Working Bee. Thank you to all for helping to make our grounds safer, cleaner and even more organised - the Working Bee is always a great community event.

Professional Learning

What an incredibly powerful day on Friday as we engaged in a Professional Learning Walk facilitated by Kate Korber from the Inquiry Project!  As teachers ventured through the school learning spaces, they shared and discussed evidence of effective practices in Guided Inquiry. From formative and summative assessment, thinking routines, student questions and wonderings to the integration of technology and collaboration with experts in the community for meaningful taking action. 

Each team shared evidence of student learning growth and how they were able to plan for the purposeful balance of explicit teaching alongside student agency.  This kind of collaborative sharing directly boosts collective efficacy, strengthening belief in what's possible when we witness nest practice embedded in our classrooms. Such a a fantastic example of teacher leadership in action!

National Reconciliation Week

It has been a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. As a school, we have been exploring NRW in class and finished the week with a special NRW Assembly. We thank Fi Lee, Emilie Brady and the FIRE Carriers for organising activities for the students to enjoy and reflect on

Working Bee

What a great Working Bee last Saturday! A huge thank you to the many families who came along to our OLA Term 2 Working Bee - the school looks fantastic! 

With so many helping hands, we got so much done: soft fall was spread, gardens weeded, sandpits raked, pathways and drains cleared, roses pruned, hedges trimmed and gutters emptied. Our school and church grounds are now looking better - and safer - than ever. We couldn't have done it without you! 

Black School Shoes 

Black school shoes are now available at Bob Stewart Mentone. Please note that black sneakers/runners with synthetic upper and white soles are NOT part of the regular school uniform. Black leather upper and black soled sneakers, without highlighted logos, are acceptable shoes to wear with the school uniform.

Sharing Photos on WhatsApp

The purpose of the OLA Parents & Friends Association WhatsApp groups is to provide an online community for the parents throughout their journey at Our Lady of the Assumption Primary School. All year levels are connected via a ‘WhatsApp chat group’. The P&F's goal is for parents to have a forum for positive and helpful discussion, share tips and updates on school events and information that will help you and your family throughout the school year. We are working on some shared expectations around the use of this important form of communication. At this stage we ask all parents to be mindful of not sharing photos/videos from special events such as Athletics Day, Mother's Day Breakfast and excursions. While we understand the intent is thoughtful for those parents not able to attend we have a duty of care to each child and their family not to share photos in a public setting like this. These photos not only appear in WhatsApp but they also download onto the user's photo album. If you take photos at an event for a specific parent/family then please share directly with that family and not in a whole group setting like WhatsApp.

Calendar

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

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

Monday 21 July - Friday 19th September (9 weeks) 

Term 4, 2025

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

Congratulations

2EB Class Prayer Service

Congratulations to Miss Brady, Grade 2 EB students and their families for coming together today for their class prayer service focussed on taking care of creation. What a great day to give thanks being that it was World Environment Day! 

1ET Class Prayer Service

Following our Grade 2 classes, it was lovely to see some of our Grade 1s in action as they hosted their class prayer service. The children read confidently, sang beautifully and were so proud to show off their classroom. Thank you to all who are able to come along for these special celebrations. We look forward to the Grade 1ES class prayer service next Thursday.

Principal Awards

Principal Awards!

We all love to receive a visit from extra proud students sharing their best work. Well done to these great writers in Prep and Grade 2. What an amazing vocabulary you are using. 

ANZAC Appeal 2025

The President and Committee of the Bentleigh RSL, incorporating Cheltenham RSL have written to us in appreciation for our ongoing support to the ANZAC Day Appeal. The money raised provides welfare support to ex-servicemen and women. Thank you everyone.

May the weekend be happy one and one where you get to catch your breath.

Richard Jacques

Principal