It has been another fantastic two weeks at Oatlands, with students engaged in their classrooms and working hard. A real highlight for the Principal Team is visiting classrooms each day and seeing the wonderful learning taking place.

Friendology Program

At Oatlands, we believe that fostering strong, positive relationships among students is essential for creating a supportive and nurturing environment where everyone can thrive. To support this, our students have been enjoying participating in the Friendology program, learning how to become a “Friendship Ninja.” This program equips students with the tools and confidence to solve problems, communicate effectively with their peers, and build happy, healthy relationships.

The core concepts of the Friendology program are:

The 4 Friendship Facts
The Friend-O-Meter
The Friend-O-Cycle
Friendship Fire vs. Mean-On-Purpose

These concepts offer a simple, easy-to-understand framework for navigating friendship dynamics and emphasising the importance of positive relationships.

To help parents understand the same language and strategies being taught to the students, we are excited to offer free access to a parent membership. This membership includes hundreds of resources, including an 8-session video series.

If you haven’t already done so, please:

Click here to view an overview of URSTRONG.
Activate your FREE Parent Membership and explore all the resources available to your family.
Explore the hundreds of resources available to you!

By empowering our students with these skills, we can continue building a culture of kindness at Oatlands.

We hope that, together, we can support your children to become Friendship Ninjas!

2026 Junior School Council (JSC)

We are pleased to announce that our 2026 Junior School Council members have been elected. These students will represent the voice of their peers and contribute to school initiatives throughout the year. Mrs Soun and Mrs Webster will support and mentor the JSC students as they develop their leadership skills and work together to make a positive contribution to our school community.

The JSC also helped organise today’s Harmony Day celebration, with students wearing either cultural clothing or a touch of orange. This was a wonderful opportunity for our school community to recognise and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes our school such a welcoming and inclusive place. Students took part in activities that highlighted respect, belonging and the importance of celebrating different cultures. We look forward to seeing what wonderful things our JSC achieve this year.

Years 3 to 6 Choir

Our 2026 choir has begun the year with great enthusiasm, with approximately 200 students from Years 3 to 6 participating! It is wonderful to see so many students involved and enjoying the opportunity to sing together. Thank you to Miss Mills for coordinating the choir and providing this fantastic opportunity for our students. We look forward to listening to the choir during our weekly whole school assemblies and at special events throughout the year.

Buddy Program

Our Buddy Program kicked off last week with our Prep students meeting their Grade 5 buddies. It was a fun and engaging experience, and we look forward to watching our Grade 5 and Prep students build a strong relationship over the next two years.

Congratulations to our Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN Students

A big congratulations to our Year 3 and Year 5 students who recently completed NAPLAN over the past two weeks. We are proud of the calm and positive way students approached the assessments and the effort they demonstrated throughout the testing period.

The Importance of Student Attendance

Regular school attendance is essential for student learning and wellbeing. Each day at school provides valuable opportunities for students to build knowledge, develop skills and strengthen relationships with their peers and teachers. Consistent attendance supports academic progress and helps students feel connected to their learning community.

Arriving at school on time is just as important. Being at school before the 9:00am bell allows students to settle into their classroom, organise their belongings and begin the day calmly with their peers. Starting the day in this way can help reduce anxiety, support students to begin the day in the “green zone” and ready to learn, and provides valuable time for students to connect with friends and build positive relationships.

We encourage families to continue supporting their child to attend school each day and arrive before the bell, unless they are unwell. If your family requires wellbeing support, please reach out to your classroom teacher.

Thank you for your continued support, we look forward to another positive and productive two weeks as we finish off Term 1 together.

Michelle White

Assistant Principal

Oatlands Primary School Newsletter

Week 8 Term One

Oatlands Primary School · 20 Mar 2026

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