Principal's news
Dear Parents
The Oakleigh Grammar community was very much on show on the occasion of the Independence Day March held at Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park on Sunday 14 April. I take this opportunity to thank the many hundreds of parents who were in attendance supporting our students and staff on this special commemorative and celebratory occasion for our School and community.
Notably, our drum band was spectacular as was our byzantine choir and student body who marched with pride to the beat of the our drums. The occasion is significant to our School due to the cultural formation of our School as well as the inherent religious significance of the Greek Independence Day on 25 March each year.
Special Occasions
We welcomed to our Term Two Commencement Assembly, three Greek Parliamentarians who were treated to our students performing Greek dancing and poetry. They very much enjoyed the opportunity to speak to our student body and were very complimentary of our School.
On Wednesday 24 April, a special ANZAC Day Assembly was held with several students involved in reciting poems and stories in respect of our ANZACs. We had representatives from the Oakleigh RSL in attendance
Also, we had representation from the Imvrian Society who brought some artwork from an Exhibition in remembrance of Imbros. The Imvrian Society is a community group of descendants and friends of the island of Imbros, where many sites are connected to the ANZACs and the Gallipoli story. There has been an Exhibition on display in the Library for the past week which has provided students and staff with insight into these times.
National Schools Event
The National Schools Event under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia will be held in Sydney from Tuesday 7 to Friday 10 May and hosted by St. Spyridon College. All seven Australian Greek Orthodox founded Schools join together in sport, culture and Hellenism each year to enjoy fellowship. Students selected to represent Oakleigh Grammar are to be congratulated following a rigorous trial process under the leadership of Mr Greg Joyce. We wish our touring party every success in their endeavours this year.
Adolescent Mental Health
There has been much publicity in mainstream media recently about adolescent mental health problems triggered by the ‘clutch of the smart phone’ and young people’s radical abandonment for the real world for a virtual one.
In his new book The Anxious Generation, Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt chronicles what he calls ‘society’s biggest blunder’ - the way childhood has been transformed by a handful of technology companies. Haidt’s book quotes Pew Research that in 2015 one in four teens said they were online almost constantly. By 2022, that number had doubled to almost one in two. Haidt further notes “Depression has become roughly two and a half times more prevalent across all races and social classes”.
The Australian Newspaper recently tabled a graph of a similar spike in young Australian adults reporting high or very high psychological distress more acute for girls than boys. Further data shows the first generation going through puberty with smart phones became more anxious, depressed and self harming. But Haidt is optimistic that the harm being done can be reversed.
Importantly, I encourage parents to be more involved in the supervision of smart phone use, particularly at bedtime and to become more observant of unstructured play, and to direct children towards non-technological recreational activities. The Anxious Generation details twenty rules for raising kids in the age of the iPhone and I recommend this book to you. Please contact our School Librarian, Mr Greg Watt who has some copies available for you to borrow, or you may wish to purchase a copy for yourself.
Cafeteria Open For Parents in the Morning
We are pleased to advise that our new Caf has a brand new coffee machine. Between 8.30am and 9.00am every Wednesday and Friday morning, parents are welcome to access the Caf following school drop off and purchase a coffee and use this space to have social interactions with other parents. Entry to the Caf will be via Clapham Road. Due to Child Safety Regulations, there will be no access to the inner courtyard.
If this weekly two day trial is successful, we may open the caf to parents on extra days in term three.
2025 School Term Dates
In this edition of Grammar News, 2025 School Term Dates have been publishedon our website here. Please use these dates to plan holidays so that they do not conflict with term time.
Staff News
We welcome Junior School Leave replacement teachers this term: Ms Tilesha Moodley, Ms Renee Ogden, Mr Mark Robinson and Ms Charlotte Savage as well as Middle School Mathematics Teacher Ms Sumitha Padmanathan and Mr Mitch Cole joins us as a Sports Administrator.
Easter Blessings are conveyed to all of our Christian Orthodox Families as we look forward to celebrating Orthodox Easter from Friday 3 to Monday 6 May. Please note that the School will be closed during this period.
Mark Robertson
Principal