Principal's Message

Dear OLA Families

It’s been such a big term of learning, growing and making memories for our students (and for all of us!) Thank you to our wonderful students, staff and families for another fantastic term. Wishing everyone happy holidays and a relaxing, well-deserved break. We can’t wait to see you all next term on Tuesday 6 October - one month before our BIG OLA Fete and four days before our OLA Art Show!!

Celebrating Sport at OLA

What a great way to finish the term! Our school was full of colour and team spirit today, with students proudly representing all sorts of sports and teams. Thank you to everyone who joined in the fun, cheering and celebrations. A fantastic way to wrap up another wonderful term at OLA.

Our Grade 6 Sports Leaders have been wonderful in providing sporting activities for the children to enjoy out in the sunshine today. They kept the activities fun and action packed.

R U OK?

Start the conversation that could change a life. Whether it’s your friend, family member, colleague, partner or teammate, the people you care about go through life’s ups and downs every day.  A simple “Are you OK?” can make a big difference. These last couple of weeks have been a reminder to check in with the people around us, listen, and let them know they’re never alone. Let’s keep the conversation going - not just this week, but every day. Thank you to our Wellbeing Team for organising this treat for our staff.

MACS School Improvement Survey 

Last chance today!

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS): Monday 31 August – Friday 18 September 2026

A big thank you to those who have completed this so far. We have had 52 our of 205 families complete the survey so far. Let's get a 10 more!!

Hats and sunscreen

On those sunny winter days and all throughout the year at OLA we have students who very much enjoy applying the sunscreen kept in their bags/tubs every day. Children are asked to keep their hats at school and wear them on these days too. Please take the holidays to purchase or check the used by date on your child's sunscreen.

Car Park Safety

A reminder to all families to take it gently in our OLA Car Park and to remember that the safety of all in our community needs to be the focus of this space. If you are pushed for time I would encourage you to come up with Plan B. Please follow the arrows in the car park and drive at 5km per hour. Please remind grandparents and helpers of this as it is often those visiting our community who are not aware of our processes.

A reminder that all cars lining up in the left lane are in the process of dropping off or picking up their child and we ask that parents remain in the car and that your child has quick access to their bag/s for a quick kiss/hug and drop. Cars in the right lane are proceeding through the car park to locate a car park. If your child is not at the gate when you arrive at the front of the line we will kindly ask you to move into a car park so we can keep the flow. Thank you for your patience and for not sounding your horn during this time. If you do a lap of the car park or enter from Wilson Street and turn left to join the queue you may get a little locked in until the flow of cars begin to move. We thank you again for your patience with this.

We ask that all children, especially toddlers and pre-schoolers, are supervised by parents and carers at all times when in the car park and school grounds. Please ensure you are holding your pre-schoolers hand when in the carpark.

Secondhand Uniform Donations

We are calling for donations for our second hand uniform stall. Items can be delivered to the school office and families are ask to please ensure they have been washed and are in good condition. 

OLA Fete

Please check out our OLA Fete tab in this Newsletter or on our refreshed Fete tab on our school website and let us know if you can help in any way...

• Please donate a bottle of wine or spirits for the Luck Bottle Stall at our Fete. You may want to think about going in with a family to donate a bottle of champagne or spirits. Bottles are stored under lock and key at the front office!
• Do you have any white squares that you would consider lending to us for the day?
• Taking the time to reach out to companies and small businesses to sponsor or make donations to our Fete.
• Can you make jams or preserves for our Fete?
• Do you or a sporting club that you belong to have a Marquee that we could borrow for the Fete so that we can reduce hiring costs?
• Are you able to bag up some mixed lolly bags or make cup cakes or larger cakes/slices for our Cake Stall closer to the Fete?
• Save some money by purchasing Early Bird Wrist Bands for the Rides
• Don’t forget to donate your pre-loved toys, books and clothes - Please take them to store in Exodus Hall.
• Please donate to our class hampers for the staff Spinning Wheel Stall! OLA Class Hamper Themes. Thank you

Child Safe Standard 8

11 months 11 standards...

As a school we will highlight one Child Safe Standard each month. 

For September it is Child Safe Standard 8.

“Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.” 

As Catholic educators, we have a moral, mission-driven and legal responsibility to uphold and actively promote the wellbeing and safety of every student entrusted in our care. This responsibility is lived out not only through policies and procedures, but through the knowledge, skills, and awareness of the adults who work with children every day. 

Our commitment to child safety includes ensuring that staff and volunteers receive ongoing education and training that equips them to recognise indicators of harm, respond appropriately to child safety and wellbeing concerns, support colleagues, and build culturally safe environments for all children and young people. 

Grounded in our Catholic mission, this standard reflects our call to act with wisdom, care, and responsibility. When staff and volunteers are well informed, confident, and supported through continuous learning, child safety and wellbeing are strengthened across all aspects of school life. 

OSAC Co-Chairs Update

Another busy and productive OSAC meeting was held last Monday 7 September. 

NAPLAN results were celebrated and OLA staff and students are to be congratulated on a positive overall result with approximately 85% of students recording above average results in Grade 3 and 5.

OSAC was briefed on the updated SunSmart Policy which Anthony Bons (OSAC member) and OLA staff reviewed in detail. Further suggestions and feedback were provided and the updated Policy was implemented the next day. The focus of the policy updates were to bring the school in line with current standards as well as being a sun smart school.

It was noted the Term 4 working bee was to be on a long weekend and a new date will be allocated for this in due course. With the increase in sickness of staff and students of late, Richard provided feedback and increased hand hygiene and the addition of soap and paper towel dispensers at water stations. We take this opportunity to remind all families to keep children at home if they are sick.

Detailed proposals and examples of potential new school photographers have been explored in detail. Further discussion around class structures and numbers together with 2027 school fees and how to best minimise the impact of the new teachers' EBA were discussed at length, as this topic remains in live negotiaions.  Richard and the OLA leadership team are working extensively to stay on top of this and get the best result for the school and the students.

Lucas Ryle & Ros Sayers

Calling for a new OSAC member

I take this opportunity to thank Lucas Ryle for his service to the OLA community as an active member of Our Lady of the Assumption Primary School Advisory Council (OSAC) over the last 3 years. The experience and expertise that you have provided OLA is very much appreciated. We especially appreciate you being at the end of the phone for advice and support and thank you also for being Co-Chair of OSAC this year. We know you will continue to be a great advocate for our wonderful school and that you will find new and exciting ways to remain connected.

The School Advisory Council acts as a supportive voice to the Principal, offering feedback on areas such as school improvement, financial governance, community engagement, communication, and the wellbeing and learning of our students.

How to Nominate: 

Please send an email to Richard Jacques principal@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au stating your wish to nominate for a seat on the Advisory Council. Include a brief outline of your background and areas of interest. As one vacancy has become available on OSAC, we are calling for nominations to fill this position. The OSAC Membership Nomination Request form will be shared in Term 4 which will contain detailed information regarding the role. Also please note the application closing date of Friday 30 October. We look forward to securing a new member for our team whose skills compliment those of the members already on the School Advisory Council.

Calling for new OLA Parents & Friends members

We thank our 2026 P&F Committee for their support of our great school and we especially thank our Co Chairs John Bardon and Pascale Arlove together with Raf Gouel and Susan Cotterill for creating such a welcoming and positive team. This year has seen a large focus on providing opportunities for the children and parents to have fun, enjoy being part of our great community and to fundraise. Please know that your active support is very much appreciated. We have also loved the social events organised in the different year levels and the support the P&F representatives give their level when there is a need for support for a family, a child or a staff member. These P&F Year Level Reps will be looking for new reps to join them or replace them in 2027. Current P&F Reps please let our Co Chairs know if you are keen to continue or if you have secured a replacement.

If you would like to be part of helping our school next year and adding to our wonderful sense of community, please consider joining the 2027 P&F Team. It is a great way to contribute to the development of the school and meet other parents.

We are looking for two parent representatives from each year level, who are responsible for updating the parents in their year level with important information/reminders, and organising a couple of events throughout the year. For example, the Grade 1 P&F representatives host the Morning Tea for new and current families on the first day of school.

Feel free to chat to this year's P&F members if you would like some more information or, better still, if you would like to get involved. You can also speak with me in person or email any questions or ideas to principal@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au

Class Placements 2027

The staff work together on class lists for the following year from the start of Semester 2. The process will be completed with consideration given to social cohesion, friendship groupings, placement of siblings and positive academic influences. Other factors to be considered include keeping a ‘balance’ of children with social, emotional, physical, behavioural and academic needs, and an even spread of year level numbers and genders in multi-age classes. This is an opportunity for students to either further develop existing friendships or an opportunity to develop new friendships. We see the ability to create new friendships each year as a valuable opportunity to further develop personal life skills for all children.

Parent Input - Meeting with the Principal

If parents have any relevant information that they believe is essential to the class placement process, they are invited to make a time to meet with the Principal to share their thoughts. Parents are requested to make an appointment in the month of October each year. Appointment times can be negotiated with the school office by calling 9584 9488 or email office@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au We will evaluate all input and make a professional judgement on the placement of the child in question. The final decision rests with the school. Please keep in mind the many limitations that are already placed on the staff during this complex process. Appointments relating to class placements must be made by the end of October each year so that staff can have relevant information to assist them with the placement of children. 

'Teacher Shopping'

Parents making requests simply as ‘Teacher Shopping’, without any foundation, are unlikely to receive their requests for the next year. The reference ‘teacher shopping’ is a term used when parents have heard positive comments about teachers in the school from other parents and think that teacher may be good for their child. Likewise, a sibling may have had a teacher previously that a parent wishes for their next child to experience. We would love to meet all requests but there are other elements around class placements, as detailed previously, which may take priority over a request as such. We are blessed with a highly skilled and enthusiastic staff team and we are confident that all teachers will meet the needs of your children. If all parents submitted requests for teachers then our system of student allocation would be compromised. As stated above, parents are invited to meet with the Principal to discuss thoughts that may be pertinent to class placements but we ask that you take on board all of the above information when making your request.

Summer Uniform

We hope that as the children finish Term 3 that you can put away their winter uniform and bring out their summer uniform. However, should it turn cold again, in the first two weeks of Term 4 students are welcome to wear summer or winter uniforms.  By Monday 19 October all students must be in full summer uniform.  We also remind parents that we also have a ‘No Hat – No Play’ SunSmart Policy. Children without hats at school will be restricted to the undercover ‘quiet’ area. A reminder that girls and boys wear navy socks with their summer uniform and there must be no logos on white sports socks. Black leather shoes must be worn with the summer uniform. There are strictly no variations to the school uniform, for example, non-school hat, alternative sock colours, non uniform long sleeve tops under short sleeve school shirts.  School hats and sunscreen must be worn from day one and "no hat, no play" will apply.  Sunscreen must be applied before school and students are encouraged to re-apply before lunch every day with their own sunscreen from their bag. We are all looking forward to more of this sunshine and warmer days!

Prep 2028 Sibling Applications

Believe it or not, we are already planning for Prep 2028! We have received strong interest from new families wishing to join the OLA community, and we are beginning to look ahead to future enrolments. If you have a younger child who is eligible to commence Prep in 2028, we kindly ask that you submit a sibling application as soon as possible (please log onto our website to complete). This will assist us in understanding the number of sibling places required and help us determine how many new families we may be able to welcome into our wonderful school community. We have 18 applications already so please ensure your application is submitted too.

Planning for 2027

As we begin preparations for the 2027 school year, we kindly ask that families notify the school as soon as possible if their child/children will not be returning to OLA next year.

We have received a significant number of enrolment enquiries and currently have waiting lists operating across all year levels. Having an accurate understanding of our student numbers allows us to plan effectively for staffing, class structures and funding allocations for 2027. 

Calendar

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

School Term Dates - 2026

Term 4, 2026

Tuesday 6 October - Tuesday 15 Dec (11 weeks)

Pupil Free Days for 2026

• Monday 5 October Vision For Instruction - Walk Thrus continued
• Monday 2 November Assessment & Reporting
• Friday 4 December 2027 Planning and Preparation 

Please note on the following dates school finish early at 1pm:

OLA Fete on Friday 6 November

Last day of school Tuesday 15 December

Congratulations

To our very own U/11 Victorian Rugby Champion!

Congratulations to Flynn who joined Moorabbin Rugby Club this year, and had his first season playing rugby. The team finished fourth in the league and faced the undefeated Melbourne Unicorns in the semi-final. Against the odds, they won and progressed to the Grand Final. In a very exciting finish, Moorabbin then defeated their local rivals, Hampton, with a runaway try after the siren, becoming the Under 11 Victorian Rugby Champions.

Grade 3/4 Learning Expo

Our 3/4 students have been out of this world learning all about space this term.

It was wonderful to welcome our families to the 3/4 Space Expo to celebrate their learning and explore their fantastic work. We are so proud of their curiosity, creativity and enthusiasm.

Grade 5/6 Learning Expo

This term our Grade 5/6 students have enjoyed learning about Australian immigration history in our RE/Inquiry unit titled ‘Now & Then.’ The students have worked productively this term learning about the timeline of Australian migration history. Starting with the first Australians 60,000 years ago and journeying through the different time periods including the convict era, gold rush era, post World War Two era and Asian immigration period. They were excited to showcase all their learning from this term and proudly display their posters and artefacts at our Grade 5/6 Inquiry Expo! Thank you to our families for your support of these open classroom opportunities.

Prep Prayer Services

What beautiful Prep Prayer Services!  We are so proud of our Prep students for their wonderful readings, beautiful singing and the incredible focus they showed throughout the services. It was a special opportunity to come together in faith, prayer and celebration. Well done, Preps and thank you families for your presence. 

Spelling Bee Champions

What an amazing effort from our OLA super spellers! A huge congratulations to our Level Champions and our Overall School Champion on their fantastic achievements.

We’re also incredibly proud of every student who participated, stepped up to the challenge and gave it their very best.

Principal Awards

Look who made our day this week! Congratulations Sophie, Tommy, Xavier and M for your excellent research and presentation in Spanish. Felicidades!

Prayers

We ask for your prayers this week for the Stutterd family. We pray for Ty, Paulette, Alfred (Grade 1/2CH), Ariel (Grade 3/4EJ) and their family, following the death of their father, father in law and grandfather Gerald Stutterd (Ty's Dad). It has been wonderful to see and hear the gratitude pouring out from the Cheltenham/Mentone area for this great community man. Gerald and his wife Angela are not only grandparents here at OLA currently but they are also past parents of OLA themselves having Ty, Lewis, Darcy and Ella coming through the school. May the Stutterd family know of the love of their OLA and wider community at this very sad time. We send our love and prayers to Angela, Gerald's wife who is a wonderful Classroom Helper here at OLA. 

With this being our last newsletter of the term, we thank our staff for another amazing term at OLA, and we thank our students for their hard work and determination. Wishing all our families the most relaxing of holidays and may we all enjoy some special moments together and some time just to be. Maybe some of us will be watching some footy too!! GO HAWKS!! Please note our first day back with the students for Term 4 is Tuesday 6 October.

Richard Jacques

Principal