From the Principal

Drop Off and Pick Up

Limited car parking around the school continues to be an issue, although the different drop off zones is helping to ease congestion in Logie Street. Please be aware that in Logie Street all exiting cars must turn left onto Warrigal Road and it is illegal to do a U Turn.  Parking Officers do patrol the area and you will be fined if caught. 

Students should only be alighting from the drop off zone or from a legal parking zone. I have seen students alighting from cars in the middle of the road and rushing across the road without using the crossing.  Regardless of the time of drop off, I also encourage families to instil good habits by always using the school crossings rather than crossing the road further up. There are a large number of cars parked on either side of the road and a motorist may not see a child entering the road from between parked cars. 

School Starting Time

A reminder to all families that first bell for the start of school is 8.50am not 9.00am. This gives the students time to unpack their bags and set out their equipment so that they are ready to begin learning at 9.00am. It also creates a calm start to the day as children do find arriving late stressful. We currently have a number of students who are consistently late to school each day.

Chadstone Loves Local

OPS are part of a new program that launched last weekend at Chadstone Shopping Centre, ‘Supporting our Local Schools’. For every $20 spent at Kmart, Target and participating Fresh Food retailers between Saturday, 6th to Sunday, 28th March 2021, customers can present their receipts at Chadstone’s Concierge Desk to receive a token to contribute towards the Oakleigh Primary School School tally.

2022 Enrolments 

It is time again for me to invite our community to enrol for the next year’s Foundation/Prep classes. This also applies to families who attend our Kindergarten and those who already have siblings at the school. If you wish to organise a School Tour please ring the office to book in a time.  There is a list of scheduled tours on our website. However, if these times don’t suit please ring to schedule an alternate time.

An Enrolment Form can be downloaded from our website: oakleighps.vic.edu.au

Completed documents can be posted, hand delivered to the office or emailed to susan.close@education.vic.gov.au.

Independent Reading 

Last year, the school decided to ensure that as part of the curriculum we provided regular times for all our students to read books of their choice.  This followed an analysis of an Attitude to Reading Survey we conducted with students. The majority of students said that they wanted more time to read books of their choice at school.

Independent reading supports the activity–based work centres that focus on the teaching of reading strategies e.g. making connections, identifying the main idea or summarising and guided reading sessions that teachers run with groups of students with like needs. There is significant research which identifies the benefits of reading for pleasure, including building reading speed and stamina. Our aim is that through this program:

• Students will naturally find they love to read and build confidence when they choose their own reading materials. And as a result, their reading comprehension, vocabulary and fluency will improve.
• By creating time for student choice and independent reading, students will assume more ownership in their learning and discover a passion for reading.

Research shows that students who read independently are better readers, score higher on achievement tests and have a greater general knowledge and vocabulary. Reading every day promotes mental health, reduces stress and boosts sleep.

Our focus this term has been on helping students to choose a ‘good fit’ book. The strategies for identifying a suitable book become more complex as they move through the school. For example students in Prep are encouraged to ‘peek through’ the book before they select it. Students in the older years have a number of factors they need to consider before they borrow a book.

The Library has been reconfigured to make book selection easier, e.g. outward facing books. We are also changing our borrowing software system to make selecting books much easier. More details will be provided next term. 

Examples of posters which are on display in rooms to assist students in selecting the right book.

Michele Nolan

Principal

michele.nolan@education.vic.gov.au