Dear OLA Families,

It has been a wonderful fortnight at OLA! We have celebrated the beginning of Advent and the Preps are busily preparing for the Nativity play. The Grade 6s have taken part in Bike Ed and conversations about how their bodies are growing and changing as part of the About Real Life Program. Our Grade 5s have played an important role in welcoming our Preps for next year. There has also been the celebration of the Sacrament of Eucharist and Confirmation. We enjoyed the OLA P&F AGM followed by Christmas Drinks in Brigid Hall. We had Moving Day where we moved our Prep classrooms next to the playground and beside the Art Room and teachers who are relocating in 2022. And of course the Grade 6 Big Day Out today!! It is so lovely for our community to be having such fun and to have special events that we can gather together for. The last couple of weeks have also been a great opportunity for us all to begin transitioning and getting ready for 2022 – an exciting time for all. We are certainly making sure we finish the year on a high, if not a little exhausted in the process!!

OLA Christmas Concert

On Tuesday we had the joy of Christmas whizzing through our community. Children were dressing up for their dance and Brigid Hall looked very Christmassy! It has also been lovely to see our staff in the spirit with Christmas tops, earrings and socks all on display!! Thank you to Nat Witts for choosing the music and choreographing the dance moves for 12 classes this year. It was lovely to see the children thinking about their stage hands and stage faces as they gave their best and remembered their sequence of dance moves. The Principal even got caught busting a few moves!!

2022 Staffing

Congratulations and thank you to the following staff for taking on the following leadership roles in 2022:

Positions of Leadership 2022

Principal	Richard Jacques
Deputy Principal, RE Leader and Mathematics Leader	Caitlan Taig
Learning and Teaching Leader, Wellbeing Leader and Diversity Leader	Josy Reeder
Literacy Leader and Intervention leader	Christine Thredgold
Junior Leader	Michela Vella
Middle Leader	Shelby Turner
Senior Leader	Gen O'Meara

We congratulate these staff members and thank them for taking on the responsibility to lead our learning community for 2022. We look forward to the members of leadership, along with all staff, continuing to add to the positive development of OLA Parish Primary School.

Classroom Teachers for 2022

Prep KM	Kirsten Milinski
Prep FL	Fiona Lee & Sam Hudson
Grade 1/2 MC	Michelle Congerton
Grade 1/2 MM	Meg McCallum
Grade 1/2 MV	Michela Vella & Carrie Mulcahy
Grade 3/4 JD	Julie Doyle & Catherine Harrison
Grade 3/4 ST	Shelby Turner & Catherine Harrison
Grade 3/4 TR	Tess Riley
Grade 5/6 GO	Gen O’Meara & Sam Hudson
Grade 5/6 MB	Mark Buccilli
Grade 5/6 SP	Steve Pertz
Grade 5/6 NC	Nicole Collins & Anna Danson

Specialists for 2022

Physical Education & Sport	Liz Thompson
Languages - Japanese	Helene Lionakis
Visual Arts	Sam Hudson
STEM	Anna Danson

Specialists will take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in 2022 with Assemblies taking place on Fridays of odd weeks at 2.30-3.15pm.

Digital Technologies & IT Support for 2022

Digital Technologies Consultant

Tserlin Hetherton

IT Technical Support

Perry and James

Dagellis

Learning Support Officers

Ann Arthur

Kelly Herat

Rosie Siracusa

Sarah Dooley

Sarah Arnott

Di McDowall

Library Technicians & Support

Katherine Grima

Sarah Arnott

Diana Milburn

Finance & Administration Manager	Gabrielle McGee
Administration Officer & Reception	Alicia Robertson

New Student Leaders 2022

We congratulate all children who have nominated for Grade 6 leadership roles for 2022 as well as the Grade 5 FIRE Carrier leadership positions. We will introduce the new leaders to the students across the school at an outdoor assembly on Tuesday 14 December.

Prep Orientation

The three days of Prep Orientation at OLA have been exciting and fun for each of our students starting Prep in 2022. It has been an absolute joy for our Prep teachers, leadership team and 2022 Grade 6 Buddies to get to know our gorgeous Prep children and their families. There was also the opportunity for these children and their families to have a park date which was well attended and parents are beginning to make those friendships that last a lifetime!! We also had some of our new Preps put on their uniform and be part of a photo shoot so that we can celebrate this important start to life at school.

New students across the school

Not only have we been welcoming our 2022 Prep students but we have also been welcoming students across the school. We thank the students and families at OLA for being so welcoming and warm. At times like this we are reminded that we belong to such a beautiful community.

2022 Handover and Planning

We were delighted to welcome our new staff for 2022 to OLA on at least three occasions this week for handover and planning which is all helping to kick start 2022 in the best possible way. At our Professional Learning Meetings this week and on the School Closure Day staff sat one on one to handover important learning and wellbeing information on each child so that the next year’s teacher is set up to give your child the best start possible. In addition to a thorough handover and sharing of data, teachers also met in teams to collaborate and plan for RE, Inquiry, Mathematics and Literacy. The conversations were rich and productive and the teachers are well on the way to being set up for a successful 2022.

During the School Closure Day we had a mini brain break and participated in some Christmas Visual Art activities with the one and only Sam Hudson! We hope you also get to enjoy some of the Christmas decorations coming home as a result of this mini brain break.

Semester 2 Reports

On Thursday parents received their child’s Semester 2 Report on the Parent Portal and this year it includes your child’s Self Evaluation which follows after the Teacher Comment. We hope that the Semester Reports along with the two sets of Parent/Teacher Interviews this year have provided you with a solid understanding of your child’s academic progress throughout the year.

On Thursday, students also participated in an Orientation morning to meet their teacher and classmates for 2022. We have found this a valuable transition routine whereby children begin to learn what to expect with their new social group and we facilitate new connections being made. It’s during Term 4 where all children begin to think about changes and the impacts of transition into a new class, with new children and most often a new teacher.

Past OLA students speaking to Grade 6s

We are so grateful to the children who returned to OLA to speak to Grade 6s about transitioning to secondary schools. It gave the staff and students a real buzz to have these students back at their old primary school. We are so proud of each and every one of these students who spoke about the excitement and the challenges experienced in moving onto life in Grade 7. Thank you to Virginai Derricott for organising this experience for our OLA students.

Transitions and Change

Transitions are a normal part of life. We all go through them at some stage in our lives. Sometimes there is great excitement with transitions, sometimes there are unknown feelings and sometimes there is anxiety. This is a good time for parents and teachers to be aware of our children and some of the things they may be thinking, feeling and what we can do to help. Some tips for parents during times of transition are listed below. These recommendations come from Parentline in their Tips for Transitions.

Keep talking and develop a supportive family environment

Talk about changes with your children and share experiences you’ve had. Normalise the feelings of anxiety that your child might be having. Discuss some strategies for things they may be worrying about or read books to discuss the ideas further.

Prepare for the new routine and environment

Be prepared for the beginning of the transition - have materials, uniforms ready in advance. Practise new routines for getting to the classroom / school. Lots of sleep and a good diet during transitions is also helpful.

Be available when things get tough

Transitions can sometimes take a while to settle into. As parents, if you are there to hear about how children are transitioning, sharing some of the things that are happening, positive or negative, this can support the process. Plan some strategies with your child around ways they can move forward with things they are worrying about.

2022 One on One Meetings

As mentioned previously, Monday 31 January and Tuesday 1 February will be assessment days for students in Prep to Grade 6. We will advise you how to book your child’s assessment via online appointments shortly. Students will need to be at school for 30 minutes for an assessment to take place before scheduled lessons begin to reduce the amount of interruptions that can happen in the first few weeks of school. All students Grade 1 to Grade 6 will commence classes on Wednesday 2 February.

To allow for safe supervision of all children during assessments, please arrive at your child’s classroom at least 5 minutes before the time allocated for assessments to begin and be ready for pick up at the conclusion of the assessment period.

OLA Parents and Friends Committee

Thank you to our amazing 2021 OLA Parents and Friends Association for your work in helping create a wonderful community spirit and raising funds for our great school. The sense of community at OLA is palpable to everyone who walks through the front doors of the school or who attends an event involving OLA families and friends. Thank you to all involved in making as many moments count as was possible in 2021 and thank you to all for your fundraising. I would like to especially thank P&F Co-Chairs Kate Morina and Mel Power for their leadership and dedication to making this year a great success. Thank you also to the team:

Executive

CoChairs - Kate Morina & Mel Power

Secretary - Susan Wixted

Treasurer - Rosie An

Fete - Claire Melican

Class Representatives

Prep Vicki Warner & Rachael Jensen

Grade One Olivia Moran & Alysha Crawford

Grade Two Andy Wright

Grade Three

Grade Four Elena Riccitui, Dian Kett & Alex Adams

Grade Five Simone Dressing & Justine Felix

Grade Six Jo Raymant & Siobhan Pinzone

Communications - Emil Mathias

Scholastic Book Club - Katie Lang

OLA Second Hand Uniform Shop - Dian Kett, Elena Ricciuti, Bianca Marasco and Rachel Martin for running the Second Hand Uniform Shop and Melanie Power, Lauren Koukoumanos and Stacey Straford who have volunteered on the stall through the year

We are proud to be able to announce that the OLA P&F raised over $9000 in 2021. The money has been put towards the following:

$4,800 towards the Grade 6 Bike Education Program and equipment
$3300 update of Take Home Readers - Little Learners Love Literacy Books & Sunshine Books
$520 towards P-6 Cyber Safety Inform and Empower Parent Workshop and babysitting
$380 OLA Teardrop Sporting Banners

School Fees

Thank you to everyone who has paid their 2021 school fees and levies or who have set up a payment plan. We are so grateful for your support. With the school year finishing on Wednesday we ask that those who have final payments outstanding are made as soon as possible. As always if you require some support please reach out.

Plans for stationery in 2022

Following feedback from teachers, parents and students, we reviewed our processes around acquiring stationery. It was felt that we could assist families and the classroom teachers by placing one bulk order that provided a consistency across the school. It also enables children not to compare and feel left out about who has and hasn’t purchased the ‘best’ or ‘coolest’ stationery items. From a learning point of view this will also help to minimise the large pencil cases around the classroom and it will also minimise the distractions that some items can create.

As indicated in the recent Operoo and in our newsletters, we will now ensure that all book list items including exercise books and stationery will be purchased by the school and all costs are included in your school fees and levies. For the first time the school will supply new pencil cases complete with all stationery at the beginning of the 2022 for Grades 3 to 6. The pencil cases will have the OLA school crest printed on them and your child will keep that pencil case from Grade 3 through to Grade 6. As we said above this decision helps to minimise distractions from pens, pencils and stationery that often take the form of toys. We ask that children use the pens and pencils provided at school and keep their special stationery for home. We will be emphasising that these pencil cases are cared for and graffiti will not be accepted. At the end of each year pencil cases will remain at school and the student’s leftover stationery will be sent home in a bag. This also ensures that each and every child has standardised stationery and the same sized pencil cases to maximise desk and tub space. Stationery for Prep to Grade 2 will continue to be provided ensuring shared access for all.

Prayers and thoughts...

This week we are especially thinking and praying for the Power and Moreira families.

Rupert (5/MB) and Kitty (1/2ST) Power’s Aunty Fiona Beagan passed away in London. Our thoughts and prayers are for you Will, Mel, Rupert, Kitty and family.

Noah Campos Vilalba Moreira’s (1/2ST) grandfather, Emir Moriera passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are for you Noah, Marcio, Patricia and family.

We hope that you speak of Fiona and Emir often and keep their spirit alive in all that you say and do.

Celebrations of learning...

We love seeing our students who are super proud of their work pop into the office to share some of their very best work. Thank you to all students for being kind and giving their absolute best right up until the end of the year.

Have a great weekend everyone... big breath… not long to go now!! Enjoy every minute.

Richard Jacques

Principal

Fees and Charges