Principal's Message

Richard Jacques

Dear OLA Families

Wow! Wow and Wow!!

Congratulations to all at OLA on an absolutely amazing day on Friday! It couldn't have been better! The Community Hub, Library, Staff Resource Room, STEM Room and new open spaces were officially opened and blessed and they looked absolutely beautiful!!!

What a wonderful community we have. Thank you to all who helped make this such a special day.

 

Mass with Bishop Tony Ireland and our Parish Priest Fr Alan Fox was beautiful in every way. We were honoured to have the Executive Director of Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools Dr Edward Simons and our local Member for Bentleigh Nick Staikos MP with us too. 

 

It was a great opportunity for past, present and future families of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Primary School to come together to celebrate 70 years of education as well as participate in the official opening of our two million dollar building project. The displays in the Church and Library looked amazing and celebrated our history - thank you to all who contributed and to Rosie Siracusa, for the extra time and care that you took to put them all together in such a wonderful display.

 

We thank the P&F for organising the morning tea and refreshments for our guests.  A special thank you to Andy Wright, Lauren Koukoumanos, Rosie An as well as the team at The Trademan Cafe which is owned by the Vohra family from OLA.   Thank you to all parents who joined in the hospitality, set up and pack up to ensure the day went smoothly.  The Coffee Cart donated by Pandelis Plousi at Hodges Real Estate Mentone, added an extra level of hospitality - our guests were most grateful.

 

Some lovely messages of gratitude were received:

I was honoured to be at the Mass and opening today. It was a beautiful celebration of the past , the present and the future at OLA. The children were a credit to you, all the speakers were inspirational and the school looks amazing. Congratulations on such a successful day . 

 

Congratulations on an absolutely amazing day! It couldn't have been better! The building or rather The Community Hub was absolutely beautiful!!! Everyone's attendance and very positive response said it all. 

 

A HUGE Congratulations on today's celebrations!  
From the mass, beautiful words and stories shared, to the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon.. then the 70 year old biscuit!   Absolutely wonderful! 
Thankyou for making us part of such a momentous and joyous occasion.

 

Just a short note to say congratulations on such a successful event this morning. I was so impressed! More than once I had a tear in my eye. The mood was so positive and a wonderful reflection on your encouraging and inspiring leadership.
 I know that successful events don’t just happen – but more importantly, neither do great schools. Thank you for your hard work. The students were a delight.
 

Working Bee

Unfortunately our Term 2 Working Bee was not possible due to inclement weather.  A big thank you to those families who were able to help out with spreading the mulch etc.  For all other families who were rostered on to Term 2 we will share you amongst Term 3 and Term 4 Working Bees (please see file below).  If you have a preference please let Sharan know at the front office or you are very welcome to make a donation.  

 

Parent Guided Learning Walk

Our very first Parent Guided Learning Walk was so impressive and both the parents and leadership team learnt so much from being part of it all.  We began at 8.40am in the Community Hub to set the scene with visiting Family Partnerships guru Tony Dalton. We then proceeded to visit a 1/2, 3/4 and a 5/6 classroom taking photos on school iPads capturing Mathematics at its best. The walk and debriefing conversations were just so spot on and we finished up at 10.15am.  The 10 parents that joined us would highly recommend that you join us on one in the next one so look out for it in Semester 2.

Thank you for arranging the guided learning walk. It was incredible to see learning in action and understand how visual, practical and collaborative learning is. I learnt so much and have started using the questions Tony recommended in our home. 
 
Thank you for the invitation to join the guided learning walk with Tony yesterday.
I enjoyed the insight and another involvement for me where the kids and school have a humbling impact. Keep striving and the school’s facilities are looking great (almost like a private school!).

Mother's Day

It was another overwhelming success as we celebrated the annual Mother's Day and Special Friend's Breakfast.  We sincerely thank Ben and Andy and their amazing team of Dads for supporting this fabulous day. We acknowledge the tireless contributions of our precious mums, grandmothers and friends at OLA. The generosity of our families reflects greatly on our beautoful school community. 

The amazing Egg and Bacon Rolls, Bircher Muesli, juice and Coffee Cart were very much appreciated by all.  There was plenty of activity on the oval and the visits to the classrooms a great highlight for the children and their special person. They were so proud to share with you all at least three of their favourite pieces of work and to show you where they sit and the classroom environment they enjoy every day. We know the children made some beautiful cards and wrote some very special words - it is very clear how much our students love their mums, dads, step Mums, grandmas and special friends. 

Mother's Day Stall

Thank you to Eli Dunlevie (Grade 1 P&F Rep) for taking on the organisation of the much loved Mother's Day Stall. The children just love purchasing something special and something they can hopefully keep a surprise for their loved one on Mother's Day! Thank you to the members of the P&F Team who pitched in and helped the stall be accessible for all and so efficiently run.

 

OLA Parish - 'From the Heart' Workshop

Our FIRE Carriers helped launch the The Care for our Common Home Group's 'From the Heart' Workshop on Sunday 21 May.  Following the FIRE Carriers carrying in the Message Stick and sharing about their role as FIRE Carriers the Workshop continued and it was a great opportunity to discuss the 'Statement from the Heart' and constitutional recognition of First Nations people. 

Athletics Day

On Tuesday 9 May the rains (or should we say 'light drizzle') pretty much set in for the day and yet it did not deter us from running a very successful OLA P-6 House Team Athletics Carnival at Duncan McKinnon Athletics Track.  It was lovely to see the House Team Captains leading the way on the day and to see the entire school involved in the House Team Shuttle Relay. The House Team spirit was alive and well and we congratulate the Red House Team for taking our the OLA House Team Athletics Trophy for 2023.

 

Well done on a wonderful OLA Athletics Carnival! It's such a huge activity to organise so thank you Liz so much for your hard work and the work from all the staff! I hope you got to put up your feet at the end of the day... Thank you for the program of events, prior to the day and for going ahead, despite the rain!

 

2024 Enrolments

It is great to have the enrolment applications coming in.  We are busy making offers and look forward to meeting with each new and current family for 2024 in the coming weeks. We thank everyone who has attended our school tours and for considering OLA as an educational setting for their child and for them as a family. Please know that all enquiries regarding enrolments are always welcome. Please contact the school office on 9584 9488 if you would like to arrange a school tour.

New Master Plan

With the official opening now taken place on the recent Stage 3 building project we have completed that series of works.  We now get to dream about the future of OLA in 1 year, 5 years and 10 years. If you have any ideas about what we should prioritise and make happen to support the learning and wellbeing of the children at OLA for both internal and external spaces, please share your ideas with Richard and Caitlan. Smith & Tracey, our architects are working with students and staff and listening to their ideas on Tuesday 13 June. On that same day so we are calling our School Advisory Council together to meet with the architects, share and develop ideas at 7.00pm and so if you would like to join us you are more than welcome. Please RSVP to rjacques@olacheltenham.catholic.edu.au if you would like to join in the conversations on the next Master Plan. Once we have our next Master Plan drawn up we can begin to apply for state and federal grants again which is exciting.

Calendar

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

 

Key dates for the next 2 weeks...

 

Week 5
Monday 22 May                    Fire Carrier Excursion - Living Culture Peninsula Walk
Tuesday 23 May                    District Cross Country
Thursday 25 May                  Junior Mayor (School Captains)
Friday 26 May                        9-11am Interschool Sport
                                                   2.30pm Whole School Assembly
Week 6
Monday 29 May                     10am-4pm Prep 2024 Interviews
Tuesday 30 May                     Grade 3-6 Wheelchair and Blind Sports Incursion
Wednesday 31May               Grade 5 and 6 Camp  (Day 1)    
Thursday 1 June                     Grade 5 and 6 Camp  (Day 2)
Friday 2 June                           Grade 5 and 6 Camp  (Day 3)

Congratulations

Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea

Thank you to Fiona Lee for organising The Biggest Morning Tea for our staff at OLA to raise money for the Cancer Council. This event is close to the heart for many of us and we are thinking of all those who have had or experiencing cancer. 

 

Celebrations 

Principal's Award

Congratulations to our 5/6s for giving their best and completing their homework projects. Thank you families for partnering with is us to support your children’s learning. 

Joy in the playground!

Fresh sand has been delivered and spread. Great collaboration was found to be happening  in the sand pit as well as excited and grateful kids who were delighted with the feel of the new sand. Maybe some sand made it’s way into homes!

Well Wishes

On Monday we welcome back Gabrielle McGee after taking leave to have knee surgery. It is great to see Gabrielle up and about and her knee strengthening all the time. We take this opportunity to thank Mary Maguire for keeping up all the work involved in the financial running of the school. Mary has not missed a beat and we are so fortunate to have her support us at times like this. Thank you Mary.

Principal Conference

This week, I will be attending the South Central Catholic Principal's Network Conference in Darwin. My time away will include meetings with community members and leaders, visits to local cultural sites, and opportunities for learning and reflection. In my absence, Caitlan Taig will be in charge with the support of Josy Reeder and the Leadership Team. I know you will all support Caitlan and the team, and I look forward to seeing you when I return. I will also be attending the Grade 5/6 School Camp in the following week.

 

Thank you all for being part of such wonderful community events over the last couple of weeks.

 

Richard Jacques

Principal