Junior School
SARAH BOARDMAN
Acting Head of Junior School Head
The Leader in Me Program is an integral part of the Junior School here at Oakleigh Grammar, with the 8 Habits providing us all with guidance and support to help us live our best lives each day. Mrs. Kathy Haramis has been pivotal to the drive and vision for driving the growth of this program over the last number of years, so it was wonderful for us to be able to join together to celebrate her time with us here at Oakleigh Grammar at our assembly last week. The ways all our students came together to share this special time with Mrs. Haramis was a true testament to the way they have been empowered to find their voice throughout her time at the School.
Special mention should be made of Elena in 5S who choreographed her own dance routine to show Mrs. Haramis what she means to her. On behalf of our whole team I would like to thank Mrs. Haramis for all her ongoing dedication and passion that she brought to her role each day. Her empathy, genuine care and compassion for each person she came into contact with has been clearly evident, and the extra sparkle she always seemed to bring into the room with her wherever she went has made it a true privilege to work alongside her. We wish her all the best as she moves on to her next adventures, and thank her for all she has done for us.
Coin Trail to raise funds for the Good Friday Appeal
On Tuesday April 2 the whole Junior School, from ELC through to Year 5, joined together to participate in our first major fundraising event for 2019. It was wonderful to see everyone proudly wearing their house colours and our groups gathering together to raise funds for this wonderful cause. Overall for the day, we were most excited to raise $1400 for the sick kids at the Royal Children’s Hospital as part of the Good Friday appeal. As George from 5B pointed out on the day, when we were waiting to hear which house had the longest line of coins "there is no one winner on a day like this, everyone was a winner just by taking part in this together." We all agreed with him! Special mention to Bradman House for having the longest line of coins on the day and to Rose House who raised the most money together overall. Thank you to all our families for their support and generosity with this fundraising initiative and to our House Captains and Social Justice Leaders who helped on the day.
National Day of Action Against Bullying
Friday 15 March marked the National Day of Action against Bullying. We demonstrated our ongoing commitment to saying no to bullying at our School by participating in different activities and continuing conversations about ways to prevent bullying and to positively resolve conflict that may occur when at school.
The main area of our discussions focussed on different types of behaviour choices that can happen at school and how you can decide if it a situation where someone is bullying you, or if someone is being unkind or mean instead. The definition of bullying is very clear when it talks about how these types of behaviour are targeted, focus on gaining power over another person and occur in a pattern over a period of time. Research has clearly demonstrated that the building of a positive school environment that provides security and support for children to be able to proactively manage situations which may arise, using restorative practices, is fundamental for a reduction in the potential of situations escalating to become bullying incidents.
The importance of all members of our School community being able to proactively work together to ensure that bullying is not tolerated is vital. This includes being able to correctly identify different types of behaviour and label these appropriately. It has been shown that the use of the term bullying for more minor situations, can in the long term cause it to lose its meaning and impact overall for individuals. By giving our children the ability to identify unkind, mean and bullying patterns of behaviour we are empowering them to respond strongly to different situations which may arise throughout their life.
Our Social Justice Leaders, Didi and Stephania, have come up with a catchphrase to help everyone remember the key message to “Be Cool. Don’t Bully at School.”
Year 5 Camp
I was very fortunate to be able to join our Year 5 students at camp recently. It was wonderful to see them working together at the raft building activity and the way they were so openminded to new activities which allowed them to learn lots of new, interesting facts during our time with the Rangers on Smiths Beach. Having the opportunity to camp in tents was a new one for lots of our students, particularly when they needed to put their own tent up and when the rain passed through on the second night we were there, but the huge smiles and happy chatter that was so evident from our group was a true testament of just how wonderful camp participation can be.
Junior School Cross Country
Our Year 3 to 6 cross country took place on Friday March 8 at Kangaroo Park. It was fantastic to see the high number of participants in the different races and how many students were able to collect points for their house by completing the course. A huge thank you for Ms. Leach for all her organisation to help to make this event run so smoothly and for the staff who supported the students on the day. Congratulations to Rose House for being our overall winners of the carnival. It was a very close competition on the day.
Healthy Eating
Healthy Snack is a vital part of our School day, as our students enjoy something that is picked, grown or has fallen to give them a brain boost during the morning session, before we reach recess time. All our families are reminded to ensure that they have packed something healthy for this snack. This will include fruit, vegetables or other healthy snacks. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated.
Parking Around School
We appreciate that parking can be very busy during the drop off and pick up times around the School. We ask that everyone remain mindful when parking at these times to ensure that everyone is able to find a park and that people aren’t blocked by other’s parking choices. Your assistance with this is most appreciated.
It has been most pleasing to see all the wonderful activities occurring around the Junior School this term. Seeing the way our students are choosing to apply the 8 Habits in their daily life is wonderful to observe. On behalf of our Junior School staff team, I would like to wish all our families a happy and safe Easter and holiday break, and we look forward to seeing you all back next term.
Other Happenings