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The Oak Leaf |
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Address: Willett Avenue, Oak Park VIC 3046
T:(03) 9306 9182 E: [email protected] |
Issue 3
February 13th 2020 |
Oak Park Primary School will work collaboratively to provide a stimulating, safe and challenging learning environment that promotes resilient, innovative thinkers.
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Calendar of Events
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Principal's Column
These warmer days that we usually get early in the year often remind me of the times I used to trudge home from school during the summer months. No air conditioned classrooms in those days and it must have been a hard job for teachers to keep kids focussed throughout a hot day at school. At the end of the day, the bell would ring and kids would leave their classrooms and slowly move off in all directions to their homes. On my way home, I would cross a park near the school. Often, there was an ice cream van parked on the other side of the road. Some kids were able to buy ice creams and some couldn’t. I was one of those who couldn’t. The guy in the ice cream van was a young man who was happy to chat with the kids. We would go up and have a look inside the van wishing we could have an ice cream. One hot day he was there again. We went up to the van and tried to get him to give us a free ice cream. “Aw come on, what’s one measly ice cream!” I’m not sure if he’d thought about this, maybe he was sick of us kids pestering him for a free ice cream, but on this particular occasion he had come up with an idea. He said whoever could guess his name would score a free ice cream. A touch of the ol’ Rumpelstiltskins. We started firing names at him but none hit the mark. We tried again the next day rattling off all the names we could think of. After a few days of this, he eventually gave us a clue; his name began with ‘A’. I think we could tell that he really wanted to give away a free ice cream. The next few days we tried all the ‘A’ names we could think of; Allan, Andrew, Arnold, Alex. But no good. When I got home after a few days of trying every name I could think of, I told my older sister the story. She said, “Have you tried ‘Adrian’?” I’d never even heard the name before. Anyway, next day after school, I headed to the ice cream van a little quicker than usual, hoping against hope that he would be there. And there he was. Kids started rattling of names again some of them having been tried about 100 times before. I asked him, “Is your name Adrian?” And he smiled and said, “This kid wins an ice cream.” And he gave me a beautiful single vanilla ice cream cone. My elation was only matched by the enormous disappointment of all the other kids. The puzzle had been solved, the game was over and I was the one and only winner. No more hoping for a free ice cream; done and dusted. My first instinct was to hold the cone up in the air like some kind of statue of liberty and do a victory lap. My second was to gulp the ice cream down, but I so desperately wanted my family to see what I had won. And I guess, the reason I am telling this story is because it makes me think how important it is to share the wins that your kids have – whatever they are. Sharing the little successes, victories and positives just makes them that little bit sweeter. So anyway, I tried to preserve the ice cream all the way home in the late afternoon heat. The dilemma of wanting to enjoy the ice cream but arriving home empty handed and no one believing that I had actually won it was stressful. With every step, another drip fell from the ice cream and I wasn’t sure it would last the distance. I eventually got it home, but my arm had long streaks of ice cream from fingers to elbow. The thing had melted to about half its size. But it was worth it. My sister was at home. School Fees, Extras and Contributions 2020
Thanks to all our parents who’ve paid their fees for 2020. Please click here for information and for payment prior to the 11th February, 2020. These fees support the school in providing resources for the students. The Oak Park Primary School Parent Payment Policy is located on our website if you wish to review. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or wish to setup a payment plan. Annette D'Elia Business Manager School Banking
Our students are able to start banking with the Bendigo Bank Strathmore. It’s a great opportunity for the students to start learning about saving money. Banking is collected on a Tuesday . Please pop into the Strathmore branch of the Bendigo Bank to collect a form. Colton Close Aged Care Program
Last Friday Foundation H and our wellbeing leaders- Jack, Chloe and Amelia, visited Colton Close as part of our music program with the aged care residents. Two foundation students were each buddied up with an elderly resident. Our students got to know their elderly buddy, through singing and dancing and also getting to know them activities. The music teacher, Rachel played the violin and we also got to play musical statues and sing and dance. It’s always a wonderful experience being able to make others happy and ensuring ‘other people matter,’ looking beyond just ourselves. The students definitely put smiles on the residents faces and it was both wonderful and moving to see some dancing, others hand or toe tapping and even just to see the residents smiling and chatting to our children. Next week I’ll be taking Group A, of our Year 4 students and our wellbeing leader, Teagan to Hilltop Close, our other Aged Care facility. We will be involved in some fun craft Valentines activities and games.
Japanese News
Language Assistant We are very lucky to be one of the selected schools here in Victoria to host a language assistant. From next week we have a university student named Madoka who will be helping us in Japanese classes for a month. Please be sure to give her a nice Oak Park welcome while she is here. 2019 JLTAV Events Poster Competition Students studying Japanese in primary and secondary schools are invited to design a poster to be used on the front cover of the 2020 JLTAV Annual Conference book for conference delegates and the front cover of the 2020 Year 12 Morning book. Students are encouraged to be creative and to design a cover which reflects the Japanese language or Japanese culture. This is broad to enable students to be creative. For example students might like to design a cover in manga style. Students are able to submit a digital or hand drawn cover design. Please note that students are not able to use images that are already copyright (e.g. Hello Kitty etc.). No words are required on the poster. Audience: Teachers attending the 2020 JLTAV Conference and students/teachers attending the 2020 Year 12 Morning Size: A4 size (portrait size only) Rules:
Melbourne Japanese Summer Festival (23 Feb 2020) Presented by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Melbourne and the Japanese Society of Melbourne, this annual event is one of the largest Japanese festivals held in Victoria. There will be food stalls and other activity stalls around Federation Square, and various traditional performances and demonstrations of Japanese culture will be held on the stage throughout the day. When: Sunday 23 February 2020 11:30am – 5:30pm Where: Federation Square Corner of Swanston & Flinders Streets, Melbourne Cost: Free For more information please feel free to come and see me. Melissa Ly Japanese Language Teacher |
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Sustainability News
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Lunchtime Activities
The following activities are available for students each lunchtime. 
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Community News
School Contacts
PLEASE NOTE NEW EMAIL FOR OUR O.S.H.C. PROGRAM
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