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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 28
September 14th 2023 |
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
Early Finish Reminder – 2:00pm Friday 15th September Just a final reminder, school will finish at 2pm on Friday 15th September. The early finish will mean our final assembly will be held at 1:30pm. Cycling Fundraiser – Go Shardy! One of our wonderful Year 5 students is participating in the Great Cycle Challenge for the fifth year in a row. A message below from Shardy and brother Sharky about their participation supporting a very worthy cause. If you’re interested in donating please use the link below. This October, Fernando Brothers is taking part in the Great Cycle Challenge to fight kids' cancer! Because right now, cancer is the largest single killer of children from disease in Australia – over 600 children are diagnosed with cancer every year and sadly, 3 die every week. Kids should be living life, not fighting for it. And so we are riding and raising funds to support the Children's Medical Research Institute to continue their work into the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and finding a cure for childhood cancer. Please support our challenge by making a donation through our fundraising page to give these kids the brighter futures they deserve. Together, we can save little lives. Thanks for your support. Sharkya and Shardy https://greatcyclechallenge.com.au/teams/FernandoBrothers Kind regards, Michael Gill Principal Assembly Timetable - Term 3
2024 Outside of School Hours Care Program
As we strive to improve our programs and opportunities for our students and families, we recognised the need to reassess the management of our Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) Program. To ensure the highest quality of care and enriching experiences for our students, School Council made the decision to transition from running our own OSHC service to partnering with a specialized provider. Recently and especially in 2023, the current program has been unable to secure experienced, qualified staff. During the first and second term we were unable to take any more bookings due to the lack of staff, this was very stressful for both parents and staff and we would hope that that situation does not ever occur again. At times, we’ve also needed the support of teachers, principal class and school-based education support staff to meet supervision ratios when OSHC staff members have been unwell. Our current staff difficulties have also meant our service has been unable to support with supervision on Curriculum Days and Professional Practice Days. School Council appreciates the care and consideration of our long-running program and has considered the best transition plan to support staff members. After conducting a thorough tender process, School Council carefully evaluated different options and reviewed proposals from various OSHC providers. Through this rigorous assessment, we concluded that partnering with TeamKids was the best choice for our school community. Their expertise, dedication, and proven track record in delivering outstanding OSHC services, as exemplified by their long-standing partnership providing Vacation Care at Oak Park Primary, were key factors in our decision. School Council also valued their active program, experience supporting neuro-divergent students, student choice in provided activities and keeping the cost to families at a minimum. Commencing from Term 1 2024, TeamKids will take over as our Before and After Care service provider. Their holiday programs will continue to run in the Term 3 and Term 4 break this year. The Before and After Care service will continue to operate out of the Multi-Purpose Room. Team Kids will also attend upcoming events at the school, including our Fang Run Fundraiser and Parent Information sessions for Foundation enrolments. By collaborating with TeamKids, we aim to enhance the quality, variety, and accessibility of our OSHC program. We believe that their professional approach, specialized resources, and extensive experience in providing exceptional care will bring significant benefits to our students and families. They are also able to provide care for Curriculum Days and Professional Practice Days in 2024 and beyond, something our current service has been unable to support due to staffing issues. This decision aligns with our commitment to continually improve and provide the best possible support and opportunities for our school community. We are confident that TeamKids will bring their expertise, innovation, and a fresh perspective to our OSHC program, fostering a nurturing and engaging environment for our students during their time outside of school hours. TeamKids is currently actively collaborating with the current contract and casually employed OSHC staff to facilitate a seamless transition as they join the TeamKids team. This ensures a smooth transfer of knowledge and expertise, allowing the staff to continue providing excellent care and support under the TeamKids banner. Some current OSHC staff with ongoing employment with the Department of Education, will join the Oak Park Primary School Education Support team and continue their support of our students in a different capacity. We are confident that the partnership that we now have with TeamKids will benefit all students and families at our school. Service, Parent Fees & Times 
^These fees will be significantly reduced when the family’s eligibility for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is applied to the total cost of the day. Families will only be charged the “Gap” after their CCS is applied. Individual family circumstances will affect the CCS rebate. Further information can be found at www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/child-care-subsidy.
ABOUT TEAMKIDS TeamKids are proud to be independently owned and run by teachers. Unique to the industry, TeamKids will employ a qualified full-time co-ordinator, known as a Director of Service, at our school. The Director of Service has two overarching responsibilities, and that is to:
In addition to this, TeamKids have set a new standard in the OSHC space in their offerings that:
Further information will be supplied in the coming weeks with information events to be announced and family handbooks supplied to all members of the community. All families will need to register for free with TeamKids. If you have not used TeamKids before then you will need to register your child and add your bookings. Please go to the website www.teamkids.com.au and select the program and follow the enrolment instructions. If you have used TeamKids before, please contact their Customer Service Team and they will link your account. You will then just need to add your desired bookings. TeamKids’ local Customer Service team is always there to help. Please contact their Customer Service team via email [email protected] or phone 1300 035 000, press #1 if you have any questions. Kind regards, Lola Grech and Michael Gill School Council President and Principal Goodbye to Jane Cardamone
Jane has been a wonderful teacher at OPPS for nearly 20 years. Her contribution to the students and community will be acknowledged at our final assembly for the term, Friday 15th September at 1:30pm. Jane will be in attendance for us all to say our farewells. We look forward to seeing you all there! 2024 Enrolments If you have a child who is due to start school in 2024, please contact the office so you may complete an enrolment form as soon as possible. Our Transition program will start next term and teachers are already working on the 2024 foundation classes. We also have families on our waitlist. We appreciate your earliest confirmation of enrolment. Please email [email protected] Footy Colours Day
We will be celebrating the end of term (Friday 15th September) with a Footy Colours Day. Students can wear sports team colour of their choice, regardless of the day being called Footy Colours Day. Please remember, there are no canteen orders tomorrow due to Footy Colours Day. 
Wellbeing
Lego Club and Supporting Students with Additional Needs
This is Ari Sproule-Khan, she attends Lego Club on Monday mornings. This is one of her wonderful creations, it’s a snow park with a unicorn, ice blocks and a yeti. In the words of Ari, “For what is a snowpark without a yeti?!” Well done Ari on a wonderful creation, we love your spark, creativity and light. 
Lego Club is held on Monday mornings with Kirsty Finter – Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader to help support students transition to school. If you think this may benefit your child, and you’d like to discuss this further please contact me on [email protected]
In other news, Nina Cerantonio – Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader from Jacana School for Autism and myself presented a professional learning session for Oak Park Primary School’s leaders, teachers, and educational support staff. The topic of the session was ‘Supporting Students with Additional Needs.’ Thank you so much Nina and Stephanie Di Salvo (Assistant Principal at Jacana School for Autism) for attending and sharing all your valuable resources with us. The aim of the session was to build on existing knowledge of common diagnoses that require support, as well as build on the fantastic skills and resources of our teachers so we can better support students in the classroom. The key message our session was ‘Essential for some, beneficial for all.’
Fruit Breaks
At OPPS, we recognise the importance of healthy eating, so as part of our daily school routine, students are encouraged ‘refuel’ by having a fruit and vegetable snack. The nutrients found in fruit and vegetables are important for brain function, it can boost a student's physical and mental performance, and improve concentration in the classroom. Teachers provide a set time in class to develop this important healthy eating habit, carefully considering their individual class needs. In Foundation, fruit breaks occur in between the morning literacy block and as the students’ progress through junior and middle school, it can be done as they continue with their work. You have a fussy eater I hear you say? A great way to get your child on board is to let them choose and help in the preparation of their snack. These fruit and vegetable breaks not only help promote and develop healthy eating habits, but it is also an easy way to help kids stay healthy and happy during class time!
School Fang Run
Dear Families, We’re holding a School Fang Run as the major fundraising event this year, and Friday 8 September is our launch day! The event will be held on Thursday 2 November. We are really hoping to raise $30,000 for the school, which will pay for a new audiovisual system for the gym. Keep your eyes peeled for the sponsorship forms and parent letter which will be sent home with your child. These contain more information about the day. Once you have the sponsorship form, you should sign up for a Student Profile Page at schoolfunrun.com.au. You’ll be able to access online fundraising and can win a $20,000 Ultimate Family Package! Students who raise $10 or more will receive a reward, and the more money you raise the better the reward, and the more you help the school! We’re looking for all students to participate and are organising a great day for our community, so we’d love everyone to come down to support the kids. If you have any questions about the Fang Run please contact the School Fun Run Office on 1800 FUN RUN. Thanks for supporting the school and we hope to see you at the event! Codecamp
Codecamp will be operating on a Thursday after school in the Library from Term 4. Book at www.codecamp.com.au/oakpark Please find the booking link HERE Parents will receive a $15 Early-Bird saving if they enrol by 25th September. Please use the following discount code when booking on our website: AST4EB Get in touch at [email protected] or 1300 263 322 
Recycling at OPPS
Building waste reduction into every aspect of school life not only benefits our environment, it also helps schools reduce costs and improves quality of life for the community. Every Friday the students of 5/6S are responsible for collecting and disposing of the recycling for F-2 classrooms, the Staffroom, photocopy room, Library, Art room, Multipurpose room and the Office. They also check that the recycling bins only have recyclable materials and dispose of other waste into the appropriate bin. We thank all of the 5/6S students for their efforts in keeping our school clean.
Compost Champions
Throughout this term, students from 3/4M have been diligently collecting food scraps from each classroom compost bin during recess. These compost scraps are then added to the school’s large compost bin which in turn, will be used in numerous garden beds throughout the school grounds. It’s been great to see students from all across the school working towards minimising food waste by placing compostable items in their classroom compost bins. Keep up the great work! A big thank you to our dedicated Compost Champions- Zeynep, Swagat, Matthew and Milla! 
Writing and Friendship in Grade 2!
The Grade 2s have been learning to write procedural texts. These texts tell us 'how to do something'. Check out some of the great ways these grade 2s have written about How To Be a Good Friend. 
Specialist
Japanese Spring is here and the beautiful cherry blossoms are blooming outside our Japanese room! With such wonderful blossoms around us we have taken this opportunity to learn more about the importance of Sakura (cherry blossoms) and the Ohanami festival in Japan. Students have been learning about Sakura and what happens during Ohanami. Japan has more Sakura trees than anywhere else in the world and people from all over the world come together to picnic under the trees and celebrate the beauty of the blossoms together. Sakura are a symbol of renewal and new life, they only bloom for a short time so they are a reminder that life is always changing. We have been learning words such as Sakura and Hanami (flower viewing) and we know that Sakura come in pinku (pink) and shiro (white). Students have loved creating their own collage Sakura tree’s and they are looking amazing. 
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Visual Arts
Hi OPPS Families, Your child(ren) will be bringing some artwork home this week, that they will have planned and made a start on in art classes. The artwork is being created for the annual PFA Kids Art Works fundraiser. Student artworks can be scanned and printed onto items such as calendars, diaries, greeting cards, mousepads and sketchbooks. *If students lose their artwork over the holiday period or a mishap occurs, please see David Flint in the Art Room to get a new template. Artworks need to be finished at home and must be returned to David Flint (Art Teacher) in the Art Room by Thursday October 12th (Week 2 Term 4). Ordering information should be sent out by the PFA shortly. Any order inquiries can be directed to the PFA at the email address below. [email protected] This is an annual fundraising initiative that has been quite successful in the past. A portion of the money generated by Kids Artworks orders will be reimbursed to the school, assisting with funding programs and initiatives for the 2024 school year. We highly value the continued support shown by the OPPS community for this fundraising initiative. Thank you! David Flint (Visual Arts Teacher) & The OPPS PFA 2024 Grade 6 Polo Tops and Hooded Windcheaters
A representative from A PLUS SCHOOLWEAR will be attending Oak Park Primary School on the 23rd of October to assist with the measuring of polo tops and hooded windcheaters for the 2024 year 6 students. Each student will receive an order form with the sizing details noted on it, along with a payment envelope. No COMPASS payment for this event. Please note the return date on the order form , as LATE ORDERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. We have been advised that orders will be provided the 1st week of term 1 2024. We have attached an order form for your information. For any further information please email [email protected] 
Team Kids
Community News
KELLY SPORTS September Holiday Sports Program….enrol now 
Essendon Little Athletics - Summer Season
School Contacts
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