|
The Oak Leaf |
|
Address: Willett Avenue, Oak Park VIC 3046
T:(03) 9306 9182 E: [email protected] |
Issue 13
October 15th 2020 |
Oak Park Primary School will work collaboratively to provide a stimulating, safe and challenging learning environment that promotes resilient, innovative thinkers.
|
Calendar of Events
|
|
Principal's Column
It was great to see all the children back at school this week. I’m sure there would have been some apprehension and a little bit of wondering about what things might be like, but everything has gone very smoothly. I thank everyone for your assistance in this, particularly all of our parents who constantly demonstrate understanding and great goodwill in what have been challenging circumstances. We had a school council meeting late last term where we spoke about the potential return of students to face to face teaching. On our school council, there are parents who have children in the early years of schooling and some who have children in the latter years of high school. There was general agreement that all of the kids were a little worried about the imminent return to school – and whether their friends were still going to be their friends. I found that interesting. No matter how old we are, the need for friends and to be part of a group is very strong in nearly all of us. But it looks like they need not have worried. Most of the old friendships have resumed and there has been a lot of catching up. I was on yard duty on Monday, and it was really obvious that so many of the kids were really just happy to be in each other’s company. It was nice. It has been such a disrupted year. And kids have changed. We saw the obvious physical changes this week with many of the children clearly having grown centimetres. And bigger, bushier hairdos were the go everywhere! It was great. We’ll be looking out for the kids in these important first few weeks back. We’ll be looking for other changes, at needs and what we can do to help ensure that term 4 will provide a very positive finish to 2020. School Photos
We indicated earlier, due to the current pandemic, that we were unable to organise school photos this year – there are restrictions on who we can allow to come in to the school. One of the parents at our school who is a professional photographer has kindly offered to help us out by taking a whole group photo of each class. When completed, the school will forward each grade’s group shot to the parents of the children in that class. This can then be printed. We expect that each group photo will be an outside shot, perhaps around the revamped amphitheatre. We won’t be organising individual shots of children as that is something parents can do themselves. When we finalise details, we will let you know the proposed date, but it should be in the next few weeks. To Newsletter or not to Newsletter?
We are currently reviewing our school newsletter. A few years ago, we moved away from a paper newsletter to the current online version which can be accessed via Compass. In ‘normal’ times we send out the newsletter each week, but during the remote learning period the newsletter was put on hold and communication between school and families was mostly done via alerts on Compass. We have found Compass alerts work better because they are immediate, simple to generate and easily accessible. All teachers have the ability to post a message on Compass without having to go through a range of other people to have the note posted. The current newsletter sometimes include community notices too which we can also include via Compass. We haven’t done a lot of this up to this point, but that’s easy to change. If you have any thoughts on whether we should continue to produce a weekly newsletter, please let me know via email: [email protected] Parent Opinion Survey
WE WANT OUR PARENTS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK! Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst all parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. A random sample of parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from now until Friday 13th November. The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek. Please speak to your child’s teacher if you would like more information. 2021 Classes – Parent Input
Often during this time of year the school begins to get questions about how class lists for the next school year are developed. Basically, we begin working on this early in Term 4. The following criteria are considered as the staff creates a recommendation to the principal for class composition that includes: students with special learning styles and needs
Here are the steps to the process:
Lunchtime Activities Program
Our Lunchtime Activities Program has recommenced for Term 4. See below for the table of activities that are available for all students. 
2021 Foundation Transition
Maths Club is back!
Grades 3 – 6 students are invited to join Maths Club this Tuesday, October 20th. The Maths Captains (Amine & Lachlan) will be running the session in the 5/6 area, during the first half of lunch. This week’s challenge will be working with MAB materials. See you there! Art News
OPPS Kids Art Works Fundraiser 2020 It’s time to get the students’ creativity flowing to create some awesome artworks for the PFA Kids Art Works Fundraiser. All students in the school will be creating a piece of art that will be able to be printed on greeting cards, calendars, diaries, sketch books or mousepads. These items can be purchased by filling in and emailing an order form, which will be available on Compass shortly, to the PFA email address: [email protected] The theme for this year is “Free Expression” where the students are able to create a 2D picture or design of their own choice, using a variety of mediums to do so. The students will create their artwork during two Art classes, and will then need to take them home to finish them off (or just to let parents view their work) and return them to the Art Room by Friday October 30. This is a school fundraising event and has been quite successful in the past. Funds raised through participating in this initiative are used to assist in providing a quality educational experience for all students at the school. Any questions regarding this fundraising event can be directed by email to Eugenie Baulch [email protected] or David Flint (Visual Arts Teacher) [email protected] Thanks again for supporting Oak Park Primary School. 
CSEF Changes for 2020
Eligibility (If you have already received CSEF at the beginning of the year, you will not receive another CSEF payment) The final eligibility date for CSEF in 2020 has been extended from 14 April until 5 October 2020. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. The normal special consideration arrangements continue in addition. Payments will be made at 50 per cent of the standard per student rates for families eligible between 15 April and 5 October 2020. Process changes The attached application form must be submitted via the Oak Park Primary School email, [email protected] by 31st October, 2020. CSEF usage is normally restricted to camps, sports and excursions activities. As there is limited opportunity to undertake these activities this year, it was announced in term 2 that CSEF could be used to pay for voluntary school charges, books and stationery. It may not be used for school uniforms, before/after school care, music lessons, formals/graduations or compulsory fees. Please click here for a printable copy of the application form. 
Students with Asthma
Grass pollen season occurs between October and December. Parents are reminded of an increased risk of seasonal asthma, hay fever and epidemic thunderstorm asthma during this time. Epidemic thunderstorm asthma events are triggered by an uncommon combination of high grass pollen levels and a certain type of thunderstorm, resulting in large numbers of people developing asthma symptoms over a short period of time. People with a history of asthma, undiagnosed asthma or hay fever are at an increased risk of epidemic thunderstorm asthma during this time. Having both hay fever and asthma that are poorly managed increases the risk further. More than ever before, this year it’s important for staff and students to manage any hay fever or asthma symptoms, as these conditions can produce symptoms that are similar to coronavirus (COVID-19) such as runny nose, cough or shortness of breath. The best way to reduce and prevent symptoms of asthma or hay fever and reduce unnecessary absences from school is to follow an up-to-date asthma action plan or hay fever treatment plan. Admin staff will be checking all students Asthma Plans and Ventolin expiry dates this week. If you are contacted by us advising that your childs medication is out of date, we would appreciate a prompt return of in date medication. If your childs Asthma plan has changed this year, we would ask that you supply an updated Action Plan signed by your childs Doctor. This is extremely important as many students require Ventolin or similar whilst at school. Community News
|
|
NDIS School Leaver Information
School Contacts - Please take note of new email address
|
