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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 11
May 1st 2026 |
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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
Term 2 May 2026
Principal's Column
Teacher Stop-Work (Strike) - Wednesday 6th May, students arriving at 12:30 PM.
The Australian Education Union has called on its members to take strike action on the morning of Wednesday 6th May, arriving at work at 12:30 PM. This is a protected industrial action for union members and no staff member should be judged for their participation in a strike. There have been ten months of negotiation and no industrial agreement has been formed. Whilst there are many elements in this negotiation, the key factors are workload and pay, with Victoria’s teachers being the lowest paid in any state. Based upon the information provided to me, 15 of our teaching staff will be taking part in the strike action. 1 of our Education Support staff will also be on strike. For context, our school has 18 classrooms. As a consequence: - students in classes Foundation S, Year 1G, Year 1V, Year 1ST, Year 2J, Year 2F and 3/4Y will have a normal program, though there may have to be modifications. - Students in all other classes are not required to attend until 12:30PM. - The incursion planned in Year 1 and Year 2 will proceed and the schedule allows all students to attend. If this will cause you difficulties, in particular if you are a critical services worker, please get in touch as soon as possible. Please complete this online form if you need support for your child to attend school. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Instrumental Music Survey - Open for two weeks If your child participates in the Instrumental Music Program or did so in 2025, we are currently conducting a survey and would greatly appreciate your feedback. This feedback will be calculated and provided the create best possible experience for all students. This short survey is an opportunity to share your thoughts on your child’s musical progress, your experiences with the program, and any suggestions you may have for further improvement. The survey will cover areas such as:
The survey is now live and will remain open for two weeks. Please follow the link below to share your thoughts: SURVEY LINK VSBA Planning Maintenance Program – Inspections & Tendering After some delay and ongoing communication with the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA), $393,330.01 has been allocated to Oak Park Primary School through the Planned Maintenance Program (PMP). This funding, managed by the VSBA in partnership with Caisson Architecture, specifically targets the structural and facility outcomes identified in our Rolling Facilities Evaluation (RFE). The priority works include:
Road Safety and Parking Reminder School Council have raised their concern around driving and parking behaviour on Summit Ave on behalf of a number parents. On multiple occasions driveways have been blocked and parents are letting students out of cars in the street, instead of waiting to use the vehicle loop. Please note that there is no parking in the vehicle loop on Summit Ave—this area is designed for quick drop-off and pick-up only. We also ask that you obey the ‘No Right Turn’ sign on the street to keep traffic flowing smoothly and safely. To support this, one of our dedicated staff members is out there every day managing vehicle traffic, so we appreciate your cooperation in following their guidance. If poor driving behaviour continues, Merri-Bek Council and the Police may need to be contacted to ensure safe and legal use of the road. Thank you for helping keep our school community safe. Building and Grounds Sub-Committee: 2026 Working Bees Join us for our upcoming working bees as we continue to spruce up our outdoor areas. Please save the following dates for 2026:
A sausage sizzle will be provided for all volunteers. Students are more than welcome to attend and help out, but they must be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times. To help us plan for catering and projects, please contact Chris at [email protected] to confirm your attendance and let us know which project best suits your skills. Kind regards, Michael Gill Principal WHAT'S HAPPENING @ OAK PARK
WHOLE SCHOOL
Assembly Timetable
MSP School Photos
Online ordering for school photos is now available through Compass, via your email link or under the Community tab. Family/Sibling photos are also available for students attending school, orders must be placed by 11.59pm the day before photo day. Photo Day is Monday 11th May. Families with 3 or more children can receive a concession with the premium or Classic packs. 
Book Club Issue 3
Welcome to Term 2 of Book Club! Issue 3 has been distributed to classes and should have made their way home yesterday. Orders need to be submitted by Monday 4th May. I look forward to another successful issue of Book Club. Michelle PFA News
Mothers Day Stall Donations With Mother’s Day coming up, we’re getting ready for our annual Mother’s Day Stall and would love your help! Mothers Day Stall will be happening on Thursday 7th May and Friday 8th May . We’re looking for donations of items that can be sold on the day—this could include small gifts, new items, or handmade goodies like crafts, trinkets, candles, or anything thoughtful that would make a lovely present. If you’re able to contribute, please drop your donations to the school office by Thursday 30th April. Please email [email protected] to let us know if you have items to donate or if you have any questions. Thank you so much for helping make this a special event for our students and their families 💐 Bunnings Sausage Sizzle – Volunteers Needed Sunday 3rd May Less than a week to go and we need 5 more volunteers to make the day run successfully. Oak Park Primary School will be hosting a Bunnings Sausage Sizzle on Sunday 3rd May at the Coburg store. We need volunteers to fill the 11:30 am and 3:30pm shifts. The shifts are 2 hours each. If you can help on the day, please follow the link below to signup. https://signup.com/go/YSiYLxB If you can’t help on the day, but still want to support our fundraising, we would gratefully accept any cash donations to assist purchasing supplies for the sausage sizzle. For any questions, please reach out to John at [email protected] Recycling Fundraising Drive
School Tours 2027 Enrolments
Oak Park Primary School are offering school tours for prospective 2027 enrolments. Dates as follows:
Please book a school tour by calling the Office on 9306-9182 or via email: [email protected] Smile Patrol Dental Service
Smile Patrol is visiting OAK PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL on MONDAY 18th MAY 2026 to provide onsite dental care in our mobile dental van —super convenient! Smile Patrol offers free dental health education for all children. If your child qualifies under the Childcare Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS), they may receive free treatments based on remaining benefits. If they don’t qualify we will still see them for an oral health check and education session for free. For more information, please feel free to contact us. Email: [email protected] Morning Run Club
Morning run club will returned this morning from 8:30 am for any students who are interested in training for the upcoming cross country event on Thursday 14th May. I will provide all students with a basic running program you can do on your own to help prepare for the day: Week 1 (Build + Light Quality) Session 1 (Mon/Tues) – Easy + Strides: 15–25 min easy run (conversation pace) 4–6 × 10–15 sec strides (fast, relaxed) Walk back recovery Light stretch Session 2 (Wed) – Fartlek 10 min easy warm-up 8–10 rounds: 1 min faster effort (comfortably hard) 1 min easy jog 5–10 min cool down Session 3 (Fri) – Easy + Drills 15–20 min easy run Drills: high knees, skips, bounding 3–4 × short strides to finish Optional (Weekend) 20–35 min easy run Or Low-pressure run (focus on pacing, not racing) Week 2 (Sharpen + Freshen Up) Session 1 (Mon) – Easy + Strides 15–20 min easy run 4 × 10 sec strides Session 2 (Wed) – Short Intervals 10 min warm-up 5–6 ×: 1 min at race pace 2 min easy jog or walk Cool down Session 3 (Fri) – Pre-Race Tune-Up 10–15 min very easy run 3–4 × 10 sec strides Finish fresh Race Day 8–10 min easy jog Build into the race 3–4 short strides Strong finish Start controlled Relax shoulders Cross Country
We have our Oak Park PS Cross Country event on Thursday 14th at Boeing Reserve. This is a call for volunteers to help out on the day. If you are available to help that would be amazing! I have attached an image of the course for the day. The course is 1km in total. Under 9 and 10s will run two laps (2km) Under 11 and 12s will run three laps (3km) I will need helpers on each of the points on the course to ensure that students correctly follow the path. I will also need helpers on the finish line to help with recording the results and ensuring each student has completed the required number of laps. Please email me if you are interested in helping :) [email protected] Liam 
Interschool Chess
TeamKids
EARLY YEARS NEWS
Foundation
As a sign of our love and appreciation, the Foundation students and Team invite you to attend our Mother’s Day/Special Person’s Afternoon Tea on Thursday 7th May. We look forward to seeing you then. Kate, Jasmyn and Sarah 
Foundation - Cra-Z Hair Day
To celebrate learning the /z/ sound next week, we will have a Cra-Z Hair Day on Tuesday 5th May! Come to school with your hair as wild and as crazy as you can. Colour hair spray, way too many plaits, mohawks, you name it, we want to see it! Please see your classroom teacher if you have any questions. Kate, Jasmyn and Sarah Foundation – Piano Program 
SPECIALIST
Performing Arts
Oak Park Primary School is so excited to share that our concert production this year is Shrek Jr.! At our last assembly for the term, all Oak Park Primary staff came together, dressed up and put on a show for all students and the community to reveal the concert theme for 2026! It is such a great tradition here at Oak Park Primary that the staff show the students that having a go and having fun is all part of the experience.
Rehearsals will begin for all grades next term. We have plenty of time to learn songs and dance sequences so all students feel confident performing in September. Please put the concert dates in your diaries. It is the highlight of the school calendar and all students are required to perform on both nights! Grade 5/6 Main Character Auditions All Grade 5/6 students would have received an audition pack that included scripts, songs and the assessment rubric that will be used for auditions. All information was also posted on every student Seesaw accounts on their iPads. Students are encouraged to learn the script and songs over the holidays. Sign-ups for main characters will take place in Term 2, Week 2 (after camp), and auditions will be held in Week 3. Good luck to all students auditioning! I’m sure there will be plenty of happy families watching Shrek over the holidays and hearing ‘I’m a Believer’ blasting from car speakers. We are all so excited to begin rehearsals in Term 2! Secondary College Tours
Year 6-7 Secondary College Transition
Should you require further information regarding the Application process, please see Fran in the office (Monday – Wednesday) or email Fran on [email protected] Should your child be attending a Private, Catholic or Independent College in Year 7, this is to be noted on the Application and form to be retuned to Oak Park Primary. All forms are to be retuned Year 6-7 TIMELINE: 22nd April: Year 6-7 Placement Application packs distributed to families 8th May: Year 6-7 Applications to be submitted to Oak Park Primary School 24th June: Parents advised of successful/unsuccessful outcomes 17th July: Appeals to Secondary Colleges to be submitted by this date GLADSTONE PARK SECONDARY COLLEGE
STUDENT TOURS: School Tours will run every Friday from now until the 15th May 2026. The tour will begin at 8.55am and run for approximately 1 hour OPEN DAY: Wednesday 29th April, starting at 9am. Parent Information session followed by student-led tours Please book your tour
ROSEHILL SECONDARY COLLEGE
OPEN DAY: Tuesday 28th April 2026. Rosehill will host an Open Day for prospective Year 7 2027 students. Open to students in Grade 5 & 6 this year. The school day will run from 9.15am to 2.15pm. Please book via their website OPEN EVENING: Thursday 30th April. Tours 4 – 6 pm. Last Tour departs @ 6pm. Principals address 6.45pm GUIDED TOURS: Tuesdays 9.30am Bookings essential. Please contact the college on 9337 2488 
PASCOE VALE GIRLS SECONDARY COLLEGE
Pascoe Vale Girls Secondary College 2027 Select Entry Accelerated Learning Program (SEAL) 
COMMUNITY NEWS
Oak Park Saints Basketball
Ride & Stride e-bike subsidies for Merri-bek families
We know the current fuel crisis is affecting Merri-bek locals, adding more cost-of-living pressure on families juggling trips to school and work. Merri-bek City Council’s Ride & Stride program wants to support families in Merri-bek to make the switch to more affordable and sustainable ways of travelling. Switching from driving to riding an e-bike for the school run can save your family money and time on the morning commute, and it’s great for kid’s health and wellbeing. Working with two local bike shops, we’re offering families $500 off the purchase price of a new or refurbished bike, or 50% off a weekly subscription for 3-months (up to value of $500). Offer will go live from Monday 4th May 2026. See the bikes on offer, review the eligibility criteria, and reserve your subsidy today at: https://zerocarbonmerri-bek.org.au/ebike-subsidies/ 
All Melinda's Puppies Now Have Their Forever Home
School Contacts
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