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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 26
August 28th 2019 |
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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Uniform Award
This week’s Uniform Wearer of the Week Award goes to AMELIA DEMERCURIO 1PA Congratulations Amelia for setting such a great example to the rest of the school! |
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Principal's Column
One of my favourite pieces of writing is an article called ‘All I Really Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten’ by Robert Fulghum. In the article, he applies the lessons of the sandpit to life. Things like:
And those kids in the sandpit at kindergarten learn these things from a very early age. They know that you shouldn’t hit people. And if you do, bad things happen. Most of them also learn that this rule is connected to the first rule: People won’t share or play fair if you hit them. As parents, we try to protect our children from things that might hurt them. Stay away from the fire, or the water, or the dog, watch the road, don’t put that in your mouth, don’t touch that. And if we hear of a situation at school, where our child has been hurt – by words or by actions – we feel the pain and want to defend our children. Those protective instincts can be very strong and it can be difficult to remain calm, rational and to think more broadly. As teachers, we understand that. But we also understand that kids are kids, they make mistakes as they go about their lives in and out of school. Sometimes those mistakes are of a social nature and they get involved in conflict. Us adults then, have to balance the need to protect, or to intervene, with the need for the child to practice important social skills, develop independence and to learn how to handle challenging situations – partly because we aren’t always going to be around to help. Getting that balance right isn’t always easy but teachers try hard to be neutral and fair, to consider how we best help kids learn what they need to learn while maintaining positive relationships. We try to take heat out of a situation but understand this isn’t always easy for parents to do. I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Bins out at Melbourne school as students told to take all rubbish home By Carolyn Webb August 26, 2019 Melbourne Girls’ College is getting rid of all its bins and asking students to take their rubbish home in a bold bid to encourage them to move towards zero waste. Starting next Monday, the Richmond college will over five weeks phase out receptacles in classrooms and the yard, leaving 1400 students and 140 staff to find their own home for chip packets and juice boxes. ‘‘It might all go to hell in a hand-basket,’’ says teacher Paula McIntosh. ‘‘Who knows? But we’ve got to try.’’ Even the school’s 20 recycling bins will be removed, because the collapse of SKM Recycling means the college's plastic and glass recycling is now sent to landfill. Paper can still be recycled via the school, because recycling for that is still operating. As part of the shift, volunteer students will conduct daily non-compulsory food inspections in which children bringing ‘‘zero waste’’ lunch boxes will be rewarded. Students using only reusable packaging will receive a token that will go into a draw to win prizes such as keep cups. Yes, the rubbish that students take home may still go to landfill via their home bins, but Ms McIntosh says the new policy will help persuade families to buy fewer packaged items and reuse containers. She said the campaigning of Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg had inspired the school, showing that the acts of one person ‘‘can lead to enormous change’’. Student environment leader Lucy Skelton, 17, says most issues around carrying rubbish home, such as smell and mess, can be solved. Uneaten tuna in a tin, for example, can go into the school’s compost bin and the tin can be washed before it’s taken home. Ms McIntosh acknowledges that some parents may not have the time or means to avoid food in single-use packaging, ‘‘but it’s trying to get as many people as we can to avoid it’’. She says she got the no-bins idea from national park guidelines, which ask visitors to take rubbish home with them. School sustainability co-ordinator Andrew Vance says his marine biology students were horrified when they used a microscope to discover micro plastics in Port Phillip Bay water. "It was shocking," Mr Vance says. "We felt, 'Oh my gosh, what can we do about this problem?' " "And if you expose students to these problems, if you then don’t give them an opportunity to try and be involved in the solution, that’s when it leads to depression and anxiety and ecological grief." Says principal Karen Money: "We talk a lot, as educators, about the wicked problems the world faces, and if we don’t start putting some actions behind that rhetoric, then it’s just empty." |
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Foundation Traffic School Excursion
On Tuesday, the Foundation students went on an exciting excursion to the Essendon Traffic School. We had a lot of fun learning about road safety and how to ride a bike. We also got to sit on a tram that was 68 years old! It was great to see how many students followed the road safety rules, especially some of our first time riders. We are happy to report that there were no injuries on the road! Foundation Team
Grade 4 News
In Writing, the Grade 4’s have been learning to use descriptive language in their narratives to paint a picture of the setting. In addition, they have been practicing revising and editing their work using the A.R.M.S and C.U.P.S tool. Here is a paragraph from 4P that is exemplary of the strategies we have been working on this term, written by Tom Dinh. It is a warm night with a faint breeze, the MCG is completely silent and the crowd is holding their breath waiting for something amazing to happen. It is 9:00pm when the most amazing goal in football’s history is to about to take place. The wind slowly picks up its pace and the ball goes straight through the middle of the goal posts. “ROAR!” the crowd sounds like 25 full grown lions. The MCG isn’t silent now thought Storm smiling to himself. OAK PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL FAMILY PORTRAIT FUNDRAISER
We are holding a family portrait fundraiser day. This is a great opportunity for your family to have a boutique style portrait session for only $20. Click here for more information. Year 6/2020 School Uniforms
Our uniform suppliers will be at Oak Park Primary School on Friday 30th August at 9am, for the Grade 6/2020 students to try Grade 6 uniforms on for size. We would ask that ALL Grade 5 students be at school by 8.50am, as this will be the only opportunity you will have to check for sizes. Order forms will be sent home with students at the end of the day Fathers Day Stall
Don’t forget our Fathers Day stall on Thursday August 29 and Friday August 30. This is always a fabulous opportunity for the children to choose something special for their Dad or Grandad. So please send some money along with your child on these days. Please send a plastic bag or similar for your child to bring their gift home. We are also looking for some fabulous volunteers to help out on the day. So if you can spare an hour or two on August 29 and/or August 30, between the hours of 9am and 11am, that would be amazing. Please email Jen if you're available. [email protected]. Thank you
Dear OPPS family, My wife Bree and I would like to thank you all so much for your support. Our daughter Harper is on her way to a full recovery after what was a traumatic incident for us all. Harper suffered a broken jaw and lost a few teeth, other than that her injuries are superficial and all of them will heal quickly. The kind words, support, and gifts have been overwhelming and very much appreciated. We are very proud Oak Parkers right now. This school has shown tremendous support to our son Ryder and our family, special thank you to Alex and Bryan for going above and beyond. Love Daniel and the Williams family. Disco
Our disco, held on 2nd August, was so much fun with approximately 300 kids attending!! Thank you to all the kids who attended and all the parent helpers who gave their time and a big thank you to Joe who provided the music for the night and gives so much of his time to our school community. Anyone looking for an awesome DJ can find his details here. www.weddingspartiesanything.com.au
Payments
Families making payments directly into our bank account are required to input your child’s name and the payment details e.g. OSHC, school fees etc. Many payments are made quoting fees, but often these refer to OSHC not school fees, so we would request that you are specific in the details/info. It can often be quite confusing when details are not noted on the online banking. Thank you Concert tickets on sale - Monday 19th August
The tickets for the school concert go on sale Monday 19th August. It is going to be a fantastic! Venue- ClockTower Theatre in Moonee Ponds. Concert Dates- Wednesday 18th September and Thursday 19th September 2019. Price- $25 adult, $18 child/concession Time- 7pm Book tickets by phoning ClockTower Box Office- 9243 9191 Many families have contacted the office with regards to purchasing concert tickets. Please note the following information: A strict maximum of four tickets per family can be purchased from Monday 19th August until Friday 30th August. We have reserved four tickets per family for two weeks to ensure that there are enough tickets for all. These tickets are reserved under your eldest child’s surname. You will need to purchase these tickets through the ClockTower Box Office on 9243 9191 or by visiting the ClockTower during weekday business hours. No tickets can be purchased via the School Office. From Monday 2nd September the reserved seating will be lifted and any remaining seats will be available for anyone to purchase (no limit will apply). All remaining tickets will then be available online through the ClockTower Centre website. I look forward to seeing you all there, Melanie Schirmer Performing Arts Teacher |
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT
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We will be holding a movie night on Friday 13th September 2019.
It will be held in the multipurpose room. The room will open at 6:45pm, and the movie will commence at 7:15pm. The movie we will be showing is: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) PG Please bring your own cushions/beanbags/blankets/chairs. If you do bring chairs you will need to sit at the back to allow everyone to see. There is heating in the multipurpose room but the floor can get cold. BYO snacks and drinks, there is strictly no alcohol allowed. Lolly bags will be available for purchase on the night. The Family Movie night is fun for everyone and we hope to see you there. It is important to understand that all children must be supervised the entire night by a parent or guardian. Children are NOT to be dropped off and left unsupervised. Kind regards, PFA. |
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School Concert – Costume List
Dear Families, The school is busily preparing for our bi-annual school concert that will be held at the Clocktower Theatre on Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th of September. For new parents to the school, you will be relieved to know that most costumes will be provided by the school. We do however require your help with basic essentials, such as black shoes and plain t-shirts or pants. Please carefully read the attached file that has the list of all items required for each grade. Please pay particular attention to the “Parents to Provide” column so you know what you need to supply. Black school shoes are part of our school uniform but if your child does not have black shoes K-mart have affordable pairs which are perfect for the school concert, such as black canvas lace up shoe or black canvas slip on shoe both are $3.50. Kmart also has a large variety of plain t-shirts for approx. $4 each if your child requires a plain t-shirt for the concert item. If you do need to supply a t-shirt for the class item we ask for your prompt action, many of these t-shirts will need a motif sewn on and we need to give the volunteer sewers time to complete this task. Please bring in the items no later than Thursday 8th August. If you already know your child/ren will be absent from school on these concert dates please email your class teacher ASAP. If you have any other questions regarding costumes please come and talk to Sheryl Hamilton (5/6 Resource Room) or myself and we will help you. Thank you and please save the concert date in your calendars! Please find the concert costume lists at the end of the newsletter |
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Concert Costume
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COMMUNITY NEWS
School Contacts
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