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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 9
March 28th 2025 |
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
April 2025
May 2025
June 2025
July 2025
August 2025
October 2025
November 2025
December 2025
Principal's Column
Successful Start to Open Streets 2025!
Open Streets, our active travel initiative roared back to life on Thursday, March 27th, 2025, setting the tone for another exciting year of promoting sustainable travel. Following a stellar 2024, the program—supported by Merri-Bek Council—continues to inspire students, families, and staff to embrace walking, cycling, and scooting as fun, eco-friendly alternatives to driving.
The first event of the year was a resounding success, with Summit Avenue buzzing with energy both before and after school. Adding to the festive vibe, the Thanks A Latte coffee van rolled in, serving up warm drinks and smiles to cap off a perfect morning. The day wasn’t just about celebration—it was also a chance to grow the initiative’s volunteer team. From 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, Merri-Bek Council hosted a training session for new helpers, seamlessly woven into the event itself. Four enthusiastic volunteers—Sue, Phil and Ramneet (Team Kids) - completed the session, led by Zoe from the Council, and are now ready to support future Open Streets days. Thanks to all the current and new volunteers for their support! School Council Sub Committees After our recent school council meeting, we are seeking school community members to support decision making by potentially joining a subcommittee. Subcommittees are advisory bodies to the School Council. They assist council with performing their duties and functions, and are generally established to support School Council in specific areas. Subcommittee membership is open to non-school-council members: providing the opportunity for the school community to be involved in school council matters. The school council decides the purpose and terms of reference of a subcommittee has the final responsibility for decisions. It is a great way to support the school if you have a passion, interest or expertise within a specific area. A subcommittee usually meets between a school council meeting, at 3:45pm after the end of the school day. Meetings can be online or in-person. As such we are hoping to find some community members to join the proposed sub-committees below: Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) Sub-Committee This subcommittee’s role is to support school council to provide a quality and value for money OSHC service for the school community, working with members of the current provider Team Kids. Policy Development Sub-Committee The Policy Review and Development sub-committee helps develop school policies supported by Department of Education templates and to maintain oversight of the policy review timelines. Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee The purpose of the sub-committee is to make recommendations to Council on matters relating to school buildings, grounds, landscaping, gardens and play areas. Planning working bee events and assisting on the day would also form the work of this sub-committee. If you have an interest in joining any of the above subcommittees, please email me. If we get enough interested parties we can form the Sub-Committees and work together to further support School Council to make Oak Park even better. Exciting News from …. Lauren! Lauren shared some exciting news with her class earlier in the week, she’s expecting a baby, due in September. 2HM’s excitement was truly heartwarming. It was a special moment for the class. Lauren is thankful for their enthusiasm and the support of our wonderful community. As Lauren gets closer to her due date, we will of course begin recruitment early to seek the best available teacher to support 2HM for the remainder of the school year. Kind regards, Michael Gill Principal WHAT'S HAPPENING @ OAK PARK
WHOLE SCHOOL
Assembly Timetable
PFA - Easter Raffle
We have an upcoming Easter Raffle.
Price: $2.50 per ticket or $10 for 5 tickets. Ticket purchases close on Thursday, April 10th at Midnight. Tickets will be drawn on Friday, April 11th. Tickets can be purchased via this link: https://rafflelink.com.au/oppseaster2025
School Savings Bonus
A reminder re utilising the School Savings Bonus: We are aware of the issues around the School Savings Bonus (SSB) and not being able to view the balance in Compass. Compass has confirmed there are no current plans to update the payment system to allow families to view or use SSB Credit directly, and only CSEF credits and standard payment methods will be visible (as before). If you have allocated SSB Credit to activities in the parent portal, the school will automatically use this credit until the balance reaches $0. Please email [email protected] or call the office on 9306-9182 if you would like to allocate your funds to a specific activity for your child. Once this is done by the office, consent for each activity/excursion must still be provided by parents/guardians. If you decline an event, the allocated funds will remain as a credit to your account. The total excursion cost will still be displayed for transparency. If a payment amount appears, it means your SSB Credit has been fully used, and payments will revert to CSEF or Credit/Card options. Parents can request their balance or family statement at any time from the school office. This process applies only to SSB Credit—CSEF and Credit Card payments remain unchanged. Last Day of Term 1
Friday 4th April is the last day of Term 1 and school finishes at 2.30pm. Please ensure your child is picked up on time, otherwise our After School Care Program will be running. Contact Team Kids to book your child in if after care is required. Unexplained Absences
We still have many unexplained absences on our system, and are asking parents to please login and update these at your earliest convenience. 2026 Enrolments
We are accepting enrolments for 2026. To find out your school zone, please check www.findmyschool.vic.govv.au Please email Fran at [email protected] for an enrolment form. If you are enrolling a sibling of a student already here, feel free to call via the office to pick up an enrolment form. If you reside outside our school zone, you are welcome to complete an Application for enrolment, which will place you on our waitlist. EARLY SCHOOL YEARS
Year 2 – Local Walk Excursion
Next Tuesday, 1st April, at 9:15 AM, we will be taking the students on a local walk to observe and explore nature outside of the school. This will be a short, supervised stroll in the surrounding area to encourage curiosity and learning in an outdoor setting. As part of our school’s local excursions policy, you have already provided permission for your child to participate in activities within the local area. However, if you do not wish for your child to attend this nature walk, please inform the classroom teacher by Monday 31st March 2025. We are also looking for a couple of parent helpers to assist with our local excursion. If you have completed the parent-helper course, please get in contact with your child's teacher as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Kind regards, Demi, Lauren and Jordan SENIOR SCHOOL YEARS
Year 6-7 Transition
On Thursday 24th April 2025, Oak Park Primary School will distribute the Year 6-7 Placement Information Pack 2025-2026, which includes the Application form, to Parents of Year 6 students. Any information regarding Secondary Colleges open days and Information sessions will be included in our newsletters. It is advisable that families attend school tours and information sessions so they may have an idea of which school their child will be attending in 2026. Please be aware that some Secondary Colleges are very strictly zoned, and you will not receive a placement unless you reside within their school zone. It is always advisable to submit 3 preferences on your Year 7 Application for this reason Catholic Colleges and Private Schools are already accepting enrolments for Year 7, 2027 
YEAR 6-7 TRANSITION TIMELINE:
Thursday 24th April 2025: Oak Park Primary School will distribute the Year 6-7 Placement Information Pack 2025-2026, including the Application form for 2026, to Parents of Year 6 students. Friday 9th May: Parents/Carers submit the Application for Year 7 placement to Oak Park Primary School Tuesday 1st July: Oak Park Primary School will inform parents/carers of their childs Year 7 placement offer for the 2026 school year. Friday 25th July: Closing date for parents/carers to lodge a written appeal with their preferred Secondary School Tuesday 9th December: Secondary Schools host an Orientation Day for Year 6 students SPECIALISTS
Visual Arts
Grade 3 & 4 Students Explore Collagraph Printmaking Our Grade 3 and 4 artists have been experimenting with collagraph printmaking, a creative process that involves cutting and layering card onto cardboard to form textured printing plates. Inspired by the bold repetition of Andy Warhol’s pop art, students designed their own unique collagraphs and explored different ways to create rubbings using crayons, coloured pencils, and grey lead pencils. Each student produced four variations of their artwork, discovering how different colours and shading techniques could transform their designs. Creating this deepened their understanding of texture, composition, and the art of printmaking while celebrating their individual creativity! Below are some examples of these fantastic artworks. 
Japanese
In Japanese the Grade 3/4 students have been busy learning how to say and write the months of the year in Japanese! Through a range of interactive vocabulary games, they have been practicing pronunciation, recognizing the written forms, and building their confidence in using Japanese in fun and engaging ways. Students have enjoyed playing games such as I have, who has, Pinponbu and the fly swat game to reinforce their learning. They have also been working on asking and answering the question “When is your birthday?” and responding with “My birthday is in ____.” It has been fantastic to see their enthusiasm and growing confidence in using this new vocabulary. Keep up the great work, Grade 3/4!
P.F.A
We are always super excited to welcome new members and new ideas. PFA meeting schedule 2025 as follows:
Feel free to reach out to PFA at [email protected] 
Team Kids
Ready to discover the TeamKids difference?
Book NOW à www.teamkids.com.au/venues 
COMMUNITY NEWS
Open Days/School Tours for 2026 Year 7 enrolments
GLENROY SECONDARY COLLEGE Glenroy College holds small guided tours for prospective students and families every Friday at 9.30am during Term One and Term Two. The tours give you a chance to meet some of our staff and students, view our College facilities and see our classes in action. Bookings are essential and are made online via the link https://glenroycollege.vic.edu.au/enrolment/school-tours/ College tours can also be arranged at other times. If your child is currently enrolled in Grade 6, and you have a specific query regarding school programs or Year 7 Transition, please contact the College office, 9304 0400. ROSEHILL SECONDARY COLLEGE Whole School Open Day – Tuesday 29th April. Classes begin 9.15am. Dismissed 2.15pm Click the link to register https://www.rosehillsc.vic.edu.au/event/open-day 
COBURG HIGH SCHOOL
We will be hosting a whole school Open Day and School Tours for Year 6 students on Wednesday 23 April 2025. Bookings can be made here, please make one booking per family. You may view a virtual tour here: https://www.coburg.vic.edu.au/open/ BUCKLEY PARK SECONDARY COLLEGE School Tour bookings are now open for prospective students and their carers/parents. These tours will be conducted by a member of the College leadership team and will provide an opportunity to see our school. To enable you to get the most out of a school tour and conversation, it would be helpful if you and your child attend, ready to ask the questions you're most interested to explore with us. Please arrive at our Reception Lobby, 10 mins prior to tour start time as visitors are required to sign in. Tour dates are available at www.buckleyparkco.vic.edu.au STRATHMORE SECONDARY COLLEGE Each year tours of the College are conducted to coincide with the Year 7 Transition program. Parents/Guardians of prospective students in Grade 6 are invited to attend. Tours in 2025 for Year 7 2026 enrolments commence in April and run through May. College Tour booking forms are available at https://www.strathmore.vic.edu.au/enrolment/collegetours/ ESSENDON KEILOR COLLEGE 
UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL
https://unihigh.vic.edu.au/enrol/tours-information-sessions/ School Contacts
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