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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 24
August 9th 2024 |
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 3 Events:
Term 4 Events:
Principal's Column
Trivia Night Upcoming – Thanks to Sue and the PFA
Join us for a night of fun and friendly competition at the Oak Park Primary School Trivia Night Fundraiser! 📅 Date: Saturday, September 7 🕒 Time: Doors open at 6:30 PM, Trivia starts at 7:00 PM 📍 Location: Oak Park Community Sports Club, Francis Street, Oak Park, 3046 💵 Cost: $10 per person Gather your smartest friends and family to form a team of 8-10 people, and get ready to battle it out for the trivia crown while raising funds for our school. Drinks will be available for purchase, so bring your own food and nibbles to keep your team fuelled throughout the night. Don't miss out on the raffle and prizes too! To register or for more information, contact us at [email protected] or message 0452635570. Let's make it a night to remember—see you there! 🌟 Elevating Writing Instruction at Oak Park Primary School In our ongoing commitment to academic excellence, Oak Park Primary School recently hosted a Curriculum Day focused on refining and enhancing writing instruction. This initiative underscores the importance of high-quality teaching practices in developing students' writing skills, a core component of their educational development. The agenda was packed with enriching activities designed to bolster our teachers' instructional strategies. Key highlights included engaging with Traits Posters and using mentor texts, which are instrumental in illustrating effective writing techniques and styles to students. A significant portion of the day was dedicated to analysing writing data involving a critical review of pre-writing pieces. This session provided valuable insights into individual student needs, enabling tailored instructional approaches. Further sessions included a review of the Rubric and strategies for effective conferencing with students, enhancing feedback quality and specificity. The Professional Learning Community (PLC) Cycle discussion also played a crucial role, fostering a collaborative environment where teachers share best practices and continuous learning. This Curriculum Day not only reaffirmed our dedication to fostering outstanding writing skills in our students but also equipped our educators with enhanced tools and methodologies. Such initiatives are pivotal in ensuring that our teaching practices remain at the forefront of educational innovation, directly contributing to the overall success and well-being of our students. Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey – Links sent via Email Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey, and we are seeking your valuable feedback. The Department of Education offers this survey to help schools understand families' perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. Your opinions are crucial to us and will help identify areas for improvement and professional development needs. This feedback will guide our school planning and improvement strategies. Additionally, the department will use the survey results for research purposes to enhance student outcomes. The survey is conducted online and takes only 20 minutes to complete. It can be accessed on any internet-enabled device, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, and is compatible with most browsers. The survey is available in English and 10 other languages: Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Links to the survey have already been sent to randomly selected families via email. We appreciate your participation and look forward to your feedback. Kind regards, Michael Gill Principal WHOLE SCHOOL
WHAT'S COMING UP
IMPORTANT: Unexplained Absences
Emails have been sent today to families whose children have unexplained absences. We would ask as a matter of urgency that you log into Compass and update these absences with an explanation School Start Time
There have been many students arriving to school far too early. The yard is not supervised until 8:45am. Students are arriving to school as early as 8:15am, which means there is no supervision and it is unsafe to allow your child to be here prior to 8:45am. Please ensure your child is not at school prior to this time. Assembly Timetable
School Concert
Moana Production
Our production is on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th of September. All students are required to attend both nights. If your family has approved absences on these dates or you know you are going away please email Melanie ASAP. We are currently making costumes for all students and choreographing dances so Melanie needs to be aware of absences. Tickets will be going on sale soon. Please refer to the weekly newsletter and Compass notes for further details. The Great Book Swap
This is a friendly reminder that on the 21st of August 2024, Oak Park Primary School will be participating in The Great Book Swap! In just two weeks time! This event supports fundraising efforts for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, a charity that provides culturally relevant reading materials to students in rural and remote communities around Australia. This will be a fantastic opportunity for students to engage with new reading materials, whilst contributing to a worthwhile fundraising event. THANK YOU to all the donations that have already been brought to the front office. Please continue to bring in any books from home that you are happy to donate :) The boxes will be there until Tuesday 20th August. Our Great Book Swap during lunchtime, recess and afterschool (if there are left overs) on Wednesday the 21st of August 2024. Students are asked to bring in some money on the day, each book will be sold for $1 each. Make sure to bring a carry bag on the day Last year we raised $494 during The Great Book Swap! Let’s see if we can beat this fundraising target this year! Thank you in advance for supporting our efforts to promote reading in our school and contribute to the important work of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation! 
Wear it Purple Day
I’m Ricky, one of the great Wellbeing Captains at our school. Each year, on the last Friday of August, people dress in purple to celebrate young people in the rainbow community. During my run for school captain, one of my main goals was to introduce this day at Oak Park Primary because we have parents and students who are part of the rainbow community and they deserve to be seen and celebrated. On Friday August 30th, join me by wearing something purple to show your alliance to friends and family in the rainbow community. Kind regards, Ricky 5/6C Want to know more: https://www.wearitpurple.org We will be selling Wear it Purple wrist bands (for a gold coin donation) during that week and all money will go towards the Wear it Purple Organisation. This isn’t a casual clothes day; students can wear as much or as little purple as they like. Please remember it’s an opportunity for us to acknowledge, celebrate and accept each other’s differences. Students will be discussing the day in a respectful, age-appropriate way. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact any of our Wellbeing Team. Wellbeing Team Michael Gill Sally Morath Kerry Gribbin Lauren Heard Fabia Andronos 
Lost Property
There is a black bag on top of the lost property cupboard that contains uniform pieces that are unnamed. Please feel free to go through this and take any piece of uniform you may require. All lost property will be disposed of by Friday if not claimed. P.F.A News
Call-out for donations for Father’s Day Stall This year the PFA’s Father’s Day Stall will be held on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 August, and we are looking for donations from the school community to augment the stock for the stall. Gifts are usually sold for between $1 and $6, so items such as key rings, socks or other small, simple handmade goodies are ideal. If you are able to make or otherwise have something to donate, please email us at [email protected] to let us know what you would like to give and to organise drop-off details. We will need to receive donations by Friday 23 August. The PFA Thanks you for your support! Below are the PFA meeting dates for the reminder of the year to put in your diary! Meetings start at 7.30 pm and are held in the staffroom at the school. All are welcome to attend. Term 3 Tuesday 27 August Term 4 Tuesday 8 October Tuesday 12 November Tuesday 3 December (mtg/end-of-year celebration) JUNIOR SCHOOL
Foundation
The event of the Foundation calendar – 100 Days of School has finally arrived! We had the best day dressing up, performing a song for our buddies, lots of activities about 100 and a hot chip lunch. Congratulations to the Foundation students – your teachers are so proud of you and all you’ve achieved in 100 days of school. Thank you to the Foundation families for the amazing costumes and the Year 6 teachers, Sally and Michael and the students for your amazing help – one of our best 100 Days yet! 😊 Retirement homes of the future, watch out!! Check out our day below:
SENIOR SCHOOL
Grade 5/6 Smoothie Bar
Athletics Carnival
Friday 16th August *Call for parent helpers* We are very excited to have our annual athletic carnival return for 2024 at Harold Stevens Track in Coburg. However, to help the day run smoothly I will need the help of a group of volunteers to assist with the running of events and supervision of age groups. Details for the day: - volunteers to arrive at the track at 9:00 am, Liam will give you a rundown of each event. - students to start arriving at the track at 9:20 am - we will follow the timetable from 9:30am until around 2 pm when we will pack up and leave. - there will be a lunch break between 11:30- 12:15 Roles that need to be filled: (2 volunteers at each field event to measure and record)
- 12 boys - 12 girls - 11 boys - 11 girls - 10 boys - 10 girls - 9 boys - 9 girls If you can email me asap with your preference, I will add you to my list of volunteers :) Kind regards Liam 
SPECIALIST
Visual Arts
Moana Junior F - 2 Colouring Competition Students in Foundation, Grade 1 and Grade 2 are invited to participate in a colouring competition based on the Moana Junior school concert. This is not a compulsory activity. Only students that wish to enter the competition are going to be bringing home an A3 sized colouring page. Students can collect a colouring sheet when attending their art classes, or they can pop by the art room at lunchtime, recess, before or after school to collect one. Artwork entries for the competition are due back to David (OPPS Art teacher) or the Art Room no later than Thursday the 22nd of August. Guidelines for students to keep in mind when colouring You may add colour using:
Competition PRIZE The 3 winners receive a $50 Smiggle voucher and a pencil case with art supplies inside. Please forward any questions to David Flint (OPPS Art Teacher) via email. Good luck to all students that enter the competition. 
Performing Arts
Please come and check this area of the newsletter for random items we are hoping to borrow for our Moana Production. We need three jump boxes – 
Or Steppers
Also a ‘Sebastian’ crab or similar lobster stuffed toy-
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School Contacts
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