“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” – Confucius

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

On Wednesday night, most year levels held their annual Parent Information Nights. Thank you to the parents who were able to attend. As always, these nights are a great opportunity for you to be made aware of what will be happening in your child’s year level throughout the year.

If you couldn’t attend, all year levels sent out their presentation as an information booklet via Compass. Please take the time to read this for the key information discussed on the night. If you have any questions or concerns, please email your child’s classroom teacher. Year 3’s Information Night will be on Wednesday 12th February at 6pm.

The Prep children have settled very well into their classroom routines. Each Prep child will be doing their individual assessments on Wednesdays until the first week of March. These assessments are vital so the teachers can understand the needs and capabilities of each child. It’s also an opportunity for parents to have a quick chat face-to-face about their child.

The OSPS Swim Squad has begun training at Oakleigh Recreation Centre. A big thank you to the staff who give up their time to train the squad before school. The children come back to school to enjoy a yummy breakfast, ready to start their day.

On Tuesday, we had our first whole-school assembly for the year. Next week, there will be a senior assembly, where our Year 6 leaders for 2025 will be receiving their badges. Parents are very welcome to attend this assembly.

Have a great weekend!

Nikki Virtuoso
Acting Principal

SCHOOL MATTERS

SCHOOL GATE OPENING TIMES

From Monday 10th February, all four school gates will open at 8:35am.

This allows plenty of time for students to make their way to their classrooms before the doors open at 8:45am.

On rare occasions, a gate may not be opened due to unforeseen circumstances. If this happens, please call the school office, and a staff member will assist you.

Thank you for your cooperation.

HOUSE T-SHIRTS – AVAILABLE AT PSW

The new OSPS house t-shirts for Gould, Cuthbert, Fraser, and Landy are now available at Primary School Wear (PSW) Cheltenham for $50.95. These are an optional uniform item for all students from Prep to Year 6 and are not compulsory. Students may wear their house t-shirt on their PE class day or for any special sports activity.

Classroom teachers will provide information about PE days and other special sporting events throughout the year. House t-shirts can also be worn by Year 3–6 students (and some selected Year 2 students) for house athletics, house swimming, and house cross-country events.

We strongly encourage Year 5 and Year 6 students to purchase a house t-shirt, as this will support Year 5 and Year 6 PE lessons and the OSPS sport program. The regular Year 6 interschool sport uniforms for various teams will remain in place, and further details will be provided to Year 6 families next year.

Looking forward to seeing our new house tops in action!

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST AT OSPS

My name is Fiona, and I am a joyful and enthusiastic Occupational Therapist (OT)! I am extremely excited to join the Oakleigh South Primary School community. I look forward to working with you to support students in accessing the curriculum and enhancing their wellbeing.

WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY?

Occupational Therapists help people at any stage of life to do the things they need or want to do.

• We assess the fit between the person, the environment, and the occupation to support optimal functioning and participation.
• We work on functional goals in areas such as gross and fine motor skills, self-care skills, self-regulation, social skills, and sensory processing.
• OT is the how—helping students engage and succeed in their daily activities.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AT OSPS

As Occupational Therapy is new to the school, we are currently developing an OT service model. At this stage, I will be supporting the Disability Inclusion Profile (DIP), which provides funding for students with specialised needs. More information about a formalised OT model for the school will be shared later in the term.

KEYBOARD & GUITAR LESSONS

Dear Parents & Carers,

The Music School is again pleased to offer guitar (Friday) and keyboard (Wednesday) lessons after school hours at Oakleigh South Primary School for students in Years 1–6.

Keyboard lessons may also be offered on Fridays if Wednesday sessions are fully booked.

Key Details:

• Guitar lessons: Friday
• Keyboard lessons: Wednesday (or Friday if Wednesday books out)
• Group lessons lasting 30 minutes after school.
• Cost: $19.80 per lesson.

Please see the attached:

• OSPS Guitar and Keyboard Information 2025
• OSPS Music School Flyer & Sign Up Form 2025

For any questions, please contact Perry Vlahos directly at perryvlahos33@gmail.com.

Thank you.

THE RESILIENCE PROJECT

THE RESILIENCE PROJECT

Since 2022, OSPS has been working with The Resilience Project across the whole school, from Foundation to Year 6, as part of their Inspire Program. The Resilience Project curriculum was designed by teachers for teachers and aligns with Victorian and Australian Curriculum standards and frameworks in the areas of Personal and Social Capabilities and Health and Physical Education.

The program is based on the philosophy that, in order to live a happier, more fulfilling life, we need to regularly practise Gratitude, Empathy (kindness), and Mindfulness. Emotional literacy – having self-awareness and recognition of one’s own feelings and knowing how to manage them – is also an integral part of the program. Each week, we conduct a formal lesson based on one of these practices, and the students complete an entry in their Resilience Student Journals. The lessons also engage students in activities such as creating gratitude posters, mindfulness colouring, and matching appropriate emotions to different events.

The Resilience Project delivers evidence-based practical strategies to build resilience and happiness by focusing on four key strategies:

• Gratitude: The act of being thankful and appreciating what you have in life.
• Empathy (Kindness): The capacity to understand and feel what another person is feeling.
• Mindfulness: The practice of attention regulation.
• Emotional Literacy: The ability to understand and express our feelings.

As a Partnership School, we experience all that the GEM (Gratitude, Empathy, and Mindfulness) journey has to offer by embedding The Resilience Project’s wellbeing curriculum across the whole school community.

To support long-term change and embed mental health strategies, all students participate in a weekly Resilience Project lesson, which has been mapped to the Victorian Curriculum. Click here for more information.

There are many things you can do at home to support the mental health and wellbeing of your child.

For more information, please visit The Resilience Project – At Home.

Accessing The Resilience Project Parent Hub

The Parent Hub can be accessed via the secure link below, with no account setup or login required: Resilience Project Parent Hub

PARENT GROUP

LUNCH ORDER PROVIDERS

We are pleased to confirm the following lunch order options for our school community in 2025: TK Tuckshop and Classroom Cuisine will be available on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while Subway will be available on Tuesday and Thursday.

Classroom Cuisine: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Register and order at www.classroomcuisine.com.au
All orders must be placed by 8:30am the morning of delivery.

TK Tuckshop: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Register at https://app.spriggyschools.com.au/login
Download the Spriggy Schools app from your app store.
All orders need to be placed by 7pm for the full menu or 8:00am the morning of delivery for a restricted menu.

Subway: Tuesday and Thursday

Register and place your order at https://app.canteenhub.com.au
All orders need to be placed by 8.00am the day of delivery.

Kind regards,
Oakleigh South Parent Group

PARENT CORNER

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