Oakleigh South Primary School
NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 19
20th June, 2025

“Children learn more from who you are than what you teach.” — Unknown

IMPORTANT DATES

Issue 19 – 20th June 2025

Tuesday 24th June
• Prep to Year 3 Assembly (2:45PM)

Thursday 26th June
• Bentleigh District Winter Sport Finals
• Senior Choir – Hall (3:45PM)

Friday 27th June
• Prep Portraits For Sale – OSPS Prep Art Show

Wednesday 2nd July
• VSSS Mass Choir Hub Rehearsal – Hall
• Year 4 Production – The Jungle Book Kids (Cast 1) – (6:30PM)

Thursday 3rd July
• Senior Choir – Hall (3:45PM)
• Year 4 Production – The Jungle Book Kids (Cast 2) – (6:30PM)

Friday 4th July
• Whole School Assembly (1:50PM)
• End Term 2 Early Dismissal (2:30PM)

 

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

As we enter the final stretch of Term 2, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what has been a busy, vibrant, and productive term here at school. With just two weeks to go before the break, there’s still plenty happening across our school community.

A huge congratulations to Jack and Koby, who proudly represented OSPS at the Regional Cross Country Championships on Wednesday. It was a fantastic day filled with competition and sportsmanship. We’re incredibly proud of the effort and determination shown by both boys. We’re thrilled to announce that both Jack and Koby have qualified for State—we wish them all the very best! Thank you to the staff and families who supported them on the day.

This week also saw our final school tour for prospective 2025 families. It has been a pleasure to welcome so many new faces over the course of the term and to share what makes our school such a warm and dynamic learning community.

Excitement is building for the Year 4 production of The Jungle Book! Our students have been working exceptionally hard, and the show promises to be a highlight of the term. Don’t forget to purchase your tickets—seats are limited and selling fast!

  • Tickets available via TryBooking: www.trybooking.com/DCATQ
  • Event: OSPS Year 4 Production – Jungle Book
  • Adult Ticket $12.00 | Child Ticket (under 12, floor seating) $7.00

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. Let’s make these last two weeks count!

Warm regards,

Nikki Virtuoso
Acting Principal

SCHOOL MATTERS

YEAR 6 HOT FOOD DAY

Dear Parents and Carers,

Parent Group is pleased to be hosting a Hot Food Day for Year 6 students on Friday 27th June 2025.

Menu:

    • Hot chips: $5

    • Dim sims or potato cakes: $2 each or 3 for $5

Orders close at 12:00pm noon on Tuesday 24th June. Late orders cannot be accepted, as we need to finalise numbers and organise supplies in advance.

Please refer to the Compass News Feed for the TryBooking link to place your order. Only students in Year 6 are eligible to order – please do not place orders for siblings.

If you’re available to assist on the day, we’d love your help! Please email Parent Group at osparentgroup67@gmail.com

Thank you!

Parent Group

ICAS COMPETITIONS ARE BACK AT OSPS!

We’re excited to announce that Oakleigh South Primary School will once again be participating in the ICAS academic competitions in 2025!

 

ICAS is an optional online competition that challenges students in English, Maths, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee, and Digital Technologies, focusing on higher-order thinking and problem-solving. All participants receive a certificate and detailed results report—top performers may even earn a medal!

 

Key ICAS Assessment Dates:

    • Digital Technologies & Writing (Yrs 3–6): 4–8 August
    • English: 11–15 August
    • Science & Spelling Bee: 18–22 August
    • Mathematics: 25–29 August

For pricing and more info visit the ICAS website.

 

How to Register:

    1. Visit the Parent Portal
    2. Use our school’s access code: QWY044
    3. Select your child’s assessments and complete payment

All payments go directly to ICAS, not the school. You’ll receive confirmation emails—please keep them as proof of purchase.

Registrations close 11:59pm, Monday 28th July 2025.

Let’s celebrate our students’ learning achievements—consider entering your child in ICAS this year!

OSPS BEANIES & FETE SHOWBAGS 

OSPS branded beanies are once again available for purchase, with delivery expected before the end of Term 2.

The beanies are $18.50 and can be ordered via the TryBooking link in the Compass post.

We also have 10 Fete Showbags remaining, available for purchase from the Office for $10 each – while stocks last!

If you have any questions, please contact Parent Group at osparentgroup67@gmail.com.

Thank you,

Parent Group

UNIFORM EXPECTATIONS & WINTER REMINDERS 

As we move into the cooler months, families are reminded that full school uniform is required during all school hours and activities.

    • Non-uniform items such as puffer jackets, branded outerwear, hoodies and coloured beanies are not permitted during the school day.

    • Personal jackets may be worn to and from school but must be removed once on-site.

    • To stay warm, students may layer bottle green or white singlets or skivvies under their uniform and wear the OSPS jumper, bomber jacket or school beanie.

Uniform items (including Indigenous house polos and raincoats) are available from:
PSW CHELTENHAM – 1 AGE STREET, CHELTENHAM VIC 3192 or online via the Uniforms page.

Plain bottle green items without the logo are also accepted.

All students are expected to follow our dress code:

    • Hair past shoulder length should be tied up for hygiene and safety.

    • Footwear must be appropriate and closed-toed – black school shoes or runners are acceptable.

    • Hats must be worn outside from mid-August to 30 April. Hats are not worn indoors.

    • Decorative jewellery is not permitted, except limited to small stud or sleeper earrings and standard watches. Religious or cultural jewellery is permitted.

    • Makeup and coloured nail polish are not allowed. Clear nail polish only.

    • Smart watches are not permitted at school unless they are disconnected from calls and data during school hours (8.45am – 3.30pm).

      • If the watch has a SIM card, it must be signed in and out with the classroom teacher each day.

      • If the watch connects via a mobile phone, the phone must be signed in and out, and the watch can only be worn if it cannot access calls or data during school hours.

SPARE CLOTHES

We also ask that students, especially in junior year levels, have a spare set of clothes packed in their bag — including underwear and socks — to manage wet weather slips or accidents discreetly and avoid interrupting your day.

Please ensure all clothing and belongings are clearly labelled to reduce lost property and classroom disruptions.

For families experiencing financial difficulty, support is available through State Schools’ Relief. For any questions or assistance, please contact Carlyn at carlyn.backers@education.vic.gov.au.

SUPPORT OAKLEIGH SOUTH NETBALL CLUB — VOTE NOW FOR WOOLWORTHS GRANT!

At Oakleigh South Primary, we know that sport is more than just play — it’s a powerful tool for building resilience, fostering wellbeing, and connecting our community.

Oakleigh South Netball Club shares that vision. This year, they’re in the running for a Woolworths Netball Grant — and they need your support!

If successful, the Club will be able to:

    • Upgrade to adjustable goal posts suitable for all age groups

    • Provide starter equipment to welcome new players

    • Deliver on-site coaching by local high schoolers, supporting both our students and aspiring young coaches

These upgrades will directly benefit Oakleigh South families and help more children get active, confident, and connected through grassroots sport.

🗳️ Cast your vote and help make a difference: Woolworth’s Netball Grants

📲 Learn more at: www.netballoakleighsouth.com.au/promotions

Let’s get behind our local legends and bring these exciting improvements to life — because strong communities grow from the grassroots up.

VALUED STUDENT AWARDS

SENIOR VALUED STUDENT AWARDS

YEAR 4 VALUED STUDENT AWARDS

Keira – 4AS
(Excellence)
For always trying her best in all areas of the curriculum and taking great pride in her work.

Sehaj – 4AS
(Respect)
For always looking out for her friends and for being a kind and caring classmate.

Naisha – 4ML
(Excellence)
For her thorough completion of homework tasks. Keep up the terrific efforts Naisha.

Yioti – 4ML
(Working Together)
For sharing great ideas in class discussions and being a thoughtful and caring buddy. Well done Yioti!

Irini – 4ML
(Integrity)
For her well formatted work and beautiful book presentation. Keep up the great efforts Irini!

Hunter – 4CG
(Excellence)
For demonstrating terrific reading skills and strategies during our Guided Reading sessions. Great job Hunter!

Jim – 4CG
(Excellence)
For demonstrating a great understanding of dialogue and confidently implementing it into his writing.

Maggie – 4CG
(Excellence)
For showing persistence and determination when completing her Essential Assessment tasks. Good job Maggie!

Sofia – 4CR
(Excellence)
For her excellent commitment to home reading and completing AR quizzes with great results. Keep it up, Sofia!

Michael – 4CR
(Resilience)
For always acting on advice positively and promptly to improve his learning. Keep working hard, Michael.

Iwan – 4LD
(Excellence)
For always putting in his best effort and actively engaging in the class discussions. Great work!

Shreeya – 4LD
(Working Together)
For always being a superstar in the classroom and helping students if they need assistance.

Esmeralda – 4WW
(Excellence)
For working so diligently this term to complete all tasks to a high standard! You’re awesome!

Rachel – 4WW
(Excellence)
For smashing her AR goal this term. You’re a reading superstar, Rachel!

YEAR 5 VALUED STUDENT AWARDS

Ary – 5LG
(Excellence)
For working super hard in Maths Groups, and making excellent progress. Well done Ary!

Bella – 5LG
(Excellence)
For quietly exceeding in everything she does. You are a superstar, Bella!

Forbes – 5LG
(Excellence)
For approaching everything he does with a brilliant mindset and for blowing us all away with his superb art!

Cindy – 5JD
(Excellence)
For always trying her best and presenting work beautifully.

Maggie – 5JD
(Excellence)
For always putting in her best effort, staying on task and helping others. Keep it up!

Nicholas – 5MJ
(Working Together)
For being a friendly, respectful and positive member of our class. You’re a legend, Nicholas!

Eira – 5MJ
(Excellence)
For always being organised, responsible and a superstar listener. You’re amazing, Eira!

Mika – 5MJ
(Excellence)
For his outstanding efforts in his PAT and Essential Assessment tests. You’re incredible, Mika!

Lalinda – 5KM
(Respect)
For always being a respectful, polite, and kind student to her teachers and peers. Keep it up Lalinda!

Mina – 5KM
(Excellence)
For being a consistently responsible, hardworking and honest member of 5KM. You are amazing, Mina!

Leo – 5KM
(Excellence)
For working extremely hard this term, achieving amazing results in AR and Maths. Amazing work Leo!

Marcus T – 5MP
(Respect)
For being a helpful, positive and courteous class member who leads by example. Super Star Marcus!

Jasmine – 5MP
(Working Together)
For showing social growth by working well with friends and contributing positively to group tasks. You’re a star!

William – 5EW
(Integrity)
For reaching his goals with determination and always doing it in an honest and upfront way.

Trisha – 5EW
(Excellence)
For excelling in her studies and for the positive impact her inclusive and calm approach has had on our class.

Ryan – 5EW
(Resilience)
For being humble, hardworking and for tackling the difficult challenges first. You’re a great role model Ryan!

Madeline – 5EW
(Resilience)
For making significant improvements in all areas of Mathematics. Well done Maddie, keep it up, you got this!

YEAR 6 VALUED STUDENT AWARDS

Mikaiya – 6NM
(Working Together)
For working well in a range of group tasks across many different subjects.

Albert – 6NM
(Excellence)
For showing determination to improve his learning across a range of subjects.

Andrey – 6NM
(Working Together)
For the teamwork that he has displayed both in the classroom and during interschool sport as well.

SPECIALIST VALUED STUDENT AWARDS

Tali – 4ML
Performing Arts
(Excellence)
For her incredible efforts during The Jungle Book rehearsals. Keep up the amazing work, Tali!

Mika – 5MJ
Performing Arts
(Excellence)
For sharing his excellence in Performing Arts with his classmates and setting a great example.

Chloe – 5LG
Performing Arts
(Integrity)
For working with persistence and responsibility in Performing Arts classes to achieve her best.

Yalini – 6MH
Performing Arts
(Excellence)
For creating an interesting and engaging portrayal of her character in Matilda rehearsals.

Nathan – 6CM
Performing Arts
(Resilience)
For always trying his best during Matilda rehearsals and accepting all challenges thrown his way.

Ryan – 4CG
Visual Arts
(Excellence)
For his wonderful arch-weaving work! Well done!

Peter – 5KM
Visual Arts
(Excellence)
For his wonderful stitching work on his stitch a landscape work.

Charlotte – 6CM
Visual Arts
(Excellence)
For her great weaving technique on our ‘God’s Eye’ stick weaves.

Leonardo – 4CG
Japanese
(Excellence)
For your hard work in learning hiragana and passing your Black Belt test. Well done!

Ava – 5EW
Japanese
(Working Together)
For encouraging your peers to do well in Japanese, and for achieving so much yourself. Well done!

Chris – 6SM
Japanese
(Excellence)
For your hard work in Japanese, you have improved a lot. Well done!

STUDENT SHOWCASE

YEAR 3 SHOWCASE

Our Village Farmers have had a productive and hands-on term preparing the gardens for winter! They’ve helped plant seasonal crops, sampled fresh carrots and lettuce, and tidied the garden beds — with some help from our eager ducks and chickens, who love gobbling up the weeds.

Students noticed many yellow ladybugs working hard to protect our vegetables from pests, and they’ve taken great care of the cabbages by checking for caterpillars and gently removing them.

In addition to their gardening duties, our farmers have also been sorting 10c containers from the purple recycling bins. These are taken to the recycling centre to help raise funds for our school. Please continue to support our efforts by placing eligible bottles and cans into the purple bins in the Year 3 area.

OSPS FETE RECAP – VILLAGE MARKET

Thank you to everyone who visited the Village Market at the OSPS Fete earlier this term. We had a wonderful day running our stall and are grateful for your support!

We sold:

  • Fruits and vegetables kindly donated by Alexander’s Fruit Market

  • Flowers lovingly potted by our Grade 3 students

  • Delicious jams made by parents and staff of Grade 3

There was also plenty of fun with our popular Kiss the Chicken competition!

A huge thank you to our Fete sponsors: Alexander’s Fruit Market, Steve Dimopoulos MP, and Greenscapes Vic Pty Ltd.

KISS THE CHICKEN COMPETITION

Thank you to everyone who visited our stall and voted for their teacher to “Kiss the Chicken”!
At our whole school assembly, students were thrilled to hear the results:

🥉 Third place: Mr Wilde – kissed a rubber chicken
🥈 Second place: Miss Theodoris – kissed a fluffy toy chicken
🥇 First place: Ms Marsden – bravely kissed our very own OSPS chicken, Gary!

LITERACY CORNER

This term, our Year 3 students have been exploring the world of poetry. They are learning about different poetic forms, including acrostic poems, shape poems, and haikus.

They’ve been developing skills in vivid language and word choice to express their thoughts and feelings in creative ways. A big focus has been on using poetic devices like similes, alliteration, and strong imagery.

Here are just a few of the wonderful poems our students have created:

 

YEAR 1 GEM

 

GRATITUDE  

We are grateful for our Year 3 farming program. We are having fun, enjoying daily farming activities with Mr Wilde, where we learn how to harvest our produce, weed the vegetable gardens, and take care of our delightful chickens and ducks.

EMPATHY  

We are learning that empathy involves understanding and sharing the feelings of others. We can use the acronym FACE (facial expression, attitude and body language, clarity of tone of voice, and emotional behaviour) to identify how others feel.

MINDFULNESS  

This week we are learning about positive self-talk. Positive self-talk is like having a kind and encouraging little voice in your head – one that speaks to you like a good friend. It helps us feel more confident, brave, and happy, especially when we might feel nervous or unsure. We’re learning to use positive self-talk as a mindfulness tool to help manage challenging emotions more positively.

SPECIALIST SPOTLIGHT

JAPANESE UPDATE 

It has been another busy and exciting term in Japanese at OSPS! From engaging classroom learning to hosting the popular Japanese Curry Stall, Term 2 has been filled with cultural experiences and community spirit.

JAPANESE CURRY STALL – THANK YOU!

A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful parent helpers who supported the Japanese Curry Stall at the OSPS Fete. From peeling potatoes to cooking curry from scratch, our volunteers worked tirelessly to bring authentic Japanese flavours to our community.


Arigatou gozaimasu! ありがとうございました！

WELCOME AND THANK YOU TO SENSEI YUI

This term we’ve been lucky to have Yui Sensei volunteer with our Japanese program. She has supported both junior and senior classes, helping students learn Japanese and sharing insights into life in Japan. We thank Yui for her time, dedication, and positivity, and wish her all the best!

JAPANESE STUDENTS VISITING OSPS – HOST FAMILIES NEEDED

Next term, OSPS will welcome 11 students from Tamba Higashi Elementary School (Japan), who will be visiting from Monday 5th to Wednesday 14th August.

These students will spend time in classrooms and participate in school life to learn about Australian culture and schooling.

We are currently seeking host families to accommodate visiting students during their stay. If your family is interested in this special cultural opportunity, please:

📩 Contact Sumiko Sensei at Sumiko.Ranjitkumar@education.vic.gov.au
or
📝 Express your interest via the Google Form

Thank you for your continued support of the Japanese Program at OSPS. We look forward to more cultural learning and connection in Term 3!

Sumiko Sensei & the Japanese Team

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.

SECONDARY SCHOOL & TRANSITION INFO

YEAR 6 TO YEAR 7: SECONDARY SCHOOL TRANSITION

All Year 6 students in Victoria must complete a Year 7 placement form to enrol in a government secondary school for 2026. This process is managed by the Department of Education.

Families received the Application for Year 7 Placement form early in Term 2, and all completed forms were due back by Friday 9 May 2025. Thank you to all families who submitted forms on time.

Placement offers will be sent to families by Oakleigh South Primary School on Tuesday 1 July 2025. This notice will include your child’s placement offer, an Acceptance Slip, and, if relevant, an Appeal Form.
Please note that no information will be provided before this date.

STATEWIDE GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS TIMELINE – YEAR 7 IN 2026

• Early Term 2 – Placement forms sent home ✅
• Friday 9 May – Forms due back to school ✅
• Tuesday 1 July – Placement offers sent to families
• Tuesday 9 December – Year 6 Orientation Day at government secondary schools

Useful links:
🔗 findmyschool.vic.gov.au
🔗 DET Enrolment Policy
🔗 Moving from primary to secondary school
🔗 Year 6 to 7 Placement Information Pack for Parents and Carers

For any questions, please contact your child’s classroom teacher or email enrolments@oakleighsouthps.vic.edu.au.

CAMP AUSTRALIA

PARENT CORNER

OSPS FACILITY USERS

We host a range of after-school programs and activities run by external providers here at OSPS. These programs operate independently from the school and are offered directly to families by the providers. All advertisements for these activities can be found in the OSPS Facility User Group section of our notice board and newsletters.

For any enquiries or to enrol, please contact the program providers directly.

OSPS FETE SPONSORS

COMMUNITY NEWS

Disclaimer: The organisations advertised in this newsletter are not affiliated with and have no relationship to Oakleigh South Primary School. The publishing of these advertisements does not imply endorsement or recommendation of these products or services by the school. They are provided as a community service.

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