
Oakleigh South Primary School
NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 23
3rd August 2022
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“Education is teaching our children to desire the right things.” – Plato
IMPORTANT DATES
Issue 23 – 3rd August 2022
Thursday 4th August
– Senior Choir (Year 4-6 in hall)
Friday 5th August
– Principal’s Day
– VSSS Mass Rehearsal @ Maroondah Nets
Monday 8th August – Friday 2nd September
– ICAS Exams
Tuesday 9th August
– Whole School Assembly – Live on OSPStv
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Last Thursday, it was our pleasure to have the Hon Natalie Hutchins, Minister for Education, visit our school, to look at our building construction site and a tour of our school. On her arrival, our school leaders presented the Minister with an OSPS scarf, which she immediately draped around her neck and a beanie. The minister was very interested in the activity the year 1’s were doing in the Digital Technologies room, the superb performance of a production number from the year 4 students as well as wandering in and out of classrooms asking students various questions. Her visit concluded with the Minister turning the first sod with our student leaders.
A huge congratulations to all the Year 4 students on their wonderful performances of ‘The X Factory’ last week. It was great to have our hall full of excited children and very, very proud parents and families once again. Thank you to everyone, both staff and parents who were involved in putting this show on. Well done everyone, should all be proud of your efforts. Now we can all look forward to the Year 6 production of Moana Jnr at the end of term 3.
The sound of building equipment and lots of banging are greeting us in the corridor each day as the builders are slowly demolishing the inside structure of the year 6 wing. It’s amazing to think that although we have made some small changes, everyone has adapted very well, and school goes on like nothing has changed.
Our value of ‘Resilience’ is shining through during these times!
I hope you all have a great week.
Ron
Principal
TERM DATES / QR CODE
2022 TERM DATES
Term 3 – 11th July – 16th September
Term 4 – 3rd October – 20th December (3:30pm finish)
Last day of each term is a 2.30pm finish
SCHOOL MATTERS

CHILD SAFETY AT OAKLEIGH SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL
Child safety and wellbeing at Oakleigh South Primary School: information for families and the school community
The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing.
Oakleigh South Primary School has reviewed and updated our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. These are available to view on our school website.
We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.
If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please contact the school via email: oakleigh.south.ps@education.vic.gov.au

ILLNESS
It can be difficult for families to know when their child is sick enough to need to stay home from school. For safety’s sake, if your child seems unwell you should always keep them home from school and seek medical advice.
Families can experience problems when trying to take time off to care for an ill child at home. However, it is important that parents focus not only on the wellbeing of their own child, but also upon the wellbeing of other children and the staff. If you need to administer Panadol/Nurofen before school, then your child should not be at school.
If your child has vomited or had diarrhoea, they must be completely well for 24 hours before returning to school.

COVID-19 UPDATE FACE MASKS IN SCHOOLS
It is strongly recommended by the Victorian Department of Health that face masks are worn in indoor settings, with face masks mandatory for those aged 8 and over who are household contacts and attending school. This is because the wearing of masks is effective in reducing the transmission of COVID-19.
What does this mean in practice for schools?
It is the department’s expectation that, through to the end of winter, students aged 8 and over and staff will wear masks when in class, except where removing a mask is necessary for clear communication or when a particular activity requires the removal of a mask.
Masks are not required to be worn outdoors but can be worn when physical distancing is not possible. This expectation should not constrain student participation in the full range of school activities, including music, sport and performances.
Wearing masks is a simple step we can all take this winter to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases and ensure our schools are as safe as possible.
A short letter is available below, signed by each of the 3 school sectors which explains the consistent expectation across all schools in Victoria this winter. You can access this by clicking on the link below.

RECYCLING BREAD BAGS
Did you know?
In Australia, only 18% of plastic packaging is recycled.
Our School is participating in the Wonder Recycling Rewards program.
Send along to your child’s teacher EMPTY bread bags, so they can be recycled and earn the school some sports equipment.
We need to collect 25kg of empty bread bags (any brand of bread bags), up until 9th September.
Start collecting now!

PREP ENROLMENTS FOR 2022
This year, the Department of Education have made some changes to the Prep Enrolment process and timeline, applications need to be submitted by 12th August, 2022.
Places are filling fast, so if you have a child starting in 2023 or if you know of any new families thinking of applying, please complete the Enrolment Forms and submit with the supporting documentation as soon as possible.
All places for Prep 2023 will be confirmed by 26th August, 2022, as per the new timeline.
Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, enrolments will only be accepted in digital form.
Enrolment forms are available on the website http://oakleighsouthps.vic.edu.au/enrolments/

SECOND HAND UNIFORM SHOP NEWS
OSPS branded scarves & beanies are again available for purchase in the 2nd hand uniform shop.
The beanies are $18 and scarves are $20.
The second hand uniform shop is open Wednesday and Friday from 8.45am – 9.15am.

MERMAID COSTUMES FOR SALE
We have been cleaning out our costume room and are cleaning out costumes that we no longer use (because we have more up to date productions that have mermaid costumes).
Available for $15 per costume, we have 15 mermaid costume tails, 15 mermaid costume tops, 15 mermaid matching headbands with tulle.
Made of fluoro lycra material (purple, blue, orange & coral) with glitter and sequin detail.
Worn approx. 6 times for a 2 hour show for Year 6 students.
Costumes have been hand-washed after each show. Sizing range from kids 8 to 14 with most around size 10-12.
If you are interested in purchasing one or more mermaid costumes, please contact nikki.virtuoso@education.vic.gov.au
If you know anyone who might like to purchase them, please feel free to forward on the details.

STUDENT SHOWCASE

YEAR 6 BUSINESS EXPO
During term two, it was time for the Year 6 students to put their entrepreneurial hats on and work in groups to create their very own business!
They held business meetings and promoted their businesses via their very own websites! The project culminated in Business Expo day, when they all showcased their products and services.
Advertising and presentation had to be just right to entice customers to the stalls and thorough bookkeeping was necessary to track all of the transactions.
The Economics unit taught our Year 6s many skills they can take into the future and was a fun, hands on way to learn about the highs and lows of the business world.





PREP PMP PROGRAM
This term the Preps have been participating in the Perceptual Motor Program (PMP).
PMP aims to develop our students’ gross motor skills, coordination, fitness, balance etc.
These skills are targeted through fun games, challenges and obstacles.
The Prep teachers appreciate the support of our wonderful parent volunteers who spend their Monday and Wednesday afternoons helping us to run the program.


YEAR 1 LETTER WRITING
Our Year 1’s have recently been busy learning about transactional texts (letter writing).
We thought it would be a fun activity for the students to write letters home, buy stamps and actually post them, so that they could see the full experience of how the postal system works.
On Friday 29th July we were SO excited for the red Australia Post van to arrive at OSPS. Out hopped Miss Gunning’s mum who works as a postie.
We each dropped our letter into the big mail bag and waved goodbye.
We cannot wait to see the look on our parents’/siblings’ faces when our envelopes start arriving in our letterboxes!! A very special thank you to Gayle for collecting our letters

LITERACY CORNER

YEAR 6 LITERACY CORNER
Personification is a figure of speech where human qualities are given to lifeless objects or ideas. These may be emotions, desires, sensations, gestures, or speech. In Writing Groups, Year 6 students were asked to choose an animal or inanimate object and personify its life for one day.
Here are some excerpts From the Day in the life of a…
iPhone- ‘All day, every day, I am relentlessly prodded with fingers. God knows where they’ve been. It will surely be the death of me. In the morning I am often dropped on the ground. Sometimes during breakfast, I may find myself in a bowl of milk. Other times I’m in that ruddy, barking beast’s mouth. My worst nightmare! When I’m rescued, I’m covered in slimy, wet saliva. All but one of my Apps are neglected. TIK Tok. My owner’s eternally bound to Tik Tok. Even when my lifespan drops to one percent, she does not care. The fear of blacking out creates a chill down my screen. Stella 6CR
Couch- ‘Ouch! Who do these disgusting humans think they are, wrinkling a pristine couch like me? And the company here, golly gosh… the only interesting object here is the TV. The cushions are so annoying, and they don’t even match my classy, designer print. Their stench is simply unbearable. Do they not dust their coats? Quite horrid if you ask me. They are so irrelevant. Only the TV can entertain me. Let’s not mention the humans that sit on me. Their foul bottoms need to stay away from me.’ Lucia 6FW
Cat- ‘A boot in the face, before a rough hand seized my neck and flung me out in the street. Now that is rejection. I caught a snippet of my previous owner’s sentence (“…and don’t come back here, you lazy, good for nothing cat!”) before the door slammed in my face. I meowed and scratched at the soft wood of the flimsy door but was ignored. I sat on the doorstep and meowed again. Nothing. Then the heavy clump-clump of footsteps drained near the entrance. “I’ll show that useless, flea infested creature…” I didn’t want to hear the rest. I sprang off the doorstep and rushed behind a nearby garbage bin, shaking in fear. The door opened and the handle of a broom poked out, before a non-committal grunt sounded and the door slammed again.’ Amber 6NM

PREP LITERACY CORNER
Congratulations to all Preps for recently celebrating their 100th day of school!
During this exciting time, Preps have demonstrated their writing skills by creating fun posters that explore 100 in different ways.
Preps have written about what they would like to do before they turn 100 years old and what they would do if they had $100 dollars!!
See below for some wonderfully creative Prep writers!




RESILIENCE PROJECT

PREP GEM – THE RESILIENCE PROJECT
Preps have been participating in the Resilience Project Program and are off to a fantastic start!
We are practising gratitude, mindfulness, empathy and emotional literacy.
The students have been learning how to be mindful, using manners and how to be a good friend.
We have been exploring different examples on how to show gratitude by using manners such as “please and thank you”. Please enjoy some of Preps wonderful drawings below.



GEM AT OAKLEIGH SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL
The Year 6s have been hard at work but have also taken the time to pause and reflect during their last year at OSPS.
Gratitude (G)- We are grateful for the opportunities we are being given in our Moana Jr. Production rehearsals.
Empathy (E)- We are empathetic towards our classmates who have had to move classrooms. We are resilient enough to embrace the challenges that are coming our way with moving and look forward to seeing the results of our exciting new build.
Mindfulness (M)- In lesson 13 in our Resilience Project journal we are encouraged to ‘look at what we have’. There is so much for us to be appreciative of which can help us when we are experiencing negative thoughts.
VALUED STUDENT AWARDS
VALUED STUDENT AWARDS YEAR 4
Masaki – 4EW Excellence For excellence, Masaki takes positive risks and finds opportunity in any learning challenge. |
Iqra – 4EW Respect For respect, Iqra finds the positives in any moment and treats everyone with kindness. |
Mia – 4DK Excellence For working hard to produce her best work across the curriculum, and growing her confidence 🙂 |
Jarrah – 4DK Respect For always showing kindness, gratitude and respect to those around him. He’s a true leader! 🙂 |
David – 4CW Excellence For earning 3499 Mathletics points this week and being our Mathlete of the Week. Awesome David! |
Leah – 4CW Excellence For doing an incredible job and smashing her AR reading target last term with over 200 points. Wow! |
Jordan – 4LD Resilience For always giving everything a go. Your work ethic has grown so much this year. |
VALUED STUDENT AWARDS YEAR 5
Kristian – 5LG Respect For always demonstrating respect for teachers and peers and being a great role-model for others. |
Amelia – 5LG Excellence For her brilliant contributions to class discussions. Amelia you are so switched on! Great work! |
Tyler – 5SA Working Together For working collaboratively with his partner for our mini golf maths investigation. |
Summer – 5SA Respect For being respectful of all members in the class. Keep up the great work Summer. |
AJ – 5NK Excellence For SMASHING his reading goals and doubling his target – showing such dedication to his learning! |
Zarah – 5NK Respect For being such a vibrant and positive student who has a strong dedication to her learning! |
Nate – 5KP Excellence For improving his reading comprehension and striving hard to achieve his AR goal in term two. |
Manasa – 5KP Respect For always displaying kindness and gratitude towards others and willingly helping the teacher. |
Aanya – 5WS Excellence For always striving for your best in everything that you do, in and out of the classroom. Go Aanya! |
Jack – 5WS Excellence For making a super start towards your AR goal this term. Keep it up, Jack! |
Alicia – 5HP Respect For always treating others with respect and wishing me a good evening at the end of every day! |
Michelle – 5HP Excellence For always striving to achieve her best and always produces immaculate work. Well done! |
VALUED STUDENT AWARDS YEAR 6
Maya – 6JD Working Together For her excellent effort in preparing their stall for the Business Expo. Well done! |
Christina – 6JD Excellence For being organised and always completing her homework on time. Keep it up! |
Alexander – 6JD Excellence For always striving to achieve his personal best. Keep working hard! |
Matthew – 6SM Working Together For being a supportive team member during the Business Expo and working hard. Awesome work Matthew! |
Martin – 6SM Excellence For striving for excellence at every opportunity achieving great results. Incredible work Martin! |
Lucas – 6CM Excellence For his dedication to achieve his personal best, particularly in Maths and Mathletics tasks. |
Spatika – 6CM Excellence For continually raising the bar for her AR goals in Term 2, and smashing her target. Awesome work! |
Sean – 6CR Working Together For always being encouraging and supportive of his peers during group tasks. A great team player! |
Jasmine – 6CR Working Together For always being polite and considerate towards her peers and teachers; helping out whenever needed. |
Seona – 6NM Excellence For making a strong start to Term 3 in all areas of the curriculum. |
Milan – 6NM Excellence For getting ahead with his AR goal. No Reading Club for you Milan!!! |
SPECIALIST VALUED STUDENT AWARDS
Aidan – 5LG STEM – Science Working Together For being amazing during cooking and demonstrated team work! Keep up the great work! |
Nathaniel – 5SA STEM – Science Excellence For working beautifully during our cooking sessions and demonstrating all our school values. |
Georgia – 4KH Japanese Respect For always being a great listener and asking questions when you don’t understand something. |
Ryan – 5KP Japanese Working Together For performing brilliantly in Japanese role play task. Well done! |
Janul – 5KP Japanese Working Together For performing brilliantly in Japanese role play task. Well done! |
Nate – 5KP Japanese Working Together For performing brilliantly in Japanese role play task. Well done! |
Shayne – 5KP Japanese Working Together For performing brilliantly in Japanese role play task. Well done! |
Sonia – 6NM Japanese Excellence For always doing her best in class. Well done! |
Ksenia – 6CR Japanese Excellence For always putting in her best effort in completing her work. |
NUMERACY NEWS

Top Mathletics classes for each year level – Week 3 Term 3 | Total Points |
6CR | 140,460 |
4KH | 66,240 |
2MG | 60,390 |
5KP | 51,400 |
1NM | 50,500 |
3DD | 32,950 |
PAM | 24,090 |
LIBRARY NEWS

Top Reading Students – Week 3, Term 3 | Words |
Lily W – 4AS | 822,859 |
Anvita R – 4LD | 387,308 |
Ajay M – 6NM | 344,574 |
Mitali P – 4LD | 320,525 |
Hannah Z – 6NM | 319,246 |
PARENT CORNER

READING EGGS PARENT INFO SESSION
So, your school uses Reading Eggs - Join our Parent session to find out more about the program & how you can support your child at home.
During this session one of our product experts will walk you through the key areas of Reading Eggs, and how it can help foster your child’s love of reading!
Host: Brendan Colley
Date and Time options: Monday, 19 September (8.00 pm – 8.30 pm)
Click here to register
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.













