Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.
If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. – Thich Nhat Hanh

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

On Monday we saw the return to school, again, of most of our children. I would like to thank everyone involved in making this such a smooth transition. The children who are not yet back continue to learn remotely with their teachers.

I am very pleased to announce that our Year 3 level will resume school tomorrow (Thursday) and the Year 5 level will resume this Friday the 12th of November.

With five weeks remaining in the year, there is a lot of work to do to finish the year on a positive note. The Year 6 students will be going on their camp to Hall’s Gap on Monday 22nd to Friday 26th November. This will certainly be a fantastic way for the Year 6 group to enjoy some time together after a very disrupted year. All teachers are preparing their classes for their transition into next year as well as doing assessments of their children in preparation for report writing.

As per usual, we will keep you updated regularly of any news through Operoo and the newsletter.

Have a great week.

Ron Cantlon
Principal

TERM DATES / QR CODE

SCHOOL MATTERS

WELLBEING and COVID SAFE

We know that these have been unsettling times for families, and hope these resources from Headspace and Emerging Minds may be useful as we navigate our way through this community challenge.

These links are for great videos, that are easy to watch and understand.

https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/supporting-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/

https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/coronavirus-covid-19-guide-

SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL and PROCEDURE WHEN SICK STUDENTS ARE SENT HOME

After the fortnight OSPS has just experienced, for the health and wellbeing of all our students, staff and community please do NOT send your child to school unwell.

Parents will be called for an immediate pick up for any child displaying symptoms and a recommendation will be for your child to have a COVID test before returning to school. Please e-mail your classroom teacher the negative test results before returning to school.

Runny nose, cough, sore throat, ear ache, temperature, headache, tummy ache, lethargic are all reasons to keep your child at home. Even the slightest of these symptoms.

If your child needs Nurofen or Panadol – they are too sick to come to school.

Those students with asthma, hayfever or allergies must have current plans in place from your doctor. OSPS will work together with families to manage symptoms of these conditions in line with current health advice.

NOT RETURNING TO OSPS IN 2022

We understand that family situations change, and families move from our area.

We will soon be planning for our 2022 classes, so if your child will not be returning to Oakleigh South Primary School in 2022 please email enrolments@oakleighsouthps.vic.edu.au and their classroom teacher ASAP.

CHICKENS FOR SALE – YEAR 3 FAMILIES

Dear Grade 3 Parents,

We have this year’s Isa Brown hens, (that were hatched in our classrooms), available to adopt. There is an adoption fee of $15 each. They will need to be picked up in the second last week of school, (week beginning 6th December). The hens will be sold on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis to Year 3 parents initially.

To have your adoption approved you will need to meet the criteria below:

• You must complete the Google Form below.
• You must have a suitable cage or be prepared to provide receipt for the purchase of a cage if approved.
• You must not have any dogs in the household.

Our chickens have been free ranging and fed on a diet of mixed grains. They lay beautiful eggs daily and are very tame, making them very good pets.

Each family who adopts one of our hens will receive a care sheet to help you understand how to care for your new pet. We will also provide you with some grain to get you started.

Google Form Link:  https://forms.gle/S6WghzpHtjrFdKcu6

STUDENT SHOWCASE

YEAR 4 – PEN LICENCES

Congratulations to our first group of Year 4 students who have received their pen licences this week!

They have worked incredibly hard during Remote Learning and at school to achieve this special little milestone.

The Year 4 teachers are super proud of you all and we cannot wait to see more students receive their pen licences in the coming weeks.

WRITERS CORNER – Year 4

Yen Zin Q 4DK

“I should be at the right house,” I said to myself silently. A tall hedge and overgrown shrubs gave the house a neglected look. Clearly, my teacher didn’t care of his garden the teensiest bit. I tiptoed across the disordered bushes and flower beds, making sure I didn’t make a sound. The street didn’t look like it had much life in it and the houses were all run down and rusty. Just as I was about to enter the building, I felt a sharp tap on my shoulder. I spun around, ruffled by his appearance…

Mr Bluebutt was the best teacher anyone could ask for. He was funny and could explain things very well. My class always looked forward to his classes. Everything was going perfectly when one summer afternoon, he announced something that made all the students in my class’s jaw drop. “I am afraid that this will be the last class I teach before I resign.”

At the end of school, when everybody had left, I had to stay in to classroom to clean it up because I had been clumsy and knocked down the chemicals during science class. After two hours of tourture-cleaning, I was finally able to be set free from the room. Packing my bag, I thought of all the wonderful things I could do when I left. Just then, just when Mr. Bluebutt set foot out of the classroom, a note fell out of his bag. Instead of doing the right thing, which was giving it back, I read it without hesitation. The note read “27 Dietoe Road, Klover,”(Completely made up). I knew where that was, my parents told me to never go there because it was haunted. The house was also known as Ghost House. I flipped the page over… “I will hypnotize the world to obey my every command!” it read in Mr. Bluebutt’s sloppy handwriting.

I knew that I had to stop this, evil, menacing man, who was trying to control the world. Despite the fact that I had no clue what he was going to use to hypnotize the world, or what he was going to do when somehow, he did get the world to obey him, I knew that I could stop him. Stumbling through the crowd of chairs, I managed to exit the room just in time to watch Mr. Bluebutt’s car speed off into the distance. My feet were rooted to the ground but my mind was racing with possibilities on how to catch him. I spun around and found George behind me. “Can I help you capture Mr. Bluebutt?” He queried. I had no other choice but to add him to my plan. We ran towards the bike racks and unlocked the bikes. Within seconds, we were cycling along the footpath, next to Mr. Bluebutt’s Toyota.

The red Toyota came to a screeching halt right in front of 27 Dietoe Road, Klover. Shivers ran down my spine as I watched Mr. Bluebutt step out of his vintage car and entered the Ghost House, leaving the front door slightly ajar. I was so busy telling George the plan that I didn’t notice Mr. Bluebutt glaring at us through the window. He slowly strode through the garden, standing right behind me. In his hand was a small cube that didn’t seem to do us any harm. Or so I thought. “So, are you the first people who want to try my new invention?” he asked with a sneer, glaring at George and I. I stepped back and shut my eyes tight.

“Goodbye world,” I mumbled under my breath, preparing for the worst…

All of a sudden, when nothing seemed like it could get better, I heard a weird buzzing sound. Next to me, George had pulled out his freezing machine he made in class. It may not work, but at least we could try, it was our last hope. “CRACK!” went Mr. Bluebutt as he froze, the streets were so silent that you could hear a pin drop. The little cube had fallen on the floor and Mr. Bluebutt remained motionless. I stepped on the cube with all my might. The first layer had broken! It was already the evening so George and I left the street, forgetting about frozen Mr. Bluebutt. ‘Back at home, when I opened the door, my parents blocked my path. “Where have you been? Why did you take so long to come home? Were you kidnapped? We nearly called the police!”

“Stop with the spanish inquisition,” I said in a relaxed tone, “I just had to stop an evil man from destroying the world.”

“That sounds outrageous!” my mother said as she stormed away.

MATILDA CAKES

Outside the library, looks like something out of the finals of Master Chef. If only they were edible!

The Year 6 students have made these extraordinary chocolate cake slice sculptures. The process was rather lengthy, and the students did an amazing job adding the next bit to the process week after week while they also went on with other tasks.

They started with a cardboard inner which they stuck together themselves with masking tape. Then they were wrapped in fin foil and labelled and placed onto bamboo plates. The following week they were covered in mod-rock plaster bandage and left for a few weeks to fully dry. While that went on, the students painted the plate the base colour of their choice and let that dry also. Then began the task of making strawberries, cherries, blueberries, lollies, cream and other decorations with air clay. These were then hot glued onto the cakes before the painting began.

Miss Cato worked her magic and mixed sensational and very yummy looking cake colours and the painting began. These required several layers and lessons for touch ups to get them all perfect. Next came the hundreds and thousands with posca paint pens and squeezy bottles with brown paint to look like chocolate sauce… Last came the layer of varnish and we have a cake display fit for a king.

Sadly, you will not be seeing them as part of a Matilda display this year but we hope you enjoy looking at all the photographs. If you feel hungry now there’s a very nice cake shop called Vanilla in Eaton Mall although I do think the Year 6 cakes look better. Enjoy!

MyOn HOLIDAY READING COMPETITION

We were so excited to present the incredible myON Holiday Reading Competition winners with their prizes and certificates this week!

These students worked incredibly hard over the September school holidays, with some students reading 15 books or more every day.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the competition, we hope you enjoyed reading new books throughout the holidays!

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.