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Have a great week,
Francine
Please click here for your invitation to the
Welcome Mass - 29th November 2020.
This will be a change for us as it means we will be in summer uniform, not winter uniform. As per the uniform code, girls are to wear white socks and boys are to wear navy socks.
ALL students must be wearing black school shoes. Now I understand that many students are currently wearing sneakers because they have grown out of their school shoes and it has been difficult to purchase new shoes. I also understand the hesitation to buy shoes so close to the summer holidays. So I suggest the children who have grown out of shoes bring them to school and squeeze in to the for the few minutes that the photo takes to be shot and then pop back into their sneakers. You may like to borrow some or simply buy them - up to you but EVERY CHILD IS TO BE IN BLACK SCHOOL SHOES FOR THE PHOTOS!
To be compliant with the existing COVID guidelines, the students will be photographed individually and then the classes will be photoshopped together. This means the effect will be slightly different than in past years.
The other aspect is that as this is taking place so late in the year, we may not receive the photos until the beginning of 2021. I understand that this is not ideal but I know you will understand if it is the case. The photographers are endeavouring to get them to us before the end of the school year but there are no guarantees. Also please remember that it is not compulsory to buy the photos. It is merely an offer. If like many of our graduates, the student has left the school, we will send the photos to your last address.
Today your child is bringing home a PHOTO ORDER PACK - which is child-specific. Each child has a pack with their name on it. This MUST come back to school regardless of whether or not you are purchasing any photos.
As Miss Gabriel said, "How great that we get photos in ... feels like a real year!"
Classes and Structure for 2021
As we move with lightning speed toward the end of the year, teachers inhabit two worlds. The ‘now’ where we are teaching, assessing and reporting, and the ‘next year’ where we begin planning to give each child the best possible start to 2021.
We have just finished allocating students to their 2021 classrooms and teachers.
Where a child is in a class that is split between 2 or 3 teachers we take great pains and many hours to make sure that as far as we possibly can, the students are allocated to environments that are conducive to both their well-being and their learning. We take so many things into account including:
- The children all choose five friends that they would like to be with and we make sure they have at least one and mostly two 'chosen friends'
- We look at the teachers they have had previously, and although we like to change teachers so the students get to experience multiple teaching styles and relationships, it is sometimes in the child's interests that the child retain the same teacher.
- We endeavour to ensure our classrooms are as balanced as we can in the following areas:
- gender
- academic needs
- social and emotional needs
- year levels.
As you can appreciate, this is no small task but the proof of our deliberations is shown in the successful learning program we are running at OLOL.
So to 2021 the following structures and teachers will be in place at OLOL:
2 x Prep/1 classes with Alison March and Eimear Ross
3 x Year 2/3 classes with Irene Archer, Daniel Podbury and Jamie Jackson
1 x Year 4 class with Angelique Gabriel
and 1 x Year 5/6 class with Adrian Costa
The philosophy that has been driving the literacy and maths curriculums in this school for the last seven years is one of flexible learning. This is ensuring that all of the students at OLOL are improving at or above our expectations. Flexible Learning at OLOL is when the students move to the teacher that is addressing your child’s learning need rather than staying with their designated classroom teacher at all times.
Later in the year, students will meet their new teachers and classmates.
Thank you all for your continued support,
Francine
NAIDOC Week with Miss Jackson and Year One.
To celebrate NAIDOC Week, last week the Year Ones learned about two Dreamtime stories, “The Rainbow Serpent” and “How the Birds Got Their Colours”. These stories are important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples because they demonstrate their thoughts and beliefs of how the land and life was created.
After reading these stories we worked together as a whole year level to create two collaborative art pieces based on the stories.
On Wednesday we worked on making our own giant rainbow serpent! First, Miss Jackson made the head with paper and oil pastels. Then, we all got our own piece of the serpent's body to colour in using our own colourful patterns. Different Indigenous designs and patterns were displayed on the board for us to use if we were unsure of the pattern we wanted to create. After designing and colouring in our part of the serpent's body we put them all together and attached them to make an extremely long serpent!
Both of these artworks are displayed in the hallway near the Foundation/Year One classes. If only you could come inside and see them. Here are some pictures instead. We hope you like them as much as we do!
First Prep 2021 Orientation Day
Today represents day two of our Prep Orientation Program. We are amazed at how mature and clever and independent this cohort of Preps is. Miss Ross and Miss March have been super impressed during our first two orientation days. Today was a big day for next year's senior leaders as well; today they got to meet their special new buddy! We think that 2021 is going to be a great year.
School Calendar and Term Dates for 2021
Term 1 Friday 29th January - Thursday 1st April
Term 2 Monday 19th April - Friday 25th June
Term 3 Monday 12th July - Friday 17th September
Term 4 Monday 4th October - Tuesday 15th December
School Calendar
At the very top of the school newsletter there is a 'School Calendar' icon. The School Calendar is constantly being updated and we ask you to refer to this calendar for all of our important dates both for this year and for 2021.
Congratulations to Councillor Kate!
I would like to congratulate Kate Hely on her success in the recent Council Elections. As you know Kate is a parent in our community and has asked me to publish the thank you below. Well done Kate!
Hello OLOL Families
I’m excited to share that I was elected onto Stonnington Council in the recent elections to represent the people and communities of North Ward (Toorak, South Yarra and Kooyong).
A big thank you to everyone within our community who gave words of encouragement and support and to those that voted for me in the recent Council elections. It was both a terrifying and a deeply humbling experience to run!
This new Council is filled with a great diversity and a shared passion to ensure Stonnington remains one of the best places in the world to live. I am really excited about what we will achieve together over the next four years.
Please feel free to reach out to me (khely@stonnington.vic.gov.au) if you have any concerns relating to Council or if you have ideas about how we can improve your neighbourhood.
Thank you again!
Kate