Find out more on page 6….

DIARY DATES

Fri 4/5 Year 12 Formal

Tue 8/5 Operation

to 15/5 Flinders starts

Mon 14/5 School Council

Meeting

Tue 15/5 NAPLAN

to 18/5 Years 3,5,7 & 9

Mon 28/5 Reconciliation

to 1/6 Week

Mon 11/6 PUBLIC

HOLIDAY

Queen’s B/day

Mon 18/6 6.30pm School

Council Mtg

Fri 29/6 STUDENT FREE

DAY

Fri 6/7 End of Term 2

2.15 Dismissal

ARTICLE PAGE

Principal’s Report 2

Year 8 Camp

Cooking Club

Scholarship Winner

3

Year 8 Camp Photos 4

Year 8 Camp Photos 5

Positive Education News 6

Invitation to Sports Day

R to 12 Sports Day -

Tuesday 19 March

7

International Students.

Host Families Required

Youth Environment Council

Meat Birds For Sale

8

Sports Day Menu

TOPS Program

Merino Fleece Junior Judging Competition.

9

Traineeships Available

Mark Le Messurier

Community News 10

Inside this issue:

Positive Education & Character Strengths

OAS Newsletter

28 February 2019 Volume: 36 Folio: 2

4 Mar 7pm OAS Annual

General Meeting

7.30pm School

Council Meeting

4 Mar Reception to Yr 6

To 8 Mar Swimming Lessons

11 Mar Adelaide Cup

Public Holiday

14 Mar Principal’s Tour

19 Mar Sports Day

25 Mar Year 10 Work

- 29 Mar Experience

26 Mar Open Night

2 Apr Yr 10/11 Street

Smart Driver Exc.

3 Apr SANTOS Athletics

Student Led

Discussions

12 Apr End of Term 1

29 Apr Term 2

commences

World Class Education Last Monday I attended the Department for Education

Leader’ Day. The event pulled together Principals and

Directors from over a 1000 sites around South Australia.

The Minister and Chief Executive outlined the State’s

Vision to have a World-Class Education in South

Australia within 10 years. We are going after growth for

every child in every class in every school. Oakbank

Area School subscribes to this ambitious target.

We keep striving for improvement across our

organisation to provide Challenging Learning, Quality

People, Strong Engagement, Better Support and

Targeted Resources. To see the detail of the Strategic

Plan please go to https://www.education.sa.gov.au/

sites/default/files/strategic-plan-2019-department-for-

education.pdf

I’ll be referring back to this plan as I discuss our

improvement initiatives in coming newsletters.

Outside School Hours Care

The selection process for our Outside School Hours Care

Director has now been finalised and I anticipate that

the successful applicant’s appointment to the position

will be ratified at next Monday’s Council Meeting.

We have also been finalising our application with the

Education Standards Board to run the service and it is

anticipated that our service will begin on Monday 18

March.

If you require Before or After School Care this Term -

either casually or permanently, then please contact

the Front Office on 8398 7200. We will be taking

bookings for the limited number of spaces which will be

available for Term 2.

Student/Parent/Teacher Conversations Parent interest and involvement in their child’s

education is one of the largest determinants of

academic success for children.

One way that you can be involved is by attending

Student/Parent/Teacher conversations and Student

Led Discussions. Please block out your diary for week 8

beginning the 18 March.

The Middle School parent meetings will be led by the

students presenting examples of their work to their

parents/caregivers and their home-group teacher.

The Senior School meetings will continue to be

meetings with subject teachers but will include students

attending and participating in the conversation. More

detail will be sent by the heads of each school as we

get closer to the event.

Swimming Reception to Year 6

The Junior School is involved in swimming lessons next

week.

This is a great opportunity for the students to develop

confidence in the water and an understanding of

water safety skills.

The weather looks like it will be great and they should

have a fantastic experience.

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Open Night

On Tuesday 26 March at 6:30pm the school will be open

for prospective students and parents to see our facilities

and programs.

If you know of parents that are interested in transferring

their child to Oakbank or they are looking at transitions to

Reception or High School in 2020, please ask them to

contact the Front Office and organise a place on the

tour.

Annual General Meeting

The School Council Annual General Meeting is taking

place next Monday 4 March at 7:00pm for election of

office bearers to the Council and Finance Committee.

This is an opportunity for you to be involved in the

governance of the school and the strategic direction that

the school takes.

The AGM will be followed by a meeting of the Finance

Committee then a meeting of the new School Council.

Please come along and show your support for the school.

Driving Within School Grounds

I have recently become increasingly concerned about

some drivers not abiding by the 10km per hour speed

limits on school grounds.

We have received reports of some students being

narrowly missed by cars driving in the gym carpark as they

have run across the carpark in the morning after being

dropped off.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask parents to

please discuss with their children the importance of road

safety and paying attention when around cars and

especially buses.

We all want to avoid having a child run over and seriously

injured as a result of unnecessary speed and/or

inattention.

Additionally, to assist with the flow of traffic out of the gym

carpark in the mornings, I also need to remind parents

that a right turn IS NOT permitted before 9am onto

Onkaparinga Valley Road.

Instead, parents are asked to please turn left onto

Onkaparinga Valley Road and turn around at the CFS

station (if necessary) to assist with the flow of traffic both in

and out of our gym carpark.

Bruce Oerman Principal

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

2019 Year 8 Camp - TocH

The year 8 camp was held at Victor Harbour during

week one 2019, we had a theme that was presented to

the students at the beginning of the camp. RESPECT.

We talked to the group about the importance of

showing respect on many levels, to teachers for

organising and giving up their time, the Camp (TocH)

Supervisor and Catering for providing our

accommodation and meals, the Aquatics Instructor for

their knowledge and caring to ensure a safe

environment at all times, and importantly fellow

students. The last one included how they talked to one

another, allowed for reasonable amounts of sleep and

an environment free from harassment.

It gives us great pleasure to say that the students really

took on board the theme of respect. It was a pleasure

to be part of such a nice camping group. Kerensa

Greenfield, Jo Casement and I (Brenton Hoskin)

decided that we would not form duty groups for meal

clean-ups and so on. We would pick students who had

not followed the rules and they would form the duty

group. It was hard to get enough students to help out

as they were all so well behaved. I thought that I was

going to have to make up rule infringements to get

enough duty workers, when to my amazement students

started to volunteer to do clean-ups. Perhaps the cool

industrial dish washing machine was a factor, but I

would like to believe it was just good nature and re-

spect.

The Aquatics Team were very impressed with the

listening skills and the ‘get on with it’ approach that the

students took to the sessions. There was a real sense of

enjoyment. Mind you what’s not to like about Body

Boarding, Kayaking, Wind Surfing, Snorkelling, Surf

Lifesaving Games and Surfing!

We woke early on Friday morning to a stirring rendition

of Army Reveille coming through the camp PA system,

thanks to Kerensa and Jo. We had to clean the camp

before the bus picked us up. It was achieved

surprisingly easily as the camp was so free of rubbish

and the toilets did not need too much work to clean.

The respect to the environment was obviously taken on

board.

As Positive Education is an important part of OAS, the

students sat down after dinner and all wrote gratitude

letters to an adult that was significant to the student

attending our camp. The letter also had the benefit of

calming the students before bed time. This was

continued on night two and they wrote their good

copies, which were sent home following camp.

This was a really fantastic camp, and I feel that this

group of students not only made us proud, but will

journey through their schooling at OAS in a very positive

way.

Brenton Hoskin, Kerensa

Greenfield & Jo Casement

Photos of the Year 8 camp are on

pages 4 and 5 of this newsletter.

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Cooking Club

Teaching students the basics of cooking is a great way to

broaden their knowledge of food and nutrition in a

practical way.

Eating patterns that begin in childhood affect health and

wellbeing throughout life, so education is an important

step towards starting children with a positive relationship

with food.

Culinary education also builds essential teamwork skills

and has strong links across the curriculum through

developing skills such as creativity and critical thinking.

Mrs Ceravolo and Ms Greenfield are therefore very

pleased to announce that we will be running a Cooking

Club over the course of the year, to most age groups

within the school.

The cooking classes will run on Monday afternoons, from

3.30pm until 5pm. At the end of each class, students will

each bring home a plate of food to share with their

family, a recipe and hopefully some newly learned skills.

We are really lucky to have been sponsored by Ashton

Valley Fresh, Ceravolo Orchards and Gumeracha

Gourmet Meats; so students doing this extra-curricula

activity will not have to pay for the class, as long as

they’re happy to help promote our patrons.

The first Cooking Club will be open to Years 10 to 12

students, run on Mondays of Weeks 8 to 11 and is capped

at the first 20 students who return their signed consent

forms (available from the Front Office from Monday,

Week 6).

Scholarship Winner Tom Megson is the lucky recipient of a scholarship to

attend this years SA Sheep Expo in the April school

holidays.

As part of a scholarship given by the SA Poll Dorset

Association, Tom will be able to attend for free and will

receive extra support from the association.

Congratulations Tom!

Kerensa Greenfield

Year 8 Camp Photos

Year 8 Camp Photos

Positive Education News

Throughout Term 1, students at OAS from Reception

through to Year 12 will have the opportunity to focus on

personal ‘Character Strengths’.

Raising awareness of Character Strengths enables

students to boost their wellbeing, improve relationships,

foster resilience, and create supportive strong

communities for themselves.

Not only have the students been participating in

character strengths but so have the teachers at OAS.

Here are just some of the results below.

All results will be displayed for students to see soon.

Within Civics lessons the Year 9 students participated in

the VIA character strength survey which gave them

insight into how their 24 character strengths were

ranked.

They then focused on their top 5 character strengths

and some of their interests to create a personal

strengths poster. The posters were laminated and put

up in their newly furbished classroom.

This helps teachers get to know students better within

the classroom.

Here are some examples of student work.

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Another big focus this term is Positive Health, which

focuses on developing habits for optimal physical and

psychological health.

Under the Topic of Positive Health teachers will look at

aspects of:

BUILDING RESILIENCE MINDFULNESS

PHYSICAL HEALTH NUTRITION OPTIMISM

SLEEP

Sports Day

A major contributing factor this term to Positive Health is

our annual Sports Day, which will be held on Tuesday 19

March.

This is a compulsory school day which encourages

students to be active, part of a team, persistent, resilient,

experience accomplishment, build relationships and have

fun.

Please join us on this memorable day and support your

children.

Nutrition & Sleep

Two other areas of importance are nutrition and sleep.

Healthy eating is really important for children and

adolescents to understand. Healthy eating promotes

a healthy mind. Too many kids crave sugary foods

which cause them to crash and burn. They get an

immediate high and then an incredible low which

makes them feel sleepy and irritable.

Please take the time to read advice published by SA

Health on healthy eating for school children and

teens:

https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/

public+content/sa+health+internet/healthy+living/

h e a l t h y + e a t i n g /

healthy+eating+at+different+ages+and+stages+of+y

our+l i fe/healthy+eating+for+kids+and+teens/

healthy+eating+for+kids+and+teens

Sleep is vital for people to function at their optimal

best. It is ideal for students to have between 8-10

hours of sleep per night uninterrupted by devices in

the bedroom. Too many students across the state

report that they are up gaming, or communicating

on social media until early hours of the morning. Their

maximum hours of sleep are poor, and therefore they

are struggling to stay awake or alert at school, retain

information and they are noticing that they are irrita-

ble.

Please take the time to read a valuable article by the

Sleep Foundation:

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/teens-and-

sleep

Keysha Errington Positive Education Coordinator

Sports Day Invitation

Oakbank Area School's R-12 Athletics/

Sports Day will be held on Tuesday 19

March.

This year the day will be solely enjoyed and celebrated

by Oakbank students as the HCCS have decided not

to join us and are going have their own Sports Day.

Over the years I have enjoyed collaborating with the

HCCS staff and students and have many fond

memories. The relationship we developed were always

positive and It was a credit to the calibre of students at

both sites in relation to how well they gelled as teams in

competition on the day in their Houses. We all wish

them well.

This year Houses in the Secondary and Primary areas

have already met and have selected their leaders

for 2019.

These students should be congratulated for putting

their hands up to take on leadership roles and help

their Houses to be successful on the big day.

The Secondary leaders have an even more important

job this year as there are less students in Houses, due to

no HCCS, so they need to rally their team members to

fill 2 competitors in each event.

Having no HCCS does have a positive though in that

it provides greater opportunities for students at

Oakbank to be involved in the varying athletic events.

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Congratulations to the following students who have been

elected House Captains and Vice Captains:

Secondary Leaders:

GALAHS

Captains Seb Watson / Sandra Gollan

Vice Captains Elijah Bruce / Claire McArthur

LORIKEETS

Captains Jett Sinnott / Kara Timmins

Vice Captains Darcy Lucas / Melanie Celina

PARROTS

Captains Nash Tonkin / Tiarn Wegener

Vice Captains Riley Watson / Victoria Collins

Primary Leaders:

GALAHS

Captain Syaura Erickson Scott

Vice Captain Bianca Schneider

LORIKEETS

Captain Liticia Wilks

Vice Captain Ryan Taskas

PARROTS

Captain Hugo Bruce

Vice Captain Ashlee Tucker

Over the next few weeks leading up to the big day all

students will be busy practising their events.

If there are any Parents, Caregivers or family members

who would like to volunteer their time and help out on the

day you would be welcomed with open arms.

This could be in catering, measuring, recording etc. either

in the Primary or Secondary area.

Please give me, Mr Wissell, a call on 8398 7200 and leave

your details with Gail in the Front Office.

Shane Wissell Sports Day Coordinator

International Student News This term we have welcomed another International

student to our School.

Takeru Kai will be with us for this year studying under the

Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education program.

Please make him feel welcome and ensure that he

experiences all facets of our school’s activities.

In July, we will welcome two male students from

Germany. A homestay family/families are still required

for one of these students. Please see me if you are

interested or know of a family that may wish to host.

Early in Term 3 we will again host students from our sister

school Ikeda in Osaka Japan.

We are again looking for Host Families to host up to 18-

20 students plus a Teacher for a 2 week period.

Being a host family is a truly rewarding experience, so

please contact me if you would like any further

information.

John Higginson Manager - International Program

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Meat Birds

The Year 11 Agriculture class are raising broiler chickens

this term.

If you are interested in purchasing a fresh roasting chicken

in time for Easter, please let Ms Greenfield know on

Kerensa.greenfield96@schools.sa.edu.au.

The chickens will be raised by OAS students and

processed at Kapowie Poultry on Tuesday 26 March.

Price will be $7.50 /kg dressed weight, with birds expected

to dress out at approximately 1.5 - 2 kg.

Kerensa Greenfield

Agriculture Coordinator

Work Experience Opportunities

Work Experience opportunities with Defence are now

advertised on the Defence Work Experience Program

website http://www.defence.gov.au/workexperience/

The first placement is on 25 to 28 March, Air Force

Familiarisation at RAAF Base Edinburgh, SA - Job Ref -

WEP/00521/19.

The selection process is competitive so if you have a

child that is interested in doing work experience with Air

Force, can I suggest that they apply for this placement,

as earlier in the year seems to be less competitive than

later placements.

Further information is available from the school if

required.

Kirsty Rogers

Deputy Principal

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Traineeships Mt Barker District Council Earn while you learn

Are you looking to start or change your career whilst

completing a nationally recognised qualification?

Do you want to be part of the growth and help us build

South Australia’s second largest city?

Mount Barker District Council has developed a well

supported traineeship program with Maxima Group

Training which will provide you with a tailored work

placement experience opportunities across Council.

This is a fantastic opportunity to establish your career,

whilst receiving mentoring and support in a friendly

team – based environment. The successful applicant

will undertake formal nationally accredited studies

towards a Certificate III in Business and upon successful

completion, you will undertake a secondary certificate.

During your Traineeship, you will provide a high level of

customer service and general administration support.

About You

Do you have a willingness to learn and are open to

new challenges, savvy with technology, a good

communicator (written and verbal) and are able to

show initiative and display a strong work ethic?

What’s On Offer

Rare opportunity to earn while you learn.

Work with mentors who will guide your training.

Support to complete the Certificate III Nationally

Accredited training.

Two year traineeship with national Training Wage

applying. You will be employed by Maxima but working for our

Council. Indigenous and Torres Strait islander people are

encouraged to apply.

Sounds great, how do I apply?

To apply for this position and view the position

description, visit mountbarker.sa.gov.au/employment

Queries regarding the position should be directed to

Vanessa Hesse by email:

vhesse@mountbarker.sa.gov.au or phone 8393 6430.

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Mark Le Messurier Seminar

Dear Families,

St Francis de Sales College Parent Community is hosting a

Parent Education Seminar for all parents R-12 on

Wednesday, 6 March 7pm – 8.30pm in the College

Performing Arts Centre. The Parent Community Group

have invited Mark to run a session for our families.

About Mark Le Messurier Parent Education Seminar –

‘Dealing with BIG Feelings; Coaching kids to manage

ANXIOUS to ANGRY feelings, and anything in between!’

This workshop comes from Mark Le Messurier’s books –

‘RAISING BEAUT KIDS and PARENTING TOUGH KIDS’

Everyone experiences BIG FEELINGS - even emotionally

mature adults! Typically BIG FEELINGS are bigger and

more prevalent in the world of children usually as a

reaction to dread, stress or disappointment.

So, first up, let’s normalize these BIG FEELINGS by seeing

them as frustrated feelings accompanied by

compensating behaviours. These compensating

behaviours can be expressed as anger, aggression,

anxiety, avoidance, shyness, withdrawal, shame, running

away, tearfulness, sadness, despair and so many more!

As children start to grasp the social and emotional worlds

of school and home, there’s a tendency for them to

impulsively use anger as a defence against any kind of

emotional threat or risk. On one hand, anger can be used

by all individuals, at any age, to simply get their way.

Equally, anxious and fearful children can flip into anger as

protection against what they perceive as a threat.

Mark promises to bring a wealth of totally practical ideas

to show parents how to coach their children to tame their

BIG frustrated FEELINGS.

This workshop invests in you so you can empower your

children!

To register please click on the following link. https://

www.ticketebo.com.au/marklemessuriersfds

We look forward to you joining us. We ask that you please

register by Friday, 1 March.

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS & STUDENTS

154 Onkaparinga Valley Road

OAKBANK SA 5243

Phone: 8398 7200

Fax: 8388 4718

E: dl.0762.info@schools.sa.edu.au

W: www.oakbankas.sa.edu.au

OAKBANK AREA

SCHOOL

www.facebook.com/oakbankas

Woodside Warriors Senior Women's Soccer Team

are looking for girls 15 years or older who would like to play soccer.

No experience necessary.

Come along and have a try. Wednesdays

6.30pm -8pm at the Woodside soccer pitch.

Enquiries Michaela Caruana 0457 169 226.