The Pastoral Care Team at OAGS aims to support our students in understanding themselves, developing healthy relationships, and feeling a positive connection to our school community. When our students and their families face challenges in attending school, we want to help your family develop a plan to overcome those obstacles.

If you find yourself dealing with attendance issues, we want to know what those issues are so that we may partner in solving them. Sometimes an illness can lead to an abrupt change in a student's confidence in attending school. A change in family situation, a bereavement, or social conflicts in and out of school can also bring about a slow or rapid change in a student’s willingness to attend school, and in their ability to manage their school work.

The first step in Primary is to let your child’s classroom teacher know about your concerns. If these concerns continue to be an issue for your child, the pastoral care coordinator can meet with you to discuss the next steps. Our school counsellor, Mrs. Tayor, can also be beneficial in this area.

In our Secondary School, your child’s pastoral care coordinator is the person to contact if your child is struggling to attend school regularly. We have a school psychologist, Mrs. Wallace, who can also provide support and advice, depending on the issues your child is facing.

Problems Attending school can occur at any time. While there is a legal requirement for your child to attend school, we always approach this issue with the goal of understanding the challenges and wanting to support each family. Attendance greatly impacts social connections, emotional development, and academic growth. While we encourage our students to develop self-awareness and recognise the wisdom in resting and taking a break when overwhelmed or exhausted, we do not want school avoidance to become a habit. OAGS strives to foster in our students a confidence in their own abilities by realising they can overcome changes, challenges, and conflicts, given the appropriate support and guidance for their stage of development.

Please reach out if you have any concerns or questions. The Pastoral Care Team is more than happy to work through your concerns, and we are grateful when families let us know the issues involved so we can develop a plan together. To assist you in understanding some of the impact of attendance issues, please have a look at the table below.

Georgina Willis

Director of Pastoral Care

As Semester 2 got under way I had the privilege of accompanying a group of our students on the annual Year 11 Snow Trip. The time away proved fruitful in many ways, stretching students physically, socially and from a learning point of view. While at Thredbo one of our newly minted skiers required some medical assistance from the Thredbo Ski Patrol. What an incredible organisation. While there are some paid full time professionals on the patrol, many of them are volunteers, much like the Surf Life Saving organisations around the country. These people give up their time to assist members of the public who find themselves in difficulty, often having to train to improve and update their skills in the ‘off season’. The care and professionalism I witnessed was impressive to say the least. Comforting their charge, immobilising limbs, moving a distressed person lying cold in the snow onto a stretcher and getting them down steep slopes is no walk in the park. Then they follow up by arranging transport to the medical centre at the bottom of the mountain. They are up there all day, ready to provide this service to all who need their expertise. I was reminded of the valuable contribution volunteers make in our society and how we wouldn’t function without them.

Secondary School parent teacher meetings were held this week, many of you engaged with our wonderful team of teachers. I hope you were able to gain some insights into the progress of your child while finding out ways in which you can aid them in their learning journey. If you were unable to make it, please remember that you can contact any of your child’s teachers through the school office to arrange a chat or a meeting to discuss any specific concerns or questions at any time.

Trial HSC Exams are on the horizon for our Year 12 cohort. This is the time for them to keep their eyes on the finish line, just like our Olympic athletes. On behalf of our Year 12 teachers, I’d like to wish them all the best.

Subject selection opportunities are coming up for Year 8 and Year 10 students moving onto the next stage of their schooling in 2025. The evening of August 29 is the date for your diaries. More details will be sent out soon.

Mr Noel Annett

Acting Director of Secondary

“A grand historical mansion where famous figures from history have been invited to a prestigious event for a generous benefactor who is offering a large amount of money to the museum. During the evening, one of the housekeeping staff's screams is heard as she discovers a body. Napoleon Bonaparte is found dead in an upstairs storage room. Blood pooling on the floor indicates that he has been stabbed. Strange colouring in the blood vessels around his mouth shows suspicion of poisoning.”

On the first Saturday of August, we held our Big Night In - Winter Edition. This is a great chance for our students to further their sense of community and belonging within OAGs. The night was full of food, games and a murder mystery to solve.

Starting with some dodgeball, chair soccer and capture the flag, the night of games led into a very historically inaccurate murder mystery. The groups of students were to walk around, find the hidden clues and solve which historical figure killed Napoleon Bonaparte. Was it Alfred Noble, Cleopatra, Leonardo Da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi or Charlemange?

Thanks to all for a great night, and keep a look out for the next Big Night In!

James Esson

Secondary School Chaplain

We were fortunate enough to secure the rights to professionally film and edit the show, and we're delighted to announce that the recording is now available for purchase. This is a wonderful opportunity to keep a lasting memento of your child's participation and the fantastic production.

To purchase a copy of OAGS’ production of Seussical the Musical , please fill out the Google form linked below. Shortly after completion, you'll receive a link to download the video.

https://forms.gle/n8NJgMNxiojgfWtN6

The cost of the recording is $25, which will be conveniently charged to your school account.

Orders for the recording will close on 30th August 2024.

For any further questions or assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected]

Thank you for your support and enthusiasm for our students' achievements. We hope you enjoy the show!

Mr Kyle Palmer

Seussical Production Manager

Our diverse range of weekly sport programs continues to bring excitement to our students, not only fostering the importance of physical fitness but also mental well-being and life skills. In Week 2, we had primary students that shone brightly and showed off their abilities at this  year's Todd Woodbridge Tennis Cup. Congratulations to all who participated.

Congratulations to our U15 girls soccer team for their outstanding effort and performance at the recent Bill Turner soccer trophy, They had some challenging games, and showcased their skills and determination, under the expert guidance of their coach, Mr. Chris Doyle.

Summer Sport EOI has now closed and teams are being finalised; team letters will be going out soon. We at OAGS Sports Academy have a busy term ahead of us, and we are looking forward to the Shea Hockey Gala Day in Week 3. In Weeks 5 and 6, we have HICES Athletics for Primary and WAS Athletics for our Secondary Teams. In Week 8, Primary will be participating in the inaugural WAS Interschool Cup held in Orange on the 11th of September 2024. All information for these events will be sent out soon.

OAGS Sport Team

Promotions – As a result of some outstanding results achieved on the NSW Brigade Promotions courses in July, we were happy to promote

Recruiting Information sessions for students and parents will be conducted over the next few Mondays commencing at 5.30pm. Cadet staff will assist with ONLINE registration during Monday parades for simplicity and to expedite the process.

Term 3, (26-28Jul) – CUDAL This was a great experience for many of our new cadets and also enabled rank to manage small group tasks supporting the OAGS Interschools Equestrian Event. The 15 strong Advance Party worked tirelessly on Thursday and Friday until the remainder arrived on Friday night. The weekend allowed us to refine Command Post operations, improve radio skills plus conduct training in preparation for the AFX. The BBQ trailer was a great bonus and allowed us to feed the team effectively. We owe our thanks to the adult staff - Russell & Brynn Player, Peter Reid jnr and snr, Nigel Coutts, Eliot Harper, Jade O’Neil, Linda McGoldrick and Brant Waterson who attended over the 4 days. A special mention to Mr David Lee for his skills on the BBQ and ensuring all were fed with healthy meals.

AFX (Annual Field Exercise) Sat 28 Sep- Fri 4 Oct . This will be held at the Singleton Army Field Training Area adjacent to the military camp. Please note it is the first week of the NSW state school holidays BUT it is the middle week of the OAGS holidays.