Week 9B / 1A
The Oxley Update - Term 2, Week 8
Key Dates for the Week Ahead
College News
From the Business Manager
There are many staff at Oxley who are quiet achievers, and I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge two who are making a big difference each day within our community.
Our College Nurses – Nurse Ella and Nurse Tanya
You may not have met them yet, but our College Nurses play a vital role in the daily life of Oxley. Both are highly experienced Registered Nurses, bringing with them strong backgrounds in hospital environments, including intensive care and emergency departments.
In what can be a very busy and unpredictable role, they bring warmth, professionalism and clinical expertise to every situation – whether it’s a scraped knee, a complex medical need, or simply a student who needs a safe space and a caring presence. As parents themselves, they understand the deep trust families place in them when it comes to the health and wellbeing of your children.
From time to time, you may be asked to update medical information, replenish medication, provide health care plans and other documents pertinent to your child’s health needs. Please ensure that you do this quickly to ensure we can provide the best possible care for your children.
School nurses play a vital role that extends far beyond band-aids and ice packs. Their work involves the triage, assessment and treatment of injuries and illness, medication administration for students with both chronic and acute health needs, mental health first aid, and the holistic oversight of student wellbeing. They also help promote health and wellness across the College community, provide guidance to families on healthcare matters beyond school, and lead the governance and training of first aid practices across our staff. Their care, judgment, and skill are exceptional, and we are truly lucky to have them. (Did you see the Pre-K handwashing video?)
Whilst it can take some time to adjust to change, I remind our community how fortunate we are to have qualified health professionals on-site every day. It’s not something all schools can offer and having them here gives us all great peace of mind - knowing our students are in safe hands.
Not only this, but as an additional layer and commitment to our duty of care, Oxley College provides Senior First Aid training to all our staff ensuring that we can care for your children no matter where they are; on school grounds, excursions or the sporting field.
Like many of our College Services team members, the nurses often work behind the scenes – but their impact is significant. Thank you for joining me in acknowledging their work and making them feel valued as they continue to settle into life at Oxley.
Nurse Tanya works Monday and Tuesday and Nurse Ella works Wednesday to Friday.
Senior School News
Europe 2026 - Now Travelling in January 2026
This is an exciting update regarding the proposed Europe Tour originally planned for April 2026.
To maximise the educational value and keep the trip as cost-effective as possible for families, we are now looking at departing in early January 2026, with the tour commencing from 7 January 2026.
This change allows us to:
Take advantage of off-peak travel pricing, reducing overall costs
Partner with Round Square schools in Europe to enrich the experience with student exchanges or school-based visits
Deliver a more focused and immersive learning opportunity across Modern History, the World Wars, and Creative Arts.
The revised itinerary includes:
Sydney - England
England - France
France - Germany
Germany - Sydney
The trip will run for 14 days, and we are aiming to include a live performance or cultural experience in London as a highlight.
We will be sending out a more detailed information pack, Expression of Interest and deposit payment form in the coming weeks, and we encourage families of students in Years 9–12 (in 2026) to consider this unique and meaningful opportunity.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any initial questions: christophe.gauchat@oxley.nsw.edu.au
Exciting Domestic Exchange Opportunities
A Visit from the University of Sydney
Year 10, 11 & 12 students are welcome to meet visitors from the University of Sydney at lunchtime on Thursday. Students can come to Hoskins Hall between 1.45pm and 2.20pm with their lunch and any questions!
Junior School News
Welcome to our new Practicum Teachers!
We are pleased to welcome Miss Sophie Nash-Smith and Miss Anisa Rees to 5R and KN respectively as Practicum Teachers from the University of Wollongong. Miss Nash-Smith and Miss Rees will be working with Mr Rothwell and Ms Nelson until the end of term.
SRC Fundraiser - Lunchbox Rally 2025
On Friday 20 June, the Junior School SRC will hold a fundraiser to raise money for the Cancer Council. One of our students, Theo in Year 3, is taking part in the Lunchbox Rally 2025.
The aim of this fundraiser is to raise $300 for the Cancer Council. We will be creating a coin line on a drawn map of Australia at school showing where he will travel. We are aiming to copy the map below.
On Friday please bring in a gold coin donation to support Theo’s adventure and the Cancer Council.
Year 3 Explorers Showcase
Pre-K Term 2 Showcase
Year 2 - Animal Poster Showcase
Red Cross and Dhungung Share Program
Parents' & Friends' News
Sequins & Sparkle Mums' Disco
Time to get your groove on….
You’re invited to the inaugural P&F Mums’ Disco — a night of sequins, sneakers and serious fun.
Saturday 26th July
6–10pm in the PCC
Bubbles on arrival
Grazing tables
Cash bar and non-stop tunes.
Tickets $35 — dust off your dancing shoes and grab your friends for a night to remember .
https://www.trybooking.com/DCOUI
Upcoming P&F Events
On Reflection - The Week That Was
The Pre-K Reflection
PreLit
In PreLit this week, the children engaged in a range of activities to assist their phonological development. The children were introduced to the letter sound /i/ and they revised the letter sounds /d/, /f/, /t/, /m/, /a/, /s/.
Our Shared Reading storybook for the week is ‘The Very Itchy Bear’ by Nick Bland. The vocabulary we are focusing on is impolite, under, over, rescue.
URSTRONG
The children engaged in a lesson on URSTRONG this week where we were introduced to the Friend-O-Meter which assists us in understanding how we feel in our friendships. URSTRONG is an evidence-based program designed to empower children with the skills and language needed to build and maintain healthy friendships.
Maths
Teaching our Pre-K children to represent numbers up to 10 is a foundational step in their mathematical development. This assists the children in building number sense, develops their counting skills and lays the groundwork for understanding more complex Maths concepts. This week, the children used counters to represent numbers to 10.
Pals & Pioneers Program
Our Pals & Pioneers program at Oxley helps to foster meaningful connections across generations and a sense of community.
This week as part of our Pals & Pioneers program, the children made their own ducks. d is for duck to consolidate our PreLit lessons. We enjoyed completing puzzles and sharing previous work we have completed and finished with a fun game of knocking over paper cup towers with nerf guns. Participating in these shared activities enhances the children's language skills and cognitive development.
Outside Play
Outdoor play is a vital component of Pre-K, with a wide range of benefits that contribute to children's physical, emotional, and cognitive development. This week, the children enjoyed running around on the playground with Clover, playing in the new sandpit, water play, engaging in group games and riding the bikes. Outdoor play fosters a sense of adventure, creativity, and well-being.
Year 1 and Year 9 Learning Together
As part of their Coaching unit in Physical Activity and Sports Studies (PASS), last week Year 9 students led their first session of a Gross Motor Skills program for Year 1. This initiative not only supports our younger students’ physical development but also provides a meaningful opportunity for the older students to strengthen their leadership capabilities and work toward the Oxley College Graduate Attributes. The program focuses on essential gross motor skills such as running, balancing, throwing, and skipping—foundational movements that support coordination, strength, agility, confidence, and a lifelong enjoyment of physical activity. Our Year 1 students loved participating in these carefully planned and engaging activities. This program exemplifies the power of cross-year collaboration and highlights the value of physical education in fostering whole-student growth.
Service Learning at Oxley
At Oxley College, we believe in building people of good character. One of the most powerful ways we do this is by helping students learn about themselves through service. As Kurt Hahn, founder of Round Square, once said, “There is more in us than we know.”
Several years ago, I had the privilege of attending a two-day workshop with Cathryn Berger Kaye, a global leader in service-learning education. A passionate advocate for civic responsibility and social action, Cathryn believes that service learning brings meaning and purpose to both students and staff. She emphasises that it helps students discover intrinsic motivation and echoes Hahn’s belief in student agency and the journey to uncover the “more” within.
I do this work because I believe in all of it. I believe that helping others makes us better. That seeing and responding to the needs of others deepens our empathy and inspires us to create positive change. The world needs more empathy—and service learning is one way we can nurture it.
At Oxley, we’ve recently launched a structured and sequential Service Learning program, tailored to be age- and stage-appropriate across the school.
In the Junior School, service learning is embedded within classroom experiences.
In the Senior School, it takes place outside the regular timetable.
Year 8 students participate in four service visits during Semester 1, rotating through:
Landcare projects,
Supporting the Uniting Church’s outreach to those in need,
Visiting and playing games with Tangara students,
Assisting at the Bradman Museum.
In Semester 2, students choose the activity that resonated most with them and complete four additional visits.
In Year 9, students take greater ownership of their service journey, completing 20 hours of service independently throughout the year. They may continue with a previous partner or choose a new one. One example is cooking meals at home for “Destiny,” an initiative that supports people through the PCYC in Mittagong. These meals, delivered to PCYC, have a profound impact on those who receive them.
Our hope is that this desire to serve extends beyond school. We do this work because we believe in building resilience, empathy, character, and a sense of connection to community.
At Oxley, we are building a culture of service—one action at a time.
Stacey Taylor
Events at Oxley
Centre for Ethics - Stan Grant
Centre for Ethics - David Hunt
Centre for Ethics - From Surviving to Thriving
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