hi there, when trying to vertically align the text on the first page of my document, I’m unable to select any of the vertical alignment options in the drop down menu; format>align. I haven’t been able to figure out exactly how to fix this (I’m sure it’s something simple I’m missing) so if someone could assist me that would be awesome. Thanks in advance 
Please edit your question to describe exactly what you do and want to achieve. As usual, provide LO version and OS.
Vertical alignment options in standard menu Format>Align are not meant for paragraph alignment within page but for sub-elements within paragraph or table cell.
Positioning within a page is done with spacing above and below paragraph. There is no vertical centering within a page because pages do not primarily exist (dynamically built according to text flow).