Principal's Report
From the Principal...
Term One is certainly flying by and as I visit classrooms, I can see how well students have settled in to the school year. The staff have commented on how quickly the children have transitioned to their new levels and how well they are progressing with their learning.
There have been a number of incursions and excursions happening at different levels and as we head in to the final weeks of the term, we have casual clothes day to support the P&F Easter Raffle and the SRC are running a PJ’s Day to support homelessness/children in foster care on Wednesday April 3rd.
The staff and students are all looking forward to our school cross country in the final week as well.
AGM – School Council
I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new members of school council who took up positions after the AGM - Michelle Gilmore, Renee Le Mar and Jo Feather.
We also need to say farewell to two members of school council who have contributed so much to the school, particularly in association with buildings and grounds. Thank you to Kylie Cockle and Ben Clark for everything you have done for OPS. Both parents have organized working bees, helped to improve the school environment and been involved in more recent capital works discussions. I have truly appreciated their input and dedication.
Safety Online
We encourage parents to co-view, co-play, ask questions about the games and apps they are using, and let them know you are there to support them if they are upset or uncomfortable about anything they see online.
Five top tips to help limit your child’s exposure to harmful content online:
1. Engage in your child’s online activities – ask what apps, sites and games they are using and make sure they are age-appropriate
2. Use parental controls on devices to help limit what your child is exposed to
3. Let them know not everything they see online is real or true.
4. Help them report and block upsetting content they see on social media sites or apps.
5. Let them know they can come to you about anything upsetting they see online, and contact Kids Helpline if they need further support.
National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence
Ormond PS along with 2300 other schools committed to take a stand in reducing the incidence of bullying, whether inside the school gate or online. Last week, teachers across every level in our school delivered dedicated learning sessions using the resources from bullyingnoway.gov.au. Thank you to families at OPS for your support in extending this teaching at home.
Home Learning
- Please keep encouraging your children to read at home. It is extremely important to listen to your children read aloud at various times, so you can hear whether they are reading for meaning or just reading for reading’s sake.
- Ensuring they use correct phrasing, punctuation, pronounce words correctly and predict what might happen in a book are just a few of the strategies you as a parent can look out for.
- Modelling good reading habits to your children is also a must as they can clearly hear and see how a book should be read. Take the time to read to them, make it a routine and see the results!
Contact Details
Have your contact details changed? We have already tried to phone parents and emergency contacts only to find that the phone number is no longer valid. It is absolutely vital that we can contact parents/carers at all times. Please let us know if any details have changed as soon as possible.
Finally, I would like to thank a number of students who have come to me to present ideas and improvements for the school. This is very timely after our whole school review and with capital works commencing mid-year. The voice of the students is paramount to ensure we all continue to make Ormond PS the best it can be. I am a very big advocate for student voice and agency!
Kerri McLeod
Principal
Out of School Hours
Autumn/April School Holiday Program
The School holiday Program will commence Monday 8th April to Thursday 18th.
The holiday program booking forms are available below, on Compass or directly from the Program.
Please read the booking information before submitting your school holiday program and if you are eligible for Child Care Subsidy and have not used the Out of School Hours program in the past week or your have not verified your child’s attendance in the program for 2019.
Please confirm your child’s enrolment details on Centrelinks My/Gov app or website .
Before & After School Cancellation
If your child is absent from school or will not be attending Before & After School. You must inform the service, via the program diary or by leaving a message on the 24 hours message bank. The OSHC Program Office is attended from 7.30am to 6.00pm Mon to Fri, (office closed between 10.30am to 12.30pm.
Phone: 9578 5826
End of Term Celebration
On the last day of term Friday 5th April the program will provide care from 2.30pm to support the early school finishing time. The program will close at the usual time at 6.00pm. To celebrate the end of the term the program will have an afternoon tea party. Parents of children attending on the last day term, please check the party food donation list on the sign out table.
Donations
Thank you to Luca in Year 4 & his mum Ximena, for their generous donation of Hamma beads and supplies. I also like to thank Kuehn family for their donation of toys & art craft supplies.
Your donations are greatly appreciated. We are in search of Tommy battery operated trains to fit on a 2.5cm wide wheel track. This train set gave endless hours of enjoyment we have plently of track we just need working trains. We would appreciate a train donation or information where this train can purchase.
After School Care Activities
Wednesday 20th Cooking
Thursday 21st Pet Rocks
Friday 22nd Rock Snowmen
Monday 25th Masks
Tuesday 26th Pipe Cleaner Ninjas
Wednesday 27th Cooking
Thursday 28th Cardboard Tube Superhero
Friday 29th Cooking
Monday 1st April Peg Monster
Tuesday 2nd Cardboard Creations
Wednesday 3rd Cooking
Thursday 4th Window Paint Art
Friday 5th End of Term Party
April Kopitz
Out of School Hours Coordinator