From the Principal...

Term 4 Operations

The most recent information from the Department of Education emphasizes that Term 4 will be a critical time for the re-engagement of students, the re-establishment of school routines and undertaking the steps necessary to prepare for and complete successful transitions into 2021.

During the period of remote and flexible learning, some students have faced barriers to their learning. Many others have found new pathways to learning. What will matter most in Term 4 is providing continuity in learning and support for every student to the fullest extent possible, whether via face-to-face schooling or through remote teaching. This means refocusing our efforts on a set of common and core priorities: the most important things our school system must deliver over the remainder of this year and into 2021. This will make sure that every student in our care is supported in their wellbeing, learning and transition needs.

The three core priorities for Term 4 are

1. Mental health and wellbeing

Our highest priority will be the wellbeing, particularly the mental health, of every student and member of staff. This means effectively mobilising all available resources to support our most vulnerable students and enabling staff to access the relevant support services.

2. Learning

Some of our students have thrived in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their learning progress, and some have fallen behind, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers. Our priority will be supporting both those who need it to catch up and those who have progressed to continue to extend their learning.

3. Transitions

We will make every effort to ensure successful transitions for children moving from kindergarten into Prep, and with the Grade 6 students moving into Year 7.

This means the priorities of every Victorian government school in Term 4 will be to:

begin the process of catch-up learning and continue to extend those who progressed well during remote and flexible learning
support students to re-establish friendships and class groups when back on site, and provide additional support where needed
help every student prepare for 2021 with a sense of purpose and optimism
ensure students continue to develop their literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills, build their personal and social capability and are physically active.

Primary schools will also:

ensure children starting in Prep in 2021 can meet their new classmates and teacher, and familiarise themselves with the school setting
enable the Grade 6 students to mark the milestone of completing primary school
work with secondary schools to support the transition process for Grade 6 students.

2021 Enrolments

At this stage – we have approximately 48 Foundation students who have submitted forms but others may still be waiting to visit for a tour or to decide on their child’s readiness. The Foundation team intends to conduct virtual question and answer sessions early next term. We will also be updating our website and including more current footage in and around the school. Our network has shared information about transition processes to ensure all parent expectations are being met.

To assist us as we embark on our 2021 planning, if any families in Foundation to Year 5 know that your child/ren will not be returning to OPS in 2021 could you please formally let the office know your child's final day at OPS as well as the name of the new school via email as soon as possible.

2020 Payments - Credits and Refunds

Notification was sent out to all school families yesterday regarding refunds and credits for 2020 Excursion Payment Scheme and the School Magazine.

In line the Department and Education and Training advice we will be refunding any unused payments made in 2020 for the Excursion Payment Scheme and School Magazine to all parents of Year 6 students. Please complete the refund request form attached to your Compass message and return it to Jan Cassidy as soon as possible.

Students in Foundation to Year 5 will receive credits that they can use against their 2021 Parent Payments. Families will be notified in term 4 of their credit amounts via Compass email. Any families with students in Foundation to Year 5 who will not be returning to OPS in 2021, please contact the office to discuss other arrangements.

All refunds and credits will be processed at the beginning of Term 4.

Staffing Update

Lorraine Bell will return from long service leave next term to conduct remote learning with her Year 4 class for the initial few weeks. As the majority of the building works have now been completed, we are now able to return to three smaller Year One classes. The third class will be located in the end portable.

Facilities and Capital Works

Work around and inside the STEAM room continues with the furniture due to arrive in October. Outdoor seating on the Ruby Street side has been completed, as well as seating and a planter box near the hall entrance. There is so much potential for students to get involved with planting, recycling and environmental activities during Term 4 and beyond.

School Leadership News

The leadership team and consultative group have begun looking at staffing for 2021. Letters have been sent to people on leave to determine their intentions for next year. Positions have started to be posted on recruitment online and our own advertisements will follow shortly. There are a number of staff on contracts who are eligible to apply for teaching positions at any school. Term 4 is a busy time for all schools in relation to recruitment, as well as ensuring the staffing and grade profile is carefully structured for the following year.

As we head towards the end of the term, I would like to thank my leadership team and all staff for their efforts and support during such a difficult time. From supervising children onsite, completing yard duty and maintaining energy levels during remote learning. They have been incredible and we are all so desperately wanting all students back at school to reconnect, to address any health and wellbeing concerns and most importantly to enjoy the final end to the year.

To Lorrie and the Admin/ ES team – thank you for the support and dedication you have shown throughout this challenging time. This includes our integration aides, Sharelle and April in the Out of School Hours Program and our crossing officers when they were attending onsite. Thank you also to School Council members and the wider community for your acts of kindness behind the scenes. I feel blessed to work in such a close and connected community at this time.

The school holidays should now be a time to relax, refresh and prepare for next term. The students will return to mostly new spaces and a new feel to the school. The heavy and noisy construction will be complete and both students and staff will enjoy opportunities to work together in an orderly environment for the remainder of Term 4.

A reminder that sunsmart hats are compulsory for students September through to April so all students returning on-site in Term 4 will be required to wear their hats whilst outside.

Please stay safe over the break and I look forward to engaging with you all in Term 4!

Kerri McLeod,

Principal

Ormond's Got Talent

Our virtual version of Ormond’s Got Talent has been a huge success! We received an overwhelming number of auditions and were blown away by the talent showcased by the Ormond community.

The winners are:

Instrumental category Dance/Singing category

Michael Z 1. Aidan C
Felix S 2. Talya L
Chloe L 3. Daniel Cr

Sibling category Most Creative category

Adrian & Johnathan D 1. Lily W, Matlida J, Georgia W
Ella & Holly G 2. Flynn S
Seorin & Seou H 3. Maya Gold

Congratulations once again to all finalists – we thank everyone for their efforts.

Mrs Thanos & Miss Delaney

MS Read-a-thon

For over forty years, the MS Read-a-thon has been igniting a passion for reading in children, while helping people with Multiple Sclerosis.

We would like to acknowledge the following students at Ormond Primary who chose to take part in this fundraiser.

PE/Sports News

Year 3-6 Cross Country

This year the Cross Country has been very different. Students from Grade 3-6 had the opportunity to participate in Ormond’s Virtual Cross Country. They needed to measure the correct distance and time themselves. A big congratulations to everyone who participated.

The Age Group winners are

U9/10 Boys - Harry B (4B)
U9/10 Girls - Ruby M (4C)
U11 Boys - Sam H (5B)
U11 Girls - Evie H (5A)
U12 Boys: Toby C (6C)
U12 Girls: Bella M (6A)

SSV Virtual Athletics

If you are looking for a sport competition to enter, please have a go at participating in this year’s Virtual Athletics. There are running events, jumps and throws. When submitting your results, our region is Southern Metropolitan Primary. This competition closes on Friday 30th at 11:59pm.

https://www.ssv.vic.edu.au/Pages/SSVVirtualTrackandField.aspx

Foundation News

Last week in Foundation we had Wacky Art Wednesday. Mrs Ioannou thought of some wonderful ideas for the children to do, along with some guided drawing and Art Attack. Here are some of the masterpieces they created!

Year 1 News

Year 1 students looked at different forms of poetry. They innovated on familiar nursery rhymes, wrote acrostic poems and then explored how to write a shape poem.

Year 2 News

The Year 2s have been writing procedures and instructions for the past couple of weeks. One of their favourite activities on Seesaw was following directed drawing lessons using the Art Hub for Kids website: https://www.youtube.com/user/ArtforKidsHub Needless to say, these video instructions were very popular and the drawings they created were fantastic! Please enjoy some of their drawings.

Year 4 News

Since the 2020 Olympic Games were cancelled, the Year 4 students have been holding their own Olympics. Students have spent the last week training, measuring and coming up with creative ways for their potato 'athlete' to compete!

Year 5 News

Last week the Year 5 students participated in a paper plane mathematics competition. Students had to design and make their own paper plane, then compete in four different rounds. After completing this they had to collect their teams results, create a table for their results, work out the averages and then graph some of their data. Here are some photos of the Year 5 paper planes! We even had some parents get involved which was great to see.

Year 6 News

Year 6 students have been learning about persuasive language techniques. They were given the following prompt:

Some parents at your school believe recess and lunchtime should be longer. They believe students might learn better if they had a longer break in the middle of the day. However, the extra class time after lunch would make the school day longer. Therefore, students would get out of school later in the day.

Their task was to write a letter to school council expressing their point of view using persuasive language techniques.

The Year 6 students have also been studying chemical sciences remotely this term, and after some exciting experiments, they have collated all they have learnt into a slide show.

Virtual Assembly Library

Ormond Primary School

Issue 6 · 18 Sep 2020

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