Principal's Report & School News

From the Principal...

Remote Learning 2:0

Thank you so much to all families juggling their own work and home situations with remote learning 2:0. Every staff member at our school is well aware of the challenges this new lockdown period presents with and we are making every effort to support students and families at this time. In saying that, the school has managed the transition back to remote learning well and the feedback has been positive. The number of students attending onsite has dramatically decreased with far more stringent guidelines. Staff continue to supervise these children on a roster system with the majority of teachers now working from home. The school continues to run leadership meetings and departmental meetings every Tuesday to keep us all connected and to ensure we are tabling any wellbeing or learning issues in a timely manner. Both Lorrie Dell and I will make contact with families who may require additional support or just as a random check-in. Please see these calls purely as a way that the school can reach out to you all during very difficult times.

2021 Enrolments

The school has less clarity around enrolments than ever before due to COVID-19. At this stage – we have approximately 42 Foundations students who have submitted forms but others may still be waiting to visit for a tour or to decide on their child’s readiness. 

Discussions in the network have reveled many families are unsure about their children starting school due to little or no opportunities to attend transition activities. Principals have now met to look at enrolment lists to identify whether some families have enrolled in multiple schools. The school is encouraging families to submit their enrolment forms as soon as possible. Enrolment packs can be collected from the front office.

On the other side to this, if any current families that know that their child/ren  will not be continuing their studies at Ormond Primary in 2021 could you please notify the school office via email at your earliest convenience as we are about to embark on our staffing considerations for 2021. 

Staffing Update

Sandra Johnson has replaced Lorraine Bell whilst she is on long service leave till the end of the term. Sandra spent time with Lorraine prior to her departure date – familiarizing herself with the remote learning platform.  The Year 4 team continue to plan and collaborate together at every opportunity. 

Justin Ward will be taking parental leave shortly with the arrival of his second child. To ensure the students in his class are fully supported, the Year 3 team will step up to assist and so will Emma Milliken and Amelia Delaney who know the students well and are competent users of the See Saw platform. 

Facilities and Capital Works

Our STEAM block has been completed and both staff and students have had input in to the design and layout of the furniture required within. The STEAM centre will operate as a collaborative educational space with different learning zones and configurations. The school has also seen significant progress with other stages of the capital works project. 

The Year 4 classrooms are ready to move in upstairs, the lift has been installed and the final touches of cladding are being built around it. Work on outdoor seating near the STEAM room has commenced this week and our final classrooms are being refurbished on the second floor. 

If you are walking past the school during regular exercise activities, take note of the newly painted portables. This was done to keep similar colour tones across the school and to freshen up these learning spaces. They will be painted both inside and out and students in these rooms will come back to what will feel like newer teaching areas. 

As the Year 4 classes have now relocated upstairs, we can accommodate Elani Gibney’s class in the end portable which is closest to the other Year One rooms. There is direct access to the junior building via the STEAM wing and on the return of all children to OPS, we can begin to see students settled in to their own spaces for explicit teaching. The hall will also be free for use by all students and for possible weekly assemblies. This will give back space to our before and after school programs to operate as usual. 

On a personal note I would like to thank everyone for their support, including school council during this challenging time. We are all working together to support each other and to ensure students continue to feel connected to their wonderful school. Please stay in touch as needed. We will now be alternating our virtual assemblies with our school newsletter each Friday.

Kind Regards,

Kerri McLeod

Foundation 100 Days of School

The Foundation students had a fun day celebrating their 100th day of school last Friday! It was great to see all the children participating in the different tasks and having a good time with their families.

Year 1 Science Week Experiments

Year 1 students have enjoyed selecting science tasks to complete from a choice board. As this week is Science Week, our theme was 'Deep Blue: innovations for the future.' Students have created habitats, designed beach cleaning robots, built boats and shared ideas as to how they can help the future of our oceans. 

Year 2 Science Week Experiments

For Science Week 2020, Year 2 has had so much fun! We sent them the task of completing at least one of three experiment; Melting Skittles, Rain Cloud in a Jar and Bouncy Egg. Amazingly, some students shared their own experiments also. We are so proud of our little scientists, here are some photos to showcase this exceptional week.

Year 3 Information Reports

The Year 3 students have been busy creating some fascinating Information Reports on an animal of their choice, here are just some fantastic samples.

Year 4

The students across the year level have been busily studying Forces, and in particular the impacts of friction on distance travelled. Here are some very creative ramps made with various coverings and textured surfaces. 

Year 5 Virtual 'Excursions'

Year 5 incursions and excursions look a little different at the moment. Students went 'Under the Sea' and did some virtual science experiments to understand pressure deep in the ocean. They also went to Alaska on a live virtual excursion, discovering the location of Alaska as well as the different types of animals in the ecosystem. Our host from the Alaska Sea Life Centre had a special visitor in the background – can you see them?

Year 6 Science Week Experiment

 Year 6 students on-site enjoying a little chemistry to celebrate National Science Week. The students mixed citric acid, bicarbonate soda, icing sugar and jelly crystals to make sherbet.  

When you combine an acid  (the citric acid) and an alkaline (the bicarbonate soda) with saliva they mix together to create a gas in the form of lots of tiny bubbles. This is called an acid-based reaction and it’s what gives sherbet its fizz.

SSV Virtual Athletics

All Victorian students are welcome to take part in School Sport Victoria’s Virtual Athletics.

You can participate in a variety of events; including Sprints, Long distance running, Jumping and Throwing.

The sprints range from 60m to 400m and you may need a family member to help measure the distance and time you.

By taking part in this event, you will not only score points for Ormond Primary School, by you will also be striving to improve your own performance.

If you are interested, please click on the website below for more information about the events and how to enter. 

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

If you would like to send photos of your doing any of the events please send them to Ms Milliken

The competition closes at 11:59pm Friday, 30 October 2020

Staying connected during Remote Learning

During this time we all know it's important to stay connected as much as possible. School, work and home life all look very different than they used to and can be overwhelming at times. It is very easy to forget that we all still exist beyond the computer screens, so we thought we would like to try and see all the different ways our school community is keeping their spirits high.  

What does Remote Learning look like at your house? 

Have you come up with any hacks or tricks that help to keep you motivated and engaged that you could share with the OPS community?

What fun or new activities and skills have you discovered to pass the time? 

If you have any photos, videos or fun things you would like to share in our upcoming newsletters please email them to Brodie 

Virtual Assembly Requests

Would you like your science skills to be included in the next Virtual Assembly?

We hope that you had the chance to explore some science experiments and get involved in Science Week 2020. 

Mr. Workman is now looking for students to send in some photos or videos of themselves, ‘Being a scientist’. You can show yourself in a photo with some of your written data or discoveries, or busy investigating in the moment. If photos and videos are clear and stable, we will do our best to include them into the Virtual Assembly. If you haven’t got round to doing an experiment yet, you still have time. 

https://www.scienceweek.net.au/diy-science/

• Any submissions should be received by the end of the day Wednesday 26th of August.
• Please also include students full name and class e.g. Bob Dylan, 4C
• 1 photo, or 10 second video per submission.
• Send submissions and any queries to Mr Workman

Virtual Assembly Library