From the Office

Most Desirable Gifts

The flyer has a list of suggested toys and gifts.  Every year, there is a shortage of gifts for older children (13-17 years). Teens can be so hard to buy for but constitute almost half of the kids in our care, so it would be wonderful if that could be a focus of your appeal this year. Please refer to the attached flyer for all age groups.

Suggested teen gifts: gift cards, beauty & grooming kits, sporting goods (all ball sports) & sportswear (NBA caps), tech & audio, wallets and bags.

A few items to note:

• Gifts should be new, and unwrapped.
• Food is very welcome – the more Christmassy, the better!
• Labelling of toys  (i.e. a tag or a sticker with the appropriate age and gender), helps us enormously.

1:1 iPad program

At Old Orchard Primary School, we take great pride in our 1:1 iPad program. Digital integration has been a valuable component of our educational approach. The iPads in our classroom are used in an intentional and carefully considered manner that support learning and wellbeing outcomes for all our students. 

Earlier this year we conducted a review of our 1:1 iPad program. Feedback was collected through a survey of both staff and parents to evaluate the potential transition from a BYOD (bring your own device) program to a model with school-owned devices. The community survey reflected strong support, with a high majority of families advocating for this change. 

While we integrate online safety education into our curriculum and work diligently to teach students about potential risks, we have observed a rise in online incidents occurring outside school hours that negatively impact students’ learning and wellbeing in the classroom. Research from the eSafety Commissioner indicates that nearly a quarter of children aged 8-10 report using social media weekly or more, and nearly half of those aged 11-13 do the same. As a nation, we are currently engaged in an important conversation about the potentially harmful effects social media and online use may have on our children, and as a school we believe that we have an opportunity to support families in navigating this ever-evolving online world. 

A school-owned device model will differ from our current BYOD model in a number of ways: 

• iPads will remain on the school premises and will not be taken home. 

• Devices will be leased under a three-year agreement, after which they will be updated to ensure access to the latest technology. 

• There will be an added Digital Technology fee to school fees. • Devices will be managed through a new management system (Jamf Pro Apple Device Management), offering staff enhanced control over their functionality, usage and security. 

• We will provide equitable access for all students in P-6. There will be an appropriate ratio of students per device, which will differ between year levels. 

We recognise that our current Year 3-5 students already have BYOD devices; therefore, the transition to a fully school-owned model will span the next 2-3 years. Beginning next year, we will initiate this phased transition with our 2025 P-3 students being the first group to move to a school-owned model, whilst our 2025 Year 4-6 students will continue with the BYOD model. 

In the coming weeks, we will provide families with further information regarding this transition, including specific iPad guidelines for our current Year 3-5 students who will continue with the BYOD program.

Thank you once more to our amazing sponsors who kindly supported this year's fete.

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