From Our Principals

Dear families,

I cannot believe how quickly the term is going and how well everyone has settled into the 2025 school year. A calm, excited buzz of activity is still apparent, and I am continually heartened by the warm welcome I have received by the whole school community.

I was blown away by the incredibly strong display of our Ormond Primary School values during our very special assembly to induct our new school leaders. At one point we needed to ensure our Foundation students were in attendance, they definitely displayed wonderful active listening. I thank the whole school for their great role modelling and acts of leadership as we celebrated our 2025 office bearers.

As a staff we commenced our first series of professional learning covering cognitive load theory, engagement norms and learning routines. 

The action and agreement from this week’s series has been on the use of mini whiteboards and the engagement norms and routines that align with active participation and responsiveness while teaching and learning. This also saw all staff actively engaged in using whiteboards during parts of our session harnessing the power of rehearsal. Our agreed whiteboard routines are pictured below. Our next steps will be to explicitly teach the routines and unpack what each aspect requires before utilising them to their full extend in classrooms.

I want to sincerely thank the whole staff for their dedication, positivity, and commitment to the wellbeing and learning of all our students.

This morning, I had the pleasure of heading down to watch some Yr 6 Interschool Sport games. I unfortunately arrived just as our tennis team were finishing but I was able to see our T-Ball team win their first game. Mr Jones and I look forward to supporting more events during the term.

We were lucky to have two guests visit this week, the South-Eastern Victorian Regional Director, Ian Burrage, and newly appointed Area Executive Director for Bayside Peninsula Area, Michael Devine. They separately came to visit Ormond Primary School on Tuesday.  I appreciate their show of support and the opportunity to further discuss my transition into the role of acting principal but also express my gratitude to the wonderful whole school community for their support and welcome.

We look forward to seeing everyone this afternoon at the Welcome Picnic.

With thanks,

Anna-Marie Yelland

Welcome Picnic Tonight!

Time for some fun! Bring along your own picnic food, drinks, picnic rug and chairs. 

The Ormond Ice Creamery Van will be there, selling ice cream and donuts, and Rockin' Twisted Potatoes will be selling potato twists.

In accordance with Department of Education guidelines, this is an alcohol free event.

Students are welcome to dress up for the picnic in their allocated year level colour:

Foundation - Red

Year 1 - Orange

Year 2 - Yellow

Year 3 - Green

Year 4 - Light Blue

Year 5 - Dark Blue

Year 6 - Purple

This event is proudly brought to you by the OPS Parents and Friends Association.

Real Schools Parent Articles

In 2025 we will again be partnering with Real Schools and our consultant Marion Walsh-Gay.

We have had a great start to the year with student behaviour and a calm school environment, both in the yard and in classrooms, and we are grateful for the learning and practices Real Schools has implemented at Ormond PS. 

However, we acknowledge that all of our students are learning social skills, conflict resolution and emotional regulation, so we will have periods of conflict and dysregulation throughout the school year. With a consistent, authoritative approach of high expectations and high care, and a restorative lens, we can support the growth of all students socially and emotionally. 

Please find attached 2 Parent Articles from Real Schools regarding restorative practices and how the brain works. 

School Council Election and Nominations

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the broad direction of a school, in accordance with Ministerial Order 1280 Constitution of Government School Councils, and the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills and a range of experiences and knowledge that can help inform and shape the direction of the school.

I write to you to inform you that an election is to be conducted for members of school council at Ormond Primary School where we have 1 position in the parent member category and 2 school employee positions. Nominations open today and close next Tuesday 18th February at 4pm. Forms are available at the front office and nominations forms can either be sent electronically or in person via the front office where receipt will be made.

Please find attached:

• Notice of Election and Call for Nominations form
• Self-nomination form for parent member category
• Nomination form for parent member category

Once nominations close next Tuesday 18th, I will be in contact regarding the next stages of the election process.

Smile Squad

You will notice that the Smile Squad van is back at Ormond PS. They have nearly completed seeing the students that they didn't manage to get to last year. They should be on-site for a few more days before moving on to the next school.

We are very lucky to have had them taking care of our students teeth and creating happy smiles. It is a wonderful initiative and we look forward to hopefully welcoming them back at the end of the year.

Kind regards,

Anna-Marie Yelland (Acting Principal) and Aaron Jones (Assistant Principal)