Dear Families,

Friday: On the last day of Term 3, school is dismissed at 2.30pm. No Assembly.

Thanks: We are nearly there Team OG! Usually, Term 3 is where we all hit our straps across the school. Teaching and learning ramps up and we see great gains, particularly in achievement. I am still predicting we will see this in our December reports, but I understand that we have all battled various illnesses – either personal or within the family. Please take some time to rest and recoup over the break and hopefully with the weather improving, we have a healthier Term 4.

SunSmart: Time to dust off the hats and slap on the sunscreen for Term 4.

No Hat – No Play rule starts day 1 Term 4. Please ensure your children are ready to start with a SunSmart hat. Thanks to those who have ordered as per last week’s email. They should be here on Thursday. Please supply your child with sunscreen and show them how to apply it so they can do this independently at school.

School Socks: The one part of our Uniform Policy that is not stipulated or compulsory is socks! School Council have intentionally left socks off the policy as it is a small and unique way for students to express themselves. Some of the staff have amazing socks that have helped build positive relationships with students when they look forward to seeing odd socks from a few staff too!

Saying this, our Student Voice Committee (SVC) have proposed school socks to the Finance Comittee and School Council. These will be optional (not compulsory). These are to be sold to help raise money for the students to lead some improvements around the school. Being impressed with their initiative I have helped guide them through a process to have a prototype pair of high quality and durable socks made by Steigen. The SVC are running an EOI in the newsletter (please clink link) if you would be interested in purchasing. They would be sold for $15 with all profits being used in student led initiatives such as line marking for new courts, board games or whatever the SVC determine is needed. I hope you support the students with this venture as they have shown how to work hard to achieve their goals.

Athletics: Congratulations to our amazing athletes who have represented the school and themselves so well at the recent Athletics. We have a number of students who have progressed further into the Western Regional Athletics events where the top athletes from all over Western Victoria will meet. We wish you all the very best at the next level. We are very proud of your achievements.

Maths Masters: Monday morning started off with a flurry of excited Preps heading to the gym for the Maths Masters. Alyce Graham has led the staff through the process, similar to the Spelling Bee tournament, to host 8 students form each year level in some maths challenges and questions. Thanks to the families who attended and saw the Math Masters in action. We hope this inspires the love of Maths and provides a special opportunity to extend some great mathematicians.

Footy Colours Day: Today the school was full of colour and the hotdogs were devoured enthusiastically! Thanks to the team who have organised ANOTHER event (Georgia and her amazing team, Jen, Lara, Jade & Mel) for the community and to Baker’s Delight who generously donated over 600 bread rolls.

Thankyou: We would like to say a very big thankyou to Emily Rouhan. Emily is a school parent who has volunteered for the enormous job of collecting, cleaning and returning lost uniforms. The school, and I'm sure many parents are very grateful for all of your hard work this year. If there are any parents who would like to assist in this ongoing task, please contact the office. Of course, the biggest help of all is ensuring your child/rens uniform is clearly labelled. Also please remind your child to always check the lost property basket.

Facilities: We will be undergoing some more works around the school during Term 4 and beyond. The roof on the Art Room, Prep area and Year 3 will undergo some much needed attention. We are unclear on what the design will be at this stage and when it will start. There will also be some accessibility improvements being made to update ramps to code, hopefully some new pathways. We are also waiting to hear on the outcome of a few other applications for upgrading the sewer mains in the Senior Learning Centre (SLC) and a Capital Works Fund Project targeting the playground. We have lots of projects on the go to continue to drive improvement in our school facilities.

Enjoy the holidays everyone. See you all on Monday 7th October at 9am, ready for Term 4.

Scott McCumber

Principal

Chess Club

Congratulations to our Chess Club winners for Term 3!