From the Principal

Highlights of Term 3

Production

The Year Foundation to Year 4 Productions have just finished. It was wonderful to see how many of our families attended the events, many on more than one night.

I would like to acknowledge the time and effort our Foundation to Year 4 students dedicated to making this event a reality. For weeks they have days attended rehearsals, practiced dances, learnt scripts and songs and developed stage presence. Rehearsals can be very repetitive, but their enthusiasm and cooperation were unwavering.

Our students joy and pride at the conclusion of each evening was great to see. When their hard work and preparation finally came to fruition, students could see and feel the benefit of their labour. Through speaking lines or singing a song on stage, the students gained self-confidence and self-esteem. One cannot underestimate the satisfaction of weeks of hard work being actualised on a stage in front of adoring fans: parents, grandparents, and other doting family members.

An event like this is only possible with someone with the vision and enthusiasm to make it happen. That person was Lucy. Whilst she constantly tells me that School Productions are her happy place, I cannot emphasise enough how much work is involved in producing events like this. I do not know how she has managed to pull this off. The extra hours involved, including set design, costume making, creating the dances and directing all of the components of the events were considerable. The OPS teachers, and Education Support Staff also contributed to making this event happen both on the Production nights and beforehand. This includes staff from other year levels who assisted on the night and were so adaptable when the timetables and rooms needed to change.

The classroom teachers from Foundation to Year 4, Bron and Deb should be acknowledged for their efforts, most of them having limited or no experience putting on a major production. However, they rose to the challenge and supported the students with regular practices so they could speak their lines clearly, transition between scenes, and sing and dance.

Lucy’s husband has also gone out of his way to support the school both in the months leading up to the event and on the nights (filming). We are so grateful that he willingly assists Lucy and thus benefit our school.

Funds raised from the event went to creating sets and props, purchasing/making costumes and the licences for the Performances. However, through selling of the tickets we were also able to upgrade our sound system, purchase new microphones and lighting. This equipment will be used for all future events as they are portable.

Year 3/4 Camp

This Year I am lucky enough to be able to attend the Year 3/4 Camp at Forest Edge. The camp will run for three days starting tomorrow. Camps are a significant commitment for our teachers and ES staff who attend, but we recognise what a positive experience this is for our students.

This camp amongst many other things will give the children the opportunity to:

Disconnect with technology and reconnect with self and others.
Develop social skills in a range of different situations including cooperative learning challenges, activities and sharing a cabin with their peers.
Build lasting relationships with other students who they might not have known well before.
Build a connection between staff and students. Camp provides the opportunity for to see the other in a different context.
Learn new skills e.g. archery and to overcome fears or anxiety when completing adventure activities e.g. The Giant Swing.
Improve independence and personal organisation skills, e.g. taking care of their belongings, time management, helping to set the tables for meals.
Expand experiences in nature, spending time outdoors rather than inside.

Special mention and thanks to the parents, Paul, Christine, Matthew, a Student Teacher, Kayla (student teacher) and Georgie who are attending the camp and assisting us to run the activities.

Fathers’ Day Breakfast

This has always been a popular and significant event as with work and other commitments many parents do not have the opportunity to attend school during the normal school day, I really enjoyed seeing everyone on the day connecting with other members of the community and spending time with their families.

An event such as this relies on a strong team of helpers to set up and assist with the running. I specifically thank Anne, and her committee for coordinating the event and all the work that went on in the months leading up to the event. Thank you to the other parents who volunteered to assist before the event or on the morning. I would also like to express our gratitude to Coles for supporting the event by donating goods for the event.

Michele Nolan

Principal

michele.nolan@education.vic.gov.au