Wawa, Wominjika.

Here at Old Orchard Primary School, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we visit each day, the Wurrunguri and Woiwurrung people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge and respect the elders and leaders past and present and the elders and leaders of all of the cultures and nationalities that are part of the Old Orchard Primary School community. We express our gratitude towards the orchards that were kept in place by the peoples on this land before us. We thank the traditional owners for sharing this beautiful land that we all love, and for keeping the land, sky, waterways and animals all in great condition for thousands of years, not only for themselves but for all the generations to come.

Parent teacher chats

Our parent - teacher chats have now concluded. We trust you found the chats valuable as an opportunity to hear about your child’s progress and share pertinent information with teachers.

Barefoot Bowls

Congratulations to the Old Orchard PFA on a very successful Barefoot Bowls event at Blackburn North Bowls Club last Saturday night. By all accounts, it was a fantastic evening and a great way to kick off our PFA events for 2025.

School Cross Country

Our students are very excited ahead of the 2025 school cross country event on Friday. This is always a fantastic event for our students and also an ideal one for parents and carers to attend and cheer on the students. Thanks to our temporary PE teacher Charlotte Read, who is organising this event in James’s absence.

Kiss & Drop Zone (repost)

Many of you would be aware of the ‘Kiss and Drop’ zones at the front and rear entrances of our school. These zones are specifically designed to allow for quick drop offs of students and quick collection of students at the end of the day and as the signage indicates, there is a two minute parking time limit with drivers not permitted to leave their vehicles unattended. We have been monitoring this closely of late and will speak with parents who may not be clear about the expectations. For clarity, there are detailed guidelines about the Kiss and Drop zone in each copy of the Harvest, and I encourage you to read them closely. All traffic and road safety rules in and around the school are in place in the interests of the safety of our students, families, Eleni (our crossing supervisor) and other pedestrians and road users.

Whitehorse Council Student Forum

Yesterday I was fortunate to attend the Whitehorse Council Student Forum session with our school captains, Lou Lou and Ezra. The students have written a great summary of their experiences as reprinted below.

‘Kids Voicenators’ recount - by Lou Lou and Ezra 6EH

On Wednesday 26th of March, we went with Duncan to one of the Whitehorse Council meeting rooms with many other school captains and leaders from different schools.

When we got there we were greeted by Kate Beveridge (Community Engagement Advisor) and Cr. Ben Stennett. We also met some new people and even made some friends. We sat down with Blackburn Lake Primary School and Whitehorse Primary School.

After we settled in, we played a game where we all stood up in a circle and we got a ball and threw it to each other and said their names out loud. We timed how fast we could get through everyone! We also played a teamwork game called ‘beach tap’ where we all tapped the ball to try and keep it off the ground. Each time we counted how many people tapped it before it touched the ground or walls!

For the last part of the session, the councillors started by asking us the best way to give kids a voice. We all shared how we think kids should have a voice in trying to build a playground, then we worked in groups to choose our favourite play equipment and our favourite type of playground.

It was great to have the opportunity to connect with other school leaders and do some learning outside the classroom. We’re looking forward to our next session in Term 2!

End of Term 1 arrangements & Term 2

Term 1 finishes next Friday, April 4th. There will be a whole school assembly in the Gymnasium at 1.45pm with students dismissed at 2.30pm.

Term 2 commences on Wednesday April 23rd.

Monday April 21st is Easter Monday
Tuesday April 22nd is a Pupil Free Day
Friday April 25th is ANZAC Day

Warmest regards

Duncan

Special Cricket Grand Final Update (optional reading!)

Congratulations to staff member Pip Cariss on captaining the Kerrimuir Women's team to the premiership last weekend, and being named Player of the Match. Pip hit the winning runs and was joined in the team by Old Orchard parents, Michelle Vine & Sarah Osborn. Well done ladies!

Seven former Old Orchard students also played in premierships over the weekend:

- Conor Spinks, Tom & Max Rimmer for Blackburn (captained by Old Orchard parent Jordan Wise)

- Tim Snow, Will Sugden & Jackson Eales for Blackburn North

- Justin McIntyre (with his dad as captain) for Park Orchards

Team Kids