Principal Message

Dear Families,

Welcome to Country: Last Friday was the culmination of National Reconciliation Week, we were so fortunate to have a whole school and community gathering on the soccer pitch where we were welcomed to country by Corrina Eccles. This was well attended, and we had COGG councillors and The Mayor attend, Department of Education representatives and many community members. Jaxon P, our Indigenous Leader this year, facilitated proceedings very well. It was also great to see so many ex-students who still feel connected to the school attend, and be recognised for their contributions and work with BJ O’Toole. A special thanks to Jo Chapman who was the lead in this collaboration with COGG, the School and Wadawurrung community. An outstanding achievement that OGPS should be proud of and keep looking for opportunities to strengthen this space as we grow and learn more. 

Indonesian: This week started with yet another fantastic opportunity for students to experience some Indonesian story telling, puppetry and music thanks to Bu Kate. We had a whole school show to start, some smaller class-based activities and then another whole school gathering to learn more. Thanks to Kate for organising.

Ground works: More works started Monday on the top basketball court which are the final works in this project to prevent flooding downhill. With a 10m fall from Draper St to the back fence, it is important that we capture the water from intense rainfalls and get it underground ASAP! We appreciate your patience and cooperation to enable this project to be completed as quickly as possible. Please be aware the front of the school (main entrance) will have temporary fence installed until the work is completed. Let’s make the tradies access easy so they can complete the job. 

Year 3 Camp: The buses left Tuesday morning and headed down the coast to Camp Wilkin. It was a great day of ‘Challenge by Choice’ activities, problem solving as a group, flying fox and much more. I was fortunate to spend the day with this cohort and enjoyed watching them communicate, negotiate and support each other on various activities. Some great little archers amongst them too! No doubt they will be tired tonight when they arrive home. I suggest food, shower, rest – then talk! I thank all the staff and parents who helped make this camp a success.

Working Bee: Last Sunday Ross Gibson & Mrs H lead a troop of families through the new garden area near the Year 5/6 classrooms. Mr Kev was onsite too, helping with various tasks and he had great assistance from Jock and Point Lonsdale Tree Services who donated his services to help with mulch. Huge thanks to Jock, Mr Kev and all the community that got involved. To the Menheere family who donated beautiful loam and soil for the garden beds, we say a massive thanks too! Stay tuned for the next update from the sustainability committee who are developing next steps for this area. We will need more hands to get this project up and running and then to maintain and sustain the area! 

Curriculum Day: A reminder that this Friday is a Curriculum Day – Student Free day. Staff are visiting Montpellier Primary School to see their maths program in action and will spend time planning Term 3 maths curriculum. Enjoy the long weekend and we will see you back at school on Tuesday 11th, ready to learn! 

Scott McCumber

Principal