Principal's Message

Wawa, Wominjika.

Here at Old Orchard Primary School, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we visit each day, the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung 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.

Welcome

Welcome back to our Old Orchard community for the commencement of Term 3 and also to the first official addition of our rebranded newsletter, the Harvest.

As always, we have a great term of learning ahead of us with many exciting activities including:

• Year 3 camp
• Year 4 camp
• Junior Concert
• Book Week
• Prep 100 days of school
• Prep zoo excursion
• Year 2 Sleepover
• ICAS testing
• School Athletics Sports
• Victorian State Schools Spectacular - Dance & Choir

Building Works

The building works are progressing slowly at Old Orchard and I would like to thank staff, students and school families for their patience and flexibility late last term and so far this term. We expect to move back into the school office on Monday with some of the temporary fencing around the school also being removed. The staff room and kitchen garden room are still closed with the school effectively cut in half due to the temporary partition wall that is in place near the staff room. We are very much looking forward to the works being completed later this term!

Punctuality

Just a reminder to all school families of the importance of students arriving at school well rested, on time and ready to commence learning at 9.00am. Ideally, students should arrive at 8.50am and make their way to their classroom so that they have a few minutes to get organised for the day ahead. Students who regularly arrive late to school, even if it is only by a few minutes, miss out on important information and a smooth transition into the school day. As alluded to in my opening sentence, being well rested is essential for effective learning and engagement in school - we look forward to your support in this matter.

School Uniform

A reminder, also that all students at Old Orchard are expected to wear school uniform consistent with the student dress code. We are fortunate in having a comfortable, flexible uniform that is aesthetically pleasing and offers a wide range of choice. Commencing in Term 3, we will be sending home reminders with students who are not wearing correct uniform and repeated breaches may result in stronger consequences. In particular, we ask for your support in addressing the following. 

• Wearing of black or other coloured shorts, track-suit pants or leggings (instead of blue)
• Long hair not being tied back
• Wearing make-up or cosmetics
• Wearing coloured nail polish
• Wearing jewellery (studs or sleepers are fine)

Thank-you for your support in this matter. The Student Dress Code Policy can be found here.

Ginger Update

Our school Therapy Dog, Ginger, has settled in extremely well at Old Orchard and she has been a huge hit with the students and staff. Ginger has been attending puppy training over recent weeks with our STEM teacher, Lauren Todd, and is making amazing progress. 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Year 6 teacher Tom Rogers on his engagement to his partner Molly over the school holidays. We wish Tom and Molly many years of happiness together.