From the Assistant  Principal 

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all having a great week! It’s hard to believe there are only two weeks remaining of Term 1.

I’ve decided to have a go at the Principal’s report this week and it’s with much enthusiasm that I fill you in on all the news at OGPS!

Both Harmony Day and Ride 2 School Day were a wonderful success last week. I have never seen the bike racks so full of bikes, nor the office so colourful with orange balloons for Harmony Day. Both of these celebrations form an important part of our student’s health and wellbeing. Thanks to Kristy Dodds for organising Harmony Day and also to Megan King for organising Ride 2 School Day. If the smiles on the students’ faces were anything to go by, I think they were both very successful days. It might be worth asking your child/ren what Harmony Day means. You may even like to remind/prompt them about the amazing ‘fish’ creation currently on display in the art room highlighting the slogan – ‘We are all different fish, but at this school we swim together’. Music to my ears!

What about the curriculum day? What did the staff do on Monday? Ocean Grove Primary School has been in deliberations for quite some time about ‘spelling’ and how we can best cater for ALL of our students and their varying spelling needs. On Monday, the staff participated in a full day of SMART Spelling training with founder and presenter, Michelle Hutchison. I really admired the way our staff ‘dug deep’, they weren’t afraid to ask questions to gain better understanding and they supported each other beautifully. There was so much robust discussion, collaboration and investigation throughout the course of the day. SMART spelling incorporates both the systematic teaching of spelling and also has an emphasis on ‘personal words’. Ryan Baltetsch (Literacy Leaning Specialist) has led this initiative and staff are really excited to commence it next term. As I said to staff this week – change can be scary at the beginning, messy in the middle and hopefully beautiful at the end. Stay tuned for SMART spelling updates.

Three generations at Ocean Grove Primary School! On Thursday we will have several families (grandparents, parents and students) gather in the staffroom to browse through photos, memorabilia and reminisce with each other. The history, connections, stories and traditions of our amazing school are so unique and special. As I raced past the library one day, I remember a Grandparent ask me – ‘Do you still have that fire place in the admin building?’ He continued to tell me that it was once his job to collect the wood (near the soccer pitch) to put on the fire each day. I absolutely cannot wait to show him that fire place on Thursday. The Geelong Advertiser will also be on-site to do a story on some of the families. Watch out for that one.

OH&S news. As part of our regular OH&S procedures we are required to conduct evacuation drills (where we move to an outside location) and lockdown procedures (where we stay inside). Each of these procedures is conducted twice, annually. On Friday we will conduct a practise lockdown drill. This drill helps staff to ensure that safety procedures are implemented, enacted and evaluated, resulting in a safe environment for our school community. 

Conundrum. I found myself in a quandary on Sunday – when should I step in as a parent and when should I step out as a parent? It’s probably fair to say that things were getting slightly tense at our house as my son packed his bag for a survivor camp this week. There were a few disagreements about what should go in the bag and what shouldn’t go in the bag. We both attempted to follow the camp list that was provided although it was obvious we both thought very differently. Half way through packing, Fletcher’s friend popped over. I had  a chat with this friend’s Mum. I asked her how she was going with the packing. She replied that she had nothing to do with the packing as it was up to her son – it helped him to develop good character building, even if he forgot things. At that point I decided to ‘step out of the packing process’. Isn’t it hard to step out/step back? Even when you know your way is possibly better, more efficient and just all round, more organised. Did Fletch pack what I thought were the wrong runners? Yes! Did Fletch pack what I thought were the wrong shorts? Yes! Did he pack the right jumper? No! I found it really difficult to watch this packing process that appeared to me to be somewhat of a disorganised mess, but, Fletch headed off as a very happy camper feeling really self-fulfilled and motivated by his efforts and preparation that he had completed by himself. Gosh it’s hard to stand back sometimes, but I’m going to really try and do more of it. 

Have a great week everyone,

Kristy