Principal's Message

School Philosophy

Orchard Grove Primary School is committed to providing a safe, nurturing environment that engages curiosity, promotes learning, personal growth and wellbeing for all students. We strive to develop adaptability and resilience so students can become valued members of the local and global communities and be prepared for future life experiences.

From the Principal

Hi, everyone. What another great week we have had. It seems like an example of "absence makes the heart grow fonder", because we are just loving being back at school. Even though the staff all have masks on, we are smiling on the inside.

We received a bit of good news today from Daniel Andrews, with an increase to 25km travelling distance from home, and hairdressers being open (I know most of us women will be happy about that). It's a shame that we are not able to have further reductions in the numbers we can have in our home, particularly for the grand final this weekend (GO TIGERS), but at least we can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Taking about the grand final, there will be no school on Friday for the football and 'Thank You' public holiday; on Thursday children can wear AFL gear or other sportswear to help us all get in the spirit of the occasion and help to lighten the mood.

Also, this week is Book Week and we have lots around the school to celebrate. This Tuesday is the official Book Week day and fancy dress is definitely in order. The staff are unable to do our usual staff pantomime so, in true 2020 style, we have gone digital and have recorded our story. Our book this year is the very amusing story of "The Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business" by Werner Holzwarth. We had a lot of fun making the video and we know the children will enjoy it. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of Michelle Ogilvie who has put it all together. Unfortunately, we can't have the usual Book Week parade, but we will still be doing one of sorts in the year level bubbles and using technology to share the experience.

I know many of you are concerned about school photos for 2020. We do have a booking with our providers for Wednesday, November 18th, and we are hoping that it will be allowed to go ahead; if not, we will organise something in-house. We will keep you posted.

Many of you who come to school via Orchard Grove will have met Pacina White who is our new crossing supervisor. Please continue to make her feel welcome as she settles into our community. It is really wonderful to have her there and know that the children are safe crossing such a busy road outside the school.

You probably saw our Facebook post about little Zandie and the new "I'm enrolled at Orchard Grove" t-shirts. I will be on the blue gate (Holland Road) next Thursday between 3:00 and 3:30pm handing these out to those children who are enrolled for Foundation at our school in 2021. If this applies to your family, please come along and get one. They are really lovely, and are a way that may help your little one feel a bit more connected to school when they are unable to come to storytime etc. as they would usually do.  Just look at this gorgeous face below; it makes me smile every time I see it!

On a more serious note, we are beginning to look at grades for next year and have already started our staff recruitment for 2021. If you do have any requests, on educational grounds, for your child's placement for next year, please get them to me by the end of next week, 30th October. Please do not send them to your child's class teacher; they must come to me or they will not be considered.

COVID-19 HOTSPOTS

Just in case you were not aware, we do have a couple of COVID-19  hotspots in our area. As many of you may shop locally, these are the current alerts of which you need to be aware:

Woolworths Blackburn South, 117-125 Canterbury Road 10/10/2020, 1:30pm - 1:50pm Case shopped in-store. 

Box Hill South Aldi, 391-395 Station Street 03/10/2020 - 06/10/2020 Case shopped in-store.

Box Hill Woolworths Box Hill Central, Main St 09/10/2020, 1:30pm - 1:50pm, 10/10/2020, 1:30pm - 1:50pm, 12/10/2020, 6pm - 6:20pm  Case shopped in-store.

This just helps us all to be aware so that, if it applies to us, we can go and get tested.

You also may have heard in the media about the over-two-million-dollar handout to schools to assist students to catch up, in 2021, after the remote learning experience. Unfortunately for OGPS, this money will be given under the banner of social disadvantage and so very little will apply to us. We have been notified that OGPS will receive $15,000 and then an algorithm will be applied based on our social disadvantage for any further money. We believe that it will be a very similar amount to what we get for Gonski (equity) money. So, we are anticipating it will be around $23,000. As each CRT (casual relief teacher) is paid over $400 a day, this money will not go far. However, it is good to have some injection of cash, particularly since we have lost considerable finance due to COVID-19 and not being able to hire out our facilities or fundraise. We predict that, as a school, we will have around a $200,000 deficit in funds for 2020. As you know, we provide an excellent standard of education at OGPS, because we supplement our finances from the Government through hiring facilities, partnerships, fundraising and parent fees. This is what gives us flexibility in the programming and staffing we provide and is vital to our success. Let's hope that 2021 will be a better year for all of us.

Well, that's all for this week.

We are looking forward to a fun week and, of course, I am looking forward to another TIGERS win!

Take care, stay safe and thank you for your continued care, support and encouragement. Together we are a strong community, of which I am very proud to belong.

Glenda Harry

Principal