Principal Report & School News
From the Principal...
Term 3 initially started well and then unfortunately, we transitioned straight into a lockdown situation which was far from ideal. Our focus this term - whether through remote or onsite learning, continues to be around building new skills and strategies to improve literacy and numeracy and to develop curiosity and inquiry skills through our Humanities and Science units. Many special events have been organised for this term and we hope we can still hold them in these uncertain times. Some of these include:
Ormond’s Got talent, School Athletics, Departmental Soirees, Year 3 Camp and a number of incursions and excursions.
Lockdown 5.0
Last week it was announced that new circuit breaker restrictions for Victoria would be put in place to swiftly address the recent COVID-19 outbreak. The restrictions were put in place from 11.59pm last Thursday night for an extended period. Following advice from the Victorian Chief Health Officer, all Victorian schools have moved to a period of remote and flexible learning from midnight Thursday 15th July. A reminder that all persons entering any school building must check in via the QR codes, face masks must be worn inside and outside and social distancing guidelines must be followed at all times. As with other remote learning periods, our school will provide onsite supervision for vulnerable students and those with parents or carers in essential services.
Enrol Now for 2022
Although School Tours are again on hold, we are still open for 2022 enrolments. If you have a child turning 5 by April 30, 2022, forms can be collected at the Front Office. It helps us enormously with planning if we have a clear indication of enrolments as early as possible. We are also finalising staffing in the next month or so and this is aligned with student enrolments. We will be conducting further tours for those who may have missed an opportunity to visit our school once the current covid restrictions are lifted. On-site Transition activities are due to commence as soon as possible. Foundation team will look at smaller groupings or webinar catch-ups as we did in 2020 if restrictions are still in place.
Keeping Your Child Active
Physical activity is important for developing coordination and motor skills. Exercise can come from team sports, playing games at local playgrounds, dancing, completing chores and walking the dog. The benefits of keeping active are significant. Research has shown that exercise is beneficial for helping your child think, concentrate and solve problems, all of which are essential skills when it comes to learning.
At 6 years old, children have a wide range of physical skills. Some may show natural athleticism while others will work on accomplishing simple skills. As your child’s coordination and motor skills become more refined, they will be able to engage in games like skipping, kicking a ball and playing tag. Natural athleticism and the amount of physical activity your child does play a role in developing their physical abilities. Your child’s fine motor coordination will also continue to develop. Your child will become more adept at drawing and writing letters, and their pictures and stories will appear more legible. They will be able to manage and use tools like scissors and rulers, and they will be able to perform tasks such as tying shoelaces or doing up buttons with greater proficiency.
Things you can do at home
Do things together with your child; this will get everyone moving and kids love to play with their parents. Try to make family fitness outings part of your regular routine. Let your child and each family member take turns choosing an activity for these outings, for example: walking, bike riding or a trip down to the local park – anything goes, as long as everyone can participate.
Staff Professional Learning
Our school was selected to join the Professional Learning Communities initiative, alongside Gardenvale PS, Tucker Rd & Bentleigh West. The first workshop was held today via webinar meetings and I want to thank Gregg Workman, Delia Robey, Effie Liarakos, Elly Wood and Lorrie Dell for their participation. This PLC team will be driving the learning for the rest of the staff throughout 2021 and beyond. This initiative focuses on collaborative whole school improvement to benefit all students at Ormond PS. Our PLC team firmly believes that we can achieve more if we all collaborate and work together.
Kerri McLeod
Principal
ITS OPS's 130th BIRTHDAY
This year Ormond Primary turns 130 years old. Parents & Friends would like to mark this momentous occasion by selling an commemorative bag tag.
Australian made, the environmentally friendly bag tag is manufactured using recycled wood with no plastics used in the production process.
The bag tags can be attached to the OPS school bags, used on your work bag and, sized at 5cm by 9cm, they could even be used as a key ring.
Cost: $6.50 each
Orders close 5pm, Monday 26 July
How to order:
Order via the Course Confirmation/School Payments area of Compass. this will appear as a link on you portal home screen. Please state in the question area how many tags you wish to purchase. Please ensure you enter the final payment amount to reflect the total number of tags you wish to order .e.g.
2 x bag tags = $13.00
6 x bag tags = $39.00
We’ve received very positive feedback about this initiative and hope many families purchase the commemorative OPS 130 year anniversary bag tag.
SRC - Crazy Hair Day & Food Drive for the ASRC
Even in the middle of a Covid-lockdown we need to let our hair down and boy did OPS deliver!! What an amazing array of funky and creative hairstyles you have all produced. Thank you to everyone who got involved in Crazy Hair Day, please enjoy the photos below from the school community.
Please don't forget to what today was in aid for and that is to support The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC). You can still bring in your donations to the office during lockdown while out on your exercise breaks or bring them with you when we return to back to school.
- Prep - Sweet or savoury biscuits and Jam
- Year 1 - Spices small packs cumin, turmeric, chilli and Honey small bottles
- Year 2 – Shampoo and conditioner
- Year 3 - Dried fruit apricots, dates and Full cream UHT milk 1 litre
- Year 4 - Deodorant and Coconut cream
- Year 5 - Dishwashing liquid 1 litre and Tinned tomatoes 400g
- Year 6 - Laundry power max 1kg and Tuna in oil 400g
We would appreciate it if you could adhere to these items sorted by Year level. This will ensure we get a balanced mix of goods. If you have anything else you would like to donate, take a look at the organisation’s website (https://www.asrc.org.au) with suggestions on where to drop off other goods. These items cannot be accepted at school.
Thank you, Luca and Clem (SRC Capitan’s), the members of the SRC and Miss Lichoudaris.
Premiers Reading Challenge 2021
The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and Ormond Primary is excited to be participating. The PRC application offers a range of exciting features including:
- access to a library catalogue (including book images and blurbs)
- a modern user-friendly interface
- rewarding students with badges as challenge milestones are achieved
- the option for students to mark books as a favourite, give them a star rating or complete a book review
The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 17 September 2021.
Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.
All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.
To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: www.education.vic.gov.au/prc
Year 2 News
The Year 2 students completed a unit of work on non-fiction books. They read, analysed and wrote non-fiction texts. Below are non-fiction posters on whales that were completed by year 2 students.
Year 3 News
At the beginning of each Maths session, we play quick, mathematical, warm-up games to get our brain muscle thinking hard. One of our favourite games we play to improve our automatic recall of number facts, is the game of ‘War’. All you need is two 6 or 10-sided dice and a jotter for tallying, or a pack of cards with the Js, Qs, & Ks removed. Players take turns to throw the dice, or flip over the two top cards. The cards are multiplied and the first player to call out the answer wins the cards. Play continues until all cards have been played and the player with the most cards, wins! This game can easily be played at home, too.
"What I like about the game of is that it helps me to get fast." Amillia
"I like this game because it allows me to improve my Maths." Daniel
"I like how you can use higher or lower numbered dice to multiply." Scarlett
"I like the game, ‘War’, because you can do times tables fast!" Finn
"What I like about this game is that there are dice that group to 12." Lily
Year 5 News
Year 5 students showing off their Australian History projects.
Students learnt about the structure and text features of information reports and presented their learning in multiple ways, including models, Google Slides and letters from the 1800s.
