HARMONY DAY

On Tuesday 21st of March, we celebrated Harmony Day! It was fantastic to see so many students from diverse cultural backgrounds come together to celebrate and embrace our differences.

At Orchard Park PS, of our 330 students, we are proud to have 104 students who speak a language other than English at home. This is a testament to the rich cultural diversity that our school community is made up of. We also have 43 students who were born overseas from 17 different countries.

In addition to our student body, we are also proud of the fact that 315 members of our parent community were born across 34 different countries other than Australia and of these families, there are 30 different languages spoken. This is a true reflection of the multicultural nature of our school and the wider Australian society.

We would like to thank some very brave students who showcased their cultures at the parade we held in the morning. Zach and Christopher Brooke did a fantastic job with their PowerPoint presentation on the history of Cambodia and some of their foods. Xian Rui moved us all with his heartfelt poem about his Filipino culture and traditions. Finally, a special mention goes to Miri Kaur and her family for recording a stunning traditional Punjabi folk dance called the 'Bhangra'.

Once again, congratulations to all the students who participated in Harmony Day. It was a wonderful day to celebrate our culturally diverse community. We are looking forward to learning more about our diverse community at future events throughout the year.

CROSS COUNTRY

We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all our students who participated in the recent House Cross Country event held on Monday, 20th March. Our Prep-Year 2 students ran an impressive 1km, while our Year 3/4s tackled a challenging 2km course. The Year 5/6s, meanwhile, showed incredible endurance by running an amazing 3km. Seeing our students pushing themselves to the limit and giving it their all on the day was truly inspiring. We want to congratulate all our students on their efforts, as well as their commitment to training in the lead-up to the event. Your hard work and dedication paid off, and we are proud of each and every one of you for doing your best. Well done, everyone!

In addition, we are delighted to announce that our top runners from Years 3-6 have qualified for the District Cross Country event. Congratulations to these exceptional athletes for their incredible achievement, and we wish them all the best as they move on to the next stage. We are confident that they will represent our school with pride and determination, and we look forward to hearing about their success in the future. Once again, congratulations to all our students for their participation and perseverance in the House Cross Country event. You have made us proud!

EASTER COLOURING COMPETITION

We are thrilled to announce that Paige from Prep C has won the Easter Colouring Competition! Paige's beautiful artwork was selected as the winning entry, and she was presented with an Easter hamper at our school assembly by Emma Vulin, a local MP. We are incredibly proud of Paige and her artistic talent, and we congratulate her on this fantastic achievement. We would also like to commend all the Prep students who participated in the competition. Your creativity and hard work were evident in all the wonderful entries we received. Well done to everyone!

EASTER RAFFLE

Thank you to all of our families for your Easter Donations for our Free Dress Day that was held today. Our OPPS Parents and Friend group are looking forward to putting together the hampers for our final assembly of the term.

Raffle ticket books have been sent home and are available for purchase to enter the draw. Along with several Easter Hampers, the first prize will be a 10kg block of chocolate!!

The raffle draw will take place at the final assembly for the term on Thursday, the 6th of April.

HOT CROSS BUN DRIVE

In addition to our Easter Raffle, we are excited to announce our first hot cross bun drive, supported by Emerald Village Bakery! This is another wonderful fundraising initiative run by our Parents and Friends group.

Families can choose from three delicious flavours: fruitless, fruit, and chocolate. Orders can be placed on Compass. Hot cross buns will be available for pickup on Wednesday 5th of April, between 2:30 and 3:30 pm. Don't miss out on this opportunity to enjoy some sweet treats while supporting our school!

All Girls Auskick Centre