From Our Principals

Dear families,

Only two weeks until the holidays! The end of the year is approaching quickly, and we are already well into planning for 2026.

A big thank you to our P&F for organising another successful event. Our Fathers and Families celebration this morning was made even more special by the coffee, baked treats, and sunshine. We hope everyone celebrating enjoys a wonderful day on Sunday.

Mental Health in Primary Schools and SWPBS

Last week I attended a briefing about the Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative, which will be introduced to the Bayside Peninsula area next year. This means our school will receive funding for a qualified teacher to lead a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. The focus will be on promotion, prevention, and building staff capacity to support students.

Although this role is non-clinical, it is a vital coordinator position. It will involve developing referral pathways, connecting with community services, and embedding evidence-based training to support student outcomes and emotional development.

This initiative comes at a wonderful time, as it complements our current focus on whole-school positive behaviours and creating an inclusive, proactive community. In addition, on Monday we are meeting with a School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) Coach to discuss our journey and application to the SWPBS framework for 2026.

Attitudes to School Survey

This week I met with our Year 6 students to discuss the results of the Attitudes to School Survey they recently completed. Next week I look forward to meeting with Year 4, and then Year 5.

The purpose of these conversations is to show students that their feedback is valued, and that the results are carefully unpacked and used to inform decisions and improvements at our school. We want them to know their voices matter and will be listened to.

These meetings also give us the chance to dig deeper into the survey results. The way questions are worded doesn’t always capture specific insights. For example, students were asked: “In most ways my life is close to the way I would want it to be.” I asked the Year 6s to share what might make this feel more true for them, and I have been truly impressed by the eloquence and maturity of their responses.

Road Safety

We are very fortunate to have caring members of our community, such as our wonderful crossing attendants Sue and Ros, helping to keep students safe each day.

However, we have recently noticed an increase in some unsafe road practices around the school. We ask for everyone’s support in:

• using designated school crossings
• avoiding parking in the disabled zone unless you have a permit
• reinforcing safe road use with your family

We have also been notified of some unsafe bike riding before and after school. Some students have been riding too quickly on footpaths and overtaking others without warning. This can be frightening for pedestrians, especially younger children.

Please remind your children to always ride safely: slow down when approaching others, ring their bell to alert pedestrians, and only pass when it is safe and respectful to do so.

Let’s continue to work together to keep everyone safe on their way to and from school.

Indigenous Literacy Day

On Wednesday OPS celebrated Indigenous Literacy Day, an annual event honouring First Nations stories, cultures, and languages. Classes marked the day in different ways, from tuning into the national livestream (as Year 6 did) to sharing stories within classrooms.

Visual Arts Teacher

With Andria Arendze moving to her new position, we are pleased to have a consistent replacement teacher, Rebecca Horne, leading the Art Program for remainder of Term 3. Rebecca will be with us from Tuesday to Friday each week. We warmly welcome Ms Horne to the OPS community.

We wish our District Athletics Team all the very best for Monday and look forward to seeing our community at the School Disco next Friday, as well as at the Working Bee on Sunday 14 September.

I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful weekend, and please keep reading for more updates and happenings around OPS.

With thanks,

Anna-Marie Yelland

Social Stencil

Effie Liarakos (Year 1/2 Teacher) has created some slides using information from Social Stencil. The content focuses on creating 'nice places' to have meaningful conversations with children. In today’s fast-paced world, some parents might find these ideas helpful.