From Our Principals

Dear Parents and Carers,

With the end of the school year, comes lots of changes for lots of people. There is an excited energy around the school as students and staff prepare for the term break, look forward to their 2025 grades and schedules, and we bid farewell to our Year 6 graduates. I want to take this opportunity to thank all members of the community for your support, trust and feedback this semester. The team have worked extremely hard to complete all of the tasks required of us and to set the school up for a very successful 2025. We have ticked almost everything off our to-do list with the last few items scheduled to be complete over the summer break. You will have received our focus areas for 2025 through Compass this week, for example, and I am extremely proud to have been part of the improvement process at Ormond Primary School this semester. 

Our Year 6 students attended their graduation on Wednesday night and were celebrated for all their successes and achievements during their primary school years. Many of the students are the youngest in their families and so, their departure from Ormond Primary School means the end of an era for our community. I wish all of our Year 6 students and their families all the very best in 2025 and beyond, and particularly acknolwedge the familes 

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Ormond Primary School community for all your support and trust this semester. I have really enjoyed working with you all and am excited about what the future holds for the students, staff and wider community. In the meantime, I hope you have a lovely summer break 

Grades for 2025

Your child(ren) met their teacher and their classmates for 2025 on our Up Day last week. Most of the students were very happy with their placement. Those who expressed concern about not being with their best friend or being placed in a grade with somebody they had an arguement with two years ago, etc., have been supported through the process and that support will continue in Term One to ensure every student at Ormond Primary School has the best educational experience possible. Our staff list for 2025 includes:

We are very excited to welcome back April Kopitz into a new role - Integration Aide - and Dorothy Markou who will teach two days per week. We have two new staff members: 

• Geraldine Kelly is an experienced teacher. She is currently a Learning Specialist at Brighton Primary School and will join the Year 1/2 Professional Learning Community.
• Yioanna Hadi worked at Ormond Primary School in 2023, covering a period of leave for Dorothy Markou in STEAM. Dorothy and Yioanna are excited about the opportunity of working together again.

We are also sad to bid farewell and good luck to several of our 2024 staff. We are very grateful for the impact they have had during their time at Ormond Primary School and wish each of them the very best as they embark on their next adventuress. 

• Karen Abrahams
• Anna Crowley
• Mark Ditto
• Cindy Lee

Smile Squad

The Smile Squad van has finished at OPS for 2024, however the current plan is to return during Week 2 and Week 3 of Term 1 2025 to finish off missed examinations. 

We have been informed that, as it will be the new calendar year, parents/guardians will be required to consent for the check-up again. 

To ensure you have a spot, please complete the consent during the summer school holidays by scanning the QR code or clicking on the link below and submitting the consent form electronically. Please complete and submit the consent form by 31 January 2025.

Sign up to Smile Squad at: https://bit.ly/smilesquadvic

OR use the below QR code:

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

The CSEF provides payments to assist eligible families to cover the costs of camps, sporting activities and excursions.

Payments are made directly to an eligible student’s school. Schools must use a CSEF payment only for the eligible student and not for that student’s siblings or any other student (except where the eligible student leaves the Victorian education system and there are remaining and unspent funds).

To be eligible to receive CSEF funding, evidence of a valid Healthcare Card/or Veterans Affairs Card-Gold  (in Parents/Guardians name not Childs)

Some common examples of school-organised programs for which a CSEF payment may be used include:

• school camps/trips
• swimming and other school-organised sporting programs
• outdoor education programs
• excursions/incursions
• graduations.

The CSEF payment cannot be used towards:

• books
• stationery
• school uniforms
• before/after school care
• music lessons
• locker hire
• classroom and homework materials
• formals or debutant balls
• other expenses unrelated to camps, sports or excursions.

For a confidential discussion about accessing these services, or if you would like to discuss alternative payment arrangements, contact Helen Taylor (Business Manager) on 9578 1327 or email Helen.Taylor2@education.vic.gov.au to discuss possible support options and flexible payment arrangements.  Any information about your financial circumstances, payment arrangements or status is strictly confidential.

Please see the CSEF Application Form attached.

Furniture Upgrade

The Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee of School Council are delighted to announce that we have ordered new furniture for our classrooms. Every child in Years 1-6 will return to school in 2025 to bright, fresh furniture. We are incredibly grateful to all of the parents who supported us in the last week of term to remove and dismantle our outgoing furniture.

We have already paid for 50% of the furniture using our accumulated Building Fund. However, we have a $50,000 balance that we need your help with! We would be very grateful for any additional support you can provide through our parent payments, that will be published soon. Donations to our Building Fund are tax deductible. Once we manage to cover the cost of the furniture, additional fundraising activities in 2025 will be directed to:

1. Adding additional bike racks for the students
2. Installing a new water fountain at the back of the oval
3. Replacing the second playground and sandpit on the main yard

2025 Information

Please see the Compass post that was published earlier this week for information on parent contributions for 2025. More information on how families can process their contributions will be released in January.

The School Improvement Team have worked hard to set a clear and strategic plan for 2025; Please read more about our focus areas below. 

Regards,

Patrick Halpin and Aaron Jones