Welcome

Wawa, Wominjika.

Here at Old Orchard Primary School, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we visit each day, the Wurrunguri and Woiwurrung people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge and respect the elders and leaders past and present and the elders and leaders of all of the cultures and nationalities that are part of the Old Orchard Primary School community. We express our gratitude towards the orchards that were kept in place by the peoples on this land before us. We thank the traditional owners for sharing this beautiful land that we all love, and for keeping the land, sky, waterways and animals all in great condition for thousands of years, not only for themselves but for all the generations to come.

Industrial Action - Staff stop work - Tuesday March 24th

As previously advised, teachers and education support staff across Victoria will be stopping work next Tuesday as part of approved industrial action. I will provide further details in a separate communication, however I can advise that the vast majority of teachers will be stopping work. This means that we will be operating on a skeleton staff and that all school programs and classes will be severely impacted. I strongly encourage parents and carers to make alternative plans for the care of their children on Tuesday.

Student Voice

On Tuesday of this week our school captains, Sullivan and Harriett, attended the first of six student forum sessions facilitated by Whitehorse City Council. The session involved approximately 20 student leaders from local schools and included several activities where the students shared their ideas about what the Council might do to improve services in Whitehorse. A highlight was meeting and hearing from Mayor Cr. Kirsten Langford.

Next week, our broader Year 6 student leadership team will be attending the GRIP student leader conference in the city.

Riding bicycles / scooters in the schoolgrounds

Please note that students are not permitted to ride bikes / scooters in the schoolground before school or after school up until 4.00pm. Upon arrival at school, students are asked to dismount and walk their bike / scooter to the bike rack where it should remain untouched throughout the day. After school, students can collect their bike / scooter and must then walk it out of the gates before riding. We also ask that students exiting via the main pedestrian gate on Koonung Rd do not commence riding until they have cleared the school crossing area.

Year 3 Athletics Sports and Whole School Cross Country

We have a busy week of sport next week, with our Athletics Sports (Years 3 - 6) on Monday March 23rd and our Whole School Cross Country on Friday March 27th. This will be the first time in recent memory that the Cross Country will involve all year levels and both days promise to be great experiences for our students.

Kindergarten Kids Storytime Session

Please join us for a Storytime session in the library on Tuesday, 31st March, from 10:45 to 11:30am.

All 4-year old kinder kids are welcome! Please sign in at the office before making your way to the library.

** Parents are required to stay with their child for the duration of the session.

School Fete

Our biennial school fete is scheduled for Saturday November 14th. The school fete is always a fantastic event on our school calendar and also an important fundraiser. Fiona and Sheree are again heading up our Fete team and we are looking to increase community involvement in the planning and running of the fete this year. Please check the fete page in The Harvest each week for updates and for ways you can become involved.

Safe behaviours at school crossings

As kids travel to and from school it’s important for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to be aware and take extra care during these busy times. Following the road rules at school crossings doesn’t just keep our community safe, it is also the law.

To help keep our kids safe, it’s important for drivers to:

Slow down around school crossings at a speed slow enough to stop safely, if necessary.
Stop if a hand held “Stop” sign is displayed and you must give way when school crossing flags are displayed.
Stop and wait until the school crossing is clear of all pedestrians including supervisors.
Stop if a child or adult is about to cross or is crossing, even if there is no crossing supervisor.
Never overtake a vehicle stopping or stopped at the crossing.
Never let children get in or out of your vehicle when stopped waiting at a school crossing.
Respect School Crossing Supervisors, they’re trained to support children’s safety.
Always watch out for children near schools and if you see a school crossing, use it.

At school crossings, all road users need to be alert, including pedestrians. Always look and listen for approaching traffic from each direction before crossing. Pedestrians need to be sure that drivers or riders have seen them and are stopping.

Identifying a school crossing

School crossings are operational when flags are displayed or signs with flashing lights are operating. Drivers, riders and pedestrians can look out for the following to help identify a school crossing:

School crossings are active on weekdays during Victorian school terms. Usually between 8.00am to 9.30am and from 2.30pm to 4.00pm.
Red and white posts on each side of the road with orange children’s crossing flags.
Two parallel continuous or broken lines across the road surface. Children’s crossing yellow signs and twin yellow lights flashing.
A school crossing supervisor may be present, easily identified by a high visibility yellow safety vest or jacket and a hat with the word ‘Supervisor’ embroidered. There is also a Crossing Supervisor at the designated crossing on Katrina St.
If you’re driving in a school zone, it usually means a school crossing will be nearby. In most cases, the speed limit displayed will be 40km/h.

The second element of this Traffic Safety report is more general but extremely important. Sadly and of great concern, we continue to witness and receive reports of highly dangerous and appalling traffic behaviour around the school. These behaviours include but are not limited to:

Double parking
Exceeding the time limit in the Kiss and Drop zones and/or leaving vehicles unattended
Allowing children to exit and enter vehicles whilst the vehicle is not parked and in some instances, whilst the vehicle is clearly not in ‘Park’; sometimes doors are being opened before the vehicle has come to a complete stop
Pulling into driveways to drop-off or collect children, causing footpaths to be blocked and requiring reversing from the driveways into footpaths and roads that are busy with pedestrians and traffic
Performing u-turns in very busy areas at the front and rear of the school; these are not illegal but common sense suggests that they are potentially very dangerous
Rare, but still too frequent ‘road rage’ that can only be described as appalling; I encourage community members to report any such incidents to the police.

Our children are our most precious commodity; please prioritise their safety and wellbeing, as well as that of other pedestrians and road users, above your own convenience. Patient and courteous driving behaviour respects and prioritises the safety of all and demonstrates to our children that care and consideration for others is paramount.

Pip - cricket

We are fortunate to have Pip Cariss as a member of our staff - Pip does an amazing job looking after our facilities and a multitude of other tasks. In addition to this, Pip is a handy cricketer and on the weekend led her team (Kerrimuir Blue) to victory in the Senior Women T20 Grand Final. (for the second successive year). Pip was joined in the team by Old Orchard parents, Michelle Vine and Sarah Osborn. Congratulations ladies!!

Best wishes

Duncan