Principal's Message

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.

Junior Concert

What a fantastic junior concert we had this week, with all students from Prep to Year 3 putting on incredible performances at Crossway Centre over the past couple of nights. It was a joy to sit in the audience and witness the fun the students were having, their excitement, their enthusiasm and their pride in the performance. I particularly loved the arrangement of the concert with each group presenting two separate performances on stage, as well as a full cast performance at the end of the show. Congratulations to all students involved, including all students from Prep to Year 3, our Choir and our Music Captains. Thank-you to our families for supporting these events and contributing to memorable experiences for our students; thank-you to our incredible staff who always enthusiastically support these events and work hard to ensure maximum participation and engagement. (Special mention to Jen Males and her highly talented hula hoop performers!)

Finally, an enormous thank-you to our incredible music teacher Rhiannon. Her capacity to deliver events such as these with a high level of organisation, an amazing sense of calm and superb knowledge and expertise is highly admirable and greatly appreciated. We know that we are incredibly fortunate to have her as our Preforming Arts teacher at Old Orchard.

Staffing Update

It is with mixed feelings that I share the news that Curtis DeWitt will be departing Old Orchard at the end of Term 3. Curtis was originally a student at Old Orchard (taught by Jen McCann in Year 6!) before eventually returning as a teacher in 2018. Curtis’s teaching has been characterised by wonderful connections with students, his strong classroom teaching, his enthusiastic participation in and contribution to many school events and much more. Curtis is moving to Carlton Gardens PS as a P.E. teacher and while we are very sad to be losing him from Old Orchard, we wish him every success as he takes a different career path.

Sunsmart

Families are reminded that we are now within the period when the Sunsmart Policy is active. Students not wearing hats when outside will be directed to the ‘no hat - no play’ area. An important change to school practice is that we will no longer be keeping a supply of spare hats for students to borrow. The final day when hats may be borrowed is tomorrow.

District Athletics

Last Friday, approximately 60 of our students from Years 3 to 6 participated in the District Athletics Competition. Our students performed extremely well throughout the day with Old Orchard being awarded the Most Improved School trophy and 18 of our students have progressed to the next stage of competition, the Zone Competition, to be held early in Term 4. Please refer to the Sports Report for further details.

Prep Zoo Excursion

Our Prep teachers and students are very, very excited about their upcoming excursion to the Melbourne Zoo next Wednesday. The Zoo excursion is always one of the highlights of the year and we love to share their excitement about their favourite animal, funniest animal, etc, upon their return to school. Thanks in advance to the many staff and adult helpers who make it possible for this event to take place.

Play Therapy Free Seminar

We are fortunate to have one of our school parents, Trish McGhie, who is a qualified and practising Play Therapist. Trish is presenting a free online parenting talk on September 17th, titled Imperfect Parenting in a Perfect World. Trish is incredibly passionate about this work and I encourage you to refer to the flyer elsewhere in this edition of The Harvest.

Kiss & Drop Zones

We now have Kiss & Drop zones at the front and rear of the school. It isn’t uncommon to see families who seem confused with the purpose and rules around Kiss & Drop Zones - included in this edition of the Harvest is a detailed explanation of Kiss & Drop zones and I encourage you to familiarise yourself with the contents. Ultimately, the primary intention and purpose of these zones and other traffic restrictions around schools is student safety and wellbeing.

3 Way ConferencesParent - Teacher Chats

All families should have received information about the Chats / Conferences over the next week or two. Hopefully you have made a booking and will engage in the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress. In fairness to staff and to other families, please note:- the chats / conferences are scheduled for 10 minutes and staff have been instructed to adhere strictly to this time structure.- if you are unable to attend your scheduled meeting for any reason, please advise the teacher in advance. The teacher will endeavour to arrange an alternate time, however options may be limited. Families who do not book an appointment, or who are a ‘no-show’ are not guaranteed to be able to make an appointment at a different time.

The rationale behind this approach is that teachers are professionals and should be treated as such as would be the case with appointments that are made with other professionals such as medical professionals, accountants, etc. Thank-you in anticipation of your support.