Dear Families,

Apple Fair: The committee have ramped things up this week, sponsorship is coming in, donations piling up and plans are being executed. If you are not part of the committee, it’s time to sign up on the volunteer roster to help the team, bring this to life. All money raised goes directly back into the school for your children. We have achieved so many great things because of this event over the years and the committee want to do more. The Resilience Project being delivered at school this year is the main priority for 2026. Let’s make March 14th between 11am-4pm, a great day and a successful fundraiser for the kids at OGPS!

Assembly: What a turn out last Friday at assembly! Thanks to all families who attended and saw our new School Captains lead the assembly. Congrats to Alfie, Ava, Maya, Darko and Hettie. It was the Foundation students’ first one and they were magnificent. Our next whole school assembly will be in Week 5, then week 9. 2.45pm start time.

NAPLAN: Later this term, Year 3 & 5 students will participate in the NAPLAN testing. A parent information pack is available here. If your family are considering withdrawing your child from the testing, please notify your classroom teacher ASAP as there is some paperwork to be completed and signed with me. As always, it is your choice as a family.

School Uniform: Great to see the students wearing school uniform and being proud of the school. Wednesday is the day to wear your House coloured shirt. We have a great range of uniform options via https://www.ogps.vic.edu.au/index.php/uniform-shop/

Somers Camp: As mentioned last week, Year 5 & 6 students are welcome to register their interest a spot for Somers Camp here. I am waiting confirmation of the number of spots for OGPS students then we will proceed to the next step. Please be aware the cost is $350 and it is for 9 days.

Personal Belongings: Please consider what items you enable your children to bring to school as DE (The Department of Education) does not cover any personal property being damaged at school. If your child wears a smart watch, please set it so that notifications etc are not causing distractions in class. Most of them have a school setting. Thanks in advance.

Bikes: Great to see so many families riding to school this year. We must be one of the fittest schools going around. Please park your bikes in bike racks or at least near the bike racks when they are full. We encourage students to stay clear of bikes during the day and encourage families to consider locking bikes up too. We appreciate students walking their bikes in and out of the playground and not riding inside school grounds. We want to keep everyone safe and avoid accidents. And a reminder that students below Year 4 should be riding with a guardian as per our Bike Riding to School Policy.

Meet & Greets: A massive thanks to the families who have engaged in (or will do next week) the Meet & Greet meetings. We value the strong relationships between home and school, and these meetings help us get to know each other and then work in partnership for your children. We all want the best and sometimes there may be difficult conversations to be had. Please know we are coming from a place that is caring, often has years of experience and knowledge and we want your children to thrive. We can’t do it without you so we hope that these meetings have and will set the scene for a fantastic 2026. Also a big thankyou to the staff for your work in these meetings, especially after a full day of teaching too!

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Scott McCumber

Principal

Somers School Camp

Somers Camp