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.
Our first few weeks at school each year focus on our ‘Learning Launch’. This program facilitates students and teachers getting to know each other and settling into the routines of the school classroom. Teachers spend time clearly setting high expectations and developing calm classrooms that enhance student learning. Our students also develop connections with their new classmates that assist with their feeling of belonging and general wellbeing. We are now moving to the time in the term where the curriculum content takes off! Our students are well placed for a terrific year of learning, challenges and trying new things.
Year 6 Camp
We have heard updates from our year 6 campers and they are having a fabulous time at Camp Coonawarra, thoroughly enjoying perfect school camp weather. This camp is frequently recounted as a highlight of primary school years by past students. Our year 6 students attend a 5 day camp (4 nights). This is the first of the camping program events for the year with the year 5s already looking forward to their camp coming up in early term 2. Other events that will take place throughout the school as part of our whole school camping program include a Prep breakfast (term 4), Year 1 dinner (term 4), Year 2 sleep over (term 4) and our Year 3 and 4 camps (term 3). The benefits of school camp are immense for our students allowing them to build their social connections, develop independence, confidence and resilience as well as enjoy the outdoors and learning in nature. We look forward to seeing our year 6 students upon their return to school Friday afternoon.
Thank you to our staff Ellen, Monique, Duncan, Jo, Nicola and Zac for attending. Sincere thank you to our parent volunteers Chris Malloy and Andrew Kuik for attending also.
NAPLAN
On Wednesday this week our Year 3 and 5 students had a practice NAPLAN session. This practice session allows the students to become more familiar with the ‘logging on’ process and sitting in test like conditions. The NAPLAN testing period is in week 7 and 8.
Health and Safety Reminders
Kiss and Drop
Please remember that Parents are not to leave their vehicles in the kiss and drop area at the front of the school. We also ask that vehicles that do not fit in the drive through kiss and drop area do not wait with their indicator on across the school crossing. If there is not a space to pull in then vehicles need to move further down the road and park.
Student illness
As per our communication over the weekend we have had some of our students who have tested positive for whooping cough. Please remember if your child is unwell keep them at home until they are well enough to attend school.
Playground use before and after school
Please note that our playgrounds at school are allocated to different grade levels (P-2, 3-4 and 5-6). We ask that even during before and after school play 8:30 – 9:00am and 3:30-3:45 that may be supervised by parents and carers our students continue to use the playground allocated to their age group. Part of the reason for this is the dimensions etc of the playground and tailored for safety of a particular age group. As you would all understand we want to keep our students as safe as possible and minimise risk whenever we can.
Please consider donating to Koa Kermode-Walker’s Go Fund Me
Warm regards,
Jen