Leadership Report

Book Fair – A Huge Success!

What a fantastic success our Book Fair has been! It has been wonderful to see so many of our students excited about exploring new books, discovering new stories and purchasing books to enjoy at home.

There is nothing better than seeing our students develop a love of reading, and we thank all of our families for supporting this wonderful event.

Important Update – End of School Year Arrangements

As many families may be aware, a new teaching agreement has recently been approved and will come into effect on Monday 26 October.

As part of this agreement, schools are required to schedule an additional Professional Practice Day (student-free day) in 2026. We recognise that changes to the school calendar can create challenges for families, particularly towards the end of the year. With a Curriculum Day already scheduled for Friday 27 November and another student-free day on Friday 18 December, we have carefully considered how best to accommodate this additional day while minimising disruption to student learning and providing families with as much notice as possible.

We have therefore scheduled our Professional Practice Day for Thursday 17 December 2026. This means our end-of-year arrangements will be as follows:

• Wednesday 16 December: Final day of school for students. School will finish at the normal time of 3:00pm, with our final whole-school assembly taking place at the end of the day before students are dismissed for the summer holidays.
• Thursday 17 December: Professional Practice Day – Student-free day.

• Friday 18 December: Previously scheduled student-free day.

   

Full-day care will be available through Kelly Club on our student-free days. We are currently working with the Kelly Club team to finalise arrangements and will share further information, including booking details, with families via Compass in the coming week.

We appreciate the understanding and flexibility of our families as we implement these changes. By confirming these arrangements now, we hope to provide everyone with sufficient time to make any necessary arrangements for the end of the school year.

Grandparents and Special Persons Day

What a wonderful celebration we had for our Grandparents and Special Persons Day! Our Learning Communities were absolutely buzzing as students welcomed their grandparents and special people into their classrooms to share in their learning and enjoy some special time together.

It was lovely to see the pride and excitement on our students' faces as they showed off their classrooms, shared their work and spent time with the important people in their lives.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to all of our grandparents and special visitors who joined us and helped make the occasion so memorable.

We also suspect a few grandparents may have left with slightly lighter wallets, with some very persuasive students making the most of the opportunity to squeeze in a visit to the Book Fair on their way out!

Thank you for being such a special part of our school community.

Regional Athletics Finals

A huge congratulations to Remy, Emma and Finn, who proudly represented Orchard Park Primary School at the Regional Athletics Finals on Wednesday! Reaching this level of competition is a fantastic achievement, and we are incredibly proud of the effort, determination and sportsmanship they demonstrated.

Well done to all three students on representing OPPS so wonderfully!

2027 Prep Transition – Welcoming Our Newest Students!

Our 2027 Prep Transition Program is officially underway, with our first session taking place last Thursday!

It was wonderful to welcome our newest students and their families to Orchard Park Primary School as they begin their exciting journey towards starting school next year. These sessions are such an important opportunity for our future Preps to become familiar with our school environment, meet some friendly faces and begin building their confidence and excitement about becoming primary school students.

Our current 2026 Prep students have also been playing a very special role in this process, visiting Kurboom Kinder to help our future Preps feel excited and ready for their next big adventure.

It is wonderful to see just how much our current Preps have grown throughout the year, now proudly taking on the role of the 'big school kids' and helping our newest students prepare for 2027!

We look forward to continuing our transition sessions throughout the term.

Parent–Teacher Interviews and Specialist Showcase

Bookings are now open for our Semester 2 Parent–Teacher Interviews, which will take place on: Wednesday 4 November and Thursday 5 November

These meetings provide a valuable opportunity for families to connect with their child's classroom teacher, discuss their academic and social development, view some of the wonderful work they have been producing and celebrate their achievements throughout 2026. Families are encouraged to check their Compass Communications for information and instructions on how to book an interview.

Alongside our Parent–Teacher Interviews, we are excited to once again present our Specialist Showcase, which will be on display in the Administration Building.

This vibrant showcase celebrates the creativity, learning and achievements of our students across our Specialist Programs throughout the year.

We strongly encourage all families to take the opportunity to explore the displays either before or after their child's interview. It is a fantastic opportunity to see the breadth of learning experiences our students have enjoyed and celebrate the wonderful work they have produced. We look forward to welcoming families into the school for these important celebrations of learning.

Whole-School Photo and Year 6 Graduation Photos

A reminder to all families that our whole-school photograph will take place on Friday 30 October at 9:00am.

We ask that all students arrive at school on time, dressed in their full school uniform and ready with their biggest smiles!

Our Year 6 Graduation photographs will also be taken as part of the day's photography arrangements.

We look forward to capturing these special memories of our 2026 school community.

Families Leaving OPPS in 2027

As we continue planning for the 2027 school year, we kindly ask any families with children currently in Prep to Year 6 who will not be returning to Orchard Park Primary School in 2027 to complete the Google Form shared via Compass Communications.

Having accurate information about student enrolments is an important part of our planning process. It allows us to carefully consider our 2027 class groupings, staffing arrangements and transition opportunities. It also ensures we can appropriately support students who will be moving to a new school, particularly as we begin our transition activities later this term.

We appreciate families taking the time to complete this form and assist us with our preparations for another exciting school year.

Colour Run – The Excitement Is Here!

The wait is finally over! Our much-anticipated Colour Run is here, and the excitement across Orchard Park Primary School is absolutely building!

Our students are ready to hit the course, get covered in colour and enjoy what promises to be a fantastic afternoon of fun, laughter and school spirit.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend an enormous thank you to our incredible Parents and Friends Group, who have put in a mammoth effort behind the scenes to bring this event together. The planning, organisation and time involved in making an event of this scale possible is significant, and we are incredibly grateful for their ongoing commitment to our school community.

We also want to say a huge thank you to our families and wider community for your outstanding fundraising efforts!

What makes this fundraiser particularly special is knowing that the funds raised will go towards creating the vegetable garden our students have been asking for. We are so excited to begin planning this project and to see our students' ideas come to life in a space they can enjoy, learn from and take pride in.

We cannot wait to share the fun and excitement of the day with you! Keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates and photographs, and we look forward to celebrating the event further in our next newsletter.

Thank you once again to everyone who has contributed to making this event possible. It is another wonderful example of what our school community can achieve when we come together!