From Our Principals

Dear Families,

The cold weather has certainly arrived and I am slowly acclimatising to the stark drop in temperatures in our beautiful 130 plus year old building.

I had the privilege of attending Year 4 Camp last week, and all students should be proud of how they represented themselves and OPS. The Year 4s shone, demonstrating support, care and great enthusiasm for all the activities. Of particular note was the Ga-Ga pit - I sense a new fundraising endeavour ahead! I would also like to say a special thanks to the Year 6s who well and truly surprised me as they lined the fence with birthday wishes as I arrived back to school. I thought I had successfully kept my birthday a secret. 

You may have noticed music playing at 3:43 pm, followed by the bell at 3:45 pm and an announcement reminding everyone that yard supervision has ended. We kindly ask all families to make their way home promptly at this time. This change is due to TheirCare requiring the space for our after-hours program, and it also supports our commitment to maintaining high standards of child safety. We greatly appreciate your cooperation.

Next week, the School Improvement Team will be visiting Port Melbourne Primary School for a learning walk focused on learning routines and the English block. This will be a valuable opportunity to collaborate with another school and, as a team, reflect on our progress and plan ahead.

Aaron and I will be attending the State Principal Conference in week 7, where I will be part of delivering a workshop session around my role in a Curriculum and Pedagogical Think Tank. This conference always offers a chance to hear from influential and insightful speakers, as well as learn more about the Department of Education’s evidence-informed direction.

Looking ahead, please note that our Curriculum Day will be held on Friday 6 June, followed by the public holiday on Monday 9 June.

Please continue reading for other important updates and exciting happenings around the school.

Hoodies

They've arrived, and I've been hearing all day from students about how warm they are! If you missed out, don’t worry – there are extras available for purchase at the front office. But be quick – they’re selling fast!

Reconciliation & NAIDOC Week

Reconciliation Week, Bridging Now to Next, is from 27 May to 03 June. Reconciliation week is to commemorate the two milestones of reconciliation, the 1967 Referendum and the High Court Mabo Decision. 

Following this is NAIDOC Week, The Next Generation, Strength, Vision, and Legacy running from 06-13 July. It celebrates and recognises the achievements, culture, and history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

To honour these important events, OPS will be exploring our Indigenous logo in greater depth. Each year level will research different elements of the logo, and their findings will be presented at assembly next Friday. We hope you can join us to mark and celebrate these significant occasions.

Upcoming Road Closure Utility Works

Please be advised that Power works (Utilities) will be undertaken on Clee Street, McKinnon on the 28th of May 2025. 

This will be a Road Closure between Hastings Street & Murray Road. The works will be conducted between 7am and 3pm.

There will be traffic controllers onsite who will assist any residents and pedestrians in and out of the closure where possible. 

Years 3-6 Cross-Country

On Thursday 8 May, the OPS Cross-Country District team competed in the annual Moorabbin District Cross-Country Carnival at Karkarook Park. We were extremely proud of how the students conducted themselves and for the great effort they put into the race. 

National Simultaneous Story Time

On Wednesday, our school joined over two million students across Australia in celebrating National Simultaneous Storytime. This year’s featured book was The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel.

We were also delighted to welcome around 25 kindergarten students who attended the session with our Foundation classes.It was a special event and was lovely to see some siblings come along and spend time with our wonderful foundation classes.

Year 1/2D Update

We are delighted to welcome Emily Esposito to OPS as the 1/2D teacher while Jess is on maternity leave. Emily will start at OPS in Week 7. 

Miss Esposito is coming in on Monday to spend the afternoon with 1/2D and is looking forward to meeting the students and families.

Year 4 Camp Pictures

UJEB

We want to inform the community that UJEB have decided to no longer run classes at OPS due to small numbers. UJEB runs programs at other local primary schools, all information can be found on their website.

With thanks,

 

Anna-Marie and Aaron