Principal Message

Dear Families,

2026 Class Placement: As much as we would love to stay in the now, 2026 is approaching quite fast! We have started planning for next year and one of the elements is parent requests for student placement. We have a Class Placement Policy which outlines the process, also available on the school website.  With many avenues to contact us these days, I do not want to miss a parent request for 2026. A dedicated Google Form “2026 Class Placement requests for Consideration” is now available until Thursday 23rd October.

This process will be conducted on an annual basis. Previous requests do not carry over for the life of the student at school. I also want families to understand the complexities of developing classes and trying to accommodate requests. A few quick things – Please do not request a teacher as our staffing profile is incomplete. Be kind in your request and aware that we often have conflicting requests to manage.

Transitions at OGPS: Mr B (Ryan) is publishing an article in today’s newsletter about the work we complete to assist students progressing into, through and out of the school. There are a number of strategic elements we plan for and deliver to enable a smooth transition, and an important element of the process is the home conversations. Please have positive conversations around end of year processes, and share in the excitement of new classes, new friends, new opportunities, new teachers, new classroom locations etc and help your child prepare too. We are aware that some students may find these challenges difficult in the moment so Ryan’s article will assist you in planning how to support your child at home. Then over the 5 weeks of holidays, continue to have positive conversations in preparation for the start of 2026. Thanks in advance.

2025 Student Contributions: On Monday morning, the Finance Committee met to review our school’s current financial position. While we are tracking ok, we do have a significant deficit in the Student Contribution budget line. This includes stationery supplies, specialist teaching materials, etc. The current deficit is $24,000 and you can contribute by logging into Sentral and looking for the Voluntary Contribution and making a payment to help in this shortfall. Thank you to those families who have already done so this year.

Language program 2026: About 12 months ago, I put a survey out to families seeking input around the Specialist subjects we offer at OGPS. It was clear from the data that PE, STEM, Visual Arts & Performing Arts were the top 4 subjects. There were a few ideas and various combinations of programs that came back via the survey and over the last 12 months I have been looking into a few options. Some suggestions included learning Wadawurrung language, AUSLAN and dropping the language program altogether! We have to have a language program, and I have spoken with schools who have tried to deliver Wadawurrung language but have found it extremely difficult to staff with minimal teachers of this language available. I have also been exploring AUSLAN options too and have found that this is a viable option. We currently teach Indonesian and have done for a long time, well before I started here. I am seeking input from the community about what language option (Indonesian or AUSLAN) you would like to see the students learn in 2026 and possibly beyond. A one question survey can be found here to express your vote for Indonesian as it is currently (6 months of the year) or AUSLAN (in class for 12 months of the year).

Research Workshop: Last Thursday several students from Year 2 – 6, participated in an online research workshop, facilitated by The State Library in Melbourne. The specially designed workshop built on core literacy skills to explore important concepts of online research and critical literacy. Students were given insight to how everything they read and see online may not be necessarily true, and it can be tricky to distinguish between credible and unreliable information. The students from OGPS were both enthusiastic and highly engaged. You may wish to discuss the PARTY protocol with your children, especially when researching information online.

PURPOSE – are they selling something

AUTHOR – person, institution or organisation

REFERENCES – where did they find their information

TIME – when was it written

YOU – what does your instinct tell you

Final Assembly in the Park: Friday 12th December is the date to pack the camp chairs, blankets and maybe some snacks to meet the entire school over at the park to celebrate the year. At this final assembly we have numerous awards to present, some special guests, hopefully a few performances and the announcement of the 2026 School leaders. Each year in Grade 5, staff survey the students about how the cohort would like to have the Leadership positions announced e.g. at school, in their cohort or at the park with the community. The resounding preference with nearly 90% of Year 5 responding that they want the announcement at the park. We look forward to sharing this occasion with the community.

Enjoy the great weather over the next few days and please wear SunSmart hats!

Scott McCumber

Principal