Dear Families,

Week 7: This term is certainly flying along. Staff are beginning their final assessments and report writing for the year. There should not be any surprises for families with the level of achievement your child shows as we communicate with families quite frequently. If you haven’t had a chat with your child’s teacher recently, perhaps drop them a brief Seesaw message. Please try to keep up with dates in the calendar so you don’t miss out on various events.

The Gordon: Students will be returning to our school over the next few weeks to plant out the Draper St retaining wall area adjacent to the oval. We hope to establish new plants and create more biodiversity around the school. Please encourage your children to respect this new area and give the plants some time to establish.

School Council: We attempted to meet for the second last time of the year last night, however we had several apologies that resulted in cancelling the meeting as a quorum could not be met. We have taken the main item, The Apple Fair, into account and are working towards approval of all things by the end of the week. Steph King and the committee have put a power of work in behind the scenes and following on from last year’s success will be a challenge that they are up for. To make it a success we need families – past and present – to bring numbers to the event. Neighbours, friends, family – bring them! We also need volunteers so when Steph and her team put the call out, please do not be shy. Grab a friend, sign up and let’s make the Apple Fair another huge success.

Art Show: Hope to see you all on Friday afternoon and into the evening with the OGPS annual Art Show being hosted by The Hive again. Thanks to Karen and Will for enabling our students to be recognised as artists and have their work on display in a real gallery. I sincerely hope that volunteers are signing up to help in the various roles that Lyn Stirling (Art Teacher) needs support in. There will be a BBQ onsite, drinks available and Two Doors Down cafe will be open and cantering. Remember artwork can be purchased on the night via cash or EFTPOS. Payments can also be made via the Flexischools app prior to Friday night. The school band "New Generation" will be performing their final gig of the year at around 4:15pm and would love lots of support!

Wearable Technology: Staff are reporting that they are seeing an increase in students wearing watches that can message or call. If your child has a watch with these features, please turn them off for school. There is often a school mode that is linked to parent controls. Students can call families from the office or classroom if required. Please know, our staff will call you if there is a matter to let you know about at their first available opportunity. This is usually at recess or lunch or after school. They cannot call or discuss an issue with families during their teaching time. We appreciate your support in this space.

Craft sand contamination update: You may be aware of a recent alert about coloured craft sand products that may contain asbestos.

There is a list of the products of concern here:

At our school, we are taking the steps set out by the Department of Education to collect and dispose of the product.

Current advice from national and Victorian health authorities is that there is a low risk to human health from these products.

If you have the product at home, however, the advice from the health authorities is that you should stop using it and follow the safety advice published here: Safe disposal and health information for consumers with recalled sand products | ACCC Product

Have a great week everyone.

Scott McCumber

Principal

2025 Spelling Bee Competition