Dear Families,

ANZAC Day: Congratulations to our Year 6 leaders who were actively involved in the Ocean Grove ANZAC Day commemorations. From participating in the march with many other students and families, to reading various aspects at the ceremony. We have had some lovely feedback which is always appreciated and passed on to the students.

A very big thank you to Phil Edwards (President of the Barwon Heads/Ocean Grove RSL) and Bradley Saul (buglar and piper), for their input to our ANZAC assembly last Thursday. We were extremely fortunate to have them attend our service. Thank you to all other friends and family members who were able to join in too.

Year 5 Camp: We wish all the Year 5 campers a safe trip and enjoyable camp experience at Lady Northcote near Bacchus Marsh. Thanks to all the volunteers attending and to the staff who have diligently planned this experience. I have to commend staff on this aspect as the documentation has certainly increased over the years from inside the school and also coordinating medications and forms from families. See you on Friday! Parent tip: Have food ready, shower on and speak to the kids after they have had a sleep – possibly Saturday!

Swimming Program: Thanks to the volunteers who have been supporting classes to get to swimming this week and in the upcoming sessions. With our swimming program underway, I am also asking families to remind their children that the pool is also a public space, and we need to be respectful of the public.

STOMP: Rehearsals are well underway now so please keep your eye out for information about the upcoming concert! Looking forward to seeing the students perform.

Bike Riding: I have had a few concerned local residents reach out asking our bike riders to be careful when riding to and from school. Apparently, some near misses late last term and even a few students not wearing helmets. Please have a conversation with your children to ensure they are safe and are obeying the road rules.

School Ground Supervision: Just a reminder that supervision in the school ground begins at 8.45am and if you need to drop your children off earlier, we have Camp Australia on site from 7am daily. You can even use this service in an emergency but need to sign up first. With Winter coming, it might be a time to consider this as opposed to your children being cold and unsupervised. Similarly in the afternoon, supervision concludes at 3.35pm and Camp Australia is available until 6pm.

Cross Country: Congratulations to all runners at the cross country last week. We look forward to hearing about those who have progressed to the District level. We wish them all the best and thank Mr Horbury and the House Captains for their work at the beach last week.

GRIP leadership conference: Each year, the School Captains and I attend a student leadership conference in Geelong. Over 200 students from across the region attended and our leaders were challenged, met new people, were out of their comfort zone and also have new ideas from the experience. Thanks to the families for transporting the leaders to the event. I will be catching up with them next week to see what they want to action throughout the year!

Building and Grounds works: As previously mentioned last year and last term, we will be undergoing some much needed works (funded by DE – not school or local funds) in the Prep/Year 1/Art building. A new roof, some new windows, guttering and downpipes will be replaced. Some underground sewer works for the Year 5 & 6 area is urgently needed and more accessibility ramps and stairs to be installed. We are in planning with the builders as to how we execute the works over the next 5 months with minimal disruptions to the classrooms. We may need to relocate a few classes for up to two weeks at a time to ensure the works are completed safely for everyone. We will let you know if your child’s class will be on the move and when!

Our school continues to be a busy place with so much on, so please keep an eye on the calendar of dates and also various communications from the classrooms too!

Have a great week everyone.

Scott McCumber

Principal

Smile Squad