Principal's Message

Wawa, Wominjika. 

Here at Old Orchard Primary School, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we visit each day, the Wurrunguri and Woiwurrung people of the Kulin nation.We acknowledge and respect the elders and leaders past and present and the elders and leaders of all of the cultures and nationalities that are part of the Old Orchard Primary School community.We express our gratitude towards the orchards that were kept in place by the peoples on this land before us.We thank the traditional owners for sharing this beautiful land that we all love, and for keeping the land, sky, waterways and animals all in great condition for thousands of years, not only for themselves but for all the generations to come.

Thanks to students, staff and families

I want to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone in the Old Orchard community for their support, flexibility, understanding and positivity this year. 

Our students have continued to be the fantastic young people that we know they are and it has been wonderful to observe our students engage so positively with their learning and connect with their friends and staff. They are an awesome bunch and a credit to their families!

Our staff (all of them!) have been absolutely incredible - as Principal, I could not be any prouder of them and I know how privileged I am to lead such an amazing team. They care genuinely and deeply about the students and put in an immense amount of work to ‘make a difference’ in their lives. In particular, I must acknowledge the team I work most closely with in Clare Murray, Jen McCann, Craig Gooding, Ellen Hurley and Meg McKinley as well as our sensational Admin team, Fiona Kirby, Sheree Knight, Lisa Alfredini and Facilities Guru, Pip Cariss - we are all extremely fortunate to have these wonderful people at our school.

Finally, to our parents / carers and broader school community. You play an incredibly important role in the success of our school, firstly in the care and support of your children but also in the support you provide our staff, the contributions you make in many areas and also, importantly, in the respectful and constructive manner in which you engage with staff. I am extremely fortunate and grateful to lead such a community. To the families leaving Old Orchard for the final time, thank-you sincerely for everything you have contributed to our school. I have known many of you for a very long time and I will miss our friendship and your support and the relationships that are such a special part of our school community.

To our Year 6 students, thank you for the privilege of sharing your primary school journey. I bid you a very fond farewell as you head off to secondary school. It is a huge step in your lives but I know that you are well and truly ready for the move and what lays ahead. We will miss you.

May you and your loved ones have a wonderful Christmas and festive season and holiday break and take time to rest and spend time with those you value most. Take care and stay safe.

Warm regards,

Duncan