Principal Message

Dear Families,

Welcome back! Term 2 is an 11 week term with lots on! Get your diary’s out, write in the events for your family and be ready for another great term at OGPS. 

Cross Country: Mr Horbury ordered the perfect weather yesterday for this event on the beautiful OG beach. It was great to see so many families there to support the athletes! Some amazing runners within our community and some great examples of determination and perseverance from others. I sincerely wish all the athletes who have qualified for the district level, all the very best and look forward to seeing them compete against other quality runners. Thanks to Mr Horbury and all the staff for their support and work on the day. A great start to Term 2 after a tremendous concert and finish to Term 1.

Holiday visitors: Over the break, OGPS had numerous visitors onsite using our playground and facilities. Some take great advantage of our space and are quite respectful while others appear to be more interested in getting into buildings. We had many security alerts during the holidays and upon reviewing the CCTV footage, we have observed people on the roof, trying to leverage doors open and even walking into buildings that were open (by cleaners or staff). If you are around the school and observe any unsafe behaviours or people doing the ‘wrong thing’, please notify the local police so we keep our school safe and secure to enjoy our space upon returning to school. 

ANZAC Day ceremony: Next Thursday is ANZAC Day (Public Holiday) and our Year 6 School Captains have been invited to participate in the local Ocean Grove ceremony. Not just to lay a wreath, but to read The ANZAC Requiem and participate in the march. Kristy Dodds has offered to meet any other OGPS students at the Commonwealth Bank (on The Terrace) at 9.30am, who would like to participate in the march, wearing full school uniform. The march starts at 9.45am and concludes at the Cenotaph in the Ocean Grove Park where our leaders will participate in the formal ceremony. A great honour for the School Captains to be invited to participate. 

Professional Learning: Last night our staff met with and learnt from Ashley Skinner from the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. Jo Chapman has coordinated this opportunity for staff and in her words, “His passion and openness shone through.” We will continue to work with Ash next week and learn more about how we can continue to engage with content in a culturally sensitive way so we can learn more about the rich culture from within our own country.

Supervision: Just a reminder that we have supervision from 8.45am in the playground. Please try to have your children as close to these times as possible as we are busy planning and preparing for the day ahead and sometimes are unaware of who is the playground. The weather is beginning to get colder and wet and we also have Camp Australia providing care and supervision for families requiring it. Its much warmer and drier in there over winter! 

Have a great week and travel safely to and from school as the weather changes.

Scott McCumber

Principal