Leadership Report

Colour Explosion Fun Run – What an Incredible Day!

What an amazing afternoon we had for our Colour Explosion Fun Run! The event was once again an absolute blast, with students making their way through a range of fun obstacles and challenges while being covered in bright bursts of coloured powder. The smiles, laughter and excitement across the school were contagious!

It was also fitting that our Colour Run took place during the week of Diwali, a special time of celebration for many of our families. The sea of colour and joy throughout the day perfectly reflected the spirit of this beautiful festival.

We are absolutely blown away by the support of our community, with our final fundraising total reaching just over $20,000! This is an incredible achievement, and we are so grateful for the generosity and enthusiasm shown by our families once again.

A big congratulations to Maddie, our highest fundraiser for the second year in a row, who also had the special honour of sliming me this year! Plenty of other teachers were also slimed, much to the delight of our students.

A huge thank you to our Parents and Friends team for their incredible commitment, organisation and energy in bringing this event together. Thank you also to the Officer Fire Brigade for their continued support — they add such a special element to the day and help make the experience truly memorable for our students.

Thank you again to everyone who made this year’s Colour Explosion such a joyful, colourful and successful event!

Arriving on Time – A Calm and Positive Start to the Day

We are so pleased to see a noticeable improvement in our student arrival times this term and would like to thank all families for your ongoing support. This is making a real difference in helping students begin their day in a calm, positive and focused way.

Just as many of us know how unsettling it can feel to walk into a meeting that has already started, arriving late to class can make it harder for students to settle and be ready to learn. Ensuring students are here on time allows them to feel connected, organised, and ready to engage from the very beginning of the day.

As you know, our Learning Communities open at 8:35am, with official learning beginning at 8:45am. Ideally, students should aim to arrive from 8:25am onwards. This gives them time to greet friends, socialise and settle into the school environment before classes begin. We do ask that students do not arrive earlier than 8:25am, as the yard is not supervised prior to this time.

We are also very fortunate to have our local IGA next door, which is a great convenience for families. However, we remind students that once they have entered the school grounds in the morning, they must remain on site. If your child needs to purchase something from IGA (with your permission), please walk them there before school or remind them to go before arriving. This helps us ensure the safety and accountability of all students before the school day begins.

Thank you again for your continued support in helping our students start each day calm, prepared and ready to learn.

Book Fair

We’re thrilled to have our Book Fair returning to OPPS for the second time this year! The fair will be open each morning and afternoon next week, giving families plenty of opportunities to browse the shelves, discover new stories, and make a purchase. The Book Fair will remain open until 3:30pm on Thursday, giving everyone a final chance to grab a good read before it wraps up for the week. Every sale helps us grow our classroom and library book collections, so thank you for your continued support in encouraging a love of reading across our school community.

In addition, we’ll be running a Book Fair Colouring Competition for students! Any students who wish to participate can collect their colouring page from the office. Six lucky winners will each receive a $10 voucher to spend at the fair. Entries close Wednesday morning (29th October), with all submissions to be handed in to the office. Winners will receive their vouchers on Wednesday, ready to spend at the fair either after school on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

Grandparents Day

We are so excited to be hosting our very first Grandparents Day at Orchard Park Primary School on Monday 27th October from 2:10pm! Grandparents and special friends are warmly invited to visit their grandchild’s classroom, share in a craft activity, and explore the learning community together. It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase their learning and for grandparents to experience a little slice of OPPS life.

We have a feeling many students will be trying their best to convince their grandparents to stop by the Book Fair on the way out — so you might want to bring your wallet just in case!