From the Principal

Community Carols

We had a wonderful time at Park Orchards Community Carols! Families gathered for a joyful evening, enjoying the cute performance by our Foundation students. A heartfelt thank you to our committed Foundation teachers, Mrs Allegretto and Mrs McRae. Thank you to Mrs Bowen for her exceptional work with the senior choir, and a shout-out to our Year 6 students, Olivia S and Chloe C, for their beautiful singing.

Celebration Assembly

On Monday, we held our annual Celebration Assembly, a joyous event well-attended by many parents from our community. It was delightful to have Mrs Daniel present the Mrs Daniel's Literacy Award. We also extended a warm welcome to Mr Abbey from the Lion's Club and Mr Ross from the Pettet Foundation. 

During this assembly, we awarded our perpetual awards to students in year four and year three. Congratulations to these students for the following awards:

Pettet Foundation: Georgia H, 

Science Award: Blake A,

Mrs Daniel's Literacy Award: Meike C, 

Lions Club Environmental Citizen Award: Marlee S and Frankie Q.

The Year 6 Leadership Teams for 2024 were introduced, and it was particularly heartwarming to witness the current Year 6 Leaders sharing their experiences, discussing their roles, and offering congratulations to the newly appointed members of the 2024 Leadership teams. Special congratulations to Jeyda A and Joshua S for being elected as our 2024 School Captains, and to Imaan N and Thomas B for being elected as our School Vice Captains. For a comprehensive list of Year 6 Leadership roles and teams, please visit the 2024 Year 6 Leadership Teams page.

School Council

At the beginning of the School Council meeting on Tuesday night, our School Captains, Gillie R, Mia E, and Olivia S (unfortunately, Alfie G was unwell), shared their leadership experiences in Year 6 and their aspirations for the future of POPS students. Despite Alfie's absence, they served as excellent ambassadors, expressing themselves with maturity and poise. I take great pride in the confidence and active citizenship displayed by all our Year 6 Leaders throughout the year.

Mrs Bullen and I also would like to extend our thanks to all Council Members; Mrs Amarsi, Mrs Ayton, Mrs Kupinic, Mrs Debono, Mrs Defanis, Mrs Edgcumbe, Ms Hahn, Mrs Hartley, Mr Marriott, Mr Tanner and Mr Yep for their integrity and commitment to making POPS the school of choice. School Council elections are in February 2024, with the AGM in March 2024.

Meet the 2024 class

On Tuesday, December 12, students will have an opportunity to spend time with their 2024 classes and teachers. Parents are welcome to meet their child's teacher at the end of the day until 3:45 pm.  All students will receive a letter from their 2024 teacher introducing themselves and extending a warm welcome to the class.

Parent Helper's Afternoon Tea Invitation

Our staff sincerely appreciate parent and wider community involvement in our students' school life. To show our gratitude, please join us for Afternoon Tea on Tuesday, December 12, at 3:45 pm in the Arts Centre, following the "meet The Teacher" session. Save the date for this special occasion.

Thanks to the Park Orchards Tennis Club for donating tennis balls to the school.

Student Achievements

Beatrix C: Congratulations for being awarded the Joey Scout Challenge Award. This represents the Peak Award in Joey Scouts and represents her efforts in achieving core elements of scouting, working on projects in areas of special interest to Bea, organising and leading a 3 hour bush hike with other kids in her mob, and sharing her personal reflections of her scouting journey so far.

Boys Choir: 

Carter, Dean & Trin T and Noah S will be performing with the National Boys Choir of Australia (NBCA) this weekend in their annual Christmas Concert at the Melbourne Town Hall (tickets are still available if anyone from the school community would like to attend a great concert with a wide variety of Christmas focussed music new and old https://www.trybooking.com/CMLVN  ). 

Don't forget to go to the From the Classroom page to find out what has been happening in the specialist classes. 

Have a great weekend,

Ms Garrity (Principal)