This Week At OOPS
Caring For Our School
Our Year 3 students have been busy learning the tricks of gardening and discovering that great gardens don’t just grow by themselves - they’re created through teamwork and care. The children learned how to safely and correctly use a range of tools, including spades, rakes, brooms and wheelbarrows, as they worked to clear garden beds of weeds and prepare the soil for new growth.
Along the way, they practised working together, taking turns, problem-solving and encouraging one another as each small job contributed to the bigger picture. The students quickly realised that gardening and sweeping of areas is a shared effort, where everyone’s role matters and co-operation is what creates the real magic. It was wonderful to see pride, persistence and joy as the garden slowly transformed through their hard work.
State School Spectacular
The Victorian State School Spectacular (VSSS) OOPS Mass Dance students had their first hub rehearsal on Tuesday 10th March at Mont Albert Primary School. Together with 7 other schools, they learnt the start of 6 dance routines that will be performed at the VSSS show in late August. The students showed excellent determination and persistence in learning the routines and represented Old Orchard exceptionally well. We are very excited to see their progress as rehearsals continue throughout the year! Thank you to our parent helpers for assisting in transporting the students to/from Mont Albert PS.
Pop-up Puppet Show!
On Tuesday, the Wellbeing Wagon hosted a pop-up puppet theatre that quickly drew a great crowd of students eager to watch the shows. The puppet performance was a fun way to bring students together during break time, with lots of laughter, audience participation and creative storytelling. Activities like this help create positive playground experiences where students can connect with others, use their imagination and enjoy shared moments as part of our school community. The Wellbeing Wagon will continue to pop up with different activities across the term to keep students engaged and connected during break times.
Learning to Play Together in the Sandpit
The sandpit may look like a place for simple play, but it is one of our richest learning spaces. There is an old saying, “the way we play is the way we live,” and this rings true every day as we watch children negotiate, create and collaborate.
In the sandpit, children learn how to share space, toys and ideas. They practise taking turns, listening to others, solving problems and working through disagreements. Sometimes this learning is joyful and smooth; other times it is messy, loud and challenging - and that is where the most important learning happens.
Through play, children develop resilience, empathy and flexibility. They learn that their ideas matter, but so do the ideas of others. They discover how to lead, when to follow and how to compromise to keep the game going. These are the same skills they will draw on throughout their lives, in friendships, teamwork, learning and eventually the workplace.
When children learn to play well together in the sandpit, they are laying the foundations for how they will participate in the wider world. What may look like “just play” is children practising how to be thoughtful, capable and connected people.
