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.

At this time of year it is always extraordinarily busy in schools as we move quickly from one event to the next, often with multiple events on the one day. This week has been no exception as detailed below.

Bunnings Sausage Sizzle

Last Sunday Old Orchard held a very successful Bunnings sausage sizzle at Nunawading, organised and coordinated by Sarah Alligan and her team. There was fantastic community support and a great band of helpers. This was particularly impressive only a couple of weeks after the school fete and at such a busy time of the year. My sincere thanks to Sarah for her hard work and commitment, and congratulations on a final profit of $2757.

Graduation

On Monday evening of this week, we celebrated our class of 2024 with a special Year 6 Graduation ceremony at Karralyka. It was a wonderful occasion with students enjoying a meal with staff and reflecting on the highlights of the Old Orchard journey. Former student, Sarah Newnham, was our guest speaker and shared some of her experiences from primary school, secondary school, and beyond as well as offering advice for the current students. Thanks to everyone involved in putting this event together – It is certainly one of the feature events on the school calendar each year.

Internal transition

On Tuesday, most of our Year 6 students spent the day at the 2025 secondary schools, with the exception of students attending non-government schools. It was also a very big day for our 2025 Prep students who met their teachers and classmates for next year. We are very excited to welcome these new students and their families to Old Orchard. We also included an additional transition session across the rest of the school, where students moved to their 2025 classroom area, but not the allocated teacher. This will occur next Tuesday when classes are officially announced

Year 5/6 market stall

Wednesday was another huge day. The year 5 & 6 students presented their market stalls that they have been working on for sometime, with students from across the school given the opportunity to make purchases or participate in activities. There was a huge range of stalls on display and the day could only be described as an outstanding success, both in terms of student engagement and agency and also raising funds of over $2000. These funds will be directed towards the establishment of a community kindergarten in a small village in Africa that is home to one of our school community members. Thank you to everyone involved in the organisation of this day and to all of those who contributed to its success.

Carols on the Green

There was little chance to recover after the market stall, as our students and staff moved quickly into Carols on the Green. We had fantastic participation from our students and family attendance and as always, thanks must go to Rhiannon Trimby for her outstanding organisation and preparation as well as to Pip for set-up and our other staff who assisted and performed.

Sports Academy Excursion

Yesterday, our Sports Academy students participated in their final excursion for 2024, visiting the Victorian Institute of Sport. They were able to challenge themselves on strength testing equipment, speed bikes, and more. A highlight was meeting two of the current VIS athletes. Thanks to James for organising the vent and to Amy Silverwood and Laura Feltham for attending and assisting on the day.

The students have loved their Sports Academy work with James Roche throughout the year, focussing on fun, fitness, technique and knowledge that supports them in performing at their best.

Prep Fairy Tale Ball

Today our prep students have the chance to enjoy the prep fairytale ball. There are some fantastic costumes on display and certainly many very excited prep students. 

Creative music concert

Finally for this week, this afternoon is the second of our creative music recitals where students who have been participating in creative music throughout 2024 have the opportunity to perform for their family members.

Wow! I am exhausted just from writing about this week's activities. I am sure our students and staff are looking forward to a restful weekend!

Next week

Next week, the activities continue, including:

• Whole school well-being day
• Year 6 water fight
• Kids’ Hope morning tea
• Year 6 bounce excursion
• Internal transition, including the announcement of 2025 classes
• Publication of 2024 Semester 2 student reports on SENTRAL

End of Year arrangements

Just a reminder about the end of term/year arrangements.

Thursday 19th - Final day for students

9.00 -11.00: Session 1

11.00 - 11.30: Recess

11.30 - 12.40: Session 2 (including lunch eating)

12.40 - 1.20: Final Assembly

1.20: Return to class

1.30: Dismissal

Friday 20th

-          Pupil Free Day (school is closed for students including playground, etc)

Staff farewells

We bid a fond and sad farewell to several staff members at the end of this year.

Tom Rogers and Charlotte Read have made a strong impression at Old Orchard throughout 2024 and have made a wonderful contribution to our school and our students, particularly their respective Year 6 and Year 5 classes. We thank Tom and Charlotte for their contributions and wish them every happiness and success for their future careers.

Gemma Simmons has been at Old Orchard for the past two years and has impressed with her extensive teaching knowledge and commitment to the students in her care. Gemma is making a sideways move, still working and supporting young people but not directly in schools. We thank Gemma for her contribution and wish her well for the future.

Enza Orsini commenced her teaching career at Old Orchard in January 2003. She has spent the past 22 years making a fantastic contribution to our school across most year levels. Enza will be remembered strongly as an incredibly caring teacher and staff member who has always been ready to do whatever was needed to support her students and colleagues. Enza has also displayed an incredible commitment to sustainability at Old Orchard and has played a huge role in the work that we have done in this space. Enza is retiring to spend more time with her husband, Aq and their children and grandchildren. We thank Enza for her enormous contribution to our school and students and wish her a very long and happy retirement.