Leadership Report
Welcome Back to Term 4!
Welcome back to Term 4! We hope all our Orchard Park families enjoyed a relaxing and refreshing school holiday break and that everyone is feeling well rested and ready for an exciting term ahead.
It has been wonderful to welcome our students back to school and see classrooms buzzing with energy, enthusiasm and familiar smiles. Term 4 is always a particularly busy and exciting time of year, with plenty of special events, celebrations and learning opportunities to look forward to.
As we head into the final term of 2026, we look forward to celebrating the achievements and growth of our students and making the most of the wonderful experiences still to come!
School Reminders
Morning Arrivals – 8:30am
A friendly reminder to all families that staff supervision in the school grounds does not commence until 8:30am. For the safety and wellbeing of our students, children should not be arriving at school before this time, as there are no staff members on yard duty to supervise them.
If your family requires care before 8:30am, students must be enrolled in our before-school care program through Kelly Club. Further information about Kelly Club, including enrolment details, can be found on our school website.
We appreciate your support in ensuring all students arrive at school at a safe and appropriate time.
Bike and Scooter Safety
It is fantastic to see so many of our students choosing to stay active by riding their bikes and scooters to and from school! We encourage families to continue having conversations with their children about road safety and responsible riding, particularly around busy school areas.
A few important reminders to help keep everyone safe:
Helmets are essential! Students must wear an appropriately fitted helmet whenever riding their bike or scooter.
Bikes and scooters must be walked once on school grounds. Upon arrival, students should take their bike or scooter directly to the bike shed, where it must remain throughout the school day.
Be mindful of pedestrians at pick-up time. We ask students to walk their bikes and scooters past the busy front entrance of the school before beginning to ride. This helps prevent collisions with students, families and other pedestrians.
With so many people moving through our school grounds at the beginning and end of the day, these small actions make a big difference in keeping our community safe.
Kiss and Drop Zone – No Standing
We would like to remind families that the Kiss and Drop zone at the front of the school is a No Standing zone, designed for quick and safe student drop-offs and pick-ups. Please allow the children to exit the car on the footpath side, rather than them having to exit onto a busy road.
This area is not a parking zone. Drivers should remain in their vehicles while students safely enter or exit the car, allowing traffic to continue moving and other families to access the space.
If you need to park, leave your vehicle or accompany your child into the school grounds, please use a designated parking space on the opposite side of the road.
We understand that mornings and afternoons can be busy, but following these arrangements helps reduce congestion and, most importantly, keeps our students safe.
SunSmart – Hats and Sunscreen
With the warmer weather returning, Term 4 marks the return of our SunSmart hat requirements at Orchard Park.
All students are required to wear an appropriate SunSmart hat when playing and participating in outdoor activities. Students who do not have a hat will be directed to the designated No Hat area during recess and lunch.
We encourage families to check that their child has a clearly labelled hat packed in their school bag each day. This is also a timely reminder to label jumpers, jackets and other uniform items, as these can easily be misplaced throughout the school day.
Sunscreen: Students are welcome and encouraged to bring their own sunscreen to school and reapply it as needed throughout the day. Due to significant allergies and skin sensitivities within our school community, we do not provide communal sunscreen.
We ask families to ensure their child has a suitable sunscreen in their school bag and understands how and when to apply it independently.
Learning and Celebrations Around Orchard Park
Year 3 – Rethink Recycling Incursion
Our Year 3 students kicked off Term 4 with a fantastic hands-on incursion from Rethink Recycling, providing an exciting introduction to their first inquiry unit of the term, Sustainability.
In preparation for the visit, students had been busy collecting plastic bottle lids, ready to discover how everyday materials that might otherwise be thrown away can be given a whole new purpose.
During the incursion, students explored the importance of recycling and learned how plastic waste can be transformed into something useful. One of the highlights was the opportunity for each student to see their collected bottle lids melted down and repurposed into their very own carabiner to attach to their school bag!
This was a wonderful opportunity for students to see sustainability in action and develop a greater understanding of how small, everyday choices can have a positive impact on our environment.
What a fantastic way to launch their learning for the term!
Year 2 School Sleepover
What an exciting night for our Year 2 students, who enjoyed their much-anticipated school sleepover last night!
There was plenty of excitement as students settled in for an evening of fun with their friends, sharing pizzas for dinner, enjoying a movie together and, of course, snacking on some delicious popcorn before settling down for the night.
This morning, the excitement continued with plenty of chatter, laughter and stories from the night before as students enjoyed breakfast together in the staffroom.
The fun didn't stop there! Today, students have been taking part in a Supreme incursion, enjoying a range of hands-on activities designed to encourage teamwork, creativity, problem-solving and collaboration.
For many students, a school sleepover is a significant milestone, providing a wonderful opportunity to build independence, confidence and friendships in a familiar and supportive environment.
A huge thank you to all the staff who gave their time to organise, supervise and support this memorable experience. These special opportunities wouldn't be possible without your dedication and enthusiasm!
Upcoming Events
Grandparents and Special Friends Afternoon – Friday 16 October
We are looking forward to welcoming our wonderful grandparents and special friends to
Orchard Park for a heart-warming afternoon of connection, creativity and celebration on Friday 16 October.
Our classrooms will open to visitors from 2:10pm, providing a lovely opportunity for grandparents and special friends to spend time alongside their grandchildren, participate in a fun, hands-on craft activity and enjoy a glimpse into their learning.
These moments are always incredibly special, and we know how much our students love sharing their school environment and achievements with the important people in their lives.
Following classroom visits, families are welcome to explore our Book Fair in the Administration Building from 3:00pm, where there will be plenty of wonderful books to discover.
Please note that there will be no school assembly on Friday 16 October due to our Grandparents Afternoon celebrations.
We can't wait to welcome our special visitors and share a wonderful afternoon together!
The Orchard Park Book Fair is Back!
Calling all bookworms! Our much-loved Book Fair is returning to Orchard Park, bringing a wonderful selection of books for students and families to explore.
The Book Fair will be held in the Administration Building, from 2:30pm to 3:00pm on scheduled fair days, with an additional opportunity for families to visit following our Grandparents Afternoon on Friday 16 October.
Whether your child loves exciting adventures, fascinating facts, colourful picture books or discovering a new favourite author, there is sure to be something to capture their imagination.
We look forward to seeing our students share their love of reading and perhaps discover their next favourite book!
Orchard Park Colour Run – Friday 23 October
Get ready for a burst of colour, excitement and plenty of fun! Our much-anticipated Orchard Park Colour Run is just two weeks away, on Friday 23 October!
Our wonderful Parents and Friends team has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to bring this event together, and we are incredibly grateful for the time, effort and enthusiasm they continue to contribute to our school community.
This year's Colour Run is particularly exciting because we are raising funds to bring a fantastic student idea to life – a dedicated veggie garden for Orchard Park!
The garden will provide an engaging outdoor learning space where students can plant, grow, care for and harvest their own fruit, vegetables and herbs. It will be a wonderful opportunity to develop hands-on gardening skills, explore sustainability and build an understanding of where our food comes from.
Fundraising is now open! Families can create a fundraising profile for their child through the Go Raise It website, with some fantastic fundraising spot prizes available along the way.
Sign up for the OPPS Colour Run fundraiser
Every contribution, big or small, will help us work towards creating a space that our students can enjoy, learn from and take pride in for years to come.
We can't wait to see our school community come together for another fantastic Colour Run. Let the countdown begin!
Parent Teacher Interviews and Specialist Showcase
As we approach the end of another school year, we are looking forward to welcoming families to our upcoming Parent Teacher Interviews in Week 5 of Term 4.
Interviews will take place on:
- Wednesday 4 November: 1:40pm – 8:00pm
- Thursday 5 November: 3:15pm – 5:15pm
These meetings provide a valuable opportunity for families to connect with their child's classroom teacher, celebrate their achievements and progress throughout the year, and discuss their ongoing learning and development.
We encourage all families to take advantage of this opportunity to reflect on the growth their child has made and celebrate the many successes, both big and small, throughout 2026.
Specialist Showcase
Alongside our Parent Teacher Interviews, families are warmly invited to visit our Specialist Showcase, located in the Administration Building.
This is a fantastic opportunity to explore and celebrate the incredible learning experiences and work our students have been involved in across our specialist programs throughout the year.
Once you have finished your Parent Teacher Interview, we encourage you to make your way to the showcase and take a look at the wonderful creativity, skills and achievements of our students.
Further information about bookings will be shared with families through Compass. We look forward to seeing you there!