Principal Message
Dear Families,
Megan King: On behalf of the entire OGPS community I’d like to thank Megan King for her contributions and dedication to the school and most importantly the students! Megan is an outstanding teacher and an amazing person who will be missed by staff, students and families as she enters the final stages of life before kids. We wish Megan and John all the very best and look forward to meeting their new addition soon. Megan will be finishing up very soon so please thank her when you see her around over the next week.
Trust & Kindness: We have 2 school values at OGPS that we continually discuss and reflect on. Trust and kindness are fundamental pillars in creating a positive school environment. When students feel trusted by their peers and teachers, they are more likely to engage in learning and take risks in their academic and social endeavours. Trust fosters a sense of safety, allowing students to express themselves freely, ask questions, and seek help without fear of judgment. This is the same for adults too.
Kindness, on the other hand, cultivates a supportive community. Acts of kindness, whether big or small, can significantly impact students' well-being. Simple gestures like offering a compliment, lending a hand, or including someone in a conversation can create a culture where everyone feels valued and respected. This not only enhances friendships but also reduces incidents of bullying and exclusion. We hope families will continue to reinforce these values in conversations at home too, so we keep building a great community.
Colour Run: This Friday we splash colour around the oval and participate in the annual colour run - the real race that stops a nation! Families are most welcome to come and watch and if brave, come for a lap or two with your children. Any funds raised from this event will be directly invested into Maths resources - like we did for literacy!
CRT’s: This year has been one out of the box for CRT’s or Casual Replacement Teachers. During Terms 1 – 3 we spent way more than planned or anticipated in this budget line and at times have had to split classes to manage the budget or even worse, have not been able to locate a CRT. Mrs H does a power of work early in the morning and late into the evening trying to replace staff. Our staff have plans in place for when grade splits are required for their own class, and for when they have to receive other students. While not ideal, it is a sign of the current times as various illnesses arise within staff. We have been so lucky over the past few years. When multiple staff are away, we prioritise Specialist classes (as they support teacher planning time), Year 3 & Year 6 classes as they have the largest numbers of students per class. When we think a teacher will be away for a day, we split that class into other classes. If it becomes multiple days, we will do our best to replace a teacher. Please continue to support our teachers, even when they fall ill!
Working Bee: Sunday 10th November has been planned by the sustainability committee for a day in the school garden area for planting and a few other things. The old saying of ‘many hands make light work’ will ring true if we can get a group together and enjoy the new garden area. Keep your eye out for more info in the newsletter.
Congratulations: Congratulations to the following students who took home the trophy in the Shepparton Cup over the weekend. Fantastic effort by all, you should be very proud.
Acelin C - 3MP Sullivan H - 3NK
Rogue C - 1JE Colby E - 3MP
Asher C - 3PC Keani M - 2AG
Andy W - 3NK
Ocean Grove Fire Brigade: This week, our Foundation students were treated to a visit from the Ocean Grove Fire Brigade. They learned about fire safety, what to do in an emergency and even got to have a look in the fire truck and practise using the fire hose!
Pupil free days: Next Monday (Staff professional practice day) and Tuesday (Melbourne Cup Public Holiday) are both pupil free days. See you all back at school on Wednesday.
Enjoy the midterm break!
Scott McCumber
Principal
