The Harvest

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.

 

Term 3

Welcome back to school for an exciting and busy Term 3. I hope everyone managed to enjoy the school holiday period and hopefully found some warmth amongst the winter days. I am particularly excited to be back after an extended break. My knee surgery was very successful and I’m enjoying being a bit more active, although I don’t foresee signing up for any half marathons in the near future!

Huge thanks to our wonderful Old Orchard staff, students and parents who continued to work extremely hard throughout Term 2; I enjoyed the regular social media and Harvest updates about the many exciting events happening around the school and the great achievements of our students. I particularly want to acknowledge Jen McCann and Clare Murray, who did an outstanding job in leading the school in my absence, supported by all staff members in their various capacities.

 

Welcome

We have welcomed a number of new students to Old Orchard this week including Eric (Year 5), Jason (Year 3) and Ethan (Prep.) In addition, we have had 13 international students commence at Old Orchard. As always, Tracey Ding has been outstanding in supporting these students and their families, helping them to settle in quickly at Old Orchard. The international student program has been in operation at Old Orchard for many years and adds richness and depth to our student population.

 

We also extend a warm welcome to several new staff members. 

  • Anna Clarke has commenced in Year 4, taking the reins from Michelle Chen. 
  • Sophia Liu has commenced as a member of our education support team, working across the school in various classrooms. 
  • Ruby Watkins has also commenced as our school based psychologist in partnership with two other local schools, Blackburn Primary Schol and Blackburn Lake Primary School. Ruby will primarily work to support our Disability Inclusion application process and will be working onsite on Thursdays, conducting assessments and advising our staff on the types of adjustments and supports students may require. Her role is focused exclusively on helping the school prepare the necessary evidence and professional recommendations for Disability Inclusion applications. 

We are delighted to welcome Anna, Sophia and Ruby to Old Orchard and look forward to their valuable contribution throughout the remainder of 2025 and beyond.

 

Defibrillators

Up until recently, Old Orchard has had one defibrillator on site. This has been located in the First Aid room near the school office. Thanks to the very generous support of the Blackburn Lions Club, TeamKids and St Alfred’s church, as well as utilising some school funds, we now have new defibrillators in the First Aid room, as well as the school gymnasium. We have also relocated the older defibrillator to Drayton Hall meaning that we have three defibrillators on site, improving crucial access to this important life saving equipment both during and outside of school hours. We are very appreciative of the support of the organisations mentioned above, as well as the initiative and hard work shown by Lisa Alfredini, one of our highly valued admin staff team.

 

Ramps

The installation and upgrading of ramps around the school is continuing. The project has been much slower than anticipated; unfortunately this is outside of our control and we appreciate the patience of staff, students and school families. Ultimately, we will have ramps that meet current building codes, are safer for all users and provide greater accessibility for people with temporary or permanent mobility disabilities. We look forward to completion of the works in the not too distant future.

 

Year 3 & 4 Playground

There is a great deal of action this week on the site of our existing Year 3 & 4 Playground. Our students are extremely excited as they see removal of the old playground and the construction of the new playground. The timeline for this is quite short and we are hoping that it will be ready for students to use early next week. This improvement to our school facilities is only possible thanks to the hard work and generosity of our wider school community in supporting various fundraising events and activities.

 

Upcoming Events

In Week 4 of this term, our Year 3 and Year 4 students will be attending their respective camps at Camp Gundiwindi and Camp Rumbug respectively. The camping program is an essential part of the educational experience at Old Orchard and our students are very excited in anticipation of an action packed few days.

 

Our senior school production of Shrek will be performed across two nights in Week 5 of this term, featuring students from years 3, 4, 5 and 6. The school production is always a huge highlight of the school year and we can’t wait to see this year’s students dazzle on stage and under the lights.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting the following link.  https://AUKarralyka.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/151195  

 

School Security

Over the recent school holidays we experienced significant damage to school facilities including the ramp closest to the gymnasium, the multi-purpose courts and the school oval. Youths were also seen on the school roof.  Damage is often caused by electric bikes, scooters and/or motorised go-karts. We seek your support in reporting any suspicious or inappropriate activity to the police non urgent hotline on 131444. Please also contact the school via phone or email to advise of any concerns.

 

Warm regards

 

Duncan