Principal's Report 

& School News

From the Principal...

I want to start this report by thanking all staff and school council for their hard work and efforts in Term One. Having everyone back on-site has allowed the school to reconnect and to reinvigorate our goals and targets outlined in the school annual implementation plan (AIP). I want to also thank the P&F team for their contributions and organisation of special events to date. The school picnic was well attended and helped to reconnect our community in such a positive way. The Easter Raffle was also a huge success with Jan Cassidy’s office filled to the brim with Easter delights.

Year 5 Camp 

I was absolutely delighted to join the Year 5 children on camp this term. The students participated in a variety of activities at Camp Kookaburra including abseiling, canoeing, archery, orienteering and much more. Although a little while back now, I would like to thank the following staff for giving up their personal time to take the children on camp: Mr Pannam, Mr Dickason, Miss Milliken, Mrs Kah, Mrs Stewart, Sharelle Davis and Ms Lichoudaris. It was great to see so many of the children step outside their comfort zone and attempt activities that were extremely challenging and demanding for them. 

NAPLAN Practice 

Our Year 3 and 5 students have commenced preparation for NAPLAN testing scheduled for May. The school makes every effort to support children during this assessment period. This includes familiarising them with the format and types of questions they will encounter. 

In general, Ormond PS has achieved commendable results in NAPLAN and the students have managed the assessment week extremely well. The tests do not assess all of what makes our students exceptional and unique. The scores you get from these tests will indicate how your child has performed on a certain day. They will not necessarily tell you how they have improved on areas they find difficult. Please talk to your child/children about NAPLAN but also support them in understanding it is a snapshot assessment and many other forms of assessment are used by teachers in schools. 

Achievements 

We have had many fantastic achievements at Ormond PS this term including: 

• The presentation of the Annual Report
• School Council & P&F Elections
• Our Community Picnic and Welcome Night
• District Swimming Sports
• The Year 5 Camp
• Harmony Day
• Year Level Incursions and Excursions

It is also great to see our senior children looking after the younger children out in the yard. Our buddy system has proven to be very successful with many younger children seeking out their special person if they require support. This year the school will be trialing peer mediation which is another initiative that provides support and advice to students who are wanting guidance in the yard. Ms Lichoudaris has been trained as a Peer Mediation facilitator for our school and in Term 2, she will work closely with interested students to roll out this initiative.

School Tours 

School tours have commenced and we are seeing great interest in enrolling at the school in 2021. Families are interested in looking at the types of programs we run and observing the children working in their classrooms to get a feel for the school and its’ culture. It is a big decision on where to send your children for their first year of schooling and this is the first step in the process for parents with young children heading in to Foundation in 2022. A full list of dates and times are available on the website or in this newsletter (pg3). Bookings are essential, and are limited to 5 adults per tour. Please contact the office to book your tour on 03 9578 1327

Taste Galore Lunch Orders - extended ordering hours

Taste Galore, our Tuesday and Friday lunch order provider from Term 2 will now be accepting orders up until 8:00am on the day of required orders.

Final Notes

It is with much sadness that we announce the retirement of Helene Ioannou after many years of dedicated service to Ormond PS. Mrs Ioannou hopes to continue with the school as a regular replacement teacher but she is also wanting more time with family and she is eager to travel in the near future. Helen is a highly respected and valued member of the staff and we wish her every happiness. Helen is an exceptionally creative and artistic person with a natural flair for calligraphy. I want to personally thank her for her amazing dedication and commitment to education here at Ormond PS. She spent many years working in the Foundation area and has therefore shaped the learning journey for many of our students.

As we head to the Easter break, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a restful and safe time over the holidays. We look forward to seeing you all in Term 2, which is already filling with a number of engaging and action packed events. Year 6 camp being one of them! (Although today on April Fool’s Day – we did keep the Year 6 students guessing!)

I wish everyone well and thank you all for making OPS such a vibrant and happy place.  

Kerri McLeod

Principal

Congratulations Helene Ioannou! 

On Tuesday the staff formally wished Helene a very well deserved retirement. She has taught at Ormond Primary school for 34 years and speaks with affection as them being such happy times. Helene has taught students and then their children and has been revered by all. Luckily for us all we will still see Helene as she will continue to do some relief teaching. Helene is looking forward to travelling with her husband on road trips around Australia and a wedding for one of her daughters. 

We all have special memories of working with Helene. She loved the students and seeing them learn. We will all miss her terribly yet wish her well for her new adventures.

Congratulations Helene, we wish you all the best! 

Many happy returns

Sally Berryman and the staff at Ormond.

Introducing the  2021School Council

Introducing the 2021 School Council 

On Wednesday March 17th 2021, the Annual General Meeting for the Ormond Primary School (OPS), School Council was held. A couple of existing members departed including: Dora Denk & Angela Pollock. 

The 2021 School Council members are:

(P) = Parent member (S) = Staff member

• Executive Officer  -  Kerri McLeod (S)
• President  -  Jo Feather (P)
• Vice President  -  Renee le Mar (P)
• Secretary  -  Michelle Gilmore (P)
• Treasurer  -  Peter Barton (P)
• Parents & Friends Convenor  -  Heather Hosken (P)
• Committee Members  -  Lorrie Dell (S), Gregg Workman (S), Delia Robey (S), Jacqui Warfe (P), Rachel Marsden (P), Nerida Crake (P)

We would like to thank and acknowledge the efforts of the outgoing members and welcome all the new members. 

As members of School Council we have a real opportunity to engage on ideas and issues of community interest, and help to shape our school community. All are welcome to attend the School Council meetings. Please refer to the School Council Meeting Dates below and in the newsletter & Compass Calendars. We invite the school community to join working groups when available. 

Should you have something you would like to raise or discuss with School Council or would like to volunteer your time, please contact the School on Ph: (03) 9578 1327 or ormond.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

School Council Dates for 2021 - meetings held in the staff room.

• May Wed 19th - 7pm
• June Wed 16th - 7pm
• July No meeting – school holidays
• August Wed 18th – 7pm
• September Wed 15th – 7pm
• October Wed 20th – 7pm
• November Wed 17th – 7pm
• December Wed 8th – 7pm

Harmony Day

On Tuesday the 23rd of March, OPS students celebrated Harmony Day. Some students came to school dressed in cultural outfits that reflected their heritage and others were dressed in orange to signify social communication and meaningful conversations, and to show support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia. 

The week prior, Monday March 15th – 21st, was national Harmony Week and students took part in a range of activities and discussions to recognise diversity and inclusion, and to understand the key message of Harmony Day - Everyone Belongs. 

Each student made a chain link on which they wrote their name and the name of the country that reflects their family’s culture. Their link was then connected to the other students within their year level to create a chain, and each year levels chain was then connected to create a whole school chain. The chain was displayed during our Harmony Day assembly to symbolise the connection of all cultures within Ormond Primary School. 

During the assembly students and staff also came together in harmony to sing and perform ‘I am Australian’. In our Performing Arts lessons leading up to the Harmony Day celebrations students had been learning the lyrics to different verses of the song and the Australian Sign Language (Auslan) for the chorus. 

Thank you to all the students that took part in celebrating the diversity of our school and our country through Harmony Day. 

Filming & Editing credit to Year 6 students

PE/Sports News

Whole School Cross Country

Calling all parent helpers, I would love your help with the Year 3 - 6 Cross Country at Wattle Grove Park on Thursday 22nd April for the following times;

• 11:30am -12:20pm  (9 & 10 yr old events)
• 1:10pm - 3:15pm (11 & 12 year old events)

All parent volunteers must have a valid Working With Children’s Check and complete the Child Safe Code of Conduct. Please contact the office for more details.

Students can wear their House colours on this day and will need to wear appropriate footwear. 

Foundation - Year 2 Cross Country will be held at at school on the oval/running track the morning of Thursday April 22nd.

It has been great to see so many students coming to the morning cross country training sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The last training session will be on Tuesday 20th of April. To continue your training, see if you can encourage a family member to run with you over the holidays. 

Year 6 Summer Inter School Sport

The Year 6 students have demonstrated great sportsmanship, leadership and dedication to their interschool sport teams of cricket, rounders, tee ball and hotshots. They will be playing these sports again in Term 4. In Term 2, they will be playing the in the winter competition which includes soccer, basketball, netball and volleyball.

Term 1 highlights...

• The Cricket team have had an extremely consistent first Term. They have worked hard in training and games and finished on the top of the ladder, going into the Term 4 in a fantastic position.
• The rounders team have been improving their skills and had an awesome win over McKinnon PS, 16-0. They head into Term 4 in 7th position.
• The girls tee ball have had a great start to the summer sport season and are sitting in second position on the ladder, under Hughesdale Green. Keep up the great work girls.
• The Hotshots team have displayed great team work and are improving their tennis and umpiring skills. Students have had a few very close games and look forward to playing again in Term 4.
• A big thanks to Mrs Thanos, Ms Kupfer, Ms Bui and Ms Milliken for coaching.

Foundation and Year 1 Auskick Clinic

On Wednesday 31st the Foundation and Year 1students participated in a Auskick clinic at lunchtime. The activities included an introduction to kicking a football, handpassing and an obstacle course. Coaches from the Ormond Football Club came to run the clinic and the Year 5 students helped out too.

STEAM News

Here is a snapshot of what has been happening in STEAM this term. Please have a look at the wonderful work done by all students at OPS in STEAM.  

Foundation – Design and build their shelter  

Year 1 – Designing and making their most magnificent thing using recyclable materials 

Year 2 – An oil-spill clean up challenge  

Year 3 – Make a solar oven  

Year 4 – Make a newspaper table that can hold the most books 

Year 5 – Design and make a balloon-powered car  

Year 6 – Design and make a car that is powered by a chemical reaction.  

Foundation News

On Wednesday, Foundation students attended a Hands On Science incursion. The focus was all about materials and the properties of materials. It was a fabulous way to end our Science unit of That’s My Hat! where students learnt all about materials and which was the best material to use in certain situations.

Year 2 News

This term the Year 2 students learnt all about Procedural texts and when to use them. They completed a mixture experiment and wrote it up. The Year 1/2A class made their own board game and then wrote the steps on how to play. They have their own game to play with their family.

Year 2 also spent the term working on our science topic " All Mixed Up". The students had heaps of fun sharing their own experiment with the class. 

Year 3 News

Last week, the Year 2 & 3 students enjoyed a wonderful performance called the The Kindness Kit presented by Popstars for Primary Schools. The two performers provided the students with some important messages about how to take care of each other whilst at school, as well as how to deal with their emotions. The children greatly enjoyed the high energy and humour of the show and even had a chance to do a little singing and dancing of their own! 

Year 4 News

On Thursday the 31st of March, the Year 4 students went on an excursion to Federation Square and were greeted by staff members of the Koorie Heritage Trust.  We went on a walking tour along Birrarung Marr and learnt a lot about Aboriginal tools used for hunting and survival and the different types of reptiles and mammals that used to inhabit the area.

The students had a brilliant day!

Year 5 News

Year 5 students enjoyed a day of dressing up, singing and fun Harmony Day activities. They took pride in their family's culture and thought deeply about how

 'multiculturalism makes our society a more interesting and enjoyable place to live' (Aydan). 

Students discussed how it feels when you belong. 

'Like people care for you.' (Zoe) 

and

'Safe and warm.'(Tim)

Year 6 News

Over the last two week, the Year Six students have been participating in the Life Saving Victoria Program. The program is designed to teach students practical and engaging water safety, lifesaving and emergency response skills. Students spent the first session learning about how to rescue a person in danger and how to perform CPR. The instructors also spoke about what the different flags at the beach can indicate to ensure students know when they’re swimming in a safe area. 

In the second session, the sixes spent the day at Hampton beach. The students worked in teams to complete different activities. The activities ranged from learning different survival strategies; including the use of life jackets, rescue strategies, safe body boarding, beach flags and sprints and using nipper boards.