Assistant Principal's Report 

It has certainly been a busy and exciting term for us at Orchard Park PS. It is the first term in our history during which we have not had any school closures due to COVID. COVID has certainly impacted us at times in other ways, however, it has definitely been nice to have an entire term at school. 

During this term we have had an incredible number of highlights including:

• 60 new Prep students commencing their school journey with us and approximately 40 other students transitioning across from other schools
• 2 teachers beginning their career in education with us and another 4 teachers transitioning across from other schools 
• 2 CHIPS excursions - One to the Phillip Island Adventure Resort and one to Lysterfield Lake
• Our interschool cross-country event
• Success on the sporting field through our Inter-school Sports and more recently, Lightning Premiership
• Many students achieving Spark Buck milestones through consistently demonstrating our school values and purchasing some amazing prizes as a reward for effort
• Our parent information webinar run this Wednesday from Hugh Van Cuylenberg at The Resilience Project
• Many, many, many amazing academic achievements right throughout the school

We are so proud of our entire school community for their approach to schooling and education and the way that we continue to work together to ensure great outcomes for all students. 

I just wanted to make mention of a few specific things ahead of the break. First of all, as you would be aware, we distributed our next batch of Rapid Antigen Tests this week. We need to be clear that these are for use this week and for the first week of Term Two. These are not for use over the holidays. If you feel that you need to be testing your child over the holidays, you may need to purchase some additional tests. We will be distributing our next batch of Rapid Antigen Tests early in Week Two of Term Two. 

We commend the way that our community have been really proactive in testing students throughout the term and keeping students home who have been demonstrating COVID-like symptoms. As we head into the cooler months, no doubt we will see an increase in these sort of symptoms. We await news from the Department of Education and Training as to whether there will be any changes to our Operations Guideline and testing practices and will certainly inform our community of any changes as soon as they come to hand. 

Our parent information webinar through The Resilience Project this past Wednesday was another highlight and incredibly well received by those who attended. Whilst we had to share the webinar with a number of other schools and our presenter, Hugh van Cuylenberg was particularly unwell! It was still incredibly valuable, purposeful and relevant to us here at Orchard Park PS. The GEM (Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness) principles of The Resilience Project are incredibly important to us here at Orchard Park and even referenced in our matrix of expectations. We try to practice these daily and integrate them into our learning in different subject areas.  

Hugh shared some research and some practical strategies about how we can embed Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness into our day-to-day lives and the benefits of doing so.

Hugh's style of presenting was a little different to last year when we heard from manic Martin Heppel! Martin is equally as brilliant but but Hugh is a little more composed in his presentation style. I hope we had plenty of families in attendance.

Finally, as you would all be aware by now, I will be stepping aside from this wonderful community at Orchard Park PS, for at least the next 6 months as I take on the role of Acting Principal at Garfield Primary School. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me personally and I am proud to have been appointed to the position in such a wonderful school and incredible community. However, there are definitely mixed emotions as I step aside from a role that I genuinely enjoy within an amazing school community. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every moment here at Orchard Park Primary School and I am incredibly proud of all that we have been able to achieve in such a short period of time.

We have an unbelievably devoted, professional and enthusiastic team of teachers here who are wholeheartedly invested in each and every one of our students and ensuring that they are all happy, connected, safe, challenged and successful in their learning. Our administration team are incredibly efficient and have been an amazing support for myself in the role. We also have an outstanding Principal who again is here for all the right reasons and committed to ensuring that our school community is well connected and that our students are all thriving - both academically and in terms of their wellbeing and social development. I have no doubt that together, the staff here will continue to grow and work collaboratively to make sure that Orchard Park PS is held in high regard both within our community and also the broader educational field.  

Finally, our families have all been incredibly supportive and invested in the educational outcomes and wellbeing of our students. When schools and families can work as closely together as what I have seen throughout my time at Orchard Park Primary School, you can be certain that the students will prosper. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make in moving on given all of the amazing people and incredible work taking place here, but it is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me personally and I look forward to hearing of amazing things continuing to happen here at Orchard Park from afar.

So that is that. Term One done and dusted. I hope that everyone is able to relax and unwind over these next couple of weeks and enjoy a well earned break. It has been a slightly longer than usual Term One and everyone has been working incredibly hard! 

Until I see you all next, take care.

Danny Forster

Assistant Principal