School Philosophy

Orchard Grove Primary School is committed to providing a safe, nurturing environment that engages curiosity, promotes learning, personal growth and wellbeing for all students. We strive to develop adaptability and resilience so students can become valued members of the local and global communities and be prepared for future life experiences.

From the Principal

Hi, everyone. I hope you are all doing ok and coping under the present lockdown. It certainly doesn't have the same novelty factor as last time; however, in my whip around the virtual classrooms this past week, I would have to say that I am very pleased with how, overall, the children are handling the situation.

Now that we are all having to wear masks, maybe we have some little 'cottage industries' popping up in our community, with people sewing masks. If this applies to you and you would like for us to spread the word in the newsletter so that we can get comfortable and affordable masks for our community to wear, then just send an email to Evelyn in our office (evelyn.lowe@education.vic.gov.au) and we can put a little blurb, photo and phone number in for you.

I'm sure, over the past week, the 'jungle telegraph' has been working overtime and you would have heard that a number of our local school have closed temporarily as a result of COVID-19 cases. This is a bit close to home and definitely reinforces how careful we all have to be. This virus doesn't care who you are, but rather just wants a host, so hand hygiene, social distancing and mask-wearing are so important to stop the spread. In the light of this, we are being very strict on the criteria for onsite supervision for remote learning to keep the numbers to a minimum. This reduces the risk of community transfer amongst staff and students.

Not in any way wanting to be an alarmist, but I feel it is good to explain what the process is in the unfortunate situation that we have an active case of COVID-19. There is a strict protocol that I have to follow and, although it may be frustrating, I will not be able to disclose (unless the person or family agrees) who the infected person is, due to privacy issues. The school will be closed, no staff or students will be allowed back into the school buildings and a deep clean will be done. The school will be closed for a few days and only opened when permission is given from DHHS, DET and the Health Department. During this time, all staff and students must remain at home while contact tracing and deep cleaning occur. During this time, my communication with the school community will be at a minimum due to the protocols I am required to follow. Only DET-approved communication is allowed. I am keen for everyone to be informed of the constraints around a positive COVID-19 case in a school so that the kind of communication that is given to the community is understood. Hopefully, this knowledge will be unnecessary for the OGPS community.

On an encouraging note, I would like to send our hearty congratulations to Annabel in Year 5MA for achieving the Grey Wolf Award for Cubs. Below is the citation given by Chil, her Cub Leader:

On Monday, Anabel was presented with her Grey Wolf award.

The Grey Wolf Award is the Peak Award for Cubs (this means it is the highest award you can achieve in Cubs) and takes a lot of effort, determination and dedication to complete. Part of the award is to plan and lead a hike. This was a bit challenging with the restrictions in place but, as with all things Scouting, Anabel rose to the challenge and worked through it.

Please note we are putting in the weekly timetable for each level in the weekly newsletter for easy access for parents. I hope this is helpful.

Well, that’s all from me for this week.

Take care everyone and stay safe.

Glenda Harry

Principal

Year Four News