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 trust you are all well and doing ok.

GRANT FOR NEW TOILET BLOCK AND DISCOVERY STEM CENTRE

As I mentioned last week, our application for a State Government grant of $500,000 for a new toilet block and Discovery STEM Centre was submitted last Friday night. I believe we have a very solid proposal and we are 'shovel ready', having also gone to the trouble of having architectural concept drawings made. However, as you would understand, it will be a hotly contested grant, but we have definitely put our best foot forward and it is a really exciting project. So, fingers crossed and I will keep you posted.

UPDATE ON LEVEL THREE BUILDING

The Level Three second-stage build has had to be put on hold, with instruction from DET this Tuesday informing the school that all self-funded (school-funded) building projects must cease for the remainder of Stage 4 lockdown. This is disappointing, as we were hoping to be able to really push ahead with this while the students were not on-site. Hopefully we will be able to get going as soon as the lockdown restrictions are downgraded.

WEBINARS FOR PARENTS

Last week, we told you about a webinar by Dr Justin Coulson that was held on Wednesday night. His topic was Lightening the Lockdown Load. I hope you found it helpful. This week there is another webinar that may be worth attending if you are interested:

On Tuesday 25th August, the Department of Education and Training is presenting a free webinar for parents and carers, by renowned child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, on building family resilience during coronavirus (COVID-19).

Parents and carers play a vital role in helping children feel safe through uncertain times.

Dr Carr-Gregg’s webinar is aptly named Managing the Coronacoaster – Tips for building resilient families in the coronavirus era.

In this webinar, Dr Carr-Gregg provides tools and strategies for parents and carers to help manage the lockdown and remote learning. Topics include:

your supportive role
setting the emotional tone
focusing on what you can control
how to deal with disappointment
further resources and where to get help.

Dr Carr-Gregg’s presentation will run for 45 minutes. This will be followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer session in which parents and carers can ask Dr Carr-Gregg questions. Webinar details are:

When: Tuesday 25th August
Time: 7:30pm
Duration: 45-minute presentation followed by 15-minute questions and answers session
Format: online via Webex
Cost: free

How to register

To register and for more information click on the link below

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/managing-the-coronacoaster-tips-for-building-resilient-families-registration-116837404823

ONLINE DISCO

We are also in the throws of organising an online disco for our junior students. Clearly, this will be very different from our usual disco, however it will be a lot of fun. We will engage a company that specialises in this and will keep you posted as to when we can lock in a time.

SCHOOL TOUR VIDEOS

Well, we are very excited to let you know that we have now released our school tour videos on our website and linked on Facebook. As prospective families are unable to attend an on-site school tour, Ryan O'Hehir, one of our fabulous school fathers, has created a suite of videos for families to watch and get an idea of what OGPS is all about. Ryan has done a great job and we are very grateful for all his time and effort. In a few weeks, we will be holding an online Zoom Q&A night for prospective families. We will keep you posted on this, too. Please help us to spread the word about the videos to any kindergarten and child care families who may be interested in having their child attend OGPS next year.

As we are unable to do on-site tours, our Foundation enrolments for 2021 are down on usual numbers and this makes it very difficult to do any forward planning, particularly around staffing, for 2021. We do like to get in early and lock in our staff for the next year as we believe this allows us to secure the best staff. If you are able to help us by spreading the word, about enrolling in Foundation for next year and about our videos, that would be much appreciated.

Thanks again for your continued support and feel free to reach out if we can assist you.

Take care everyone and stay safe.

Glenda Harry

Principal

Key Dates

SEPTEMBER