From the Principal 

Dear Families,

Changes: I’ve tried to keep the community up with the shifting sands of Covid19 announcements. I hope you have been able to keep up too! Keep up the great work everyone. We have done so well in this pandemic but it’s not over yet. A number of Geelong schools were closed recently and after speaking with some of their staff and leadership - it’s not a fun experience. If your child is unwell, has the symptoms we are aware of, please follow the protocols. I don’t want OGPS shut down and I’m pretty sure you don’t either. Let’s keep looking after each other and do the things that keep us open and able to learn onsite. 

Kids back (again): This FRIDAY we will welcome ALL our students back onsite! This is a few days ahead of planned and fantastic news. Well done to our community through all we have been through and let’s hope that we can stay onsite, avoid a school closure by all playing our part. Classrooms will have doors and windows open where possible (some may be painted shut in older buildings) to promote ventilation, we will encourage hand sanitising, masks inside for Years 3-6 and the physical distancing of adults. The School Operations Guide says “school staff to wear a facemask while teaching wherever practical, except where removal of a facemask is necessary for effective communication.” So, at times, staff may have their mask down to ensure their instructions are clear and to assist students who use lips and facial expressions as cues to assist their learning. 

Parents onsite: Again, I would love to invite you all back onsite however advice is to minimise people onsite. Please call the office first with your questions and if you have to pick a child up early, call the office, park out the front in Draper St and we will bring your child out to you. Thanks in advance for your cooperation on this. We will pop a reminder sign up inside the main entrance and near the front door.

SunSmart Hats & Masks: Hats are required outside and masks are required inside! Let’s make this as easy as we can on the kids and staff and send your children to school with both! Both are directives based on health advice from the Chief Health Office. We had a fantastic uptake of both last week so there may be a few gentle reminders as we progress towards a full school return on FRIDAY!

Prep 2022: Some great news in amongst the confusion COVID is causing us…the following staff will make up the Prep team in 2022: Megan King, Mel Matherson, Jake Roberts and Emily Merrett (Welcome to Prep land!)

I’d like to publicly acknowledge Julian Teague and the work he has done in this team for a number of years (with Sandra Beasley too!) and he leaves this team in a great space ready to fly without him! Thanks Julian! We look forward to seeing our new Preps as soon as possible and welcoming the new families into OGPS.

Fundraiser: I have a great team of people working hard in the background on a fundraising opportunity for the school. More details will come out soon but as we haven’t been able to run our Apple Fair this year and next, let’s band together and make this a great event so we can keep improving the school. The money raised will be going into the playground areas as they get remediated by the VSBA. We will add value to what will be provided by purchasing a significant piece of equipment that fits in the areas designated. More information will be published soon.

Fire Safety: As part of our regular maintenance, we had our fire services tested to ensure we are all safe in the event of an emergency. We have regular inspections for emergency lighting, hydrants and extinguishers. 

Individual Education Plan (IEP’s): As part of our Disability Inclusion practice, James Field has been leading teams through IEP professional learning. Staff are gaining knowledge from each other, and James’ expertise has led to high quality IEP’s being written and devised. IEP’s have been around for a while now and the understanding behind them is currently at the forefront of staff’s minds. James will continue to work through all teams and train them up to write and implement even better IEP’s as part of the Disability Inclusion implementation. Thanks James.

Curriculum Days: Like in many businesses with KPI’s to reach, so do all schools. Each year schools are permitted 4 curriculum days to help achieve and manage the work around reaching the goals.   Curriculum days are designed to strengthen teacher pedagogy, learn or revise curriculum content, moderate and write reports and a whole range of other matters pertaining to school life. At the end of the day, it is to continually improve the teachers that work with your children. 

Some schools take some of these at the start of the year, middle of a term or end of the year or whenever they can access the professional learning opportunity. Each year, we plan and inform the school council of the proposed dates and have them approved. We try to make these days adjacent to weekends for families. 

We have had one of our designated curriculum days this year and have already postponed Andy McNeilly’s Mental Health & Well being learning twice. We have two curriculum days planned this term - one for moderation and report writing and the other on the last day of the year to prepare for 2022’s smooth start. 

We have decided not to use the 4th Curriculum day this year as we want to maximise time onsite with the students. We will get to Andy’s important work and learning for staff in 2022. 

Geelong Cup: Just a reminder that the Geelong Cup Public holiday is on tomorrow (Wednesday – no school) hence the newsletter is out early. Enjoy the sun and surf if you can!

Have a great week everyone. See you ALL on Friday!

Scott McCumber