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,

Isn't it great to finally have some freedom and be able to feel a little more normal? I am certainly enjoying seeing my little grandsons and finally being able to give them a cuddle.

School continues to be going very smoothly. Over the last few weeks, we have been concentrating on student wellbeing and supporting the children as they return to school. In addition, we have been following our schedule of assessing the students' academic abilities; the results have been an encouragement to us as we see how well our students have performed this year, despite the huge disruption that COVID-19 created. These student assessments will also assist us in our planning for 2021.

School Photos

This Wednesday it is our school photo day. Unfortunately, this year they will not be taking the standard class photo. Instead they will be taking individual photos and will put these together into a class collage. As there won't be the regular class photo, I will take a class photo of each of our classes on Wednesday as well. Clearly, this won't look the same as in other years but, then again, not much looks the same in 2020 anyway. We will have these printed up and they will be on sale from the office. Further details to come. Please make sure that your child is in the correct school uniform on Wednesday.

Building Grant Update

As you may remember, we applied for the Victorian Government $500,000 Smart Grant.

Our submission was for a Student Discovery Stem Centre, including an upgrade to our original student toilets. Rumour has it that the successful schools will be announced on Victorian State Budget Night on 24th November. We did put a very solid and detailed submission together, however we were told it was unlikely that we would be successful. Nevertheless, our attitude is "you've got to be in it to win it." So, fingers crossed.

Uniform

As you know, we have a strict uniform policy at OGPS, however we acknowledge that, at this late stage of the year, it may not be a great idea to buy new shoes etc when your child will most likely grow over the summer break. Nevertheless, items such as hair accessories must be in school colours, no tights with summer dresses, socks can be white, grey or black, and we do not wear long-sleeved tops under short sleeve polo shirts. For the remainder of the year, it would be great if you can do your best to have your child in the correct school uniform and we will get back to normal with the uniform being properly enforced in 2021.

PS. Remember, when you are buying shoes for next year, they must be black, white or navy blue, or a combination of these colours.

Book Fair

We would like to thank you all for your great support of our annual Book Fair. Frankly, we had thought of cancelling the event, as parents could not be on-site to enjoy the experience with their children. However, we were overwhelmed with your response and the level of sales of books for the children. When we have a final figure we will let you know how much we raised. A huge thankyou to you all; this money makes a significant difference in assisting us to keep our library well stocked.

Foundation Storytime

We had another Foundation Storytime over Zoom on Friday afternoon. Although not as good as face-to-face, it was gorgeous to see all the beautiful smiles lighting up our computer screens. We had a little tour of the Foundation playground and classrooms, a quick visit from Ruby, and a story, all packed into 30 minutes. Thanks to all those parents who joined us with their little ones and to our Foundation Team.

Well, that's all from me for this week. Don't forget photo day on Wednesday. Talk soon.

Glenda Harry

Principal

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