Principal's Message

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 and welcome back to another stint of remote learning. 

It certainly has been a rollercoaster ride for all of us and now, with the mandatory mask wearing, it is a challenge, but it is very much worth doing so that, hopefully, we can get back to some level of normality as we get on top of this virus.

From all reports, we have had a smooth start to our online learning program and the children and teachers have kicked back into gear very well.  It has been great to watch the live Meets occurring around the school and see the smiling faces on the screen.  We are very aware how difficult it can be to have your children doing remote learning and how it puts many pressures on you as parents.  Some days will be better than others and I would encourage you to go with what works best for you and your child. Looking after your own mental health is vital as you navigate the daily expectations and needs of the remote learning program. I am so impressed with how you are all going. I know I have said it before, but I remember well how hard it was to teach my own children and I was never in the space that you are now, so hats off to you all! 

Over the coming weeks, we will publish a newsletter each week and will be showcasing what the children are doing around the grades. We are looking forward to our student leaders having a presence on the OGPS Blog and using this to communicate with the students. This will be a great project for them and I am sure the children will enjoy the interaction with their Year Six leaders.

Last week, all staff completed asthma, anaphylaxis and CPR training. It involved both online and face-to-face testing. We like to have all staff involved in this comprehensive training so that we all have the skills and understanding of how to cope in an emergency and can be a real support to one another if we ever have a crisis.

On behalf of the staff, I would like to thank you all again for the fantastic coffee machine from the parent body, organised by Roger Nicholson. This has given the staff a real boost and is definitely being well used – thank you so much.

Level Three Building

The Level Three building – Stage 1 project is coming along beautifully. You will be able to see by the photos that there is a new door (thank heavens - the other one drove us crazy), and the new roof, with high light windows, plaster lining and painting, is complete and is looking really smart. The air conditioners need to go back in, cabinetry installed, new carpet laid and furnished and we will be done. The second stage of the project is still with the VSBA (Victorian Schools Building Authority) awaiting permission to go to tender and then away we can go.  This is the new section of the build, which will include a new teaching and learning space for the Year Three students, meeting spaces, toilet, and kitchenette.

The Meadow

The new rubberised downball court in The Meadow is being done as I write this; the area will take a few more weeks to complete. From the photos, you will see that the main part of the surface has been installed; next is the lines for the downball court. A further section towards the tanks will be laid in a cookies-and-cream colour and will have seating installed on it. Stairs will be built to access this section from the existing deck, fencing will be placed at the west end to block off the back of the portables, and some extra bench seating will be put along the side to create plenty of area to be able to use this space as an outdoor classroom as well.  It will be a lot of fun for the kids.

The cookies-and-cream rubberised surface has also been installed around the drink taps and seating adjacent to the building and the new playground. This space was very muddy and it has cleaned it up beautifully. I am very happy to report that the drainage solution, planned and completed by Ross Ploughman, has been very successful in The Meadow and the ground is not the quagmire it was before. Fantastic!

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

Take care everyone and stay safe.

Glenda Harry

Principal