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

I would like to start by saying Happy Mother’s Day for this Sunday, to all our mums. What a special day to celebrate and although we are working around the current restrictions, a genuine thank you and acknowledgement of our role, certainly can go a long way in putting a smile on a mother’s face.

It’s a special weekend for me too for another reason, as this Sunday also marks my 10 year anniversary as Principal of OGPS. I seriously find it hard to believe where the time has gone, however when I look around the school and reflect on the last 10 years I can certainly see the changes and development we have had as an organisation. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be leading such a terrific school and to have a community that is united in vision and supportive as we endeavour to give the best educational opportunities to our students that we can. I am also so grateful to you for your patience and support as we are all working in this online environment with the children. It is such a learning curve for us all and as a mum, I remember very well how hard it is to teach your own children and I want to encourage you all in the work you are doing. The feedback and suggestions that we have been receiving have been very helpful and in particular we thank all the families that responded to our survey this week. It is invaluable to hear about what you are thinking and experiencing and we are using this data to make appropriate tweaks to our programming. Please keep in mind that above all the mental health of your family at this time is of the utmost importance. There may be times when it is in your child’s interest and maybe yours too, to opt out of a session of our program. Communication is the most important thing here as we work together. Just email your child’s teacher and we can work around it.

First online School Council Meeting

Last week was certainly a first for us, as we held our first online School Council meeting, but of course we are a resilient bunch and it all went very well and we didn't have the drive home after the meeting. So that was a bonus.  This was our AGM and our first council meeting with our new 2020 council and it was a pleasure to welcome Carolyn Altan to our team.  I would like to formerly acknowledge 3 members of our former council who have now stepped down and thank them for the contribution not only to the School Council but also for the greater school community.  Marika Jagow, worked alongside the team on our Education Committee and gave invaluable insight and attention to detail, which is so important when working on policies.  Marika also brought a level of wisdom and perspective to discussions on council that represented and considered all stakeholders.  In addition Marika has worked in a volunteer capacity during the school day in assisting children who have needed 1 to 1 tuition. Marika's input has made a significant difference to these children, which wouldn't have happened if it was not for her willingness to give of her time. Her kindness, concern, diligence and skills are so appreciated and she is highly valued by our staff. Thank you Marika.  

Mun Chin, was a seconded community member of our council and together with his wife, Ivy, has been a highly valued member of the OGPS community. Mun's wisdom and understanding particularly of the cultural changes in our community have given us terrific insight into how to move forward as we grow as a school.  Mun's granddaughter Scarlett is now in year 7 and we are hoping that the Chin family will rejoin us in a year's time again when his next grandchild reaches school age.  Thank you Mun.

And to Melissa Scott, who graciously allowed us to twist her arm and encourage her to take on the Parents and Friends group and led our fundraising arm brilliantly, giving some of the best Fundraising efforts we have ever had...... notably the last Trivia Night - absolutely brilliant.  Thank you Melissa - such a stellar effort.

When we return to school, we will be needing to build a team of parents to help us with our fundraising. As a result of the COVID 19 pandemic, the school has taken quite a financial hit, in lost revenue from our out of school hours hirers of our facilities and in general fundraising.  This is the money that gives OGPS the ability to provide all the 'extras' for the students and the flexibility to be independent in building  and developing  our grounds and providing programs in the way we need too, that are not covered by DET. 

Professional Practice Days

All teachers across the State have 4 Professional Practice Days (PPD) allocated to them each year and they must be taken as one day each term. They are an excellent opportunity for teaching staff to have a whole day of Professional Development. At OGPS, we take these days as a Team, to take advantage of whole team learning and development. The Department of Education has instructed us that we are to allocate these days to staff even though we are in a ‘Remote Learning Environment’. These days have been allocated over the next couple of weeks and you will receive notification from you child's level leader informing you of the the day that has been allocated.  On this particular day, there will be no check-ins or ‘Google Meet’ sessions, with your child’s teacher.  All student work will still be set for the day and the expectation is that the children will continue with this work on the teacher Professional Practice Day.  Thank you for your understanding and support of the staff as they spend the day developing their skills and understanding in best teaching practice.

Foundation Enrolments 2021

We are now taking enrolments for Foundation in 2021. If you have a child that will be starting school next year we encourage you to enrol now. Also, if you know of any family outside our community that may have a child of school age to start next year, please let them know that we are now accepting enrolments.  This is a very tricky space at the moment, as we are unable to run our normal tours and so many prospective parents are not quite sure how to proceed.  So, it would be great if our community could help us spread the word for us.

Attached is the enrolment form, if you do have a child ready for school for 2021 please fill it in and return it with a copy of your child's birth certificate or passport and immunisation records.

Enrolment forms can be posted or emailed to the school at orchard.grove.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Front sign

Last week I showed you the new pebblemix surface that we put over the old orange tiles at the front of the school. While preparing for this work, the workmen noticed the rust around the poles, which holds up the veranda, which then caused us to look at the front fascia of the veranda, only to find that it is not feeling well and that there is significant rot in the wood.  Earlier this year we had asked for a quote for a new OGPS sign to replace the original one that was looking sad, and hung in this space. So we now know that a new sign could not be installed until the roof was repaired. You can see by this picture that the old sign has now been removed and scaffolding is in place to repair the roof. When this is all done, we will be able to have the new sign installed. So by the time we all return, this area will be looking quite swish and be a lovely welcome display for us all, when we walk up the drive into school.

School Crossing

I know from this picture that it doesn't look like much is happening out on Orchard Grove, where the new supervised crossing will be going, but I do have it on good authority that the wheels are slowly beginning to move and installation of the crossing is not that far off.  As I rarely come in to school from that way, please feel free to send in any pictures or updates about our crossing, as we are all hoping it will be ready for Term 3 as promised by the Whitehorse Council.  

For those eagle eyes who have noticed that the letter 'c' has been missing from our OGPS sign on Orchard Grove.  We have ordered a new one and hope to have it in place in the next 4 weeks.  I was hoping that someone may have found the old one, as they are ridiculously expensive to replace, but alas, no luck and we had to order a new one.  So if you ever see anyone 'playing' with our letters, please feel free to tell them off.

Just before I sign off,...

As a request from the staff, could you please encourage your child to always have their camera on when they are participating in the Meets with the class.  It is very challenging for staff when they can't see the children. Some students are using the 'off camera status' as an opportunity to be distracted from what they should be doing in the class.  If we are all on 'the same page' with this, we will have better success. Thanks for your help.

Take care everyone and talk soon.

Glenda Harry

Principal