TERM 4 WEEK 5/6 NEWSLETTER 2024

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

SCHOOL LEADERS 2025

In Week 4 speeches were presented by the Year 5 boys and girls who nominated for a Student Leader position for 2025, after which voting took place.

Congratulations to our 2025 school leaders:

• Captains – Freya Scott & Kobe Morgan
• Vice Captains – Isabel Mesa-Urquhart & Jed Taylor
• Prefects – Alexis Wynne & DJ Smallwood

We are very proud of you and know you will do a wonderful job in your roles next year!

The photos below show the new leaders carrying on with our school tradition of phoning their parents from the Principal's office to share their news! Congratulations also to all the students who presented a speech, the quality was outstanding across the board from these great students and we look forward to seeing them continue to develop their leadership skills in 2025.

HOUSE CAPTAINS 2025

In Week 5, we conducted our vote to elect our 2025 House Captains. I would like to congratulate all of the students who took part, as each of these students show great leadership potential.

It gives me great pleasure to announce our 2025 House Captain group:

• Hargraves: Lachlan Privett & Anna Jones
• Paterson: Isla Lanser & Addison Ezzy
• Mitchell: Eloise Vaughn & Loli Eisman
• Parkes: Sebastian Hewitt & Irene Saenphoumy-Boonpikham

Congratulations boys and girls, I know you will do a wonderful job in your new roles.

NAIDOC CULTURAL DAY

Thank You to everyone involved in our NAIDOC Cultural Day last Thursday. Students from all classes rotated through a variety of activities including learning about Aboriginal plants/animals, artefacts, traditional stories and art activities, dance workshops, Boomerang throwing and Traditional Indigenous Games. Thank you to the many volunteers who assisted with the day including students and staff from Orange High School. I would also like to acknowledge the work of our Stronger Smarter Team led by Miss Hay in planning and coordinating the day. Lastly, thank you to Ashcrofts Super IGA for the kind donation to provide morning tea/lunch for our volunteers.

GRANDPARENT’S PICNIC AND PERFORMING ARTS SHOWCASE

Our Grandparents’ Picnic and Performing Arts Showcase was again a big success this year and a wonderful way to culminate our NAIDOC Activity Day. This was easily our biggest attendance since we started the day several years ago and it was great to see so many of our community enjoying a lovely day on school grounds and various sweet treats courtesy of the P&C cake stall.

A big thank you to our P&C for organising the stall, the many home chefs for donating various cakes, to the many grandparents and family members for supporting the day and to the coordinating staff and student performers of our various choir and dance groups.  

2025 SCHOOL PLANNING

We will soon begin the process of forming new class groups for 2025. If there is anything that we should be aware of that will affect your child’s placement, please contact me in writing.

This is not an opportunity to choose a teacher - but simply the sharing of information that will assist us in making the most informed decisions. As always, we cannot guarantee that requests will be accommodated.

This is particularly important if you know that you will be moving away from the area and hence your children will not be attending Orange East PS in 2025. It is difficult to make changes when the classes are finalised and virtually impossible at the beginning of the school year.

Requests should be sent to glen.bourke@det.nsw.edu.au no later than 4pm Friday, 29th November.

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

Last Wednesday evening, I got to be part of a special experience at Orange High School for an ex-OEPS student. Charli Privett invited me over to Orange HS to attend as a guest when she was presented with her Year 9 SRC representative badge. This was a great privilege and I really enjoyed seeing Charli's pride in this achievement.

Best of luck Charli, we are all so proud of you and know you will do a wonderful job in this role! 

SCHOOL NEWS

END-OF-YEAR EVENT INFORMATION

Term 4 PBL Awards

• Our Term 4 PBL Award Assemblies will be held in Week 8, Friday 6^th December in the school hall. All parents and caregivers are welcome to attend. We will hold four presentations to distribute the audience so that as many people as possible can fit into the hall for each presentation. Please see below for specific times and classes:

• Please note that the cut-off date for Yetis/Dojo points to be recorded this year is Monday, 2^nd December - to allow us time to collate results, organise awards and the printing of invitations to parents. It is important to note that no Yeti/Dojo Points will be given after this date. In Term 1 next year, all students start back at zero points.
• A reminder: it is possible that students may be presented with two levels during a term. It is also possible for a student not to receive an award as during the term they did not quite progress another level since the previous term. This is by no means a reflection of a poor effort and in all likelihood they may have been just a few ‘Yetis’ short.
• There are four certificate levels, each requiring 100 Yetis.

• The final PBL Medallion level requires the student to receive 400 Yetis but also to meet Orange East’s behavioural expectations to the highest level. After the final Yeti/Dojo cut-off date in Term 4 the Principal, Assistant Principal, Class Teacher and other relevant staff that work with each child/class will meet to discuss students who have achieved Platinum level to assess if they have met the criteria to be awarded the final PBL Medallion level.
• Students who have achieved a new certificate level in Term 4 will be presented with their certificate at the PBL assemblies on Friday, 6^th December.
• Students who achieve the final PBL Medallion level will be presented with their special award at the School Presentation Day Ceremony on Thursday, 12^th December.

Homereading

• The final cut-off date for Homereading this year will be Friday, 6^th December with Home Reading Quests/Logbooks to be handed to teachers on or before this date.
• Students who achieve a new Quest Level (K-4) or Club Level (Yr 5-6) after the final assemblies this week (Infants) or next week (Primary) will receive their awards at a morning assembly.
• A reminder there are various awards for each level with students required to reach Quest 6 or Club 200 to receive the Homereading badge.

Presentation Day

• We will hold our annual Presentation Day Ceremony on Thursday, 12^th December at Canobolas Rural Technology High School Hall starting at 10:00am. Please note that this year we are commencing earlier than in previous years. The start time has been changed to take advantage of the slightly cooler morning weather as the gym can be quite warm. The ceremony usually runs for approximately 90 minutes.
• Emails will be sent home over the coming week to parents/carers of students receiving an award at the ceremony.
• As in previous years it is expected that all students attend this event as there will be no supervision at school with all staff attending.
• Travel will be by bus, which will be paid for by the school. If you wish to take your child home at the end, please advise your child’s teacher.
• Details of the event and permission note will be sent out via School Bytes in the coming week.
• Presentation day is an opportunity for the OEPS community to acknowledge students’ effort and achievement in curriculum, citizenship, cultural and sporting events. With this in mind I’d ask all parents/carers to respect the occasion and stay for the duration of the event and refrain from taking children during the ceremony.
• All students are required to wear regular summer uniform. Year six students are NOT permitted to wear their Year 6 shirt for this occasion.

Year 6 Farewell Dinner and Disco

• Our Year 6 Farewell and Disco will take place on Monday 9^th December from 5:30pm – 8:30pm on school grounds.
• This is a special celebration for Year 6 attended by all Year 5 & 6 students and school staff.
• Special invitations will be sent out in hard copy and on School Bytes in the coming days, for Year 5 and Year 6 students. Parents/carers of Year 5/6 students can contact Miss Croker via email (alison.croker@det.nsw.edu.au) for further information.
• Year 5 students and school staff are asked to pay $15 online via School Bytes by Monday, 2nd December, to cover catering costs for the evening. 
• Year 6 students are asked to pay $10 online via School Bytes by Monday, 2nd December, which will cover catering costs and contribute to a Year 6 gift for the school. 
• Students are able to be driven to the event in special cars if they wish, with the vehicle parking on the top oval for a short period. Please note: Vehicles are to move at VERY low speed (no more than 5 kmp/h) while on site. Each vehicle MUST be escorted by an adult walking in front of the vehicle ensuring pedestrian safety while moving on/off site. The school reserves the right to refuse entry to a vehicle if it presents an unacceptable risk to public safety.
• Parents/carers are free to be on school site to take photos prior to the Farewell commencing (5:30 - 6pm).
• A reminder that students are asked to dress in smart casual for this event – no jeans, singlets, thongs, etc.

Reports

• Full Semester Two Reports will be sent out to parents in Week 10, Monday 16^th December.
• As per normal, we do not hold formal parent/teacher interviews in Semester Two. A parent/teacher interview can be arranged by request either by contacting the office or your child’s class teacher.

Year 6 Graduation Assembly

• On Wednesday, 18th December we invite parents/ family members of Year 6 students to join us at 2:15pm in the School Hall for a special Year 6 Graduation Assembly. The assembly will only be attended by Year 6 students and family as well as Stage 3 Staff.
• During the assembly there will be an audio-visual presentation prepared by Stage 3 staff and students will be presented with their Yr 6 Certificate and Class of 2024 Book.
• Due to the audio-visual presentation we need to use the School Hall, therefore we are limited by space constraints, only able to offer seats for TWO family members of each Year 6 student. We understand that some families may have special circumstances where you may wish to bring more than two family members. While we cannot guarantee additional seats for the assembly, please contact Miss Croker via email (croker@det.nsw.edu.au) to request additional seats and we will attempt to accommodate this where possible.
• At the conclusion of the assembly (approximately 3pm) all students K-5 and staff will form our traditional tunnel stretching from the hall out onto the playground for the Year 6 Class of 2024 to run through.

K-4 Class Party & Fun Day

• Each K-4 class will hold their own internal class party and fun day in Week 9, Friday 13th December. (Year 4 students from 4/5 Crocodile will choose a 3/4 class they would like to join for the party)
• Parents are asked to send $2 in a labelled envelope to their child’s class teacher. The school will use these funds to purchase food/drinks for the party. 
• During the day, children will take part in a picnic lunch, Christmas activities and a movie.
• This will be a casual clothes day for all students.
• As always, Yr 5/6 students do not have a class party as they attend the Year 6 Farewell. They are still welcome to wear casual clothes on the day of the class parties.

Final Day of School

• The last day of school for students this year is Wednesday, 18^th December.
• ALL students in Years K-6 return on Thursday, 6th February.

CHRISTMAS S.R.C FUNDRAISER

This term the S.R.C are conducting a Christmas fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House in Orange.

Students across the school are asked to donate items suitable as ‘stocking fillers’. These might include small picture books, small soft toys, games, colouring-in books, coloured pencils or jigsaw puzzles, etc. We understand that not all families may be in a position to donate or may choose other ways to support various charities throughout the year.

Donated items can be left at the School Office up until Friday, 13th December. The S.R.C will ensure that all items are delivered to Ronald McDonald House before Christmas.

Merry Christmas and thank you so much for your continued support! Your donation will help bring a huge smile to the faces of many sick children.

Kerry Stokes S.R.C Co-ordinator  \\ Orange East Public School

CHANGE TO TERM 1 2025 START DATES

Recently the NSW Teachers' Federation and the Department of Education reached an agreement on a new 3-year consent award. The award relates predominantly to pay, work conditions, more flexible work arrangements and professional learning/planning time.

In particular, one aspect of this agreement relates to school development days. Starting in 2025, there will now be eight (8) school development days in total across the year, all at the start of each term:

• 4 days in Term 1
• 2 days in Term 2
• 1 day in Term 3
• 1 day in Term 4

This is a good outcome as it will further support our work in professional learning and planning to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of our students with high-quality teaching and learning. Staffing and funding challenges over the past several years have not always made this easy and so we welcome this step to support the ongoing development of our profession. Student start and end dates for all of 2025 can be found later in the newsletter under Upcoming Events.

It is important for parents to note that the student start date for 2025 has changed in line with these additional days:

• ALL students in Years K-6 will now start on Thursday, 6th February.

2025 Kindergarten

Parents and carers of our incoming 2025 Kinder students will also note that we have made changes to how the BEST Start Assessment will be conducted.

The BEST Start Assessment will now be held over the first 5 weeks of Term 1, with students coming out of class to complete the assessment during the school day. This means that Kindergarten students will also commence with the rest of the school on Thursday, 6th February.

As per previously, for the first two weeks of Kindergarten (Thur 6th Feb - Fri 14th Feb) parents/carers have the option of picking Kinder children up slightly earlier, from 2:30pm if you wish. Kinder students will still be supervised until 3:10pm if they are not collected early.   

SELECTIVE HIGH SCHOOL/OPPORTUNITY CLASS APPLICATIONS

Selective high schools and opportunity classes are one of the ways that the department supports students who have high intellectual potential. These are students whose intellectual potential exceeds that of students of the same age. Students sit a placement test and qualify for a place based on their results.

Selective high schools are for students in Years 7 to 12. The current application process is for students in Year 7 in 2026.

There are 4 types of selective high schools:

• fully selective high schools (17)
• partially selective high schools (25)
• agricultural high schools (4)
• Aurora College – providing online opportunity classes for rural and remote students.

Opportunity classes are for primary school students in Years 5 and 6. The current application process is for students in Year 5 in 2026. 

There are 87 opportunity classes in NSW. The types of opportunity classes are:

• primary schools with full-time opportunity classes (the closest to Orange is located at Bathurst PS)
• Aurora College – providing online opportunity classes for rural and remote students.

Aurora College

The department's Aurora College provides online opportunity classes for rural and remote students.

Students attend their local ‘host’ NSW public school and join Aurora College’s online opportunity classes for science, technology, and mathematics (Primary) or english, mathematics and science (High School).

Applications for selective high school and opportunity class entry in 2026 will be open from 7 November 2024 to 21 February 2025.

Further information can be found at: https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/choosing-a-school-setting/selective-high-schools

CLOTHING POOL

The Clothing Pool is open every Wednesday and Friday morning from 8:40 - 9:10am. Afternoons are by appointment only. A reminder that the Clothing Pool has moved to what was formerly the General Assistant/Cleaner's Shed - next to the disabled toilet.

The Clothing Pool also welcomes donations of any clothing. Please drop items off at the office or clothing pool on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

STUDENT ATTENDANCE

All schools are expected to implement rigorous attendance policies. This includes monitoring whole day and partial school absences as well as patterns of non-attendance. The policy requires that parents ensure a high level of school attendance by their children and that all student absences are explained either verbally via phone call, or via a written explanation or through the School Bytes app, on the day of absence or as soon as possible following. As a school we must comply with this policy but most importantly our goal is to achieve the best possible educational outcomes for each and every student. As always, the key to this success is a great partnership between home and school.

Students with significant absences or patterns of non-attendance without explanation may be contacted to attend a formal school meeting, and if attendance continues to be of concern, by the Home School Liaison Office. Class teachers will also make phone calls home regarding unexplained absences.

CURRENT FORMS/PERMISSION NOTES

UPCOMING EVENTS

TERM 4 SAVE THE DATES

As Term 4 is such a busy time, see below for advanced notice on a number of events. Please note that occasionally dates may change due to events out of our control. We will endeavour to give as much notice as possible for any changes that may occur.

FRIDAY ASSEMBLY

ASSEMBLY INFORMATION

In 2024 we will continue with our regular alternating Friday Assembly with parents and carers invited to attend. The assembly commences at 2pm on Friday in the School Hall. Each week the assembly will alternate between Primary (Yr 3-6) and Infants (K-2).

On Friday mornings from 8:40am, either Infants or Primary students (corresponding with the assembly weeks listed below) are invited to bring their lots of 10 Blue Merit Awards to the office for stamping. During the day, we will also process Principal Awards and Homereading Awards. These awards and the Safe Respectful Learner Awards will be presented at the assembly after lunch.

Parents will receive a notification early in the week via the School Bytes app if your child is receiving a Principal’s Award.

Photos of the award recipients will continue be included in the newsletter the following week.

Please note the roster below:

Term 4

• Week 6 - Friday, 22nd November (FINAL Infants, K-2)
• Week 7 - Friday, 29th November (FINAL Primary, 3-6)
• Week 8 - Friday, 6th December (PBL Awards Assemblies)
• Week 9 - Thursday, 12th December (Presentation Day)
• Week 10 - Wednesday, 18th December (Yr 6 Graduation Assembly)

TERM 4 WEEK 3 PRIMARY ASSEMBLY AWARDS

TERM 4 WEEK 4 INFANTS ASSEMBLY AWARDS

TERM 4 WEEK 5 PRIMARY ASSEMBLY AWARDS

CLASS OF THE WEEK

TERM 4 WEEK 4 - KINDER BILBY

TERM 4 WEEK 5 - 1 QUOKKA

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P&C NEWS

P&C MEETINGS 2024

Term 4 Meetings

• Week 8 - Tuesday, 3rd December @ 6:30pm

Meetings are held between 6:30 - 7:30pm in the Staffroom with access from the Spring Street entrance (see map below). Meeting length is strictly limited to one hour or less if possible! New members are warmly welcomed. Do not hesitate to contact the school office if you would like further information.

Parents and carers can also opt to join via Zoom. Zoom participants will need to create a registered account and use the details below:

https://nsweducation.zoom.us/j/68062125227?pwd=ur9M6o1EamW7B6aBhA5BgQAoZb3Icx.1

Meeting ID: 680 6212 5227

Passcode: 643932

JOINING THE P&C OR VOLUNTEERING

We love parent involvement at Orange East. You can volunteer in the classroom, working bees, help cook at BBQ's, share your professional or special interest skills, join a committee and more. Please complete this online form to register your interest and the P&C will email you details of upcoming events and P&C meetings for your calendar.

Expressions of Interest - OEPS P&C (google.com)

COMMUNITY NOTICES