TERM 1 WEEK 7/8 NEWSLETTER 2025

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

KINDERGARTEN PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS

During Week 10 and 11, we will have our Parent Teacher Interviews for our Kindergarten students. These will allow parents and teachers to discuss how the children have settled into school and also how they are progressing. We will also give you information about the Best Start assessment that took place before school commenced. Each interview will run for 15 minutes, and separate interviews can be accommodated for parents/carers where this may be more appropriate.

To make your booking/s, you will need to use the School Bytes Parent Portal or School Bytes app (follow the link below for instructions). If you are having problems booking an appointment, please contact the office to assist.

The interviews will either take place in the classroom or sometimes in another office area in the school. Please note the interview will be open for booking from Tuesday, 18^th March until Sunday, 30^th March. Once you have booked your interview, a booking reminder sheet will be sent out by the class teacher/s showing your interview date/time and the exact location.

As in previous years, Parent/Teacher Interviews for students in Years 1-6 will take place towards the end of Term 2.

EASTER HAT PARADE

On Wednesday, 9th April Kindergarten, Year One and Year Two children will participate in an Easter Hat Parade starting at 12:00pm. We invite all parents and carers to attend this event! The parade will be held on the asphalt area in front of the Stage 3 classrooms (near the big 100 Chart).

The children are asked to make their own hats at home. We suggest they may like to decorate an old hat from home with Easter pictures and/or eggs etc.

This will be an exciting event for our infant students with each class parading their hats. Stage 2/3 students will also come out to enjoy the parade.

After the parade, the school P&C will be providing a BBQ lunch. Lunch costs and purchasing details will come out over the coming weeks. Parents and carers are welcome to stay/order lunch.

Easter Raffle

Stage 2 are organising an Easter raffle for which they are asking for donations of Easter eggs, rabbits, bilbies or any other item that could be given as prizes, as well as small baskets. These items can be left at the school office.

Tickets for the Easter raffle will be $1.00 each and sold under the COLA before school, at recess and before the parade starts. Tickets are also available to purchase through School Bytes. The raffle will be drawn after the Easter Hat Parade.

Proceeds from the raffle will be used to subsidise the cost of the Stage 2 excursion later this year.

OUR HEALTHY KIDS PROGRAM

This year we are excited to be partnering with the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW (AH&MRC) in delivering The Live, Longer, Stronger – Our Healthy Kids Program (OHK). This free program is a health and well-being focused initiative and covers 8 key areas of the PDHPE curriculum. It is designed for all primary-aged children in Stages 1, 2 and 3.

All students (Yr 1-6) will participate in educational lessons focused on health and well-being. The lessons will be delivered by a staff member from the Live, Longer, Stronger Program as well as the class teacher. Lessons will be held in the classroom and on the playground for physical activities.

The program will operate across all stages throughout the year, with weekly lessons (8 lessons per term). Each lesson is 90 minutes long with 45 minutes allocated to the topic of the week and 45 minutes for a fun and engaging physical activity.

The program will run across the following stages/terms:

• Term 2 - Stage 3 (5/6 Wombat, 5/6 Galah, 5/6 Crocodile) 
• Term 3 - Stage 2 (4/5 Wallaby, 3/4 Kookaburra, 3/4 Parrot)
• Term 4 - Stage 1 (1 Quokka, 1/2 Panda, 2 Koala)

At the end of the program, all students will receive a graduation pack filled with fun, healthy lifestyle items to celebrate their achievements and encourage ongoing healthy habits.

If you would like further information, please contact the school.

IMPORTANT - if you WOULD NOT like your child/children to participate in this program, please contact the school as soon as possible so alternative arrangements can be made.

P&C ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

On Tuesday our school P&C held its AGM with elections being conducted to fill executive positions. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of our P&C over the past 12 months - particularly the executive team and outgoing president Nicole Ashdown. As a team, the P&C ran many fantastic school events and worked to raise funds to support and subsidise a number of school activities including the Meet & Greet, Stage 2 and 3 excursions, Mothers' and Fathers' Day stalls, the Movie Night, Easter Hat Parade, the Book Character Parade and Grandparent's Day. Their tireless work has been appreciated by all at the school and I'm sure the community joins me in thanking them for their commitment to our students.

I would like to congratulate our incoming P&C executive team for 2025 as well as welcome new members. Our P&C executive are:

• President - Brittany Hughes
• Vice President - Katherine Bennett
• Treasurer - Nicolaas Drage
• Secretary - Cassandra Uphill-Buckland

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND REMINDERS

• Congratulations to those students who represented OEPS as part of our first-ever school Tennis Team. Our team represented the school with pride competing strongly and enjoying the experience. Thank you to Mrs Gibson for coaching and organising this special opportunity.
• Cross Country Ribbons - please note ribbons for primary students for our School Cross Country Carnival will be presented at the Friday Assembly on Fri, 28th March.

OFFICE VISITORS

SCHOOL NEWS

SCHOOL DANCE AND CHOIR PROGRAMS

This year we are fortunate to be able to offer students the opportunity to participate in dance and choir programs each week. There will be a:

Informal Free Kinder Program (occasional performances at assemblies, school events)

Kinder Dance and Choir - This will be an informal program with all Kinder students participating. The program will be free, alternating between dance one week and choir the next. Mr McGregor will be running the program with the support of Kinder and other school staff. The groups will perform at various school events but not at formal competitions like the Orange Eisteddfod, Orange Performing Arts Project, etc. 

Formal Groups (Eisteddfod, etc)

• Yr 1/2 Dance Group - Mrs McLennan
• Yr 3/4 Dance Group - Mrs Kable
• Yr 5/6 Dance Group - Mrs Sweeting
• School Choir (Yr 1-6) - Mrs McLennan

Each of the groups will perform at the Orange Eisteddfod and the Orange East Performance Showcase in Term 4. One-two of the groups will be chosen to perform at the Orange Performing Arts Project and NAIROC. We are also looking to form an Aboriginal Dance Troupe in Term 2. A reminder that our whole school production is only held every two years, with our next one scheduled for 2026.

Signing Up

Dance

Due to significant popularity there is a maximum of 30 students per dance group. As there are significant costs in running these programs there is a fee of $50 for dance. Fees cover lessons, entry to eisteddfods/performances, bus costs and costume hire. These fees represent a small portion of the total running cost of the programs with the school covering the majority of the expense. Lessons will commence in Week 10 this term and run until the end of Term 3.

A notification will be sent out today via School Bytes to all Yr 1-6 parents. The notification contains a permission section, information on payment options, due dates and student expectations. 

Please note: Numbers are limited to a maximum of 30 students per troupe. The first 30 deposits will secure a place in each dance troupe. 

Choir

Our School Choir will be a selective program with Mrs McLennan running auditions over the coming weeks for students in Years 1-6. Once the choir has been selected, the school will send out notification letters to parents/carers of successful students. The cost for the choir will be $15 which covers lessons, entry to eisteddfods/performances and bus costs.

WHOLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

The Orange East PS Athletics Carnival will be held onThursday, 27th March at Waratahs Sports Club. This is a K-6 whole school carnival for all students. All students are expected to attend the day as there will be limited supervision at school.

Students will need to bring their recess, lunch and a bottle of water. Students are encouraged to wear their sports house colours or school sports uniform. Please ensure you pack clothing that is sun protective and warm, in case of a change in weather. All students must have a hat.

Parents, carers and family members are welcome to join the children at the Waratahs Sports Club Oval to watch. As always, volunteers to assist with the running of the carnival are most welcome. Please contact the school or speak to a staff member out at the event.

Please note that K-1 and children who are in Year 2 and not turning 8 this year will be competing in novelty events during the carnival. K-1 and children who are in Year 2 and not turning 8 this year will return to school by bus at 12:30pm.

At the conclusion of the carnival all children turning 8 or older this year will return to school by bus at 2:30pm. If you wish to take your child home, please notify your child’s teacher at the carnival. Also, if your child is going home with someone other than yourself, a note must be provided to the class teacher.

If the carnival needs to be postponed due to inclement weather, a message will be posted on School Bytes and our Facebook page by 8am and children will come to school as usual.

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.

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND STUDENT ABSENCES

We are committed to working with you to offer support and remove any barriers that may be preventing your child from regularly attending school.

Please remember that the NSW Education Act requires that all student absences must be explained within 7 days of the first day of them being away from school. Please contact us promptly whenever your child is absent and let us know the reason for them being away. This allows us to provide the right support and make sure your child's absences are recorded correctly. Absences can be explained via the School Bytes App or Parent Portal, email, note, phone call or in person.

In the event your child has repeated or ongoing unexplained absences, we will continue to try to contact you about each absence to provide appropriate support for you and your family.

We know that for our students every day of school matters.

Missing a day here or there may not seem like much, but absences add up and can negatively impact your child's learning and wellbeing. When your child misses one day a week, that's 40 days of school and 8 weeks of learning in one year. Over an entire school journey this adds up to 2.5 years of lost learning.

If you have any questions or if you need support with your child’s attendance, please contact our School Attendance Monitor, Miss Croker - 6362 7464 or alison.croker@det.nsw.edu.au.

CURRENT FORMS/PERMISSION NOTES

UPCOMING EVENTS

FRIDAY ASSEMBLY

ASSEMBLY INFORMATION

In 2025 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 1

• Week 9 - Friday, 28^th March (Primary, Yr 3-6)
• Week 10 – Friday, 4^th April (Infants, K-2)
• Week 11 – Friday, 11^th April PBL (TBC)

WEEK 5 PRIMARY ASSEMBLY

WEEK 6 INFANTS ASSEMBLY

KITCHEN/GARDEN NEWS

EDIBLE GARDEN TRAIL

Special thanks to all the Eco Warriors and their families who came along to help support the opening of our school garden for the Orange Edible Garden Trail. 

An Edible Garden Trail is a celebration and sharing of the many ways in which our community is growing food and supporting a healthy sustainable future. 

This year more schools opened their gardens along with large and small backyard growers. 

Eco Warriors were able to chat to visitors and walk and talk about all the great things we grow here, our composting program and our kitchen. 

A MOMENT WITH...

CHARLOTTE GAETA – K BILBY

What is something you’ve been learning about at school lately?

• The letter F, we write what we think starts with an F.

What’s the best thing about being a kid?

• I love being a kid because you get to learn what the teacher says to you.

How do you know when someone loves you?

• They love me when they ask me nice questions and when they’re kind to me.

If you could talk to animals, which one would you choose and why?

• I’d talk to a bunny rabbit, because they can hop around a lot.

What do you think your teacher does for fun after school?

• They’ll probably clean up after us. Like when we haven’t cleaned the classroom properly and then they notice a mess in the classroom after school.

ETHAN O’BRIEN – 5/6 GALAH

What makes you laugh the hardest?

• When I see people do dumb or random stuff in real life, like jumping in puddles, people who try to do tricks but fall over instead and just people being funny.

What do you want to be when you grow up and why?

• I want to be a lawyer, because I like telling people the rules and laws, and also helping people.

If you were principal for a day, what would you change or add to the school?

• I would like to put a swimming pool in the school if there’s a hot day everyone could jump in and cool off.

If you could time-travel, where (or when) would you go?

• I’d like to travel forward ten years in time to see what I would look like and what my life will be like then.

What’s one thing you’re really good at, and how did you get so good at it?

• I’m good at soccer because I’ve trained in it and I’ve played in soccer teams before.

WONDERFUL STUDENT WORK

In Kinder Kangaroo, we have been learning the sounds ‘s, a, t, p, i, f’. Here are some of our decoding words where we have been sounding them out to blend together. 

FEATURE CLASS

3/4 PARROT

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P&C NEWS

P&C MEETINGS 2025

Term 2 Meetings

• Week 3 - Tuesday, 13th May @ 6:30pm
• Week 8 - Tuesday, 17th June @ 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 Meeting:

https://us05web.zoom.us/j/8018279751?pwd=fZEKBn6L7hE4yZUuhsMNHKPPJzMRTH.1&omn=81359200690

Meeting ID: 801 827 9751
Passcode: OEPS

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