TERM 1 WEEK 8/9 NEWSLETTER 2024
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY
The school will be running its annual Cross Country Carnival at Elephant Park on Wednesday, 27th March for students who are turning 8 years or older in 2024. Permission notes were sent via School Bytes last week with permission and money ($3) due by this Monday 25th March.
Students will be travelling down to the park via bus at 10:30am with an estimated 12:30pm return to school.
This year we are encouraging students to get behind their house and come dressed in house colours. All competitors will receive points towards their house.
K-2 Cross Country
Not to be left out, our remaining K-2 students will also take part in their own Cross Country back at school at 9.30am on the same day. They are also encouraged to come dressed in their house colours. Parents/carers and volunteers are welcome to attend either event.
ALL STUDENTS K-6 ARE ASKED TO WEAR SPORTS UNIFORM AND/OR HOUSE COLOURS THIS WEDNESDAY. All other days are regular school uniform.
SCHOOL ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
Our annual Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday, 4th April at the Waratah Sports Club Oval. All children K-6 will be involved and must catch the bus from school to Waratah Sports Club Oval. Notes were distributed to students this week and are due back with the $3.00 payment by Monday, 20th March. It is an expectation that ALL students attend this day as there will be limited supervision at school.
All children K-6 will depart at 9.30am. The children will need to bring their recess, lunch and drinks (please provide plenty of water). Students must wear their sports uniform or shirts and shorts in their house colours (no singlets). Long sleeved shirts may be a good idea. Please ensure you pack clothing that is sun protective and warm, in case of a change in weather.
Parents and carers are welcome to join the children at the Waratahs Sports Club Oval. Staff would greatly appreciate any help that parents are able to provide during the day. All field events will be measured finals. All races will be timed finals. The first three runners with the overall fastest times from all the heats will be presented with ribbons after the results are collated at school. Children do not receive a ribbon for coming first, second or third in a heat unless their time is in the top three for all heats in that 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.
Infants students (7/turning 7 or younger) will depart the carnival after lunch with primary students (turning 8 and up) departing at the conclusion of the carnival (approx. 2.30pm). Children will return to school on buses unless a parent or carer takes them home directly. If you wish to take your child home, please notify your child’s teacher at the conclusion of the carnival. Also, if your child is going home with someone other than yourself, a note MUST be provided to the class teacher.
Wet Weather
In the event of inclement weather a decision will be made in the morning prior to departing from school to Waratahs. If the event is cancelled, this decision will be communicated via Facebook and the SkoolBag app. If this occurs, students should attend school as per normal and a new carnival date will be communicated to parents/carers.
SCHOOL SUPERVISION HOURS
A reminder that student supervision hours commence at 8:40am until 3:10pm, with only afternoon bus students staying beyond this time until the final bus arrives. It is a parental responsibility to ensure that children arrive at school at the correct time. Students should not arrive at school prior to 8:40am unless on an early bus and there is no other bus available. Staff require this time to prepare & organise materials for the day. Some students have been arriving in excess of 30 minutes prior to this time at which point there is no supervision and limited amount of staff in the area. We ask for your support in ensuring the safety of our students.
OFFICE VISITORS
Jed, Zhan'e, Roman, Adele and Sierra of 5/6 Wombat with a very delicious Apple Tart. This amazing example of culinary excellence scored a very rare 10/10 from me. Tasting notes reflect a nice balance of sweet/tartness, perfectly cooked apple, subtle notes of cinnamon and all brought together on a delicate, yet crisp piece of pastry. Outstanding!
Ryan from 5/6 Wombat showing me some great work he has been putting in to become an absolute times-table Jedi Master. Great work mate!
Eli, Elise, Lachlan T, Jack, Irene, Lincoln and Lachlan B from 4/5 Crocodile educating me on some interesting facts about fruit and vegetables as part of Kitchen Garden lessons. Did you know that an apple is up to 25% air?
Leo from 1/2 Panda showing me a great piece of art he has been working on, including a photobomb by Snuggles. Keep up the great effort!
SCHOOL NEWS
EASTER HAT PARADE
On Thursday, 28th March 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.
P&C BBQ
Please note that BBQ preorders closed at midday today. Cash sales will still be available at the BBQ, though we do encourage people to bring change/smaller denominations where possible.
- Sausage sandwich - $3.50
- Water/cans of drink - $2
- Poppas - $1.50
VOLUNTEERING
We love parent involvement at Orange East. If you would like to assist with the Easter Hat BBQ or volunteer in the classroom, working bees, share your professional or special interest skills, join a committee and more - please complete this online form to register your interest.
Expressions of Interest - OEPS P&C (google.com)
EASTER RAFFLE
Stage 2 are organising an Easter raffle for which they are asking 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 befotre school, at recess and before the parade starts. 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.
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.
To make your booking/s, simply follow the link below to get started:
https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/m98hc
The website will guide you through three simple steps, and moments later you'll get an email confirming your bookings. If you need to change or cancel your bookings, just enter the event code again (m98hc). If you're on the same computer, you'll go straight to your bookings. 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 School Interviews booking website will close on Wednesday, 27th March. Further details confirming your interview and the exact location will be distributed on Thursday, 28th March.
As in previous years, Parent/Teacher Interviews for students in Years 1-6 will take place towards the end of Term 2.
SCHOOL DANCE AND CHOIR PROGRAMS
Our school choir and dance groups have filled quickly, with all groups except Kinder Dance at full capacity. Dance and Choir rehearsals will commence this week.
Kinder and Year 1/2 Dance – LAST CHANCE
At this point, we have approximately 8 spaces left in the Kinder Dance group. To enable some students who missed out on getting a place in the Year 1/2 Dance Group to participate, we are going to change the Kinder Group to a K/1 Dance Group. This will enable us to share students between the groups and fill all remaining spaces.
- If your child is in Year 1 or 2 and missed a place in the Year 1/2 Dance Group, we are starting a list on a ‘first-in’ basis.
- Please either phone the school office on 6362 7464 or email glen.bourke@det.nsw.edu.au to place your child’s name on the list.
- We will notify parents as soon as possible if your child has secured a place.
- Students already accepted into the Year 1/2 Dance Group will not be moved without parents first being contacted by the school to seek approval.
SCHOOL WINTER JACKET ORDERS
We are pleased to once again offer our School Winter Jackets. It is not a compulsory school uniform item but complements our winter uniform and keeps our children very warm in this cold climate we live in.
The jackets are waterproof nylon, have polar fleece lining, concealed hood with drawcord, two external pockets with Velcro flap, hand warmer pockets and are embroidered with our OEPS emblem. Sizes are available in 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16.
The school is subsidising each jacket to enable the cost to decrease so parents only pay $45.00. No profit is made on the sale of jackets.
Jackets can be purchased via the QuickCliq app (in the uniform section) or by ordering/paying at the school office. Orders and payment are due by Wednesday, 10th April to allow us time to order and have the jackets ready for Term 2.
CLOTHING POOL
The Clothing Pool is open every Monday, 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.
Over the next three weeks, the Clothing Pool has an amazing offer to come in and fill a bag with second-hand uniforms for a gold coin donation.
SCHOOL BYTES APP
A reminder that School Bytes has an app that works on both Apple or Android platforms. We have found in discussions with a number of parents that they are still using the web-based portal. The app assists in making School Bytes more mobile 'friendly', including push notifications. As a parent, to get the most out of School Bytes - the app is a MUST!
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
| WHAT | COST | WHERE | WHO | DUE WHEN |
| School Cross Country | $3 | School Bytes - Forms | Students turning 8+ this year | OVERDUE - Fri, 22nd March |
| School Athletics Carnival | $3 | School Bytes - Forms | K-6 students | Fri, 29th March |
| Life Education Van | $6 | School Bytes - Forms | K-6 Students | Mon, 29th April |
| Stage 3 Sydney Excursion | $350 | School Bytes - Forms | Year 5/6 Students | *$70 deposit 2nd May *Full payment by 1st November |
| Boys Soccer | NIL | School Bytes - Forms | Select students | Thur, 28th March |
| Girls Soccer | NIL | School Bytes - Forms | Select students | Thur, 28th March |
KITCHEN/GARDEN NEWS
BREAKY CLUB
Our Breakfast Club program runs every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning from 8:40am. Breaky Club is hosted in the student kitchen, is free of charge and available for all students.
KITCHEN/GARDEN
Each year our Year 3-6 students at OEPS participate in this fantastic Life Skills Program. Sometimes during cooking sessions, students like to take home samples of their cooking so keeping a container with a lid in their bags (just in case) would be helpful. Also, students with long hair should come with hair ties (leave a few spare in their bags or donate some to the kitchen).
FOOD ALLERGIES
Please let the school office know if your child has food allergies or intolerances so we can make sure we cater to these needs in the kitchen and the garden. Students with Health Care plans should ensure they are up to date and that our school is provided with copies.
VOLUNTEERS
As you can imagine an edible garden and kitchen is a substantial amount of work. If you have some time to offer either, weeding, pruning or assisting in the kitchen/garden, then I would love to hear from you. Please let the office know or come down to the kitchen one morning before school and let's chat.
OEPS ECO WARRIORS
Last year we established the Eco Warrior program at Orange East Public School. This team worked all year round to create awareness for classes, students, teachers and the community of the importance of looking after our environment.
The team conducted audits around the school and quickly came to realise that we needed to reinstate composting, recycling and the Return and Earn programs, in order to reduce waste. As a result, every classroom, office area, kitchen and canteen was supplied with composting buckets, Return and Earn buckets and places and spaces for paper and cardboard recycling. Compost goes directly into our large compost bins in the garden, breaks down and goes back into our soil producing delicious fruits, herbs and vegetables to cook with.
We have earnt just over $100 from Return and Earn (most students bring reusable drink bottles which is great) last year. Eco Warriors have voted to put those funds into re-establishing some playground games in 2024.
Congratulations all Eco Warriors, you are the legends that create and maintain clean, healthy and waste free spaces for all of us to enjoy.
Announcing our Eco Warriors for 2024!
- Kinder Kangaroo: Wesley, Hudson Tucker-Forbes
- Kinder Bilby: Angus Gurjar, Summer Ramsdale Clarke
- 1 Quokka: Lylah Moffat, Addley Barnes
- 1/2 Panda: Abi Stevens, Paxton Shryver-Halep
- 2 Koala: Florence, Conor Horan
- 3/4 Parrot: Oliver Costello, Alexis
- 3/4 Wallaby: Hudson Jones, Matilda Donohugue
- 3/4 Kookaburra: Matilda Ashdown, Connor Buesnel
- 4/5 Crocodile: Lincoln Privett, Freya Scott
- 5/6 Wombat: Isobel Jackett, Lily Marks McKeown
- 5/6 Galah: Dominic Stephens, Isla Lanser
STUDENT/PARENT COOKING CLASS
This is a fantastic class for both kids and parents to share together. Experience and enjoy the hands-on nature of harvesting seasonal produce from our own school garden and then putting together a sumptuous healthy meal that you get to take home.
Our engaging and professional chef Ruben Mesa will enjoy inspiring you to feel confident and more creative in the kitchen. Ask for cooking tips along the way and our experienced chef would be delighted to share his wisdom to help you perfect your dishes at home safely, hygienically and tastefully. Using only the freshest of ingredients, enjoy creating delicious dishes yourself under the guidance of Ruben and Kitchen Garden Teacher, Ms Irene Iskric in our fabulous OEPS student kitchen.
WHEN: Tuesday 9th April - 3:30 -5:00 PM
WHO: Families
PRICE: $10 (To cover cooking ingredients, cash payment at the class)
BOOKINGS: ESSENTIAL AND NUMBERS ARE LIMITED.
RSVP: Thursday 4th April to irene.iskric@det.nsw.edu.au or by phoning the school office on 6362 7464.
LUCKY DOOR PRIZE AND COOKING CHALLENGE!
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
- Chilled drinking water provided throughout the class.
- Most dietary requirements can be catered for with advance notice. Please note any requirements when making your reservation.
LATEST RECIPES
UPCOMING EVENTS
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Year 6 High School Transition CRTHS
8:45 AM - 3:00 PM |
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RDA volunteering
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM |
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FINAL Infants (K-2) Assembly
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM |
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Debating Grand Final
8:40 AM - 3:00 PM |
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Stage 2 - Learn to Swim
12:30 PM - 2:30 PM |
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RDA volunteering
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM |
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FINAL Primary (Yr 3-6) Assembly
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM |
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Canobolas High Enrichment Day
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM |
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Stage 2 - Learn to Swim
12:30 PM - 2:30 PM |
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RDA volunteering
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM |
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PBL Award Assemblies
9:20 AM - 11:00 AM |
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Yr 6 Farewell Dinner/Disco
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
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Presentation Day
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM |
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Last Day of School for Students
18 Dec 2024 - 19 Dec 2024 |
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Yr 6 Graduation Assembly + Clap-Out
2:30 PM - 3:10 PM |
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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:
- Week 9 – NO ASSEMBLY GOOD FRIDAY (29th March)
- Week 10 - Friday, 5th April (Infants)
- Week 11 – Friday, 12th April (PBL Assemblies)
WEEK 6 PRIMARY ASSEMBLY AWARDS
WEEK 7 INFANTS ASSEMBLY AWARDS
CLASS OF THE WEEK
WEEK 6 - 3/4 PARROT
WEEK 7 - 3/4 WALLABY
P&C NEWS
P&C MEETINGS 2024
Term 2
- Week 3 - Tuesday, 14th May @ 6:30pm
- Week 8 - Tuesday, 18th 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. Zoom participants will need to create a registered account and use the details below:
https://nsweducation.zoom.us/j/63652201858?pwd=ZUVKSFdidzErNkZ0OWVMT2hQM3NMUT09
Meeting ID: 636 5220 1858
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.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
DIGITAL CHILD SAFETY HANDBOOK
We are pleased to advise that a new edition of this valuable safety resource is now available online with updated safety content. The “NSW Police Legacy Child Safety Handbook” is a comprehensive and free resource to assist parents, carers as well as teachers on a range of topics essential to child safety.
The updated digital edition (link below) includes important content updates from: Fire and Rescue NSW (home fire safety), Transport NSW (school bus and seat belt safety), NSW Department of Communities and Justice (keeping children safe), eSafety Commissioner and NSW Rural Fire.
Please click on the cover below to view the digital handbook: We encourage all parents and carers to download this latest edition and discuss the safety content with your children.
Read the Child Safety Handbook
