Letter from the Principal
Valuing our dedicated staff
Our staff from the Front Office, grounds, support and teaching staff are all united in a common purpose here at OCS, and that is to glorify God for His goodness, compassion, and mercy and in turn be Godly role models to our students. Our staff have worked incredibly hard this year, ensuring that classrooms are well resourced, managed and taught effectively. I am thankful to God for the wonderful care and dedication of our staff and in particular, want to acknowledge the following staff who will be changing their role or moving on from OCS.
- Michelle Oh – Teacher’s Aide
- Allen Grant – Science/Mathematics Teacher
- Felicity Dobbs – English/HSIE Teacher
- Teresa Cairns – Casual Teacher
- Toby Johnston – Music Tutor (Stage 4 Band)
- Sarah Milligan – Maternity Leave Primary School Teacher
The School farewelled Felicity Dobbs and Michelle Oh whose last day was Friday 29 November. The School also thanked Genevieve McKeown for her time at OCS as a Practicum Teacher (Sydney University). Toby Johnston aims to commence University Studies in 2025, and Allen Grant will depart at the end of the year, after 3 fruitful years at OCS. Teresa Cairns will be moving to Alice Springs and Sarah Milligan will return back to OCS as Teacher’s Aide (vacated by Michelle Oh). I take this opportunity to thank these wonderful staff and for their contribution to the School.
Coming Up at OCS
See Schoolstream for more details
- SLT Training –5th + 6th Dec
- K-4 Water Fun Day –5th Dec
- Stage 3 Pool Day –5th Dec
- Year 6 Celebration –6th Dec
- K-10 Reports sent out –10th Dec
- Prep – Year 6 Thanksgiving Celebration – 12th Dec from 9:30am
- Years 7-12 Thanksgiving Celebration – 12th Dec from 12:30pm
- Last Day of Term K-12 –12th Dec
- Prep Finishes – 13th Dec
- First day of school 2025:
- Prep starts 28th Jan
- Years 1-12 starts 3rd Feb
- Kindergarten starts 4th Feb
See Schoolstream for further details on these events
All dates are indicative and subject to change should circumstances require it.
- OCS Swimming Carnival – 4th Feb
- Dedication Service – 6th Feb
- Primary and Secondary Information Evening – 12th Feb
- Volunteer Induction and New Families Welcome BBQ – 12th Feb
- Year 7 + 8 Inquisitive Minds – 13th Feb
- Far West Zone Swimming Carnival – 21st Feb
- School Photo Day #1 – 3rd March
- Clean Up Australia Day K-10 – 3rd March
- Year 12 University Showcase – 5th March
- School Photo Day #2 – 6th March
- CSSA Primary State Swimming Carnival – 6th March
- 6 Foot Track Camp for Stage 4 – 12th March
- Year 7 Discover Day – 17th March
- Year 7 Information – 17th March
- SLT Social – 20th March
- STAR – Mon-Thurs from 3:15-5:00pm
- Active Kids Club – Mon-Fri from 3:15-5:00pm
- Primary Assembly – Friday Week A 9:30am
- Secondary Assembly – Friday Week A 10:50am
- Parent’s Connect in Bembooka – Friday Week A 8:45-9:30am
Deputy’s Report
A Wonderful Week of Wellbeing
Week 7 was a fantastic time for our students as we celebrated our Week of Wellbeing. Our primary students enjoyed a special visit from Healthy Harold, who taught them about the importance of nutrition, physical activity, and mental health in a fun and engaging way. We were also privileged to have Police Liaison Officer Jane Heffernan speak to our students about online safety, equipping them with vital knowledge to navigate the digital world responsibly. The week culminated in a beautiful Prayer and Praise session on Friday morning, where our school community came together to reflect and give thanks.
Important Notice: Parent/Visitors onsite processes
As a reminder, parents visiting the school during school hours must sign in and have a clear purpose for being onsite, accompanied by a staff member. This aligns with our Parent Code of Conduct and Child Safe Standards, ensuring the safety and well-being of our students. While we encourage parental involvement, please note that this procedure is essential for maintaining a secure and safe environment. Parents are always welcome at events such as assemblies, and to come into the top part of the school to drop off before 9am and pickup from 3pm. We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these guidelines.
Thank you for your understanding and support in keeping our school a safe and welcoming place for everyone.
From the Head of Primary
We have some fun events coming up for our students next week, with the K-4 Water Fun Day and the Stage 3 Pool Day on Thursday 5th December. The weather is expected to be warm, so students must remember to wear a hat, sunscreen and a rash shirt or t-shirt over swimmers. Please see the notes on the app with all the details.
Our Year 6 students are nearly at the end of their Primary School journey, and we will be celebrating this special occasion next Friday 6th December. All Year 5 and 6 students, together with the family members of Year 6 are warmly invited to attend. All the details for this evening are also found on schoolstream, and we look forward to celebrating this significant milestone.
The Prep-6 Thanksgiving Celebration is 12th December, with this also marking the final day of term for Primary students. It starts at 9:30am in Ngalgarra Hall and all are welcome to attend.
From the Head of Secondary
As the school year ends, we have a big couple of weeks ahead. Secondary Student Leadership Training takes place this coming Thursday for our 2025 team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our 2024 SLT team for their hard work and dedication this year in service to our school community.
Next Friday, we will be having a visiting mission group from Sydney again, students will enjoy some mass organised activities throughout the day.
In Week 9 we will have our Pool Day on Tuesday (Please make sure you fill out the online Swimming form on School Stream), followed by our Thanksgiving Services on Thursday.
From the Director of Student Development
Our final camp of the year is complete. Waves tried some new providers this time and a new campsite. Camp Kedron was a fantastic venue, and the group had a great time kayaking, rock-climbing and learning how to surf.
We cannot run our camps without assistance from our parents. We are so grateful to all our parents who supported us by attending camp. Thank you.
There is still lots of information coming through from employers from apprenticeships and traineeships. I will send this through to students as they come through.
“Stocking Filler Ideas”. May I encourage you to pop a book into the stocking this Christmas. In terms of student development; reading is such an important skill that helps build imagination, vocabulary and thinking skills. One of my favourite things is to read on the beach while on holiday. May I also wish everyone a very blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Lord.
From the Board Chair
The praises of others may be of use in teaching us, not what we are, but what we ought to be. (August W. Hare).
Rather than focus on people’s weaknesses, we should instead focus on finding people’s strengths and pointing them out. Here are some reasons:
- Pointing out someone else’s strengths underlines their God-given uniqueness. Help someone else to discover the thing God created them to do.
- People are motivated in their areas of strength. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are – we are all more enthusiastic working in our areas of strength.
- People add the most value in their strength zones.
So for every day for the next week, tell at least one person what strength you see in him or her and encourage them.
Sports Facebook Group
Join Now!
Our sports page has been updated to a private group. The public “Orange Christian School Sport” page is no longer active, this group has replaced that page.
Click on the link below to request your membership to this private group. This link will expire after 48 hours, or after 20 people have requested membership, so if you would like to be part of this group, please click on it immediately and request access. If you miss out, we will generate a new link in two days and post it on Schoolstream, and will continue to do so until everyone that wishes to be part of this group, has gained access.