Principal's Message

THE GREATEST FETE

As we mentioned earlier in the week, on behalf of the School Council, parents, staff and students we continue to thank our school community for supporting our spectacular Fete on Sunday!

Once again we thank all volunteers and our incredible organisers. Please scroll ahead to see the special messages from our Fete organisers, Kylie Jeffares, Fiona Harris and Sally Russell.  

We think these photos relay the atmosphere we all experienced on the day …………………!

HOW MUCH DID WE RAISE?

At RPS we pride ourselves on creating a school ethos with relationships and community at its heart. Our school, although small in student population never limits how much we can offer our students and families. Fundraising monies create many opportunities for our school community to improve the facilities and buildings, support academic learning programs and contribute to the establishment of a safe and enjoyable school environment, that promotes quality learning and social play.

Over the years many fundraising efforts have contributed to the school site we see today such as,  synthetic play spaces, playground equipment, seating, BBQ area, carpet in all classrooms, soundproofing in classrooms, upgrade of technology in classrooms, green stage, water tanks, solar panels, bike racks, fencing, drinking fountains and most recently the Learning Deck, which is currently being built at the back of the school.

At this stage we are all eager to learn what the school Fete has raised in revenue. There are still some more collections to be made before we can announce the final amount. We will definitely communicate this as soon as possible, including plans on how the funds will be spent.

EDUCATION WEEK

Last week our students and staff celebrated Education Week and shared how we integrate the Arts curriculum throughout our Units of Inquiry. Many parents visited the school on Thursday morning to see the students in action. Thank you to the staff and students for opening their learning spaces to parents, friends and grandparents.

RIPPER KIDS - CREATE RIPPER ART

Many of our student’s art work will be displayed at the St Kilda Library from the 5th June. The art work is inspired by the artist Yoyai Kusama. Ms Zoe Keystone will accompany many of our budding artists to the library to set up their exhibition. Congratulations to all the students who will have their creativity on display over the month of June.

ATTENDANCE

Last week I attended a very informative information session on school attendance.

Did you know?

1. An 80% attendance rate is the equivalent of missing one day per week or 40 days per year or over 2/12 years F-12
2. 85% = 30 days per year or 2 years F-12
3. 90% = 1 day per fortnight or 20 days per year or over 1 year F-12
4. 95% = 10 days per year and over half a year F-12
5. A student who is half an hour late each day misses the equivalent of 16.6 days of learning each year.

If your child is sick or absent, you are required to notify the school as soon as possible on the day of absence, by:

1. phoning the school  ☎ +613 9527 5728
2. alerting via the schoolbag app or
3. emailing the school on ripponleaps@edumail.vic.gov.au

With the release of COMPASS next term, parents will be able to go online and log all absences.

If a student is absent, COMPASS will send an alert/email to notify your family. Notifying the school of your child’s absence either prior to, or on the day that they will be away, helps ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and will fulfil your legal responsibility.

From the end of Term 2 2018, all Victorian government schools are required to contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained student absence. If your child is absent on a particular day and you have not contacted the school to explain why, the absence will be marked as unexplained.

This system also promotes daily school attendance. Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education, they learn new things every day – missing school puts them behind.

UPDATING YOUR CONTACT DETAILS 

There are times when we will need to contact you, including on the day if your child is absent and you haven’t informed the school as to why. Do we have your most up to date contact details?  If not, please contact the school on ripponleaps@edumail.vic.gov.au so we can update our records. Please include parent/carers’ name, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact details. Please remember to contact the school if any of these details or your circumstances change.

CONGRATULATIONS WENDY & SHANE BENNETT

Wendy Bennett, one of our previous and long standing staff members of  RPS, delighted everyone with the news that she and her husband are expecting their first baby in November. We are all overjoyed for the couple and wish them all the very best on their new arrival. We all look forward to their visits with the baby some time next year. Wendy will commence her family leave in 2019, once she returns from teaching at Blackburn Primary School.

PARENT INFORMATION & CURRICULUM EVENING

On Tuesday 26th June, we are inviting all families to attend and learn more about your child’s particular year level, relevant academic and social learning expectations and curriculum information. We recognise that such meetings are very beneficial at the start of the year, but we also felt it was a good opportunity to have a mid-year check in with all families and support you all with any of your queries. Our teachers will prepare a presentation specific to their year level expectations and provide an opportunity for you to ask questions.

Foundation  5:30 - 6:30 pm in the Foundation rooms 

Year 1/2's: 5:30 -6:30 pm in Ms Kate's/Ms Elyssa's rooms

Year 3/4's: 6:30 -7:30 pm in Ms Barrows/Ms Oliver Cook's rooms

Year 5/6's: 6:30 - 7:30 pm in Mrs Howell's room

Please email your attendance to these information sessions to ripponlea.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au 

NB: The email should contain your name, child's name and Year level. 

After these sessions we also remind you of our 7:30 - 9:00 pm Parent seminar from Bully Zero. 

COMMUNICATION – DID YOU KNOW?

All our teachers are posting EDUBLOGS every fortnight, so please log on and see what is happening in your year level. Every family has been registered to participate. It is really a parental choice if you wish to proceed with subscription.

We are also trialling a new platform for digital portfolios, especially for our senior school students. SeaSaw is an app which enables students to share what they are learning at school through a learning journal. Seesaw is learner driven more than teacher driven and also allows for parent feedback. This system ensures goals are current and relevant and the learning shared is up to date and therefore gives you an accurate picture of what they are achieving and where they need to go next. Seesaw is user-friendly, and is easy for both students and teachers to implement. Seesaw empowers students as young as 5 to independently create and organise their work in a digital journal, develop their academic voice, and collaborate with classmates. Only you can access your child’s learning journal.

NEW STAFF MEMBER – STEFANIE HOFFNER 

Welcome to our new 1/2C classroom teacher Ms Stefanie Hoffner.  Stefanie is delighted to be joining our community and working with the students, staff and parents.  Stefanie comes to us having taught at both Moorabbin and Seaford Primary Schools in recent years.  When she is not at school, she likes to spend time with her dog Lola, and her cats, Poppy and Storm.  She loves the beach and looks forward to the nice warm weather.  Stefanie has been visiting the students in her class over last week and officially started on Monday.  We all look forward to getting to know Ms Hoffner.

COMPASS ONLINE COMMUNICATION PORTAL – IS COMING – WHAT WILL IT DO?

The Parent Portal allows parents to:

• Access a daily News Feed
• Provide online consent for excursions and incursions
• Provide online consent for walking excursions, media and photography
• Report full-day or half day absences
• View the School Calendar
• Access school documents and notes sent home
• Update email address and mobile number
• View Semester Reports
• Book Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Monitor Attendance
• Email your classroom teacher

Please be assured that Compass uses technology that is encrypted and secure.

ENROLMENTS 2019

We are now taking enrolments for our 2019 Foundation Year. Parents with young children are warmly invited to contact our school to register their interest in enrolling their child in our 2019 Foundation (Prep) Program.

To start primary school your child will need to turn five years of age by 30 April of the year that they start school. Your child must be at school in the year that they turn six years of age - this is the compulsory school starting age. Throughout the year we will have a range of events targeted towards establishing successful transitions to the Foundation Year. These include both Open Visits and Foundation Orientation Sessions.

To learn more about our 2019 Foundation intake please contact us today!

OUR GRATITUDE TREE

We are trying to spread gratitude around our school community. We now have a gratitude tree outside Jess Grey’s office that you can write sticky leaf notes for. Please feel free to come in and write a message of gratitude for our staff, students, parents and school in general. Help us create a positive school environment by adding your thanks and appreciation.

                 Miss. Kate

Student Wellbeing coordinator

Until our next newsletter!

Natalie Rose                                       Jess Grey 

Acting Principal                 Acting Assistant principal