Principal Team Message

We are about to head into one of our busiest months, please be aware of all key dates and login into the COMPASS portal to check our calendar for reminders.  

The week commences with the Festival of Purim and then Holi. From gift giving, reading the Book of Esther and eating lots of three-cornered pastries - hamantashen. There is a spirit of liveliness and fun on Purim that is unparalleled on the Jewish calendar. It is also customary for children (and adults, if they desire) to dress up in costumes.  We are certain we will see lots of our neighbours, local schools and our own families celebrating this special festival. 

Holi is an ancient tradition and also one of the most popular festivals in Hinduism. It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the god Radha Krishna. The day also signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it commemorates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha Narayana over Hiranyakashipu. Often referred to as the festival of colour, Holi is a special occasion, characterised by family and friends daubing coloured powders over each other and drenching unsuspecting passers-by with a deluge of water. Ron Barrassi park at the Docklands has a special event from 12:00 -10:00 pm on Sunday 12th March.  Free admission for all families. 

We are so lucky to have families in our community ready to share their cultures and traditions which enable our students to learn to value their own culture, languages and beliefs, and those of others. Students learn about diverse cultures in ways that recognise commonalities and differences, create connections with others and cultivate mutual respect. 

Cultural Diversity week begins from 11th March to 21st March. We welcome parents/carers to visit our classrooms and share their traditions, and customs to build our student's knowledge.  

Last week 1/2A were delighted to have Natan’s mum, Maaryasha come into school to teach us about the Jewish holiday of Purim which is starting this week.

The Purim holiday is full of fun, dressing up and music and is celebrated by Jewish people to mark the occasion of being saved from an evil advisor to the King of Persia. The advisor was called Haman.

Maaryasha, who runs ‘Zelda’ the local bakery in Ripponlea, came to bake the traditional Hamantashen pastries. These are triangular shaped (as Hamans ears were said to be that shape) and they are filled with jam. 

All the children in 1/2A got to fill and shape these tasty treats before enjoying this snack straight from the oven.

Thanks so much to both Natan and Maaryasha for helping us to have a greater understanding of Purim and its significance.

Thanks also to the wonderful Lee for being so accommodating in letting us use the Snack Shack for the session. 

Mrs Nield

BALACLAVA DISTRICT SWIMMING 

Congratulations to all students who competed at GESAC recently against seven other local schools in the BDPSSA. We are one of the smallest schools competing but our team spirit and sportsmanship are always at the highest levels and we are so very proud of this, more than any result.  Congratulations and best of luck to Kai W who has progressed to compete at Divisions this Friday.  

MUSIC THERAPY 

Music is a naturally communicative mode of expression, whether words are used or not. Music therapy can not only motivate people to communicate and express themselves, but offers a creative outlet for their feelings, thoughts and ideas that may be difficult to express otherwise.

In music therapy, this is supported and facilitated by our music therapist, Ronen Shoshen, through improvisation and providing access to familiar music and positive musical experiences. Communication skills such as learning to listen and respond, to present new ideas, to echo someone else’s ideas, to express your emotions, to question, to understand another’s perspective, to feel heard and understood, all these can be practised and developed in music therapy.

We hope our students have come home and shared their recent experiences. As the saying goes 'a picture tells a hundred words'. 

 CURRICULUM DAY - THIS FRIDAY 10 MARCH  STUDENTS DO NOT ATTEND SCHOOL

Professional Learning - Responsive Teaching

This coming Friday our staff will have the opportunity to work with Bron Ryrie Jones who is a career teacher, and a teacher educator at a leading university in Melbourne. She works with teachers and leaders on the hard work of improvement. Bron supports teachers, instructional coaches and school leaders to:

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• embed explicit and responsive teaching techniques in classrooms
• apply principles of responsive instruction in lesson design and delivery
• develop strong assessment practices
• think rigorously about assessment task design

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Bron is respected for her capacity to build bridges between complex theory and everyday practice. She has worked with thousands of teachers and leaders across Australia and we are so privileged to have her work with us. 

Such effective professional learning leads to improved teacher knowledge, skills and practice. It has the power to shift attitudes, behaviours, relationships and every day interactions. Effective professional learning empowers our teachers to pursue a moral purpose of helping students to thrive. It serves as a catalyst for student learning growth because students taught by the most effective teachers learn in six months, what other students may learn in a year.

NAPLAN 2023 - BEGINS 15 MARCH

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9, and is the only nationwide assessment that all Australian children undertake. 

It’s a measure to see whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning, and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community. The tests cover skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.

This year's assessments will be administered in March instead of May and commence on Wednesday 15th with all students across the country completing the writing assessment. This means results will be available to education authorities earlier, to inform our school’s teaching and learning programs and allow teachers to better assess the support students need for the coming year. 

Preparedness for NAPLAN has been a priority to ensure our students are very familiar with the testing portal and are at ease when undertaking these types of assessments. At Ripponlea we create a stress-free environment and always encourage our students to remain positive and try their best throughout the experience. We want our students to consider these tests similar to their other school-based tasks and assessment requirements. 

We were pleased with our 2022 results, which allowed us to evaluate the effectiveness of our teaching practices and set goals for further improvements. In our Annual Report summary, you will find the results of our school's performance against the state and like-schools in Reading and Numeracy. ‘Similar Schools’ are a group of Victorian government schools that are like our school, taking into account the socioeconomic background of students, the number of non-English speaking background students, and the size and location of the school. 

Although Writing is not shown here,48% of Year 5 students were in the top 2 bands in comparison to 37% in like schools and 29% for the state. 

If you are interested in finding out more about our results in 2022, our current practices, and our goals and targets for 2023, please come along to our Annual Report to School Community meeting on Friday 17th March at 2:00 pm. 

If any parent is interested to learn more about NAPLAN, come and see Mrs Rose on Tuesday 14 March at 3:00 pm in the Barrbunin. 

CURRICULUM DAYS 2023

Each year, schools receive four student-free days.  These days are used for professional development, school planning and administration, curriculum development, and student assessment and reporting.

The first day of Term 1 each year is a student-free day in all government schools to allow for appropriate planning to take place for the arrival of students.

School councils have the flexibility to schedule the remaining three student-free days each year to meet local needs. Last week we sought an amendment to one date approved last year. 

We are very mindful of our working parents/carers and like to secure curriculum days that align with as many public holidays available. We then hope families are able to plan for some leave and extend their long weekends. 

Term 1 

Friday 10th March - Master Class in Responsive Teaching – Bronwyn Ryrie Jones 

Monday 13th March - Labour Day 

Term 2 

Monday 24th April - Engage-communication and reflection model – Restorative/Trauma-Informed Practices

Tuesday 25th April - Anzac Day 

Term 3 

Due to the availability of our presenter, we've had to move the Curriculum Day to Thursday 8th June however, we have requested approval from School Council to hold a Professional Practice Day on Friday 9th June, which allows our teachers to put into practice their learning and plan for the delivery of effective numeracy teaching. 

Thursday 8th June – Peter Sullivan - Exploring Mathematical Sequences and the Acquisition of Developmental Skills. 

Friday 9th June - Professional Practice Day

Monday 12th June - King's Birthday

NB: There will be an additional pupil-free day (Professional Practice day in Term 4)

BAYSIDE PENINSULA CONFERENCE 

We were lucky to finally meet our principal colleagues in person after many years of Webex conferences, forums and professional learning sessions. We worked with international consultants such as Bruce Armstrong, Dr Ryan Dunn, Adam Voigt from Real Schools, and many other regional staff including our Regional Director Ian Burrage. We looked at the state's priorities for 2023 and how to lead 'Learner Agency' in our schools. 

The Victorian Department of Education has a continued emphasis on enhancing student voice, agency and leadership as the key elements which empower students. A key consideration within this strategy is to support students to 'own' their learning and development and create a positive climate for learning. 

We were able to learn and take away some 'preconditions and strategies' that we'll share and implement with our school improvement team, students and staff. 

Learner Agency relates to a student's ability to navigate their way through life and positively impact their circumstances. It's about ensuring they are the master, not the victim, of their circumstances, and it is about students being powerful, not powerless, in the face of adversity.

SWIMMING PROGRAM - YEAR 5/6 SURFING, BEACH SAFETY & OPEN WATER LEARNING EXPERIENCES - OWLE

At Ripponlea we believe that fostering an authentic learning environment for students is critical. Learning experiences outside the classroom are forms of experiential learning (Dewey, 1897). These experiences are rooted in the simple principle that “experience is the best teacher.” We always look at ways we can provide these experiences and hope we have the continued support of our community, when these might incur a financial contribution. 

We want to take this opportunity to thank the staff who rose early Friday morning outside of their working hours to take our students on a surfing and beach safety program at Point Leo on the Mornington Peninsula. Later this month our students will be completing a life-saving course with Life Saving Victoria, an open water learning course in Port Melbourne. Content will include:

1. Everyday Lifesavers (CPR)
2. Be Aware and Be Prepared (water safety)
3. Survival Strategies (life jackets)
4. Rescue Strategies
5. Safe Body Boarding

The day was a huge success for all. Thanks to Brenton, Mark, Alicia, Sarah, and Carlie for supporting our students. We had a few students write about their experience below:

Surfing was so incredibly fun, I got to try a new experience that I thought was going to be scary but ended up being a total blast. Being able to catch the wave and feel just how fast I was able to go was the most fun thing! I am really excited to go surfing again – Malek

It was pretty hard to surf, but once I got it, it was really fun. I felt like I was gliding across the water. The stand-up paddle boarding was fun because we all got to paddle though the water together and when we stood up it almost tumbled over. The beach yoga was enjoyable because we got to dry off and relax and then head back in. I am excited to go back surfing while on camp because it was a great time – Reid

First, we got split up into three groups, we went stand-up paddle boarding, surfing, and we played on the beach. My favourite activity was stand-up paddle boarding, we had one massive board and lots of paddles. We did a relay, we got pushed around on the board and we got to push each other off it! 

Surfing was also fun, we got boards and special surfing shoes but none of them fit me because they were all too big. Whenever we saw good waves, the instructors pushed us with them and most of us stood up, some people even did handstands on the boards! Just not while riding a wave. 

I also enjoyed playing on the beach, me and other girls in my class were looking for fish and we found a small, slow, black and white one, it had a pig nose and fish body. So, we called it the pigfish. We also started making a big sandcastle but didn’t have enough time to finish. We all had a great time, hopefully, we get to do it again! 

-Emi

I really enjoyed the 5/6 surfing day! Everything was REALLY fun, but my favourite session was the free beach time. When we were surfing, I caught a reeeally long wave! (though Mika was amazing!) I was the captain of the stand-up paddleboarding

 Express! It was really fun, and I want to do it again.

-Dia

When we arrived, we got to have some beach time to play on the beach and then we got to get in the water for stand-up paddleboarding which was fun and some of us raced back to shore. Then we got to do surfing, it was so much fun. I even got to stand up. Overall, it was an amazing day.

-Hugh

Until next fortnight.................

Natalie Rose             &                        Marta Campbell 

             Principal                                    Acting  Assistant Principal