From the Principal

What a busy Term 3 with so many extra-curricular activities and events happening across the school including the excursions to Chesterfield Farm (Foundation), Melbourne Zoo (Year 1/2), CERES (Year 3/4) and the upcoming excursion to the MCG (Year 5/6). 

Wow! All these experiences provide real-world contexts that enrich our students’ understanding and stimulate their curiosity. In our previous newsletter you would have seen photos of the Melbourne Zoo highlights from our Year 1/2 students. In this newsletter you will see highlights from our Foundation students at the Farm and the Year 3/4 students at CERES. By engaging in hands-on experiences, our students can broaden their knowledge and develop critical thinking, problem-solving, social development and collaborative skills.

Congratulations to Mr Keleher and the House Sports Student Leaders!

Red Dragons: Andre and Ella; Blue Ox: Derek and Olivia; Green Snake: Amaan and Betika; Yellow Tiger: Ethan and Lyna. Thank you for organising a wonderful Olympics House Athletics Day which included a whole school opening ceremony and closing ceremony to celebrate the spirit of the Olympics. Celebrating the Olympics with students during House Athletics Day fostered unity and allowed all students to engage in friendly competition and experience the excitement of a global sporting event. 

See page 3 for photos of the special day.

Well done to all our student contestants for their diverse and entertaining performances in ARPS’ GOT TALENT. What a wonderful mix of student acts from drama, dance, music, singing, comedy, magic, aerobics, gymnastics and even the hula hoops!  Thank you to Miss Brewer and our Performing Arts Student Leaders, Hayley and Louis; Alexx and our Digital Technology Student Leaders, Kevin and Emmanuel. Hayley and Louis were not only our entertaining hosts but also had the difficult job being on the panel of judges. Kevin and Emmanuel showed us their multiskilled talents in managing the lighting desk and collaborating with the sound and audiovisual effects.  Thank you to our Teacher Judges, Mrs Bishop and Ms Bryce and our Parent Judges, Trang and Kim. A special mention goes to our cultural closing act by Emmalyn, Kingston with their father Andrew and little brother Phoenix who performed The Lion Dance. A big shout out goes to Mei Luong who is our wonderful photographer, videographer and any other role you can think of on the spot, Mei fills it!! If you missed the show, you can view it via the private youtube link ARPS’ GOT TALENT 2024 published on our Sentral Parent Portal.

Last night at the August School Council meeting, Student Voice Council presented a report and video about the highlights of being a member of SVC and their achievements so far this year.  I was very proud of our student representatives as they highlighted their accomplishments, their increased confidence and their development of leadership and communication skills. The role of a student voice councillor fosters a sense of responsibility and empowerment, allowing students to have a direct impact on school programs and initiatives. Additionally, participating in student voice groups enhances teamwork and problem-solving abilities, as students collaborate with both their peers and teachers. Thank you to Miss Yates and Miss Halliwell for their leadership and support of Student Voice Council. Please see page 7 to read about the work of our 2024 Student Voice Council.

Carmel Nigro

Principal