A Message from David & Cam
This term is flying by and we will be enjoying our end of year celebrations in no time! We hope everyone enjoyed the public holiday and the long weekend for those lucky enough to have Monday off too. The staff were productive during the pupil-free day and used this time for assessment and reporting.
School Review
Last week, AGPS completed the fieldwork day of our school review process. As mentioned previously, every Victorian Government school has a school review every four years to develop a new strategic plan for school improvement. The review process has largely been a cause for celebration of all that we have achieved over the past 4 years and has been valuable in identifying areas that we can strengthen and improve to make our school even better.
A large part of the review was conducted with the many people and groups that make up our community, including students, teachers and education support staff (parents and carers will have an opportunity to share soon). With each report from the various focus groups, some common themes about our school began to take shape. The overall sense of community and connection to our community was a real highlight as well as the positive culture and support felt by everyone within our community. It was also evident that there is strong alignment across all groups working towards our school's vision, and strong levels of commitment, ensuring that all students attending our school receive the very best education possible. To hear these themes emerge from all areas of our school certainly filled me with pride about our school and confirmed what I have always known to be true - we have a very special school here!
Whilst there were certainly many highlights throughout the process, there was a rigorous analysis of our current reality and a clear direction for the improvement strategies that will take our school forward. I will share the findings and the report with the community once the school reviewer has completed the documentation.
The final day of the review is on the 19th November and this day will centre on collating all the findings from the fieldwork day and the development of our next strategic plan.
Class Lists for 2026
We have begun the lengthy process of developing class lists for 2026. Our staff are incredibly committed to setting up all students for success and take considerable time working through this process to get the lists as right as possible. When developing the class lists we need to balance many priorities such as friendship groups, academic and social/emotional needs, balancing behavioural needs as well as considering parental requests - I am sure you can appreciate that this can be quite the challenge!
I understand that changing year levels and classes can be quite overwhelming and many students (and parents/teachers) can feel quite anxious about what the changes may bring. Whilst we try our very best to accommodate requests for class lists, not all can be fulfilled and this may contribute to those feelings of anxiety. If this is the case and your child is no longer with one of their friends, I encourage you to talk to your child and encourage them to approach the new year and new class with optimism and consider the possibilities that a new group of students can bring - chances are their friendship group is just going to grow in 2026.
2026 Classes and Parent/Carer Requests
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, we are currently working through 2026 planning, class structures and recruitment processes, and the process for 2026 class formations will soon commence. If you believe you have any additional information that you feel is necessary to support us in creating class lists for 2026, please put your requests in writing via this form no later than Friday 7th November. For new families to AGPS, please note that making requests is totally optional.
Grandparents' Day
We recently welcomed all the grandparents and other special visitors into our school. The schoolyard was packed and it was great to see such a large number of people attend. It was lovely to meet many of the grandparents and we loved seeing the joy on the student's faces as they proudly showed their visitors all around our school. We also really appreciate the effort that many had put in to get to this event as we know that some grandparents had travelled great distances to attend.
As always, events like this are driven by the wonderful parent volunteers we have at our school. Thanks to the team for setting this event up. We are so appreciative of all your efforts to help make this such a special event for so many in our community.
Staff Appreciation & World Teachers' Day
Last week we took the time to celebrate our incredible team here at Altona Green. Each day, our teachers and ES staff were treated to a small token of appreciation as a way to recognise and thank them for everything they do to make our school such a wonderful place.
We want to acknowledge the dedication and effort our staff have shown throughout the year. Their commitment, positivity, enthusiasm and creativity continue to inspire us every day, and we couldn’t be prouder of the way they care for and support our students. The difference they make is truly outstanding – thank you!
A big thank you also to our amazing families who shared their appreciation through thoughtful words, cards, gifts and treats. Your kindness and generosity made our staff feel so valued and celebrated!
Transition Program and Step Up Days
Positive transitions play such an important role in helping our students feel confident and prepared for their next stage of learning. We’re really proud of the strong and supportive transition program we provide for all students from our 2026 Preps getting ready to start school, right through to our Year 6 students preparing for secondary school.
Our transition program for current students includes:
20th November – Step Up Day 1
27th November – Step Up Day 2
9th December – Final Step Up Day: during this session, students will spend time in their 2026 classroom with their 2026 teacher and classmates. Families will also be notified of their child’s class placement on this day.
9th December – Statewide Transition Day: all Year 6 students attending government secondary schools will take part in their 6–7 transition session.
We’re also very excited to welcome our 2026 Prep students soon! Their transition program runs over several weeks and is designed to help our newest learners feel comfortable, confident and ready to begin their journey at Altona Green next year.
AGPS 90s Game Show Night Fundraiser
Friday 14th November
It is just over a week to go for our 90s Game Show Night! These nights are always a lot of fun and a great way to further build our great school community whilst supporting our fundraising efforts. This will be a brand-new, one-of-a-kind night, packed with awesome games, challenges and loads of laughs all based on your fave TV game shows from the 1990's!
We have lots of tables already booked and we would love to have a few more. So grab some friends, come along and have some fun. Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased via Compass Tix here.
Are you leaving AGPS in 2026?
There is a great demand for places at our school and we are required to carefully manage all enrolments to ensure there are enough places for all students who reside within our school zone. To assist us with this, please inform us as soon as possible if you have a prep child starting in 2026 or know of any other students who may be joining us in 2026. Similarly, if your child will no longer be attending AGPS in 2026 please let us know. All this information helps us greatly with planning.
We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Take care,
David and Cam