Assistant Principal Update

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Term 4 Week 7. 

All classes are finishing up their Writers Festival and Art Show displays in preparation for next Wednesday’s event. The Year 2 students are very excited about their sleepover tomorrow night, with teachers planning the activities for the evening. While our Year 5 students are busy with their leadership speeches, which they will deliver next week to the Year 4/5 students and current Year 6 Leaders. Students identified as potential leaders through their speeches and who consistently demonstrate the school values will be invited to interview for a leadership position.

Foundation Transition

Last week we held our Prep Transition Parent Information Session and today our 2024 Prep students are onsite doing a mini specialist program, introducing them to our Arts, LOTE and PE programs. Their final transition session is next Friday 24 November. This is a very exciting time for our school as we support students as they begin their school journey. The current Year 5 students have joined the transition students and begun their role as Prep Buddies, a highly successful program which we are very proud of and that the students highly value.

APS Writers Festival and Art Show - Wednesday 22 November

Our Annual Art Show and Writers festival will be held next Wednesday 22 November from 3:45-5:45. Students writing will be displayed in classrooms in the Main Administration Building and The Three Level Learning Centre. A map of the display locations is included in the festival guide which will be available via QR Codes located throughout the buildings.

The library will also be open for families to visit on the afternoon of the event. 

Following the success of the Science Expo Scavenger Hunt, families can go on a Scavenger Hunt through the Writing and Art Displays. With their scavenger hunt clue sheet, a visit to each year level will find the answer to each of the questions. Families with correctly answered scavenger hunts will go into the draw for some Writing & Art prizes.

Toilet Hygiene

The 2021-2022 building upgrade of APS has seen every toilet in our school, other than the BER, as either brand new or completely refurbished. Yet unfortunately, the management and hygiene of them sometimes leaves a little to be desired. Our wonderful team of cleaners work very hard to ensure they are in great condition for each new school day, however the standards of cleanliness maintained throughout the day by students is something we wish to improve. 

We have purchased several ‘aim’ stickers which will be placed in toilet pans, bowls, and troughs as a motivator for better hygiene standards. In addition, we have installed multiple posters in all toilets, and commenced a messaging campaign by speaking with individual year levels, reminding on assembly and through our newsletter. If you could speak to your children about the importance of being hygienic when visiting the toilet and the positive impact it has on our health and wellbeing, it would be appreciated.

Student Wellbeing

The end of the year is often a challenging time for students as they tire and require a little more structure and support to ensure their emotional and wellbeing needs are being catered for. We are very conscious of this, and teachers are continuing to plan multiple different learning activities which are fun and engaging. We recognise that the busyness of school and personal lives impact students in different ways, so teachers are allocating extra time both explicitly planned and incidentally to hold Circle Times with their classes. This ensures that minor incidents and concerns can be dealt with and discussed in a safe and supportive environment.  Please reach out if your child is experiencing difficulties as we head into the final half of Term 4.

Nude Food Trial – Sustainability Action Team

Our Year 6 Sustainability Action Team would like to implement a Nude Food trial each Tuesday.

Nude Food is just food with no plastic wrapping on it. Fresh fruit and vegetables are good examples, as well as things like chips and popcorn (out of their bags).

We understand that many school lunch items come packed in plastic and it may not be possible to be fully nude. However, if you can put it in a container prior to coming to school you are still reducing the plastic waste here at APS and we appreciate your efforts.

We will trial this initiative for the remainder of Term 4 each Tuesday.  We will come around every Tuesday at recess to see how many students from each class have tried to go Nude. 

• Students who make an effort to bring a good amount of nude food will be awarded 1 point.
• Students whose entire lunch is plastic free will receive 5 house points.

The house with the highest points for nude food will be announced at assembly the following Friday.

We will make sure to remind you on the day before and at assembly so we can get the best results. 

Enjoy your week.

Shane Wilkie

Assistant Principal