Principal Report

Student Attendance - Every Day Counts

The following extract comes from the DET website:http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/Pages/studentattendance.asp

‘We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day. Missing school can have a major impact on a child’s future – a student missing one day a fortnight will miss four full weeks by the end of the year. By Year 10 they’ll have missed more than a year of school. There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes. Coming to school every day is vital, but if for any reason your child must miss school, there are steps you can take to ensure they don’t fall behind:

Speak with your classroom teacher or year level coordinator and find out what work your child needs to do to keep up.
Develop an absence learning plan with your school and ensure your child completes the plan. Remember, every day counts. If your child must miss school, speak with your classroom teacher or year level coordinator as early as possible.’

Late Arrivals

When a student arrives after the 9.00am bell, they need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian (16 years or older) to the office first, where the student is signed in and issued with a late arrival slip. This slip is to be given to the class teacher.

National Reconciliation Week - 27th May and 3rd June

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is celebrated across Australia each year with the dates commemorating two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey - the anniversaries of the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision.

National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to the national reconciliation effort.

Parents Association

A special thanks to Ann Dunford (grandparent), along with friends and family who have spent many weeks tidying and sorting resources and costumes in one of our new storerooms. With the new shelving (build by Adam Summerset- parent) and all of the labelled boxes, it will be so much easier to access resources for special events in the future. Well done team!

Education Support Personnel Day – 16th May

Our staff and students celebrated Education support Personnel Day today, Thursday 16th May. We encourage ARPS community to join in and acknowledge the wonderful work our ES staff do. Thank you so much to Lyndelle, Janine, Collette, Cas, Narelle, Michaela, Kathryn, Wendy, Kylie, Lily, Simone, Adam and Brian (Hoges) for keeping our school running and by supporting our students to learn, our teachers to teach and engaging our community in our wonderful school. Your efforts are very much appreciated!

Education Support staff have a range of roles and responsibilities across the school that should be acknowledged and appreciated.

These include:

Daily classroom and targeted supports in the classroom for individuals and groups of students
Managing lost property, donated foods, sickbay
Running QuickSmart and Breakfast club
Maintaining the running of the office and managing all school business transactions
Supporting families with state school relief
Training and overseeing anaphylaxis needs for students & staff
Facilities and grounds maintenance
Resource Smart Schools program facilitation and garden club supports
Maintaining and improving library resources, managing Premiers Reading Challenge, VSSS and UNSW assessments
Supporting and running community events, such as Bookfair and Biggest Morning Tea

And so much more!

We literally could not run the school without them! Please be sure to say a big ‘Thank you’ to our ES staff this week, for all that they do for our students and our school.

Attitudes to School Survey for year 4-6 students

The Department of Education's annual Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) for students in Years 4 to 6 will be conducted from May 27th to the 14th of June. The AtoSS is a voluntary annual student survey offered by the Department of Education to assist schools and the department to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experiences of school. We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction, and will be asking your child about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general.

The results are presented to our school in an aggregated form to protect student privacy. Our school reflects on the collective responses and identifies practices across our school that are strong and areas where we can improve. The data informs our Annual Implementation Plan ensuring we are supporting the learning and wellbeing needs of our students.

Further information has been shared with families in Year 4-6 prior via Class Dojo and as a printed handout.

AEDC for Foundation Students 2024

Our school will take part in the AEDC between May and July this year. The AEDC is a national census that is conducted every three years by the Australian Government, in partnership with state and territory governments. It measures how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school.

The AEDC is voluntary and it does not measure how well children are doing at school, nor how their school compares to other schools. Instead, it shows how children are growing and progressing in five key areas, what is being done well and what can be improved. AEDC data is used by schools, early childhood organisations, researchers and governments to help plan and improve services and supports for children and families. This is why it is important for all children in their first year of school to be included in the AEDC. You can learn more about the ways AEDC data is used at https://www.aedc.gov.au/.

A separate letter has been sent to families of Foundation students this week.

Stay well this winter

Symptoms of influenza (flu) can hit very quickly and may last several weeks. Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting the flu.

Keeping our school community well

Parents, carers and students are encouraged to practice prevention measures, including:

· washing and sanitising hands regularly

· avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands

· covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing · staying home if unwell and consulting a general practitioner (GP) or Nurse-on-call as required

· staying up to date with flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Flu vaccinations

Flu vaccinations can be booked through GPs and pharmacies, many of which can also provide COVID-19 vaccinations. Flu vaccination is recommended for everyone aged 6 months and over.

Some people are more at risk of complications from flu and are eligible for free vaccination as part of the National Immunisation Program.

COVID-19 booster

The 2024 COVID-19 booster dose is available for everyone aged 18 and above.

Getting your booster dose remains the best way to prevent severe illness or hospitalisation, especially in people aged over 65 and those at higher risk of severe illness.

Children aged between 5 and 17 years who are at risk of severe illness can also receive a 2024 booster dose.

You can get your next dose at your local pharmacy or GP. To find one near you, refer to the vaccine clinic finder.

Find out more

For more information about preventing flu, and immunisation, refer to:

Influenza (flu) – immunisation - Better Health Channel

Getting vaccinated against influenza – Resource collection | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

Student Free Day(OSHC options may be available) -Curriculum Day- Report Writing Friday 24th May

Camp Australia currently has bookings ‘open’ for a full day of care during our upcoming Curriculum Day on 26th May. Bookings MUST be in by 17th May (TOMORROW). Camp Australia requires a minimum of 15 students booked for the full day of care, for the program to go ahead. Currently, we are well short of this number. Any parents who are intending to use this service on 26th May, are urged to BOOK NOW to avoid the program being cancelled on 26th May. Refer to the Camp Australia flyer and information page in this newsletter.

BUNNINGS BBQ FUNDRAISER - HELPERS NEEDED PLEASE !!!

Our school has been fortunate to secure two Bunnings BBQ fundraiser weekend slots in 2024. The first of these is on Sunday 9th June. A roster is being developed for parents to assist in this Parents ‘Association fundraising event. If you can spare just one hour, we would very much appreciate your time and support on the day. Please see the office to ‘sign up’.

Parent teacher Conferences- save the dates: Weds 12th June (day times) & Monday 17th June (afterschool ‘til 6.45pm)

I urge parents to ‘save the date’ and keep an eye out for the upcoming Compass link to book your allocated time with your child’s teacher later this term.

Judy Drew

PRINCIPAL

EDUCATION WEEK