Principal's Report 

We have had another wonderful few weeks here at Rangeview! Level 4 has had their Scienceworks excursion and Level 3 has been to Schwerkolt Cottage, we participated in District Cross Country, and our staff had a Resilience Project webinar to improve our own wellbeing and mental health. Our wonderful P&F Committee ran both Cupcake Day and the Mother's Day stall, we held our Level 3-6 House Athletics Carnival. Our Junior School Council have met, and our staff have worked together with literacy leaders from Mullauna College and Vermont Secondary College to moderate student writing samples. 

Level 3 - 6 Athletics Carnival

On Friday 3rd May our Level 3 - 6 students all travelled to Bill Stewart Reserve for the annual House Athletics Carnival. It was a fabulous day with students competing in track and field events for their house. The parent / teacher / student race was a crowd favourite and Mr Anderson re-enacted his 2023 fall whilst still winning the event! 

Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered on the day and to the staff who ran events and supported our little athletes. A huge thank you to Mitch Clarke and Meg Hubbard for their tireless work in making this day possible for our students and families. 

The carnival winner was Solar and it is fair to say that all of the houses were winners overall. 

Cupcake Day

On Thursday 2nd May our Parents and Friends Committee ran the annual Cupcake Day for all of the levels. This fabulous day saw literally hundreds of cupcakes pour into the school from 8am and then disappear into eager hands and stomachs. 

Thank you to all of the families who baked for this fundraiser and a special thank you to the P&F members who ran the stall and assisted our students to make their difficult choices. 

Victoria Police - Walk Safely to School Day

On Wednesday 8th May members of the uniformed division of Victoria Police attended Rangeview at the Churinga gates to encourage our students to Walk Safely to School. Many students were thrilled to meet the officers and it was lovely to see so many families arriving safely on foot. 

Mother's Day Stall

On Friday 10th May our Parents and Friends Committee ran the Mother's Day stall. There was a range of lovely gifts this year with students having the opportunity to purchase something really nice for mum. The most sought after gift was the pink pineapple drink  bottle - congratulations to the mums who receive this one! 

Thank you to the committee and to Rebecca Peers for her organisation of this event. 

We wish all of our mothers and grandmothers a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday. 

Department of Education Update

School Saving Bonus

You may have seen the recent announcement of the School Saving Bonus, as part of the Victorian Budget 2024/25. We are sharing more information about how families will be able to access and use this support. This one-off support will include $400 for each eligible student to help families cover the costs of school uniforms and activities in 2025. 

It will be available to parents and carers of every child enrolled in a Victorian government school in 2025. Cash will not be paid directly to individuals or families. Instead, families will receive the bonus as credits on their school accounts that will help meet the costs of your children’s activities and uniforms.

There will be more information and guidance about the School Saving Bonus in Term 3, 2024, ahead of its implementation in 2025. 

Victorian Auditor Generals Office Report

The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) has reported on the department’s work to improve literacy and numeracy achievement outcomes for all Victorian government school students.

The report released on Wednesday 1 May 2024 shows there has been clear improvement in literacy, but more work is needed to improve numeracy achievement and learning outcomes for Aboriginal and disadvantaged students.

The report found Victorian schools have made improvements on NAPLAN scores for literacy over a 10-year period. The report includes reference to the fact there are areas where student outcomes have clearly improved, such as reading for years 3 and 5 students.   

Reporting by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority shows that in 2023, Victorian students achieved the highest NAPLAN scores in the country, with Victoria ranked first or second on 16 of the 20 NAPLAN domains. Aboriginal students have seen an improvement in outcomes. Between 2011 and 2022, the Year 5 NAPLAN mean scores for disadvantaged students improved in Reading. Over the same period, Year 5 reading for Aboriginal students improved and while this has not been sufficient to close the gap, it is important to remember that progress is being made, albeit not at the pace we all want to see. 

The report also highlights that further work is required to lift numeracy achievement across all cohorts, and literacy and numeracy outcomes for disadvantaged and Koorie students.

Marika Ferguson

Principal