Assistant Principal's Report

Welcome to Week Eleven of Term Four. We have had a wonderful week at DPS, and are so close to the end of the school year. 

Welcome to DPS

In the past fortnight, we had a new student start at DPS. Welcome Radmeh Pourrasoul.

We are sure you will love being members of our DPS community and warmly welcome you to our school. 

Transition

All DPS students have now met their 2024 teacher and classmates. We had our Transition morning on Tuesday 12th December and the students we able to spend the morning in their 2024 class with their new teacher. Classes appeared to be full of smiling students who were ready to expand friendships and create new memories.  

November Attendance

As you know, at Doncaster Primary School we firmly believe that attending school every day plays a crucial role in shaping a child's educational journey. Regular attendance allows students to fully engage in classroom activities, discussions, and hands-on learning experiences. It provides them with the opportunity to grasp new concepts, ask questions, and collaborate with their peers. Consistent attendance helps build a strong foundation of knowledge and skills, enabling children to excel academically. This year, we have been reinforcing the importance of attending school every day. The School Captains Jenna, Adrina, Jude and Isaac teamed up with Mx Dutlow and made an attendance video highlighting the importance of attending school each and every day. Please see compass or our website to watch the video, it’s a great message.   

The month of November has been and gone and now we move into the month of December. Today I will reflect on our November attendance at DPS. There are 140 students who attended school every day in November. Congratulations to the DPS students who have been at school every day in November, you are superstars! A few of these students include: Mason 2S, Rachel 2S, Makayla 1L, Eric 1S, Tina Prep P, Ken Prep W, Mani 3B, Oscar 3G, Sebastian 3G, Nyle 2Q and Elijah Prep M.

SWPBS - School Wide positive behaviour

All classes have continued learning behaviours off the Matrix. Teachers in classrooms and on Yard Duty are looking for students that are displaying behaviours from the 'Be Respectful', 'Be Safe' and ‘Be Your Best’ part of the matrix and giving students coloured wrist bands. We have filled our jar a little over half way and students are close to earning the whole school reward. The most common coloured star to be put in the jar is a yellow – BE YOUR BEST. That tells me we have lots of DPS students that are really trying hard to be the best version of themselves that they can possible be.  Since our last newsletter, these students have added stars to the jar:

Congratulations to these students who have earned a yellow – BE YOUR BEST star: Sara 3G, Elina 3G, Lochie 4WB, Oscar 3G, Semrah 3G, Keilen 3Q, Danial 3G, Samyar 2Q, Shekhar 5E, Parham 3G, Sebastian 3G, Annabelle 3G, Rika Prep P, Ryan C Prep P, Loraine Prep P, Max 2Q, Tina Prep P, Rhona 3G, Yasin 6C, Rey 4S, Kate 4S, Cooper 2Q, Aneeqa 4WB, Kiarash 4WB, Chloe 3Q, Dustin 2M, Sharleez 2M, Kaya 3Q, Anna 3Q, Onaysa Prep W, Benita 2Q, Manuella 5E, Renee 3G, Avalyn 3G, Cindy 4WB, Alisha 4WB, Georgia 6C, Lavina 6C, Sophia Prep W, Shermaine 2S, Yusra Prep W, Radin 3Q, Miya Prep W, Barad 2Q, Jude 6C, Andreas 2S, Olivia 3B, Anya 3B, Ricardo 2M, Bruce 2M, Vriddha 2M, Bella 2M, Kairav 2M, Daniel 6C, Chara 6C, Zara 1S, Anna 4WB, Sammie 1L, Avina 1L, Cassie 5E, Kimi 2Q, Jundi 2Q, Ruchen 3Q, Raaif 3B and Arnoosha 3B.  

Congratulations to these students who have earned a blue – BE RESPECTFUL star: Max 2Q, Alisha 4WB, Eugene 4WB, Simra 1S, Jayden 2M, Varvara 2M, Melody 2M, Kairav 2M, Bella 2M, Miya Prep W, Luke 3G, Chloe 2M, Austin 2M, Euha 2M, Aydin 4WB, Barad 2Q, Clara 2M, Bruce 2M, Mary 3Q, Sophie 4WB, Noah Prep W, Jackson Prep W and Roham 3Q.

Congratulations to these students who have earned a purple – BE SAFE star: Alisha 4WB, Eshan 2S, Alessia 2Q, Radin 2Q, Max 2Q, Omar 2S, Shermaine 2S, James 2Q, Siqi Prep W, Sharleez 2M, Austin 2M, Melody 2M, Dustin 2M, Bella 2M, Kairav 2M, Samyar 2Q and Ken Prep W. 

The SWPBS framework is definitely having a positive impact at DPS. During the week we had our whole school reward as students have filled our jar in the office half way. The students voted and chose to have double play time at recess. The students really enjoyed the reward. Next year we will work towards filling the jar all the way up to the top.   

Respectful Relationships

We continue our whole school approach of Respectful Relationships. In Respectful Relationships there are 8 topics that we focus on across the year. This term, year levels are focusing on Topic 7: Gender and Identity and Topic 8: Positive Gender Relations. 

Throughout this term in Respectful Relationships, our Prep students have engaged in discussions and activities centered around the theme of gender and identity. They've participated in interactive exercises that encourage open-mindedness, fostering an environment where each individual feels empowered to embrace their unique interests and characteristics. Through these lessons, the students are learning about respect for the choices and differences that make each person special.  

This week in Respectful Relationships the Level Five students have been learning about gender stereotypes and opportunity. The students were surprised by some of the facts and were shocked by the statistics for example the percentage of males and females in different career types, the pay gap and sports coverage for male teams in comparison to female teams. The students found it very eye opening and were able to challenge themselves and think critically about the world and the opportunities people are given based on their gender. They also reflected on how gender stereotypes have changed over time, for example the clothes people wore and the roles males and females play in the family. 

This week in Respectful Relationships the Level Six students have been undertaking activities which require them to define the different types of violence and the effects of these.  Students have identified what it can feel like when a person with power or influence does not respect the rights or needs of those they have power over. The class discussed and labelled the behaviours and actions they value in respectful friendships and the way they can alter depending on dynamics in the friendship group or genders involved. We defined what we think respect should look like. The students participated in a variety of role plays were students called out poor choices, were active bystanders and were problem solvers with real life case scenarios. 

School Captains for 2024

We have finally selected our four School Captains after the lengthy interview process that we went through earlier this term. We have selected Vivaan Arora, Elijah Wong, Chloe Ji and Hayley Ip who are all very responsible and worthy recipients of the prestigious title of School Captain. As we have said many, many times this process was particularly challenging, as there were an exceptional group of students to select from. I look forward to working closely next year with the captains. 

A massive congratulations to our 2023 captains Jude Dabab, Isaac Peluso, Jenna Wang and Adrina Rahimi Elahi who have done a wonderful job this year leading our school. As I said to these captains at their Grade Six Graduation, they have developed their leadership capacity and grown in confidence so much throughout the year and we are all so proud of the job that they have done.  

Swimming Program: Prep, Year Three, Four, Five and Six Students

This term, many of our students participated in the DPS swimming program and had a lot of fun.

Here are the recounts of some of the students:

Lucas Y Prep W - The best part about swimming was jumping in the water and when we got to go on the water slide!

Lilyan E Prep W - I loved the water slide and I learnt how to safely enter the water.

Mina Prep P - Swimming week was fun! My favourite thing to do was dolphin kick and starfish. 

Ryan R Prep P- I loved swimming on Friday because we got to go on the water playground! The bucket was so big and when it was full the water splashed on my hair.

Seraphina Prep P-The swimming pool was at Aqualink. I loved playing with the toys in the pool and there was something that squirted water out. In swimming my hands got a bit bumpy because my skin is soft. The seats on the bus were so warm and comfy and the bus drivers were so nice!

Elijah Prep M: I liked that there was lots of fun things to do like Torpedo. I liked going on the bus.

Evelyn Prep M: I liked that we got to go under water and I like my teacher. I also got to do things that I already know and it was fun.

Jerry 4K - I think this was the best day in the whole entire school year. We paid $30 bucks, but we had like hundreds of dollars worth of value. We got to play on the slides, learn how to use a lifejacket and we played fun games with our friends. This day was the best!

Nika 4K - I'm really sad that we can't do swimming again till next year because I think it was so much fun. I really liked the slides even though I thought it was terrifying at first.

Lochie 4WB - The water slides were great fun! I recommend the green one, it was the best one there. The swimming instructors were really nice. It was freezing cold, but we still a good day.

Kiki 4WB - The slides were really good. The green one was so fast. We had a good day learning in the water together.

Hudson 4S - My favourite thing at swimming was going on the water slides. The green one had a tunnel and it went dark and really fast!

Kate 4S - I really enjoyed how we got to learn about a variety of things – like how to stay safe in the water, staying safe at the beach and how to wear a life jacket. Going the water slides was so much fun because it could go slow & gentle or you could go super-fast too.

Ethan 5E- I found the swimming day very enjoyable. I had lots of fun with my friends and learnt so many new skills and games. My favourite part was when we got free swimming time at the end of the day. 

Elena 5E- I enjoyed swimming with my classmates. We learned new swimming styles and techniques such as the correct hand movements and breathing. We also learned about swimming safety and how to rescue someone when they need help in three different ways. We also got free time at the end which was the most fun part for me. 

Sharyua 5C - I enjoyed the swimming this year because it had been over two years since we did swimming. The water safety lessons were helpful. I was just a bit sad as the water slide was closed.

Zoey 5C - I enjoyed learning how to be safe in the water this year and the fun activities as a reward afterwards.

The Level Threes did the Lifesaving Victoria Course. Here is some feedback from the Level Three students:

Avalyn 3G - I think it was really fun! Everyone should know about lifesaving so you know what to do if something happens at the pool or the beach. 

Ivanna 3G - I loved the games we played after recess. My favourite one was Tic Tac Toe where you practised putting on your lifejacket. 

Sebastian 3G - It was really fun, exciting and enjoyable. I really liked the obstacle course where you had to 'paddle' on a boogie board and  put on a lifejacket in a relay race. 

Christmas Carols

Last Thursday we had our annual Christmas Concert where all students were able to perform their Christmas song to their families. It was a great night and everyone had a fantastic time. Well done to all of our performers, you were very good and very brave. A huge thank you to Mx Dutlow who has been practising with our students for the big performance. Well done Mx Dutlow and congratulations on your first Christmas Carols performance.     

Year Six Graduation

Last week we had the Year Six Graduation at the Manningham Civic Centre. It was a great night and all of the students enjoyed their big night having a meal together and then being presented with their certificate in front of their loved ones. The photobooth was a big hit and there were lots of special moments captured. Congratulations to our Level Six teachers for organising the special event and a massive congratulations to our graduating class. All the best in High School next year, we know you will be great and make yourselves and your DPS family proud! We will miss you!     

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

As this is the last newsletter for the year and with only very few school days remaining, I wish to express my thanks for another fabulous year at DPS. Some highlights for me were the Dance Curriculum Performance, Our School Review, Cross Country, Pyjama Day, Book Week Dress Up Day and finally the Year Six Graduation. Thank you for the support and for trusting us with the education of your children. We have built a great school, that is increasing in numbers each and every year. Have a lovely Christmas and a relaxing and safe break and I hope to see you all in the new year.    

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS 

Kids Help - kidshelpline.com.au phone 1800 55 1800 

Parent Line - betterhealth.vic.gov.au phone 13 22 89 

Headspace - headspace.org.au phone 1800 650 890 

eSafety Commissioner - esafety.gov.au - Advice for parents and carers to help children have safe experiences online 

Have a great holiday period,

Carly Epskamp

Assistant Principal