Principal Update

Hello everyone,

Welcome back to school for the final term of 2026. Term 3 was certainly a busy term and Term 4 is traditionally one of the busiest of the year. This year Term 4 is also the longest at 11 weeks. So, with that in mind I would like to remind families and students to make sure you be kind to yourselves, build into the term and ensure that there is enough remaining energy come December and the busy end of year time. 

Class placement 2027

We are well underway with planning for 2027. It is the time of the year when I ask parents to email me if they want to make an educationally based request for their child. We use a program called Class Solver, to form the classes. Staff enter data for each student about their academic progress, social development, anything else of relevance and friendships, which has been gathered from the students. Once the data has been entered the classes are created. Staff then review the classes carefully to ensure that all groups are ‘balanced’ and able to do their best learning. 

If you feel compelled to make an educationally based request, then you can suggest no more than two students that you know your child should be with or to be separated from. This request must be made to me by email before Friday 14 November. Please note no late emails will be accepted and no requests for specific teachers will be considered. 

Term 4 Sun Safety

“No Hat No Play” is in place for the remainder of the year so please support us and make sure your child has a broad brimmed hat for each day. Students in the yard without suitable head covering will be directed to stay in the shaded areas. We also have some sunscreen available for student use but recommend that parents provide their child with suitable sunscreen, applied before school and then the students are encouraged to reapply before lunchtime. 

World Teacher’s Day 2026

World Teachers’ Day is held internationally on 5 October. As it falls during the school holidays in many parts of the nation, Australia celebrates a little later, the last Friday of October each year. This year we will be celebrating in Victoria on Friday 30 October. World Teachers' Day is a chance to recognise and celebrate the incredible contributions teachers have made in Victorian communities. As a school we will acknowledge our teachers with the support of the School Council. Luke will reach out to Class Liaisons to organise a card or message to be sent to teachers on World Teacher’s Day

Year 2-6 Concert: The Haunted House

What a wonderful way to finish Term Three, with our Year 2-6 performance at the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar Performing Arts Centre. The feedback from families, staff and most importantly, students, has been fantastic. It was wonderful to be able to put together such an entertaining evening – a highlight of the year to date. 

The success of such an event is down to the hard work of many people so I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Cathy, as our performing arts teacher, Megan, Alan and Deborah in Year 6 for their time, contributions and extra hours ensuring the students were well prepared. To each of the class teachers for supporting with the class dances, planning costumes, and supporting throughout rehearsals and the evening. The team at the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar PAC were amazing in providing us with all that we needed and supporting us throughout the day and evening with sound, lighting, and resources. And to Izzy and the STOMP Dance crew for a wonderful script, fantastic music, and choreography.

Learner Dispositions & School Values – What’s the difference? 

Our five school values are linked to our behaviours and are embedded in all aspects of life at Alphington Primary School and cater to learning, social and wellbeing needs. They support our endeavour to assist students to be outstanding in all that they do. Whereas our five learner dispositions are the characteristics or mental tools someone has when approaching learning. The are the characteristics we want students to develop self-efficacy and become the bets learner they can be.

School Values                   Learner Dispositions

• Respect                                Collaboration
• Kindness                              Determination
• Integrity                               Reflection
• Curiosity                              Creativity
• Resilience                            Optimism

Term 4 Professional Learning Community (PLC)

This week year level teams are meeting to develop their Term 4 PLC focus. Using the PLC model is the way we work at Alphington Primary School. It is a collaborative model linked to the Department of Education Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) and ensures all Year level team members are collectively using data, goal setting and best practice to ensure students individual learning needs are being met. 

This term we are encouraging teams to work across levels to allow for greater staff collaboration and the sharing of resources and research. 

We use the analogy of a cake, slice, and crumb. 

Teams begin with a cake, (maths). 

They then analyse the data and explore the teaching curriculum to identify a possible slice (calculating time). 

The final step is to identify the crumb… the specific aspect of the curriculum that they will focus upon when working with an identified group of students. 

For maths it may be… ‘How can students utilise a number line to solve problems to calculate and compare elapsed time?’ 

Staff create the crumb in the form of an inquiry question, which allows them to develop a specific action plan to ensure both student learning and a measurable marker of success for student achievement. 

At the end of the cycle teams share their findings with the school community, identifying new strategies to adopt and adding to the collective knowledge of the school’s curriculum programs.

Riding to School and Securing Your Bike

With spring well and truly in bloom and the weather improving it is a great time to be riding to school. I know I am trying to ride 3 times per week and with a noticeable increase in fuel prices it certainly is the better economic option as well as being healthier and a more environmentally friendly way to travel. 

At Alphington we have two main bike storage areas, one at the Northern part of the school with an entry on Yarralea Street and a larger area at the Adams Street entrance near the three-level learning centre building. We encourage students and adults to use these areas but also to ensure you have a quality lock and chain your bike using the bike storage racks provided. Unfortunately, the storage areas can be accessed during class hours by people from outside the school community and could be a target for those looking to steal bikes.

Enjoy your week.

Shane Wilkie

Principal