From the Principal  

Welcome to IPS

It's been a cold week but there is nothing like the excitment of waking up to your usual scenery that is blanketed in frost!

The excited chatter, questions and curiosity about our white oval from students on an icy Melbourne morning this Wednesday was delightful. Before school, students were busy investigating icy grounds, watching their breath billowing into the wintry air, skidding and sliding across a frosty oval. What a fun way to start the school day!

Some students who left their school jackets in the yard over night, discovered that they'd (albeit temporarily) become white and stiff! Which is a good reminder as we near the end of school term to check lost property. There are quite a few belongings without names still in lost property boxes. Please make sure you check all the lost property locations: 

• In the hall foyer
• Under the shelter near the Collaboration Space (Old Canteen)
• Outside the Beehive
• Outside the Out of School Hours Care Program, the lost property box in hall and the one in front of the old canteen and claim your property before the end of term.

End of Semester Reports

As we near the end of the school term, you can expect to receive your child's semester 1 report soon.  

We wrote to you previously regarding new arrangements around teaching and assessing of Mathematics in line with the introduction of the revised Mathematics Curriculum Version 2.0.

As previously stated, the revised Mathematics Curriculum includes changes to the achievement standards used by teachers to assess and report on student learning across Levels Foundation to 10.

While Version 1.0 had 3 separate achievement standards that schools were mandated to report against, Version 2.0 has only a single achievement standard that encompasses 5 strands for Foundation up to Year 2, and six strands for Year 3 and up.

The revised Mathematics strands are as follows:

While reporting against the 5-6 strands is not mandated by the Department of Education (DET), at Ivanhoe Primary School we believe that this additional information on how your child is achieving in each individual strand of Mathematics will be useful as this will provide you with  a detailed understanding of your child’s achievement in Mathematics.

Therefore, in addition to the required single achievement score, your child’s report for Mathematics will also have a ‘Learning Outcomes’ grid within the report to provide you with additional information.

Please read the additional information on the "Mathematics Reporting in Victorian Government schools. Update 3" in this edition of Inside Ivanhoe. 

Victoria's Approach to Teaching Reading F-2

You might have heard in the media that all Victorian state schools will embrace phonics from next year, as the government tries to improve reading levels in Foundation to year 2 across the state. The approach to teaching reading in years Foundation to year 2 is evidence-based and draws on the research conducted over many years from countries such as the UK and USA and embraces a structured literacy approach.  

What this means

• Students from Foundation to grade 2 will be taught reading using synthetic phonics, which helps students break up words into individual sounds.
• Teachers will spend a minimum of 25 minutes a day on explicit teaching of phonics and phonemic awareness in classrooms.
• All Victorian state schools will be required to use this approach when teaching reading. 
• ABC News, 13th June 2024

What this means for IPS

Since 2020, we have been using a structured literacy approach to reading across the school.  Specifically we use a systematic synthetic phonics approach to reading in years Foundation to year 2 until students are able to decode, segment and blend. This allows students to ease their cognitive load when reading and writing and allows them more memory space to ultimately concentrate on comprehension of texts.

As we already go beyond the minimum standards that will be expected, we don't forsee any changes to our already highly successful reading approach.

Cold and Flu Season

We all want to be as healthy as possible but coming into winter, that can be tricky.  We have had an increased number of both students and staff who are sick and it is clear that there are a few nasty bugs going around.  

If your child is unwell, please don't send them to school. Our bodies respond well to rest and recuperation. Keeping your child at home for a few days will allow them to get the rest they need and this will help limit illness spreading within the school community.  

World's Greatest Shave

One of our teachers, Kirstie Fray and her daughter Heidi are going to do the World's Greatest Shave to raise money for blood cancer research.  

Head over to the Community Page of this newsletter for more information!

Evacuation Practice Emergency Response

Yesterday afternoon the school held a practice evacuation to the oval. If you live close to school, you  may have heard our alarm sound. Rest assured that this was a drill and that there was no real threat. 

The primary objective of mock drills is to practice and rehearse emergency response procedures, including evacuation protocols, communication strategies, and crisis management, to ensure that individuals are prepared to respond effectively during genuine emergencies.  

Please take the opportunity to discuss with your children, the importance of following teachers’ instruction during evacuation, lock-down and lock-in drills. 

Drills occur once a term. 

Finally

The much anticipated Battle of the Bands was performed in the school hall this morning. The talent of our students never ceases to amaze me.  Many thanks to Marie Morrow for her passion and expertise, supported by Matt O'Brien and to our wonderful community of volunteers who set the stage to allow the bands to shine!

Here's a little sneak peek (more to follow in next week's newsletter)...

Pam Wright

Co Principal

http://www.ivanhoeps.vic.edu.au/ 

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Victoria and pay respect to the ongoing living cultures of First Peoples.