Principal's Report

Principal Report

Our Family BINGO and games night yesterday was an enjoyable and fun event for all of the families and staff who attended. The evening commenced with some maths puzzles and games, hot food and drinks, and then ‘eyes down’ for the rounds of Bingo games played during the night. There were many winners, with the Silent Auction also providing a great choice of items for fantastic prices.

Our Parents’ Association is to be commended on their planning and preparation. I am sure this Fundraising event will continue to grow with the engagement of our parents, students and community. Well done to everyone involved.

Next week, I will be offsite on Long-Service- Leave, and Mr Michael Mottershead will be the Acting Principal during this time. Michael is very familiar with this role, and I know our community will work positively with Michael whilst I am on leave. 

Book Week Next Week

Our Book Week competitions and activities have continued over past weeks, with our annual Book Character parade occurring on Monday 19th August. The parade will occur at 9.10am in the Hall. I am sure, as always, there will be some wonderful characters represented in the parade!

Year 3 and 4 Camp to Forest Edge

Our year 3 and 4 students are heading off to Camp on Wednesday 21st August. The Forest Edge school camp is a highly regarded camp venue and I am sure the students will learn many new skills in self- reliance, independence, resilience and teamwork. Many thanks to parents and staff for ensuring students are well prepared for this wonderful camping experience.

Student Mobile phones and Smart Watches- privacy and safety

All Department of Education schools are required to have a Mobile Phone policy that ensures the safety of students, staff and community. At ARPS, students are required to hand in their mobile devices (ie. Any device that can make calls or take messages) at the start of the school day to the office. This is part of our School Council approved Mobile Phone policy. The policy also covers the appropriate use of Smart Watches. These devices can be set to ensure students are not taking photos, calls or messages during school hours, especially in class or when outside in the yard. Where a student is unable to set their Smart Watch to the appropriate privacy and safety settings, we ask that it not be bought to school, or must be handed in with other mobile phones and devices to the office at the start of the school day. It is not appropriate for students to be taking photos of other students (or selfies) during the school day, before or after school on the school grounds, using any device. Similarly, messages sent from Smart Watches during school time (to and from home) is not appropriate. 

A copy of the school policy can be found here: https://albanyrise-ps.vic.edu.au/about-us/policies/

More information about the Department of Education mobile phones policy can be found here: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/students-using-mobile-phones/policy 

PARENTS REQUESTS FOR GRADE for 2025:

How is the grade structure decided? 

At ARPS, our policy is to create a whole school grade structure which is either single year levels or multiage (across 2 year levels). The structure is dependent on the numbers of students in each year level, the dynamics of students in each year level, our knowledge of students in the school and the best operational timetable and staffing arrangements that can be created within the budget provided by the Department of Education. The exact class structure is often not finalised until all of our future enrolments for 2025 are confirmed. Parents should consider the likelihood that their child will be placed in either a single year level or a multiage class.

Can parents choose teachers?

•            The short answer is no.

What can parents request?

•            That their child might be with (or not with) another student based on education needs, or if there may have been a past incidents or negative history with another student. Parents may request something like, having your child separated from a good friend to help them focus or have the opportunity to make new friends. 

Who do I send my request to?

Follow this link and complete the online form: https://forms.gle/uhZTSxeBnAjTiLBu5 

Student class Place requests 2025

No later than Friday 18th October, 2024 (no exceptions)

How do we make grades for 2025?

We start by asking students to identify five ‘friends’ they might like to have in their grade for the next year. When we say ‘friend’, we mean someone who they would work well with, not always their best friend. Students have ample time and opportunity to be with their best friend, outside of school and classroom hours. Importantly we don’t guarantee these ‘five’ requests, usually students will get one or two of their ‘friend’ requests.  Sometimes not getting requests upsets students and their families. Invariably however, we find that students meet new friends (in their new grade) that they wouldn’t have met if we hadn’t encouraged mixing the grades, across their years at school. So, this is a deliberate strategy that supports students building their friendship groups across the years.

Who makes the grades?

Classroom teaching staff and specialist teachers all contribute to making the grades. 

The Principal Class Team decides on the final grades. As a rule, we never make changes after the grades have been made. So please make your request before 18th October.

What factors do we consider when we make grades?

When we make grades, we consider things like: Academic capabilities / friendships / students’ behaviour. We want to ensure that grades have an even spread of boys and girls

 – we do not stream grades.

I trust this explains how we do this process;  this process is consistent with most schools.

Jump Rope for Heart- Fundraising for Heart Foundation

Albany Rise Primary School is participating in Jump Rope for Heart this year – a fantastic fundraising and physical activity program by the Heart Foundation. By participating in Jump Rope for Heart this term, our students will raise funds for the Heart Foundation as well as build their skipping skills, stamina and fitness. We’ll have skipping ropes available on the school grounds and are encouraging everyone to help raise funds for lifesaving research and support programs. Over the coming weeks (start 22/7/25 & completed 11/9/24) your child will learn new skills, increase their physical activity, and learn about heart health. The program will end with our school wide ‘Jump Off Day’ on the 11th of September 2024 where your child gets to show off their new skipping skills to their friends. When you register your child online, you’ll get access to additional skipping resources to help give your child a great reason to get away from the screens and get outdoors. Register and create your own secure webpage at jumprope.org.au/parents

Mrs Judy Drew

PRINCIPAL