Principal's Report

Welcome Back to Albany Rise for Term 2

We have a busy and exciting term ahead, with lots of great learning, fun activities, and community events over the next few weeks. It has been lovely to see some more new students commence this term, and we welcome all our new families to our wonderful school community. At ARPS we aim to ensure regular and clear communication between home and school. We hope all our families can access all the information and updates they require to keep abreast of events, learning foci and activities via Class Dojo, Compass and this newsletter. Families are encouraged to provide constructive feedback to our staff team where further communication may be required. Parents are also welcome to request a meeting time with staff to discuss student progress at any stage throughout the year.

Whole School Musical Production

We are so excited to announce that our production for 2025 is ‘The True Story of Alice in Wonderland’. We have a fabulous script and music and dances are currently being planned. Auditions for main cast roles (of year 5 and 6 students) will be commencing as early as next week. A poster competition will be held in coming weeks, and an opportunity for students to design badges for sale to commemorate the performance. 

SAVE the DATES- all students in Year 5 and 6 will be performing both nights: Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th August (Early in Term 3). Students in foundation to Year 4 will be performing on one of the nights (this will be confirmed in the next few weeks). The production will be held at Wellington Secondary College. Ticket information will be available towards the end of term 2.

Staffing Updates (Special Assembly May 2nd at 2.45pm)

We are very excited for Ms Laura Young (year 3/4Y teacher) and her husband who are expecting their second child in August this year. A notice was sent to families regarding this important news early this week. We are pleased to confirm that Mr Nick Fergus, will be taking on the classroom teaching role during Ms Young’s absence (3 days per week, commencing in August), whilst continuing his specialist role as PE teacher on the remaining 2 days.

Yesterday, we fare welled Mrs Trish Johnston, our long serving and much loved Albany Rise classroom teacher. Trish has been at Albany Rise for over 30 years! Current plans are to return in September, but who knows what the future holds?!

Mrs Janine Wilson was fare welled from her Office Manager role at ARPS during the last week of Term 1. Janine is on 12 months leave and is considering her options (perhaps retirement) in 2026.

We are holding a special assembly on Friday 2nd May to acknowledge and thank these two amazing staff members. All are welcome to attend.

New Crossing Supervisor

We are excited to welcome Ronnie, our new crossing supervisor on Albany Drive. Ronnie commenced his important role on Wednesday this week. Many thanks to the families who supported our efforts to secure a permanent crossing supervisor and contacted Monash Council and the school for support.

Please ensure that we make Ronnie a very welcome member of our school community by saying a friendly ‘Hello’ when crossing Albany Drive.

Year 5 & 6 interschool sports Gala Days (Summer Sports)

Our Year 5/6 students commence their ‘Gala’ Friday interschool sports events, competing with other school in Summer sports from next Friday – 2nd May. Information about the schedule and bus costs was provided to parents via Compass this week.. We are eager to every student to attend this weekly event. Families are urged to contact the school if they have any challenges with providing permission for student attendance to this important Health and Physical Education program.

Transition News – Year 6-7

This week, our Year 6 students have been provided with their secondary school application forms and Year 6-7 Transition packs. The application for Year 7 placement forms are due to be returned to ARPS year 6 staff no later than Friday 9th May. Student applications for Year 7 placement are based on school zones and other entry criteria, including sibling claims. For more information, families can access forms and documents here: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/enrolment/guidance/year-6-to-7-placement 

Year 6-7 simplified timeline of secondary school enrolment information:

Refer to the Transition Page in this newsletter for more information.

ANZAC presentation @ ARPS today 3pm

Our ANZAC presentation will occur today at 3pm. Students in all year levels have been busy learning about the meaning of ANZAC day and creating wreaths to share at Assembly. Parents/Carers are most welcome to attend.

On Monday 28th April, our School Captains and Vice-Captains will be attending the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, (with 2 staff members) to present a wreath on behalf of the school at the ANZAC service for schools. We are sure the students will be excellent representatives for our school on the day.

Contact details and Absence notifications

There are times when we will need to contact you, including on the day if your child is absent and you haven’t informed the school as to why. Do we have your most up to date contact details? If not, please contact the school on 9547 1146 or email albany.rise.ps@education.vic.gov.au so we can update our records. Please include parent/carers’ name, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact details. Please remember to contact the school if any of these details or your circumstances change. 

This week, information regarding contact details and other student records was sent home to families (printed copies) via students in classrooms, for parents/carers to preview and return with any updates. Parents/carers are asked to complete and return these documents as soon as possible.

Notify the school of your child’s absence

Protecting the safety and well-being of children through the reporting and monitoring of absenteeism is the responsibility of both parents/carers and schools.

Please remember to log onto the Compass Parent portal as soon as possible on the day of your child’s absence- to indicate the reason for the absence. If you have difficulty with Compass, call the school on  9547 1146 or email at albany.rise.ps@education.vic.gov.au. It is a mandatory requirement that parents/carers confirm the reason for a student absence in writing. This is most easily done when parents/carers log your child’s absence using our school’s Compass platform in the morning if your child is going to be away or late for school so your child’s absence can be recorded correctly.

For further information on the processes and procedures our school uses to record, monitor and follow-up student attendance and absence please read our Attendance Policy here: https://albanyrise-ps.vic.edu.au/about-us/policies/

Same-day notification of unexplained student absences

Our school will text/call you vis Compass (provided your contact details are accurate) as soon as practicable on the day if a student is not at school and you haven’t notified the school as to why. If you are notified by the school that your child is away without a reason, please contact us as soon as possible by phone: 9547 1146 or email at albany.rise.ps@education.vic.gov.au to let us know where your child is. If we cannot reach you because we don’t have your correct contact details (i.e.: message notification fail, disconnected number), then we will make contact with any emergency contact/s nominated on your child’s file held by the school, where possible, on the same day of the unexplained absence.

Please remember it is your responsibility to contact us to provide an explanation for your child's absence from school, and where possible, please inform us in advance of upcoming absences.

Our school uses text via Compass to contact parents/carers as soon as practical on the day on an unexplained student absence. 

Attendance Requirements

If your child is sick or absent, you are required to notify the school as soon as possible on the day of absence, via Compass

Notifying the school of your child’s absence either prior to, or on the day that they will be away, helps ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and will fulfil your legal responsibility.

Since Term 2 2018, all Victorian government schools are required to contact parents/carers as soon as practicable on the same day of an unexplained student absence. If your child is absent on a particular day and you have not contacted the school to explain why, the absence will be marked as unexplained.

This system also promotes daily school attendance. Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education, they learn new things every day – missing school puts them behind.

Judy Drew

Principal