Unbelievably, we are already at the halfway point of the year! It has been wonderful to have a busy and exciting term filled with rich curriculum programs and a full range of events and excursions. We look forward to celebrating the end of term at this afternoon's White Glow Disco (Thanks to Leanne for coordinating this!!) and we wish you all a very happy, safe and relaxing holiday period.

Term 2 Celebration

We are wrapping up a very short and very busy term. We feel very fortunate to have been able to hold so many special events and activities for our students this term despite the constant staffing challenges that are continuing to challenge all schools, particularly those in western Melbourne. The special events our students have participated in this term include:

Year 4 camp
Year 2/3 Melbourne Museum excursion
Year 1 ‘Mrs Sargood’ incursion
Year 4/5 Sovereign Hill excursion
Year 6 Immigration Museum & City excursion
Prep Fire Education sessions

All of these special events and activities contribute to keeping our students happy, engaged and excited for school. Thanks to all the staff for making these experiences happen.

Farewell

In some very sad news for us, Michelle Coote has made the bittersweet decision to leave AGPS to pursue an exciting opportunity in another field. Michelle has been a member of our community for 18 years as both a parent and a staff member. Through her time she has made a positive impact on so many students, parents and staff with her caring and supportive nature. She leaves behind a wonderful legacy and will be sorely missed around here! On behalf of the AGPS community, we wish her all the best with her new adventure and look forward to hearing all about how it is going.

Inclusive Schools Fund

We have some exciting news - the Inclusive Schools Fund playground project is starting construction on Monday! We recently met with the architects and builders to discuss the project and the timeframe for construction. All things going well, the new playgrounds and sensory gardens/play spaces will be completed by 11th August. Here is a reminder of the plans for the project (We cannot wait to see the Pirate KEFAR flag!):

Respectful Behaviours within the School Community Policy

We are really proud of the collaborative, supportive and inclusive community that we have here at Altona Green and are always looking for ways to strengthen these positive relationships as it gives our students the best opportunity to develop academically as well as socially and emotionally.

To further support our collaborative community, we are adopting the Respectful Behaviours within the School Community Policy released by the Department of Education. This policy describes the positive behaviour expected from parents, carers, and other adults in Victorian school communities. The policy sets clear standards of behaviour to create a safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environment for students, staff and adults.

There are also resources to support safe and respectful relationships in our school community, including information about getting involved in the school, advice on how to raise a concern or complaint, and parenting support resources.

Cross Country

Harriet, Sam, Felix, and Jensen all continued to the next stage of cross country on Monday at the Western Metro Cross Country Finals at Brimbank Park. The students tell us that it was a wet, muddy, hilly and very challenging course - they loved it! All of the students put in incredible efforts and got fantastic individual results. We love that these students work so hard to continue to improve their running and they are just getting stronger and stronger.

A special mention to Jensen and Harriet who qualified for the State Finals on July 13th in Yarra Glen. What an incredible achievement!!

Interschool Sports

Recently our senior students have represented the school by competing against local schools in the Interschool Sport competition. Students competed in Soccer, Netball, Volleyball, Softball & Australian Rules Football. All of our teachers commented on the positive and respectful manner in which our students supported each other and represented our school. Resulting from the Term 1 Interschool Sport program, our Hockey team was successful in progressing to the next stage and will be competing in early Term 3. We wish them the best of luck and know that they will represent our school wonderfully well!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher conferences are now available to be booked via Compass (top of your news feed). The conferences will be held on Tuesday 11th & Wednesday 12th July and provide an opportunity to discuss your child's progress over the first semester. We encourage all parents and carers to book a time to meet with your child's teacher as having a strong home/school partnership is vital in giving the students the best opportunities.

Some Reminders...

Energy drinks - we have noticed that some students have recently brought energy drinks to school. These drinks are not suitable for primary-aged children and are not permitted at school.
Uniform - it is expected that all students wear full school uniform when attending school (uniform items can be seen on the 'Uniform Shop' tab of this newsletter). In addition to the clothing requirements, hair reaching past shoulders must be tied up and make-up is not to be worn at school. If you require any support with meeting these requirements please contact David or Jenny at the office.

CCTV at our school

You may have noticed the installation of security cameras at our school recently. We have decided to use a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system at our school to ensure the school environment is safe and secure, and fulfil our duty of care to students, staff and visitors. The CCTV system will assist our school to fulfil these obligations and to prevent and manage other inappropriate behaviour on school grounds. CCTV will also provide enhanced capability to protect our school’s assets against vandalism and theft.

We follow Department of Education and Training policy requirements for the design, installation, management and use of the CCTV systems. This policy is available at: CCTV in Schools – Installation and Management.

We have added a CCTV Privacy Notice on our school website with more information about our school’s use of CCTV.

2024 Prep Enrolments

We would really appreciate it if you could let us know if you have a prep child starting school in 2024. This greatly assists us with planning

All enrolment applications from parents/carers must be submitted by Friday, 28 July 2023 and we will notify parents/carers of the outcome of enrolment applications by Friday, 11 August 2023.

We hope you all have a fabulous break!

Take care,

David & Cam

STEM