Principal Team Message

AFFIRMATION TO HELP YOU HARNESS THE WEEK 

Eventually all things fall into place into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments and know that everything happens for a reason. 

-Albert Schweitzer

What a great way to start the term with this affirmation and to welcome new families joining our community.  This is also very timely as we the consider being meaningful and mindful in the month of May.  Everyone's overall wellbeing is the 'ultimate good' and everything else in our society should contribute to this. 

Let's take some Action for Happiness and promote a happier world, through a school and community culture that prioritises happiness and kindness.

SCHOOL COUNCIL UPDATE 

Last term we held our Annual General meeting to elect office bearers. We are delighted to announce that the following members of council have once again volunteered their collective wisdom, time and energies on strengthening our community for the benefit of our students. 

                                          RPS Members of School Council 2022

Our council will be very busy this year undertaking a range of responsibilities and convening committees that oversee some of the following important activities: 

• raising funds for school-related purposes
• exercising a general oversight of the school buildings and grounds and ensure they are kept in good order and condition
• ensuring that all money coming into the hands of the council is expended for proper purposes relating to the school
• informing itself and taking into account any views of the school community for the purpose of making decisions in regard to the school and the students at the school
• generally stimulating interest in the school in the wider community
• monitoring the School Strategic Plan and reviewing the Annual Implementation Plan 
• reporting annually (the Annual Report) to the school community 
• managing the hire, licence and shared use of school facilities
• managing the centenary celebrations and fundraising activities.

ANNUAL REPORT PRESENTATION TO SCHOOL COMMUNITY 

The Annual Report provides principals and school councils with an opportunity to share last year’s achievements and progress with the school community. This includes reflecting on the school’s performance and explaining the positive impact of school improvement efforts on student outcomes in 2021. 

We invite all members of the school community to attend this presentation prior to the School Council meeting in late May. 

Date: Tuesday 24 May 

Time: 6:15 pm 

Place: Staffroom 

Attendance: Please indicate your attendance on the following Google form.

STRATEGIC PLAN & ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

A strategic plan documents what the school wants to achieve in the future and how it plans to get there. It details our school's focus over the next four years to improve students’ experiences at school (the goals and targets), how our school is going to achieve this (key improvement strategies) including actions we will undertake to implement our key improvement strategies and the milestones that will be used to identify progress in its implementation.

We have renewed clarity regarding our overall improvement goals and our staff will work collaboratively to achieve these for every student across the school. The Strategic Plan was the result of schoolwide consultation in 2021, inclusive of feedback from students, parents, teachers, the student leadership and the school’s leadership team.

School Council is responsible for ensuring that our students are provided with the best educational opportunities possible. To achieve the goals and targets of the newly developed Strategic Plan, the school’s leadership team developed an Annual Implementation Plan (one for each of the four years of implementation). 

STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-2025

Goal 1: To increase student learning in literacy and numeracy

We wish to continue to improve student learning and, whilst literacy has improved through the focus of the last School Strategic Plan (SSP), there is a need to focus on numeracy.

Goal 2: To improve student wellbeing

We are conscious that student wellbeing impacts student learning and this is especially important post COVID. We identified improving wellbeing support and caring for the whole student is important in achieving this.

Goal 3: To improve student voice and agency

We wish to continue developing student voice and agency and give students more ownership of their learning and increase engagement. We wish to create a culture of challenge and extension to address all student needs. 

ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN -  2022 STATEWIDE PRIORITIES 

In 2022, we will continue to focus on student learning with an increased focus on numeracy and student wellbeing. We will teach and support each student at their point of need and in line with FISO, which is the guiding framework for improving student outcomes.

Strategic Plan 2021 -2025

Annual Implementation Plan 2022  

ANIMALS IN THE SCHOOL GROUNDS  

With the return of regular onsite visitors, we’ve noticed an increase in visits from four-legged friends. Please understand that the school has an Animals in the School Grounds policy which can be found here on the school’s website. 

First and foremost, the policy seeks to ensure the safety of all students, staff, parents and visitors to RPS, through both direct and indirect contact with animals. Whilst RPS understands that many families in our school community keep dogs as pets, to ensure that our school remains a safe and inclusive place for everyone, we have in place a number of rules that we expect all families to follow if they wish to bring their pet dog onto school grounds:

• Animals are not permitted within the RPS grounds or within RPS school buildings at any time, unless prior approval has been obtained by the Principal and the animal is for educational purposes or a dog that assists a person with a disability. 
• If approval is given for an animal to be on RPS grounds or within a school building, the pet owner must: accompany the animal and ensure that it remains under their control at all times (a dog must be on a leash); and be responsible for the animal at all times whilst the animal is on RPS grounds or within a school building.

Our policy on this matter is up for review later this year so we welcome you to provide feedback by contacting the school office.

NAPLAN BEGINS NEXT WEEK 

As children progress through their school years, it is very important that checks are made along the way to see how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and mathematics – skills that will set them upon the path to success as adults.

NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents and carers to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. 

At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress. Federal, state and territory education ministers agreed to gradually transition NAPLAN online by 2022. NAPLAN online is a tailored test that adapts to student responses, providing better assessment and more precise results. To see the types of questions and functionalities in the online tests, visit the public demonstration site page.

For Ripponlea students NAPLAN online will take place from Tuesday 10 May to Friday 20 May. 

ASTHMA AWARENESS

Yesterday marked World Asthma Day and as we head into the cooler months, it is likely we will see an increase in asthma flare-ups. In Australia, around 2.7 million people have asthma, that’s 1 in 9 of us! Asthma is a complex medical condition that impacts everybody differently and for young people in particular, it is important that their condition is reviewed regularly by a medical practitioner.

Out of the thousands of Australians hospitalised for asthma each year, nearly half are aged 0-14. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the majority of hospitalisations are preventable and only around a third of people with asthma have an asthma plan. 

Everyone with asthma should have a written Asthma Action Plan. While our staff are trained in managing first aid for managing asthma, an individual action plan is immensely valuable to help stay on top of symptoms and maintain good asthma control. Your doctor can establish and review the action plan by using the Victorian Schools templates found here. Please remember to update our school office with a copy of the plan.

VOLUNTEERS - THE OFTEN UNSUNG HEROES OF OUR COMMUNITY

Term 2 has started in the best way possible with our doors open once again to the whole community. It feels like an eternity since we’ve been able to do this and our sincerest wish is to keep it this way. It has been great to see parents and carers come onsite, some for the very first time! 

The most exciting aspect of this is the opportunity to have our wonderful parent volunteers continue to contribute to the many things that, as a staff, we can’t always achieve on our own. The following activities would not occur if weren’t for our committed parent volunteers:

• Snack Shack
• Book Club
• Sports Teams
• Trivia Night
• Cake Raffles
• Sausage Sizzles and Smoothies
• Second-Hand Uniform Sales
• Reading Helpers
• Working Bees
• Event Marshals and Timekeepers

And honestly, the list would go on for pages! Perhaps what is not known is that we really can’t run some events without volunteer helpers. For example, our 5/6 sports program requires parents to assist because – as a school with a small population – we do not have available staff to assist the 5/6 teachers at these events. Sometimes this has meant that we’ve had to cancel such activities which is never something we want to do. 

So please look for those volunteer callouts when they occur and do what you can – big or small – to help RPS continue to provide a rich assortment of opportunities for its students and broader community. To those who already volunteer at our little school, thanks is more than we can say

Until next fortnight!

Natalie Rose Principal

Jess Grey Assistant Principal