Community Engagement

One of the many wonderful aspects of Albany Rise Primary School, in the support and engagement we have between the school and our local community. Last week, we were in contact with Monash community support services, with donations of blankets and supplies purchased from our Cooking Club fundraising efforts, presented to Chris from Monash Waverley Information Service.

Next week, our Year 5 students are visiting Wellington Pre-school, for some Buddy preparation and transition opportunities, and to develop our interpersonal and social skills working with the broader community. We are excited about this opportunity and know our students will, as always, represent our school with pride and positivity.

We are also currently working very closely with Bunnings in Springvale. Their activities team are supporting ARPS in the development of our Indigenous garden project and providing an opportunity for students to perform at a special Mothers’day event on Saturday 13th May. More details are provided below.

We are always on the lookout for ways our school can better communicate and interact with the broader community. In coming weeks a survey regarding reporting student progress to parents and about possible working bee options will be sent out to our families via Dojo. Please keep an eye out for these surveys- as the feedback we receive directly supports our decision making at planning at school.

Curriculum News- Writing

The continued focus on our Whole School Seven Steps writing approach is having an incredible impact on improvements to students writing across all year levels. Students are engaged, eager to improve, focused on their personal writing goals and ready to share and publish the writing they have created. This week I have enjoyed seeing poetry, Sizzling starts, tightening tension, 10 minute texts, some amazing vocabulary and the simple joy of seeing students reading and sharing their writing pieces. I am looking forward to seeing who will be our ‘surprise student author’ at Assembly on Friday!

Bunnings Special Event- ARPS students performing: Sat 13th May

Bunnings Springvale is having a Special Mothers' Day event on Saturday from 11am-2pm- see attached Flyer. Several of our students will be performing their own musical 'bits and pieces' from 12pm..

Mother’s Day

A very big thank you to Bronwyn Clarke (Parents Association), mother of Patrick in 12N and Stephen in 5JM for co-ordinating the Mother’s Day Stall. We are very grateful for all the work Bronwyn has put in towards making the Stall a big success again this year and giving the children an opportunity to buy a gift for their mums. Thanks also to all the other wonderful parent/ grandparent helpers:

Ann D – grandmother of Lexi 12N and Isabella 5JM, and Harley 0A

Amanda A – mother of Harley 0A

Bronwyn C- mother of Stephen 5JM, Patrick 12N

Kathryn P - mother of Luke 56V, Andrew 2W, Rebecca - 0A

MIllie I - mother of Zachary 0A

Jacqui - mother of Lana 1M

On behalf of all staff and students at ARPS we wish all mums a very Happy Mother’s Day for this Sunday 14th May. We hope you are all spoiled with lots of gifts, and more importantly, love, gratitude and appreciation for what you do. We hope you can join us during Education Week (25th May), for our open morning and Biggest Morning Tea, where we can thank you all in person!

District Cross Country

Good luck to our qualifying Levels 3 to 6 students at the District Cross Country event which will be held on Wednesday 24th May. Parents are reminded to please ensure permission is provided for eligible students to take part on Compass.

Education Support Personnel Day

The Australian Education Union celebrate Education Support Personnel Day on Tuesday 16th May this year. We at ARPS would like to take the opportunity to join in and acknowledge the wonderful work our ES staff do. Thank you so much to Lyndelle, Janine, Collette, Narelle, Josh, Michaela, Kathryn, Wendy, Kylie, Lisa, Natasha, Lily, Adam and Brian (Hoges) for keeping our school running and by supporting our students to learn, our teachers to teach and engaging our community in our wonderful school. Your efforts are very much appreciated!

Department of Health Alert

A health alert has been issued by the Victorian Department of Health Chief Health Officer on Wednesday 12 April 2023 about the danger of consuming potentially poisonous mushrooms, particularly death cap mushrooms and yellow staining mushrooms. These mushrooms commonly grow in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. You can view images of the 2 poisonous mushrooms on the Better Health Channel's Mushroom poisoning webpage. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/fungi-poisoning

The toxin in death cap mushrooms remains even after cooking, peeling or drying. If ingested, poisoning can cause nausea, stomach cramps and/or long-term liver damage resulting in death.

Yellow staining mushrooms look similar to field mushrooms commonly found in supermarkets but can be harmful if consumed. Symptoms experienced after consumption include nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea. The severity of symptoms varies with the amount eaten.

Please remind your children, as will we at school, to not pick or eat wild mushrooms. Please let them know about the dangers of these mushrooms and reinforce to them not to touch any mushrooms they find. If they do find any at school, they should inform a teacher as soon as possible.

Student Attitude to School Survey: Reminder

Students in Year 4,5 and 6 will be participating in the 2023 Student Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) this year.

We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and are conducting a survey to find out what your child thinks of their school.

The AtoSS is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education to assist schools to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. Students will be asked about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general.

This year, the AtoSS will be conducted at Albany Rise Primary School during the week beginning Monday 22nd May.

What are the benefits?

Young people enjoy having a say! This survey has been running for nearly 20 years and is invaluable in helping schools understand student views to plan programs and activities to improve your child's schooling experience. The survey responses also help the Department of Education understand how student’s learning experiences can be improved.

A letter to parents in Year 4-6 was provided to students today and a copy posted on Class Dojo for those classes involved.

Please contact the school or your child’s teacher if you have any questions about this survey.

News from the LIBRARY