Principal's Report

REMINDER for YEAR 6 students:

Mothers’ Day (and special person) stall

A very big thank you to Amanda Lewis (Parents Association), for co-ordinating the Mother’s Day Stall yesterday.  We are very grateful for all the work Amanda has put in towards making the stall a big success again this year, and to all the parent helpers and supporters who assisted with the preparation, purchasing, setting up and facilitation of the stalls. There were some lovely gifts and treats again this year and I do hope all the mums, grandmothers and special people in our students’ lives appreciate the thought, care and opportunity for our students to buy a gift for them. 

I wish all the Mothers, grandmothers, carers and role models in our community a very special Mothers Day on Sunday.

Election Day BBQ

A HUGE thank you to parents a who assisted with the election Day BBQ at school on Saturday. We had a constant flow of people eager to purchase a ‘democracy sausage’ on the day, and the stall was a great success. Thanks again to the Parents’ Association for organising the roster, setting up and packing up the stall (especially the early risers who had the whole area set up by the time I arrived in the morning!).

We are so lucky to have such a connected and committed group of parents who help our school and students maintain a strong connection with the broader school community.

Foundation 2026 Enrolments open now- siblings

We are eager to confirm our student numbers for Foundation in 2026 as early as possible to ensure we have classes and staffing in place ready for our transition sessions early in Term 4.

Parents of Students with Siblings starting Foundation in 2026 are asked to please go online as soon as possible to confirm enrolment for next year.

Whilst we do not have a cap on enrolment for 2026, but we do aim to keep our class sizes to a reasonable (and relatively small) size in our junior classes. Late enrolments can mean class sizes become inflated and are unable to be adjusted if enrolments are received very late in the planning process.

Foundation enrolments intentions for 2026 should be submitted through the online portal.

To commence online enrolment 

Visit  https://students.educationapps.vic.gov.au/s/ to create an account and complete the online application form. Please ensure that all documents required are attached to the application. 

If applying for Foundation (Prep) 2026, applications opened on VicStudents from 22 April 2025. 

Using a paper form

If you prefer not to use VicStudents, you can choose to enrol using a paper form instead. Please contact us to arrange this.

AtoSS- Year 4-6

Every Year, students from Year 4-6 take part in the Student Attitude to School Survey (AtoSS).

The AtoSS is a voluntary student survey offered by the Department of Education every year to help schools and the department understand students' experiences of school. The survey will ask students in Year 4-6 about their thoughts and feelings about their school, their learning, relationships with other students, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general. 

This year, the survey will be conducted at your school from 12th May to 13th June. A separate notice with additional information was sent ot parents of students in Year 4-6 via Class Dojo and Compass early this week.

Data from the survey is shared and discussed with staff and students, including our Student Voice Team, who provide feedback to me on their perceptions of school, our culture and day to day events occurring at ARPS. This helps school leadership and staff focus on areas that students see as opportunities for improvement, and to celebrate all the great wellbeing and learning opportunities we have at our school.

Musical - Poster Competition and Badge Competition- entries open from Monday 12th May

Our Musical poster competition commences next week. The theme for our competition is focussed on the classic ‘Alice in Wonderland’ tale. To take part in the competition, students will need to submit a poster with the following:

• A4 portrait size
• Detailed and colourful drawings related to the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ theme
• A sub heading at the top of the page ‘Albany Rise Primary School presents:’
• Title ‘The REAL story of Alice in Wonderland’- bold, clear, correct spelling
• A clear (lightly coloured) space on the page for the addition of detailed information (to be added later- eg dates/ times). This needs to be about 1/5 of the page.

Example from 2023:

POSTERS NEED TO BE SUBMITTED BY 19TH MAY. NO LATE ENTRIES

The winner of the poster competition will have their design displayed on a board at the front of the school, on the front of the program on the night, and in various locations around the school and beyond.

Information about the musical badge competition (and templates) will be provided to students next week.

Education week 2025 @ ARPS

ARPS will be holding our annual Education Week activities and open day events from Monday 19th May.  This year’s theme is, ‘Celebration of Cultures’

The school has many great opportunities for community and family involvement during this week including:

We strongly encourage families to come to the school during the Open night on Wednesday 21st May OR the Open Morning on Thursday 22dn May. We will have a 2026 Foundation Group tour from 10.30am on Thursday morning, and all current families can visit the classrooms and see some of the wonderful work that students are undertaking at ARPS. 

On Wednesday night, the Choir will also be performing along with some of the students in the Junior Rockers instrumental music program and, of course, out annual book fair and BBQ will be happening!

You can find out more about the Victorian Government Education Week and resources here: Education Week | vic.gov.au

Winter is Coming and So is the Flu Season 

As we enter the colder months of the year, we need to keep in mind that whilst the restrictive days of COVID are now past, there are many things we can still do to prevent the transmission of illness such as COVID/Flu/Coughs/Colds. Recent reports indicate a big increase in cases of the Flu and this will only get worse in the coming months as the cold weather takes hold. COVID is also still coming and going and can be severe in some cases. The Important actions to take:

1. Children should stay home if unwell.
2. Keep vaccinations up to date.
3. Wash hands thoroughly after going to the toilet. 
4. Sneeze into your elbow. 
5. Sanitize hands regularly.   
6. Wear a mask if unwell

Our combined efforts to implement these above-mentioned strategies will go a long way to ensuring the overall health of all students, staff, and parents and carers.

Curriculum Day Reminder

Don’t forget that Friday 23rd May is a curriculum day at Albany Rise, and our teaching staff will be undertaking a day focusing on assessment and reporting. 

                 Judy Drew - Principal