Principal's Report

Principal Report 

This week, I have been talking to students about our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. It has been great to see that students know the school values and can talk about them. Sometimes, school values can be seen as something that students need to know and define but sometimes have no impact on their choices.  Here at Albany Rise Primary School, our expectation is that the school values are lived; that the school values are seen in the words and actions of students, parents and staff every day.  One of our school expectations around the value of Respect is “to be kind, helpful and considerate of others.”  I have been thrilled to see that this is not just “lip service”; I have witnessed students caring for each other, making sure that everyone is included and noticing if someone is not OK. 

Of course, sometimes students don’t always get it right, which is to be expected.  Every school is full of children who are still learning how to interact with others in a meaningful and positive way and are working out where they fit in this space.  We hold high expectations of how students interact, but we guide and support all students to have a deeper understanding of the values and their own character strengths, so that the school values – which are life values – can become part of their repertoire.

We have an incredibly dedicated, active and driven Wellbeing Team of staff at ARPS who ensure that this messaging and support is embedded into our daily school routines and expectations. The team is headed by Dana Kroenert and I thank her along with Penny Price, Natalie Tzanatos, Daniel Redfearn and our Assistant Principal, Michael Mottershead for this important work that they do for our students. 

I also acknowledge you, our parent and carer community, because I know that you are doing this important work too. 

If you would like to get in touch, please contact me at Jane.Capon@education.vic.gov.au and we can make a time.

Warm regards,

Jane.

Share your views to help make our school safer!

The Department of Education is inviting parents and carers to take part in an online survey. The survey seeks views on how the department can best protect school communities from harmful behaviour by parents and carers, and other adults:

· on school grounds and other places school activities happen

· online including social media.

Harmful behaviours can include abusive, aggressive and disruptive behaviours, including on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp.

The survey will help the department:

· better understand community attitudes around this issue

· seek input on whether stronger protections are needed for school communities.

The survey closes at 11:59 pm on Monday 10 November 2025.

At Albany Rise Primary School, we are committed to creating a safe and supportive environment for the entire school community. We support ongoing efforts to address harmful behaviour by adult members of our school community, including online.

I encourage you to share your views by taking part in the survey. To access the survey, refer to Keeping school staff safe onsite and online on the Engage Victoria website.

School Community Safety Order Scheme: statutory review

A report and recommendations from the statutory review of the School Community Safety Order Scheme are now available.

While the majority of parents and carers work well with schools to resolve concerns, sometimes there is harmful behaviour affecting our school staff and students. The scheme allows principals and other authorised persons in Victorian schools to make School Community Safety Orders to stop or limit parents, carers and other adults who behave in harmful, threatening or abusive ways towards people in the school community. For more information on the review, refer to Independent statutory review into the School Community Safety Order Scheme | vic.gov.au. For more information on the scheme, refer to School Community Safety Orders | vic.gov.au

Sport achievement of the week

We know how important physical activity and sport is for our students and to our school community, which is why we privilege time at school for PE and sport. We also know that we have some very talented students who participate in sports and activities outside of school.  We would love to celebrate their achievements!  If your child has received an award or progressed to the next level of their activity outside of school, please let us know and we would love to celebrate their achievements in our newsletter. Please let our PE teacher Nick Fergus know, or email through to our school office on Albany.rise.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Division Athletics

Last week on Wednesday, 7 students went to Bill Sewart Athletics Track to represent Albany Rise in the Monash Waverley Division Track and Field Athletics competition. 

These students qualified by coming in the top 2 at the Wellington district athletics last term. 

 The students who competed were Archie (200m and 4x100) and Skylar (800m and 1500m) from 3/4 Y. Archie came 5th in the 200m and Skylar came 4th in both of her events. Joshua (4x100) from 3/4 R, Micheal (4x100 and high jump) and Daniel E (4x100m, 100m and 80m hurdles) in 4/5 N, Chenuli (200m) from 5/6S and Harrision in  5/6C(1500m). The 4x100 team ran a great race and finished 5th in the division.

Well done to all of the students who competed and represented the school with pride. We are all so proud of you as a school community. Thank you also to the parents of our athletes who took the time out of their busy schedules to get the students to and from the track.

Nicholas Fergus 

Day for Daniel

Enrol Now for Foundation 2026! 

If you have a child starting Foundation, we still have limited places available. Please contact the office for more information.  As we have commenced our transition to school program, please ensure any new students are enrolled as soon as possible so they don’t miss out.  Our Transition sessions for students (and separate sessions for parents) are:

Class selection for 2026

Our teachers have a great knowledge of our students and how they are and how they learn at school.  They know which children learn best together – and which children don’t!  However, if there is information we are not privy to, and you would like to let us know, please fill out the form at:  

Student class Place requests 2026

By no later than today (no exceptions) and we will do our best!

Thank you!

REMINDER:  At school, students must wear hats when outside!

As we are now in Term 4, all students are required to wear hats outside at school. The UV rating is now high enough to cause skin damage every day.  Please ensure that your child brings their school, SunSmart hat to school every day. We also encourage other SunSmart measures, such as sunscreen and sunglasses. Thank you!

   Planning for 2026 – Are you leaving ARPS? 

We ask that you let us know if you are moving or have enrolled to another school in 2026. We require this information as soon as possible to establish classroom structures for the start of the new school year. If your child is currently in F-5 and will not be at ARPS in 2026, please notify the school office or email as soon as possible.