Principal Update

Good afternoon, and welcome to week 7. Another amazing week at APS with several events keeping staff, students, and families busy as we head towards the end of the term.  The week kicked off with Year 3 students heading off on their camp to Phillip Island. Today we had our annual Book Week Parade and Open Classrooms. It is one of the biggest events on the APS calendar and a real highlight of the year. Next Wednesday Year 4 are heading off to Camp Jungai.  While all students from Prep to Year 6 are busy preparing for our annual school concerts. There are so many events coming up in the last month of this term that I recommend keeping a close eye on the school calendar.

Quantum 3D Print-a-Car Challenge

Today Jack attended the first heats of the 2026 Quantum 3D Print a Car challenge. The two school teams who progressed to the heats following months of working at school as part of the STEM club were visibly nervous as the first race start approached. Would the car work? Would it make it to the finish line? Would it be fast enough?

It didn’t take long for the nerves to subside and the worries to be allayed as both the APS cars worked, travelled at great speeds finished with some of the top race times. While the actual race time trial is an important aspect of the challenge. The next phase of judging involves reviewing the teams portfolios and checking the cars technical specifications and applying any deductions. We have yet to hear if either team will progress to the finals in November, but we are extremely proud of the students efforts. A big thank you to the families who transported students to the event and to Brody and Jack who have developed an awesome STEM club this year with fantastic results for all involved. 

STOMP Dance

Year 2-6 students are working on their concert dances on Monday's and Tuesday's with Izzy from STOMP Dance. The effort, enthusiasm and engagement has been excellent, and all classes have gotten through the choreography for a whole dance. A spectacular effort. Students will spend the next four weeks completing their class dances, while the Year 6 students are working on the script development, acting, props and programs. There will be a whole school rehearsal on Monday 14 September at the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar Performing Arts Centre (PAC). There will be a Compass event to consent to this rehearsal. The performance will be also held at the PAC from 7:00pm on Monday 14 and Tuesday 15 September. Tickets for the performance are on sale now through TryBooking and will be on sale until Monday 7 September. Tickets will be $25 each for adults and $20 for concessions, or $40 and $30 for two-night packages. There will be a 2 ticket per family limit to ensure all students are able to secure tickets for the 440-capacity venue. A second release for additional tickets of any unsold seats will go on sale on Tuesday 8 September.

Grandparents Day & Book Week Celebrations

We had an amazing day with Grandparents Day and our Book Week celebrations today. The day started with a whole school assembly in the gymnasium and the Book Character Dress Up Parade. It was yet again a very large crowd we have ever had, with the audience 2-3 deep around the outside of the parade space. All the students, and staff, looked amazing in their different costumes. There was lots of celebration of literature throughout the day, including grandparents and families being invited into classrooms to join in with our literacy morning.  A big thank you to Lizzy for all her efforts in ensuring it was again one of the highlights of the APS school calendar.

Parent & carer Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting the Annual Parent / Carer Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation.

The Parent / Carer Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 17 August to Friday 18 September 2026.

All families are invited to participate in the survey via the Compass notification that was sent on Monday 17 August containing the login details. The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. 

Visitors to the School

Classrooms are teaching and learning spaces from 8:50am. Recently we have noted an increase in the number of parents and other adults in school buildings during teaching and learning time. To provide a safe and secure learning and teaching environment for students and staff the school has established processes to monitor and manage visitors to Alphington Primary School. 

All visitors to Alphington Primary School are required to report to the school office on arrival.

Visitors must:

 ∙ Record their name, signature, date and time of visit and purpose of visit in Compass Desk 

 ∙ Provide proof of identification to office staff upon request

 ∙ Produce evidence of their valid Working with Children Clearance where required

 ∙ Wear a visitor’s [lanyard/name tag] at all times

 ∙ Follow instruction from school staff and abide by all relevant school policies relating to appropriate conduct on school grounds including Child Safety Code of Conduct, Statement of Values and School Philosophy as well as Department policies such as the Sexual Harassment Policy and Workplace Bullying Policy

 ∙ Return to the office upon departure, sign out and return visitor’s [lanyard/name tag].

We understand that there may occasionally be a reason why a parent or carer may want to speak to or see their child at school, during school hours. If there is a particular pressing or unavoidable issue that cannot wait until the end of the school day, we ask that parents or carers call the school office to make the request to speak to or see their child during school hours. We also ask that parents avoid arranging to visit their children at school wherever possible, as this can cause inappropriate disruptions to the school day. 

All parents or carers who visit our school during school hours, other than for the purposes of school pick-ups and drop offs or for specific school events are required to sign in as a visitor at the school office.

We thank you for adhering to our school policies and procedures to ensure our staff and students can work in a safe environment.

Mogul Ski World Victorian Interschools Snowsports Championships

Interschools has been part of winter at Mt Buller since 1958, when Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College first competed in an Alpine Giant Slalom. Today, more than 230 schools take part each year, with close to 6,500 entries across the event.

Competition includes Alpine Giant Slalom, Snowboard Giant Slalom, Snowboard Cross, Ski Cross, Moguls, Cross Country Classical, Cross Country Freestyle Relay, Slopestyle Ski and Slopestyle Snowboard.

This year, for the first time in many years APS had three students representing us. A massive congratulation to those students for competing against some of the best alpine athletes in Victoria. We are so proud of you for your efforts. We hope you will inspire other students to consider competing in the future as we look to build upon your efforts and send an even larger team in 2027.

Thank you to the students’ families for supporting them and the school to make this happen.

   (Photos printed with permission) 

Have a great week everyone

Shane Wilkie

Principal