Principal Update

Welcome back to term 4! 

We have a busy term planned and as the weather improves we all have a ‘spring in our step’. “No Hat No Play” is in place for the remainder of the year so please support us and make sure your child has a broad brimmed or legionnaires hat for each day. Students in the yard without suitable head covering will be directed to stay in the shaded areas. We also have some sunscreen available for student use but recommend that parents provide their child with suitable sunscreen, applied before school and then the students are encouraged to reapply before lunchtime. 

Our 2026 Prep Transition Program starts next week with 60 excited students transitioning from kindergarten over four sessions in the next month. They will experience the classroom, specialist areas, meet the Year 5 students who will be their ‘buddies’ and begin to form friendships with the other preps. It is a signal to us that the end of year will fast approach and so we are all employing strategies to have some ‘fun’ with the students. It is a good reminder to pace ourselves and take time to appreciate the present moment. 

We have our annual Multi-Cultural Day on 28 October. Students are encouraged to wear clothes or colors representing their heritage if they want to. It is a celebration of all cultures that make APS the rich, vibrant and inclusive school that it is. Mengyue and the Cultural Leaders have been planning activities for each of the classes to participate in.

As Shane has spoken about in previous newsletters the school is well underway with the implementation of the new Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM) 2.0. We have a team of staff attending workshops and they will be presenting to staff in the next few weeks and sharing their learning with us. We will map out the plan for implementation to ensure that we have full implementation by 2028. VTLM 2.0 has two parts - Elements of Learning and Elements of Teaching. The Elements of Learning delve deeply into how we learn, what happens in the brain and the conditions needed for learning. Broken into four elements, this is providing teachers with the research and understanding of what we can do to provide the best learning opportunities for every student. The Elements of Teaching also provide four elements and support teachers to understand the most effective conditions and strategies for teaching. You can find out more information from Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) if you are interested.

As we are forward planning is is timely to ask that you let us know if your child will not be attending APS next year. If you are moving schools please send an email to your teacher and the office to inform. This greatly helps with our staffing and class decisions for 2026.

Have a lovely week

Kind Regards

Melissa Mackenzie

Principal