Principal's Report

Education Support Staff Day Friday May 16th 

TOMORROW is National Education Support Day.  I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the wonderful ES staff that we have at Albany Rise Primary School.  From the office team, Lyndelle Everitt and Collette Wilkinson, with support from Narelle Seremetis who collectively ensure the school continues to run efficiently, to the wonderful support staff that we have in the classrooms, your support and care is truly appreciated. 

Our ES team are truly the lifeblood of our school. Every day, they play a vital role in supporting students in their learning and wellbeing, working tirelessly alongside teachers to ensure that every child feels safe, supported, and able to thrive.

Beyond the classroom, our ES staff are the quiet achievers who keep the heart of our school beating. From managing the complexities of school administration, finance, and operations, to being the friendly faces that greet families at the office, their care and dedication underpin everything we do.

Their hard work, attention to detail, and genuine passion for our school community often goes unseen, but it never goes unnoticed. Simply put — our school could not run without them.

Tomorrow, we look forward to dedicating our morning tea in honour of our ES staff as a small token of our deep appreciation for their extraordinary efforts.

On behalf of our entire school community, thank you for everything you do. I encourage our school community to celebrate and recognise the wonderful work of this team if you are visiting the school tomorrow.

Colour Fun Run prizes

Students were excited to receive their Colour Fun run fundraising prizes during this week. Prizes were named and distributed to classrooms by our wonderful Parents Association. We were very please with the overwhelming support from families, including our highest fundraising student- Nuthara Thilakarathna. A special award and certificate will be presented for Nuthara at Assembly this Friday. Funds from the colour fun run will contribute to our efforts to update PA equipment in areas across the school. This year we raised $3152 – thank you to everyone who supported our school!

Walk Safely to School Day - TOMORROW

This Friday, our whole school will participate in Walk Safely to School Day. Even if you drive/catch transport, you can park a couple of blocks from school and walk the rest of the way! The annual "Golden Boot" trophy is up for grabs!! The class with the highest percentage of students who walk to school will win! Let's accept the challenge together!!

Staff Car park- visitors, volunteers, before and after school care (Camp Australia)

Concerns have been raised by parents and community members regarding the actions of parents/carers who are driving into (or parking in) our staff car parking areas at the front (Albany Drive) and rear (Zita Street) of the school. 

The following rules apply to these car parking spaces:

NO parents/carers are to enter or park in the Zita Street car park, at any time. Students, parents, young siblings and staff entering and leaving at the start and end of the day are at risk of being hit with traffic crossing the footpath when parents/carers use this car park. 

Parents/Carers of students with children in before and after school care (Camp Australia) HAVE PERMISSION to enter the carpark, travelling at walking pace before 8.30am on school days, and after 4pm. This is solely for the purpose of dropping off or picking up students to before or afterschool care.

Parents/carers MAY NOT enter the Albany Drive car park or park there at any other time (unless given permission from Administration- eg. Crossing Supervisor early in the morning and late in the afternoon).

Multiple CCTV cameras operate in this area. Parents using the staff car park in a manner that is deemed unsafe (eg after 8.30am or driving dangerously/above walking pace) will be contacted by the school and their rights to use this area will be removed. If necessary, police will be informed.

Thank you to all the parents/carers who continue to show due care and consideration for the many young pedestrians around our school each day.

Bicycles, Scooters and Helmets at school

At ARPS, we LOVE the enjoyment and healthy exercise  for students riding or scooting to school each day. Students can place their bikes or scooters in the Bike Shed (off Zita Street) and it will be locked up safely until the end of the school day. From 3.30-3.45pm, students are not permitted to ride their bikes in the grounds, due to the many parents and young siblings (including toddlers) who are on the grounds at that time. 

From 3.45pm, any student who is still at school, with adult supervision, can ride their bike until the gates are locked, provided they are wearing a helmet.

Students must not be riding on the grounds, or to and from school, without a helmet. 

In Victoria, it is mandatory for all bicycle riders and passengers to wear an approved Australian Standards bicycle helmet. This includes riders and passengers on bicycles, electric scooters, and human-powered scooters. The helmet must be securely fitted and fastened. 

You can read more about Victorian Transport rules for helmet wearing here: https://transport.vic.gov.au/road-rules-and-safety/bicycles/bicycle-helmets

Musical Production 'The Real Story of Alice in Wonderland' - Poster Competition and Badge Competition

Students in all year levels are encouraged to take part in our poster and badge competition as part of our musical promotion for 2025.  The winning poster will be used for promotional purposes, including on the WIN bard at the front of the school prior to the event, and on the cover of the Musical programs on the performance nights. Winning badge designs will be used for creating badges for sale prior to the event. Poster designs are due to be submitted by Monday 19th May.

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.

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.

Auditions occurred this week for students in Year 5 and 6 who are seeking 'main roles' in the cast for our Musical Production. We hope to confirm all the main cast roles by the end of this week! Then rehearsals will begin in earnest!

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 is being conducted at ARPS 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 last 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.

Working Bee: 

Our School Council – Facilities Sub-Committee have set a Term 2 working bee for Sunday 22nd June between 9am – 12pm. We will be completing some indoor and outdoor tasks, including updating our corridor displays with student work and photographs. We would love some talented ‘indoor decorators’ with a flair for displays, to come and assist on this working bee. Other tasks include clearing our storage areas, sorting equipment, gutters and drain cleaning, and general gardening.

Reporting to Parents/Carers & Victorian Curriculum 2.0

Our teachers are currently busily undertaking assessments and conferencing with students to ensure our mid-year reports to parents/carers are as accurate as possible. With the introduction of the revised Victorian Curriculum in 2025, many Learning Areas (including English and Maths) have raised expectations for student performance. Additionally, there is only one ‘overall’ progression point for Mathematics when reporting using the new Curriculum (so parents will not see a separate score for ‘Measurement and Geometry, or Probability and statistics, as these are all combined into one score.

When reading the reports, parents/carers may notice that, for some students it may appear they have not progressed in a certain area, when in fact their child has progressed relative to the new raised expectations in the revised curriculum. This will be explained further in the introductory page in the reports that are shared with parents in June (on Compass).

Parents/Carers are strongly encouraged to book a parent/ teacher meeting in June (reminder to book on Compass to be shared in upcoming newsletter, when the portal opens). This will assist in clarifying any changes in student performance relative to the revised Victorian Curriculum 2.0.

The revised Victorian Curriculum 2.0 can be found here: https://f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au/ 

Pre- Review Self Evaluation (PRSE)

This year, Albany Rise Primary School is undertaking a whole school review. Schools undertake a school review every 4 years to inform the directions of the school’s 4-year School Strategic Plan (SSP).

There are 2 components of school review:

1. the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) where schools review their data and other evidence to form a collective view of current practice and areas for improvement. Schools complete the PRSE on the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT) with the support of their senior education improvement leader (SEIL)

2. a review facilitated by an independent school reviewer with a panel comprising the principal, school council president, SEIL, and challenge partners (from other schools). The panel considers the PRSE and undertakes additional fieldwork activities such as classroom observations, focus groups and interviews. The review concludes with a report proposing draft goals, targets and key improvement strategies for the school’s next SSP.

The school reviewer also completes an assessment of the school’s compliance with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard. Compliance with the other Minimum Standards for registered schools is assessed separately through the Minimum Standards Compliance Assessment conducted by the department’s Operational Policy, School Engagement and Compliance Division (OPSEC).

Parents/carers have a very important role in the Pre-Review Self Evaluation (PRSE), during the PRSE, we ask parents about their experiences, opinions, ideas and possible opportunities they would like to be considered when developing a new strategic plan. Over coming weeks, I will be asking parents to provide input through various platforms, including a simple online survey, and two parent forums.

The first forum will occur during our Education Week open night, from 4.30pm-5pm in the Community Hub- next to the library. In the forum, parents/carers can ask questions, put forward ideas and express opinions about what has worked well in the last 4 years, and what could be even better (and how).

I urge all parents/carers who are coming to the Education Week Open night, to visit the hub and share some ideas or complete the online survey. Printed copies of the survey will also be available at the event.

Education week 2025 @ ARPS

Next Wednesday 21st May, during the open night there will be a scavenger hunt. Students will need to explore every classroom, complete a task or answer a question in each room, fill out their ARPS Passport and then put the completed booklet into the tub in the library and go into the draw to win a prize.

We strongly encourage families to come to the school during the Open night on Wednesday 21st May OR the Open Morning on Thursday 22nd 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. We will also be running our annual Spelling Bee!

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

And of course, our Annual BOOK FAIR is on!

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

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

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