From the Principal
Term Two
Welcome back to Term Two and to this fantastic weather! We hope everyone enjoyed some quality time with family and friends over the break.
We are looking forward to many exciting events this term including:
ANZAC Day assembly
STEM Incursion (Foundation to Year 6)
House Spirit Workshop 2 (Year 6 School Leaders)
Breakfast Club (Tuesday and Thursday)
Athletics Day (Year 3 – 6 students)
Foundation Open Mornings
Open Day
Sovereign Hill Camp for Year 5 students
Eastern Metropolitan Cross Country (Students that qualify)
Year 6 Interschool Sport
Cyber Safety Sessions for students and parents
- Soccer Gala Day – (Selected Year 6 students)
Industrial Action
The Australian Education Union (AEU) and the Australian Principal’s Federation (APF) continue to work with the government in relation to our upcoming Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.
Members of the AEU have been advised of the following current industrial action including the boycott of meetings & writing report comments, and upcoming stop work action.
This means that for the Mid Year Reports your child will only receive a progression point indicating their level of achievement and a progression point indicating their effort and behaviour. There will not be any written comments on reports.
There is also a half day stop work action planned for Wednesday, 10th June.
More information about these actions will be shared with the community once we are aware.
We very much appreciate the support of our school community as our AEU and APF members seek for better pay and conditions that will benefit all students and staff.
We do hope that an agreement is reached prior to these events happening, but we wanted to provide you with as much information as possible to help families prepare for the proposed half day stop work action planned for Wednesday, 10th June.
Open Day – Thursday, 14th May
We would like to announce that our planned Open Day/Night has been altered slightly to accommodate the current industrial action. Our Open Day will continue on Thursday, 14th May but it will occur during school hours.
Classrooms will be open between 9.00am – 10.30am and 2.00pm – 3.30pm.
Between the hours of 9.00am – 10.30am you are welcome to visit your child’s classroom and view an English/Literacy session. Our teachers had been planning fun activities for the students and families to do during the Open Night. These activities will now occur between 2.00pm – 3.30pm.
During the session between 2.00pm – 3.30pm if students have a parent or adult present with them, they will be able to visit other classrooms throughout the school. If a child does not have an adult present with them, they will stay in their classroom working on the learning tasks as devised by the class teachers. If children are with their parents, they must stay with them when visiting other classrooms and return to their own classroom to be dismissed by 3.30pm.
There will not be an after-hours Open Night.
We realise that this means that some parents may not be able to attend which is disappointing, but we wanted to give you as much warning as possible so we can have as many families attend if their time permits.
Curriculum Day – Thursday, 30th April
Thursday, 30th April is a Curriculum Day at Camelot Rise Primary School and students are not required to attend school on this day.
On this day our teaching staff will be undertaking professional learning based on the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0.
The VTLM 2.0 is informed by contemporary evidence about the way students learn and the most effective teaching practices and approaches to achieve strong learning outcomes for students, including priority cohorts. It has explicit teaching at its core.
The department developed the VTLM 2.0 in consultation with the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO). The model is also informed by insights from school leaders and practitioners, and effective teaching and learning practices already in place in many schools across Victoria.
The department is in the process of updating existing frameworks, tools and resources to align with the VTLM 2.0. In some instances, this will include retiring approaches and practices that do not align with the VTLM 2.0.
We look forward to a great day of professional learning that will be led by Ben Heys (Assistant Principal), Tennille Giannopoulos (Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader/Learning Specialist) and Ash Jacobs (Learning Specialist).
Camp Australia is providing a program for the day if families require this service.
Students will return to school on Friday, 1st May.
Miss Caroline Eaves and Miss Lauren Gabrielle have begun the Teaching Excellence Program!
Our school values the learning and development of our staff, and the positive impact this has on student outcomes and school improvement.
We are proud to share that Caroline and Lauren recently began the Teaching Excellence Program at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership.
This program enables skilled teachers to further advance their capabilities and skills in teaching.
Through the program, Miss Eaves and Miss Gabrielle will grow their knowledge of teaching practices by engaging with contemporary educational research and inquiring into two areas of their practice.
We look forward to Miss Eaves and Miss Gabrielle sharing their skills and knowledge from the program to continue to support student learning and wellbeing outcomes at our school.
Foundation enrolments for 2027
The Department of Education has a timeline for children starting Foundation (Prep) in 2027.
This timeline advises families when and how to enrol their child into Foundation (Prep) at a Victorian government school and seeks to make the enrolment process simpler, clearer, and fairer for families.
You can read about the guidelines here: Enrolling in Foundation (Prep) | vic.gov.au
You will be able to apply to enrol your child in Foundation (Prep) 2027 from Monday 20 April.
What you need to do:
• Interested families are encouraged to book a tour directly through the school website at https://www.camelotrise.vic.edu.au/ and select the 'Book a Tour' button on the front the page from 10th February.
•Download the Foundation (Prep) enrolment information https://www.vic.gov.au/enrolling-foundation-prep from Monday 20 April 2026.
• Submit an enrolment application for Foundation (Prep) to us by Friday 31 July 2026
• You will be notified of the outcome of your application between Monday 3 August and Friday 14 August 2026
• Accept the placement offer by contacting us by Friday 28 August 2026
• Take part in Enrolment information and transition sessions, commencing in Term Four.
Breakfast Club
Last Tuesday and Thursday we launched our Breakfast Club in the hall, and it was a wonderful success. Our Breakfast Club is held every Tuesday and Thursday (Not Thursday, 30th April as this is the Curriculum Day). Parents must bring their child/children into the hall and sign them in. The students can then have a variety of breakfast foods and drinks. We also have a few fun activities that they children can do too. All children must remain in the hall until 8.45am and parents must sign their child/children in. We are thrilled that we are able to offer such a great initiative like this one.
Thank you to Mrs Chrissie Sandford-Ricci for leading this initiative.
Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea
On Thursday, 7th May we are holding our annual Mother's Day 'High Tea' celebration for Mums or other significant role models. This High Tea will be in the school gym between 4:00pm - 5:30pm.
We look forward to an afternoon when the community come together and enjoy a treat from Bakers Delight, as well as some special time with their children.
A coffee van will be onsite for you to purchase refreshments.
You can place your High Tea food orders through Compass Canteen from Monday, 20th April. Orders will close on Sunday 3rd May at 11:30pm. Options include a variety of scones and buns.
As we need to order through Bakers Delight prior to delivery no late orders will be accepted.
School assembly
Our first assembly for Term Two will be on Friday, 1st May at 2.45pm in the school hall.
Hats:
Please be advised that as per our SunSmart Policy, students are not required to wear Hats from May to August. We still encourage students to wear hats during times when the Bureau of Meteorology forecast UV levels to reach 3 or higher. At these levels, sun protection (sunscreen, long sleeve clothing, shade, hats and sunglasses) is recommended for all skin types.
Matthew Coney and Ben Heys