Things To
Know

SAVE THE DATES

WORKING BEE - SUNDAY 28th MAY

Calling all enthusiastic volunteers for our first Working Bee on Sunday 28th May (10-2 pm).

It’s a great opportunity for families and students to catch up socially, as well as contribute to the care of the school. There are always jobs to be done to help improve the school's grounds and facilities for the benefit of our students. They love returning to school to see all the cleaned-up spaces.

Jobs can include weeding, painting, general sweeping, gardening and special projects.

We will have a BBQ to thank our lovely volunteers and a special treat for our students.

So please volunteer to help at our next Working Bee, whether it’s just one hour or more, RPS needs your help. Every bit counts!

Please contact Colin Smith if you can help at Colin.Smith3@woodplc.com

or just turn up.

RAISING KIDS IN A DIGITAL WORLD PARENTS/CARERS WORKSHOP-8TH JUNE

Our registration link: bit.ly/ripponlea2023

SAVE THE DATES: PARENT, TEACHER & STUDENT CONFERENCES

The academic monitoring, progress and achievement of each student will be a major focus as we head towards our mid-term assessments and reporting cycles. Teachers will identify what knowledge and skills students as learners will require within each unit of study, across all curriculum areas.

Students will complete regular assessments that are built into daily tasks, which support teachers to identify a student’s point of need in learning and make adaptions/adjustments. Any account of a student’s learning and development needs to be rich, robust and comprehensive, which requires that multiple sources of data and evidence are collected and used.

There will be an opportunity for parents and carers to meet with their child's teacher to discuss learning goals, progress and achievement in scheduled meetings we refer to as 'Parent, Teacher and Student Conferences' - (Three-Way Conferences).

Families will receive individual student reports via the COMPASS communication portal. Reports will outline students' academic and social development against the Victoria Curriculum standards.

As advised earlier this year, all meetings of this nature will be held during the school day from 8:45 am and no later than 4:45 pm.

These will be held on:

Tuesday 20 June - Foundation & Year 5/6

Wednesday 21 June - Year 1/2

Thursday 22 June - Year 3/4

CLASSROOM/READING HELPERS PROGRAM

We are so grateful to have seen parent volunteers onsite throughout the last term. Our second-hand uniform sales continue each Friday as well as the much-loved treats of Snack Shack on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Parent/carer volunteers have been incredible in supporting the school and students by organising our Welcome Picnic, assisting at the House Swimming Carnival and most recently cooking up sliders for our special food day. We hope to continue to see more volunteers as we have House Cross Country and more special food days for our students coming up.

Now we reach out to our wonderful volunteers to support our classroom programs.

Depending on the level, volunteers assist by participating in a range of activities.

These might include:

reading to children
listening to children read
leading a discussion or book chat
facilitating a literacy game
maths revision and practice
computer tasks

The range of activities is endless! Teachers will explain what they would like you to do and after a few visits, you will understand most routines.

If you have time to help out in our classrooms or around the school in any way this year we would love to hear from you.

You can get involved in the following ways

Productive Garden
Working Bees
Ripper Families - Fundraising & Social Events
Classroom Representatives
Sporting Events
Excursions
Intensive Swimming Program

The partnership between school and home can never be underestimated and we encourage parents/carers, grandparents or other family members to become active members of the RPS community in any way they can.

We do have guidelines and expectations developed for Classroom Helpers which are important to be aware of. These will be discussed at all training sessions held with Mrs Rose next term.

STEP 1: All volunteers must have a WWC - Working with Children’s Check.

Your WWC must be kept at the office.

https://service.vic.gov.au/services/working-with-children

STEP 2: Register for training in the Classroom Helpers program F-2.

NB: Registration is only required for one session.

Term 2 Dates:

Monday 15th May @ 9:30 am
Friday
Monday 22nd May@ 2:00pm
Thursday 25th May@ 9:30 am

Please register in the following google form:

https://forms.gle/HYexbc3CMowisyMt7

TERM 2 AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS

We have the following programs on offer at RPS for term 2:

DAY	ACTIVITY
MON	Kelly Sports (Sport) Fizz Kids (Science)
TUES
WED	Immerse Drama
THURS	Soccer X UJEB

Please see more information about each program in the 'Community Classifieds' section. If you have any further questions please contact the office.

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE GOOD WORD ABOUT RIPPONLEA

As one of the smallest schools in the local area, surrounded by many private schools, families in the wider community are often unaware of what we offer.

The most common way new families seek information is through personal recommendations and 'word of mouth' across the community.

We are seeking members of our school community willing to write an updated school review online (google) or have their statement of experience featured on the school's website.

We have commenced our school tours and welcome queries regarding our enrolment processes. If any member of our community is willing to write a review, please contact the office and speak to Jac.

Please also note our Term 2 tour dates are available now (flyer below). Bookings can be made through our website here.

CURRICULUM DAYS 2023

Each year, schools receive four student-free days. These days are used for professional development, school planning and administration, curriculum development, and student assessment and reporting.

The first day of Term 1 each year is a student-free day in all government schools to allow for appropriate planning to take place for the arrival of students.

School councils have the flexibility to schedule the remaining three student-free days each year to meet local needs. Last week we sought an amendment to one date approved last year.

We are very mindful of our working parents/carers and like to secure curriculum days that align with as many public holidays available. We then hope families are able to plan for some leave and extend their long weekends.