Things To 

Know

BUILDINGS & GROUNDS UDATES - HIGHLIGHTS 

This year, we have made strong progress in improving our school environment to ensure it remains safe, functional and inclusive for our community.

Key achievements include:

• Upgraded student toilets in the Barrbunin and Main Building
• Secured funding for CCTV, with additional cameras installed across the school
• Successful fencing grant, improving boundary safety (with minor finishing works still planned)
• Completion of tree audits and playground audits to support ongoing safety and maintenance
• Improvements to classroom walls, learning decks and accessibility projects
• Installation of a new bike shed to support active travel
• Completion of the Junior Playground design, providing clear costings for future planning
• Creation of internally designed therapy rooms, enabling allied health providers to support students on site
• Development of a new indoor structured play space, supporting engagement, regulation and inclusive play

These improvements reflect careful planning and a strong commitment to student wellbeing, safety and inclusion.

Looking Ahead – What’s Next

As we plan ahead, our next priorities include:

• Upgrading goal posts on the mini pitch and oval, including new safety padding
• Replacing the chipped basketball backboard to ensure safe play
• Replacing carpets across the school to refresh learning spaces
• Establishing a sensory room, providing a calm, supportive space for students who benefit from regulated environments

We remain committed to continuing these improvements as funding opportunities arise, always with safety, inclusion and learning at the forefront of our decisions

WHY VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS MATTER AT RIPPONLEA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Small School. Grand Impact.

At Ripponlea Primary School, we often say: we may be small, but we do things on a grand scale. This belief underpins everything we do for our students.

While government funding provides a basic foundation, it is limited in its capacity to fully support the high‑quality education, wellbeing programs and learning environments our community expects and values. Voluntary financial contributions from families make a profound difference. Nothing feels too difficult or out of reach when our families stand alongside us and truly, every dollar counts.

At a Glance: Where Your Contributions Go

Your voluntary contributions directly support:

• High‑quality classroom resources that enhance teaching and learning
• Extra‑curricular programs that extend student interests and talents
• Targeted intervention programs to support learning growth
• Wellbeing and inclusion supports for all students
• Clean, safe and well‑maintained buildings and grounds

How Maintenance Fund Contributions Are Used

The government provides schools with only a small allocation for maintenance and building repairs. For a heritage school site that is used every day, this funding is simply not sufficient.

Families who contribute to the Maintenance Fund can see their generosity reflected across the school in very practical ways.

🌿 Weekly Grounds Care and Safety Checks

Maintenance funding supports weekly weekend grounds checks and cleaning, undertaken by one of our valued Education Support staff members, Mark.

Each weekend, Mark:

• checks every area of the school grounds
• redistributes softfall in playground spaces
• sweeps paths and play areas
• collects student belongings left across the school
• removes unsafe or inappropriate items

Unfortunately, when older teens or members of the wider community access the school after hours, items such as broken glass, alcohol bottles and rubbish are sometimes left behind. This regular work ensures the school is safe, clean and ready for learning every Monday morning.

🌳 Grounds, Trees and Compliance

Maintenance contributions also fund:

• termly mowing and general grounds upkeep
• tree maintenance, particularly where branches overhang laneways and nature strips

This work is essential for safety, presentation and compliance, and helps prevent urgent or costly repairs later.

⚽ Clean and Safe Play Spaces

Our ovals are sanitised and cleaned each term, supporting the health and wellbeing of students who love running, playing soccer, kicking footy and being active every day.

Reducing Pressure on Working Bees

Ongoing maintenance funding means that community working bees no longer need to focus on major repairs each term. Instead, they can be used to:

• prepare the school for special events
• support beautification projects
• strengthen community connection

This creates a more sustainable and positive way for families to contribute their time and energy.

Library Fund: Investing in a Love of Reading

Families who choose to make a tax‑deductible donation to the Library Fund are directly investing in a love of reading across Ripponlea Primary School. These contributions support not only the purchase of new books for our school library including award‑winning and high‑interest titles  but also the continued development of classroom libraries.

Thanks to your generosity this year, Mr Howel was able to purchase sets of novels for all Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 students. These novels are intentionally purchased in class sets to support rich novel studies.

Through these studies, students:

• read shared texts together, building stamina and confidence
• engage in deep discussions about characters, themes and author intent
• develop vocabulary, comprehension and inferencing skills
• respond to texts through writing, reflection and creative tasks

Having different novels allocated to different year levels ensures students are exposed to a broad range of texts, while avoiding repeated reading of the same novels year after year.

Looking ahead, if further contributions are received, we plan to expand our investment by purchasing take‑home reading materials for all Foundation to Year 4 classes. As part of our renewed routines at Ripponlea Primary School, home reading and reading diaries will play an important role in strengthening the partnership between home and school and supporting reading growth beyond the classroom.

Every Library Fund contribution helps us nurture confident, capable and enthusiastic readers and ensures books remain at the heart of learning at RPS.

Curriculum Contributions: Learning at Students’ Fingertips

Curriculum Contributions play a vital role in ensuring both classroom and specialist teachers have access to the resources they need to deliver engaging, hands‑on and high‑quality learning experiences.

Thanks to the generosity of families, our students have everything at their fingertips — from learning manipulatives and art materials to high‑quality paper, craft supplies and specialist equipment that bring learning to life.

These contributions have had a direct impact across learning areas:

• Ms Connelly and Sayako Sensei have been able to design and deliver rich, creative projects supported by quality materials
• Mr Rambaran has ensured students have access to all required equipment for his specialist programs
• Mr Martin is excited to further expand our range of musical instruments in 2026, supporting creativity, collaboration and performance

This growth will be made possible through a combination of parent curriculum contributions and funds raised through the Ripoffs win, demonstrating once again the power of our community working together.

Curriculum Contributions ensure learning is not limited by resources, but instead enriched by opportunity supporting creativity, engagement and depth across all areas of the curriculum.

END OF YEAR ASSEMBLY - ARCH OF CELEBRATION FAREWELL YEAR 6 GRADUATES

We would like to remind all families that Friday 19 December is the final day of the school year.

Please note that there will be no lunch play on this day, as our end-of-year assembly will commence at 12:45pm and conclude at 1:30pm, followed by final dismissal.

We warmly invite all families who are able to join us for the assembly to arrive in time to farewell our Year 6 students. 

In true Ripper tradition, we will form our longest arch of celebration, using our hands to create a guard of honour as we wish our graduating students every success and happiness in the years ahead.

We look forward to sharing this special moment with our community.

INVESTING IN TEACHER CAPACITY  CURRICULUM DAYS 2026

As part of our ongoing commitment to building teacher capacity, Ripponlea Primary School continues to invest heavily in high-quality professional learning. Each year, we partner with leading experts who guide, coach and mentor our staff so they can deliver the very best learning and wellbeing outcomes for our students.

Next year is no exception. In 2026, we are proud to continue our work with two highly regarded educational specialists:

• Dr Nathaniel Swain – a respected academic, teacher educator and founder of the Think Forward Educators network. Nathaniel is nationally recognised for his expertise in evidence-informed literacy instruction, the Science of Learning, and developing consistent whole-school approaches to high-impact teaching. His work supports our continued focus on explicit instruction, knowledge-rich learning, and strengthening teacher practice across all year levels.

   

• Bill Hansberry – an internationally recognised specialist in behaviour support, restorative practice, and trauma-aware education. Bill’s work in schools across Australia and overseas empowers teachers with practical tools and a deeper understanding of emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and building strong relational trust with students. His continued coaching will further strengthen our multi-tiered wellbeing and behaviour support systems.

   

  These curriculum days provide invaluable time for staff to deepen their expertise, collaborate, and embed consistent, high-impact practices across the school. While we would love to align additional curriculum days with public holidays for convenience, we are limited by their availability.

   

  Below are the confirmed 2026 Curriculum Days where students do not attend:

   

  CURRICULUM DAYS 2026

   

  Term 1 – 28 January to 2 April

  Tuesday 27 January – Curriculum Day - Statewide Teachers Return

  Friday 20 March – Curriculum Day

   

  Term 2 – 20 April to 26 June

  Friday 5 June – Curriculum Day

   

  Term 3 – 13 July to 18 September

  Friday 7 August – Curriculum Day

   

  Term 4 – 5 October to 18 December

  Monday 2 November – Curriculum Day

   

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD UNDER 16 WITH NEW SOCIAL MEDIA AGE RESTRICTIONS 

From 10 December 2025, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 will require social media platforms to:

· prevent children and young people under 16 from having a social media account

· deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.

Delaying access to social media protects the health and wellbeing of young people and gives them extra time to build real-world connections and digital literacy skills.

The responsibility will be on the social media platforms, not parents, carers, children or schools, to implement these new restrictions.

Most popular social media platforms will be age-restricted. These include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and YouTube.

Messaging services and online games, as well as apps and platforms that support health and education, can still be used.

How to help under-16s prepare for the change:

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online.

To help get under-16s ready for the social media minimum age requirements, you can go to the eSafety website to learn more about the social media age restrictions and find tips on how to talk about social media age restrictions with young people.

What the change means for our school

 At our school, all age-restricted social media platforms are blocked for student use on the school network.

To keep up to date with the new social media age restrictions, visit the eSafety website and subscribe to their newsletter.

BEAVER'S TAIL - LUNCH DELIVERY - SERVICE CLOSING THIS WEDNESDAY THE 17TH

Please be advised that lunch deliveries will not be available for the remaining of the year.

Lunch orders will resume next year from Monday the 2nd of February. There will not be any lunch orders availability during the first week back.

Thank you!

EDUTHREADS - FREE DELIVERY NOTICE

Please note that any Eduthreads Uniform order put by the 20th of January will have a free delivery! Here is how it works: 

• Orders can be placed by families at any time before midnight on the above day. The free delivery option will be available for them to select at check-out.
• Each order will be pre-packed and labelled - this will include name and order reference to assist with distribution. Families will receive a notification when their order is completed and a reminder of the date for collection and school/kinder.
• Includes FREE exchanges where the replacement will be sent in the next free delivery. Alternatively, the new items can be sent immediately to a nominated address using paid delivery.

Please ensure we have up to date contact information and addresses - we want to ensure your packages get to you. You can check and update addresses by emailing us or using the below form:

Email - contact@eduthreads.com.au 

Update details HERE

ONPSYCH MEDICARE-FUNDED PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE 

Christmas and New Year are a time of joy, hope, and believing in a better future. But above all, they are a time for kindness, compassion, and positive change. 

This is especially important when it comes to the mental health of Australian schoolchildren. Childhood is a critical period in which a sense of safety, confidence, and emotional resilience is formed.

For many families, accessing mental health support for children remains a challenge. Private psychology sessions in Australia often cost around $250 per appointment, putting them out of reach for many families.

Beyond the financial burden, parents also face practical barriers such as taking time off work and covering travel costs, which can delay or prevent children from receiving timely mental health care.

OnPsych provides fully Medicare-funded psychological care (at no cost for families or schools), available both at school and via telehealth

1. School identifies students who would benefit from mental health support
2. Parents book a GP consultation to obtain a Mental Health Care Plan 
3. Parents email Mental Health Care Plan to contact@onpsych.com.au

4. Student is matched with a Registered Psychologist and sessions begin 

    

To learn more about what we do, please contact us via https://onpsych.com.au/contact/