Assistant Principal Update

NAPLAN Online

We have had a very successful 2025 NAPLAN. 

We completed the Conventions of Language and Numeracy assessments this week and have now finished all assessments, including those students who needed to complete some catch-up sessions. 

All the Year 3 and Year 5 teachers commented on how students approached each of the tests with minimal concerns. It was really pleasing to see students just getting in and doing their best. This is certainly the best way to approach these types of tests. 

It appears the regular use of devices for assessments (PAT Online, Essential Assessment) as part of our assessment schedule supports students in being prepared for the NAPLAN Online format. While the conversations that we have regarding NAPLAN as a point in time test, and how we approach them with the best mental preparation, certainly appears to have set students up for a successful NAPLAN period. 

Results for NAPLAN will be received later in the year. Preliminary results come to schools first with a top-level view of overall performance. Individual results come later at which point the school receives individual student reports which are provided to parents. This is usually early Term 3. 

Basketball Court Resurface

Works are continuing with the resurfacing of the outdoor basketball court. The grinding and repatching works have been completed, with the surface now repaired and levelled to a position whereby the undercoating can commence. The painting of the surface commenced today, and we expect the second, third and final coats to continue for the remainder of the week. We anticipate that the court resurfacing will be completed and ready for use by early next week. We will then upgrade the basketball backboards, rings and nets. However we may wait until Term 2 to finalise this so that students get first use, rather than be open to the public during the holiday period. 

Division Swimming

Last Thursday I was fortunate to attend the Division Swimming Trials with 14 students from APS. It was a cooler day than the past few days and the conditions were good for swimming. The efforts of all swimmers were amazing. 

Every student who competed experienced great success. We had several students who finished in the top 3 for the Banyule Division, getting a ribbon for their efforts. 

Those students who finished in the top 2 of their events will now progress to the Regional Trials to be held at The Watermarc in Greensborough on Thursday 20 March. 

Congratulation to everyone! 

Ride2School Day and Harmony Day - Friday 21 March

Riding, walking or scooting to school is a great way to start your day. 

National Ride2School Day is Australia’s biggest celebration of active travel. It is a day full of fun and colour where students, teachers and parents discover the joy of riding and kick-start healthy habits for the future. APS is a strong cycling community with a significant number of students and staff regularly riding to school. We look forward to seeing the bike racks overflowing. Please remember to ride safely and follow road rules. 

This day also coincides with Harmony Week where we can wear something orange to celebrate cultural diversity.

Mathematics @ APS 

Alphington Primary School is committed to developing a community of curious and skilled mathematicians. Our aim is to provide a rich, challenging and differentiated teaching and learning program that facilitates strong mathematical content knowledge across the Six Victorian Curriculum strands. 

• Number 

• Algebra 

• Measurement 

• Space 

• Statistics 

• Probability 

The curriculum also prioritise the development of the four Mathematics capabilities;

understanding, fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving. 

In 2025 Alphington Primary School has completed the transition to the Victorian Mathematics Curriculum Version 2.0. The new curriculum reimages the current curriculum with changes to the strands of mathematics, expansion of the elaborations provided in the curriculum, as well as changes to the scope and sequence of several mathematical skills. 

The Mathematics Curriculum aims to ensure that students: 

• develop useful mathematical and numeracy skills for everyday life, work and as active and critical citizens in a technological world, 

• see connections and apply mathematical concepts, skills and processes to pose and solve problems in mathematics and in other disciplines and contexts, 

• acquire specialist knowledge and skills in mathematics that provide for further study in the discipline, 

• appreciate mathematics as a discipline – its history, ideas, problems and applications, aesthetics and philosophy. 

Each Maths lesson provides the opportunity for students to learn, develop and enhance mathematical knowledge and capabilities through practise, explicit teaching, exploration and analysis. Each stage is integral in the facilitation of an effective and engaging lesson. 

The Maths Lesson Sequence 

1. Number Fluency – an opportunity for students to become proficient in knowledge and understanding. This could be a game to build timetables, a number talk to explore place value, or rapid recall of facts. 

2. Launch – teachers introduce and model new mathematical learning. This may include shared learning experiences, such as solving a problem or working through a sequence of steps to identify patterns and generalisations. 

3. Explore – students working independently, cooperatively or collaboratively to apply their new learning in a range of situations. During this phase teachers will differentiate the learning tasks with enablers and extenders to support each individual learners’ needs. 

4. Summarise (Plenary) – Students and the teacher come together to synthesise the learning from the lesson and pose new questions or problems. 

Playground Safety

We have seen an increase in the number of more serious first aid injuries recently due to students playing unsafely around the yard at recess and lunch. The three main problems are: 

1. Skipping/jumping across the monkey bars leading to slips and falls with heavy landings causing injury. 

2. Playing ‘Groundies’ on the playground with eyes closed causing significant trips, slips, falls and head knocks 

3. Using sticks, large pieces of wood or discarded materials in game play to build bases. 

We have spoken to students about playing safely, however it would be much appreciated if these messages could be reinforced at home by families. 

Have a great week everyone! 

Shane Wilkie 

Assistant Principal