Principal Update

Welcome to week 3 of Term 2. It has been an extremely busy start to the term. Last week’s fun run was a great success. A big thank you to Natalie and the team of wonderful volunteers who supported students to participate. Details about District Cross Country are further in the newsletter. Jessie and I hosted the 2026 Ski Camp information evening with many attendees. We have already had a number of incursions and excursions to support our various STEAM programs for this term.

Moderation of Student Learning

Each semester we dedicate a series of meetings to allow staff to meet in teams across year levels to moderate student learning in reading, writing and mathematics. 

The purpose of moderation at APS is to:

• Support teachers to make accurate assessments of a student's achievement against the English and Mathematics Victorian Curriculum subjects.
• Build the capacity of all staff to deepen their understanding of the Victorian Curriculum and how evidence of achievement is identified, referenced, and assessed.

In addition to supporting teachers in making judgements about students learning against the achievement standards of the Victorian Curriculum. Moderation is an important part in the planning, teaching and assessment of students learning, supporting our ability to continually support student’s achievement and improvement. 

Moderation also serves to help identify the next steps for learning, for individuals, groups, and the whole class. 

Next week teachers will meet in teams to moderate students’ writing. Teachers assess students writing against the Victorian Curriculum, allocating it a progression point based upon the evidence within the student’s writing which reflects the content of the curriculum. Teachers in adjacent year levels then review the writing piece, analysing it and cross referencing the curriculum to confirm and agree upon the individual progression point for the selected pieces of writing. To come to a final progression point for writing for the semester, teachers triangulate multiple pieces of writing data and evidence. 

Semester 1 Reporting

I shared in my first newsletter for Term 2 that due to the AEU industrial bans currently in place, APS will make changes to the way we report student achievement this semester. The AEU industrial action work ban is being undertaken by all our class teachers. It states: 

• A ban on all aspects of work related to the provision of written comments in student reports to parents or carers.

   

All teachers will still undertake the process of assessment and reporting against the achievement standards. However, students will receive a 1–2-page report thats shows their current progression point against the levels of the Victorian Curriculum, with no written descriptions provided. If the student was assessed in this subject area in the previous reporting period, a growth measure will also be shown. See example below.

Victorian Teaching and Learning Model version 2.0 (VTLM 2.0)

As a school, the implementation of VTLM 2.0 underlines much of our Annual Implementation Plan for 2026 and 2027. We spent much of 2025 unpacking the VTLM 2.0 with a focus on learning about the research behind the model. In 2026, we have developed a new instructional model, updated our lesson structure, modified our literacy and numeracy planners, and are currently working on enhancing our literacy and numeracy pedagogical practices to reflect the current research base. 

The VTLM 2.0 includes 2 components:

1. Elements of learning – the process of human learning, based on cognitive science, neuroscience and education psychology.
2. Elements of teaching – representing the evidence-based teaching practices that most effectively support learning: planning, enabling learning, explicit teaching and supported application.

A key piece of research which underpins the elements of learning, and then the subsequent elements of teaching is Daniel Willingham’s Simple Model of Mind. His research posits that learning is the residue of thought, occurring only when information moves from limited working memory to long-term memory. It emphasizes that students learn what they think about most, requiring teachers to manage cognitive load, activate prior knowledge, and focus on meaningful engagement rather than just activity.

Daniel Willingham’s simple model of the mind explains that learning begins with what students pay attention to. Information from the environment enters the brain through attention, is processed in working memory (where thinking happens), and, with practice, is stored in long-term memory. The more knowledge students build in long-term memory, the easier it is for them to think, understand and learn new things. 

The Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 aligns with this by emphasising clear instruction, active engagement and practice, so students focus their attention on the right content and have multiple opportunities to strengthen their understanding. In simple terms, teachers design lessons that help students notice, think about and remember important learning, setting them up for success over time.

District Cross Country 

The Ivanhoe District Cross Country will be held on Friday May at Chelsworth Park. The top 10 fastest times in the boys and girls 9/10, 11 and 12 age groups will be selected and will receive their permission forms via Compass.

Through discussion with Natalie and the class teachers, and weather dependent we have planned to a training session during lunch on Thursday. The session will be approximately 15-20 minutes in length – with activities focussing on race strategy and simulating the length and intensity of the 2km and 3km distances and students’ times.

Bike Storage

It is fantastic to see so many students riding to school. The benefits of riding are multifaceted. The bike storage on Adams Street is extremely popular and is filling up to capacity most days. We have tided the bike storage area at the Northern part of the school on Yarralea street. This section can accommodate over 20 additional bikes. 

Now that we are locking the Adams Street gates, we have had less concerns about bikes being tampered with during the day or at risk of theft. While there is always some risk when leaving your bike unattended, it is the school policy that both bike storage areas are out of bounds, and we encourage students to always lock their bikes. 

STEAM Fair

Our annual Science & Technology Expo will be held on Wednesday 3 June. Students in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 will be working on projects in class as part of their Term 2 Integrated Inquiry Unit. Students in Year 3-6 will also be working on STEAM Fair projects in class, however some students in these year levels may have additional tasks to complete as home learning. More information about the STEAM Fair will be shared in the coming weeks.

Have a great week everyone!

Shane Wilkie

Principal