Principal's Report

Principal Report 

Principal Report

Chickens and Teacher communication were two of the topics discussed at our School Council meeting last night. Recently, several families and students have shared their wishes to reinstate our ‘Hilton Hen House’ with the return of some chickens at the school as our special pets. There are a few ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ with returning chickens to our yard, the most challenging of which is finding families willing to take the responsibility of caring for our chickens on weekends and holiday breaks. I am eager for some feedback from any families regarding their support of this potential plan. ‘Free’ eggs may be on offer for families able to help get the ‘Hen House’ back in operation. Contact the school by phone, email or in person if you are interested in being part of this ‘project’

Teacher communication discussions at School Council arose from a review of our preliminary results from our Parent Opinion Survey results. Whilst the survey is still open to parents (check Compass for the original invite- now extended until the end of term), the data available from the 42 responses (a great results!) thus far, has been very positive, particularly in comparison to last year:

What was noticeable (apart from the many areas of improvement- something to celebrate!), was that our focus area for improved teacher communication has, in fact declined. The key statement that showed less positive response was this:

This statement was also discussed at our teacher staff meeting on Wednesday afternoon. There was a lot of conjecture between teachers at school, and parents at School Council about why this may have declined. Questions included: Are parents able to access reports? Do parents know that they can make a parent/teacher meeting anytime? Is the format of the reports too ‘busy’? Do we need to have more frequent interim reports, or send personal learning goals home?

We are eager to understand the reasons why parents/carers are less positive about this statement, compared to all other domains in the Department of Education Parent Opinion Survey.

I encourage parents/carers to follow the link below for an ARPS two-question survey in relation to the statement above, as a further step in our school's process to understanding more deeply the communication needs of our school community. Link: https://forms.gle/4wbQF98BLyTaHKRSA

YOUR input will really help our planning for improved teacher communication practices in future.

Transition fun

Our Year 5 and 6 students enjoyed a fabulous Matinee performance featuring ‘SpongeBob’ at Wellington Secondary College yesterday. Students were excited to see ARPS graduates performing, singing and acting as part of the show. From all accounts it was an amazing performance and we are thrilled that our students had the opportunity to attend at no cost, and for such a fantastic learning and community building opportunity.

Life Education 'Healthy Harold' program 

Our Life education program for all year levels commenced this week for scheduled year levels. Some classes will take part in these sessions tomorrow, or on Thursday and Friday next week. 

The following descriptions are the breakdown of the sessions that will be conducted at the school:

Foundation and Foundation/Year 1 - HAROLD'S FRIENDSHIP After building a model spaceship at school, Harold and his friends, Boots and Red venture into an imaginary world in outer space. They explore:

• friendships, caring for others, feelings and emotions.
• safe places and people to turn to for help

 Year 1/2 – SAFETY RULES This module educates children about caring for others, seeking help and protecting themselves in unsafe environments. Learning outcomes include:

• Identifying the characteristics of positive relationships and healthy ways in which people show concern and care;
• Strategies to seek help in a variety of situations;
• Identifying safe and unsafe behaviours, situations and environments;

 Years 3 and 4 - BCYBERWISE This module focuses on cybersafety, cyber ethics and building positive relationships with friends online and offline. The students explore a range of issues such as:

• password security
• risks of sharing personal information
• how to communicate respectfully both online and offline and
• strategies to handle bullying including cyberbullying.

Years 5 and 6 – TAKE A BREATH“Take a Breath” explores the issues around vaping and smoking, through the lens of real Australian students.  The young people in the module investigate the issue by:

• Analysing and drawing comparisons between the history of smoking and the growth of vaping in recent years;
• Identifying that nicotine is an addictive drug that can impact health and wellbeing; and
• Discussing the social influences surrounding the choice to vape or not to vape.

Sunsmart

A reminder that as the UV levels increase at this time of year, we need to be sunsmart! The Cancer Council recommend a combination of sun protection measures: 

1. Slip on some sun-protective clothing that covers as much skin as possible. 

2. Slop on broad spectrum, water resistant SPF30+ (or higher) sunscreen. Put it on 20 minutes before you go outdoors and every two hours afterwards. Sunscreen should never be used to extend the time you spend in the sun. 

3. Slap on a hat – broad brim or legionnaire style to protect your face, head, neck and ears. 

4. Seek shade. 

5. Slide on some sunglasses – make sure they meet Australian Standards. 

Our Sun Smart Policy specifies that all students must wear a sun smart hat whenever they are outdoors at school once the UV reaches 3. 

Please support our Sun Smart policy by providing a ‘sun smart’ hat for your child. Hats are available for purchase at the uniform shop.

Students without a hat from Monday 2nd September will remain in a quiet, shaded space during lunchtimes and afternoon recess due to our ‘NO HAT, NO PLAY’ SunSmart policy.

Father’s Day /Special Person’s Day Stall- Parents Association Community activity

Today, students were able to head down to our wonderful Father’s/Special Person’s Day stall to pick out that special something for Sunday. Once again, our thanks go to the wonderful PA team led by Amanda Lewis. Thank you also to all volunteers who helped on the day.  A special ‘Happy Fathers’ Day’ to all the Fathers and special people in our school community.

Year 3 and 4 Camp

What a fantastic experience our Year 3 and 4 students and staff had at Forest Edge last week. The students enjoyed testing their resilience and skills on high ropes course, flying fox, bush walks and so much more. They enjoyed campfire singing and took on their responsibilities when sharing their cabins and looking after each other with positivity. A huge thankyou to our staff who attended and to all our parents/carers for the time taken to prepare our students for this fantastic camp.

Year 2 Sleepover

Our Year 2 sleepover is next week on Thursday night. The sleepover is the first step in our Camping program for students, with the first steps in developing independence and cooperative skills when sleeping and waking away from home. Students will be involved in a range of fun afternoon and evening activities, a ‘camp style’ dinner, bedtime routines, and then waking in the morning and packing up their belongings and having a camp style breakfast together. Friday will be all about fun, cooperative Camp activities at school. I am sure our Year 2 students will learn much from the experience, in preparation for their offsite camp next year.

District Aths (50 selected students from Year 3-6)

Next Thursday (5th September) 52 students from year 3-6 have been selected to take part in the District Athletics competition. The competition includes events such as running (short and long distances), hurdles, long jump, high, jump, relays and so much more. We are sure the students will perform well and represent our school with pride. Parents/carers of students attending are reminded to ensure permission are confirmed on Compass. Where a parent/carer is already aware their child cannot attend for any reason, it is important to let the school know promptly, so the next eligible student can take their place in the competition.

School Savings Bonus Information 2025- ARE YOUR CONTACT DETAILS CORRECT?

This week, schools were provided with professional learning and information regarding the 2025 School Savings Bonus for families. The School Saving Bonus is available for parents and carers of each Victorian government school student from Prep to Year 12 in 2025, except for full-fee international students, home-schooled students, and TAFE students.

There is no application required for eligible government school parents to receive the School Saving Bonus, however there are a few required actions for parents and carers.

The process of parents/carers accessing the bonus includes a personalised email from the Department of Education, using the stored information on teach schools’ database. This is the same information that parents/carers can see on Compass. It is very  important that parents/carers ensure the email details on Compass are accurate . This must be confirmed by 18th October, when the information is lifted to prepare the personalised emails to be sent to parents/carers in mid-November.

I urge parents/carers to check their email address information on Compass before this date (18th October) and contact the school as soon as possible if there are any changes or updates required.

Link for more information: https://www.vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus

Student Absences – Serious concerns

Albany Rise Primary School has continued to have very high absenteeism rates in 2024.  Last year, 20% of students (52 students) missed over 30 days of school and 18% (45 students) were absent between 20 – 30 days.  This means that 38% or 97 students were chronically absent in 2023. This is much higher than our Network schools and the state. The Department of Education is working with Albany Rise Primary School to target the needs of students and families with chronic absences. 

As a school, we have developed a flow chart and updated Attendance policy to improve attendance.  We hope to support families in building positive routines and engagement in school that increases our attendance rates across the school.

Extended Family Holidays - Approval Required 

Within the Victorian Attendance Legislation, families are required to discuss with the principal well in advance of finalising any holiday plans.  The principal has the discretion to decide whether or not to approve the absence taking into account the student’s educational interests.

This means that parents must notify myself of upcoming holiday plans if they occur during the school term.  Approval will be decided upon educational factors, and attendance during the current and past school years.  Extended family holidays is one of the large factors in our high level absence rates. We have clear data that indicates students that are chronically absent are performing poorly in the classroom. 

Late Arrival to school 

At ARPS, we unfortunately are seeing an increasing number of students arriving late to school.  Late arrival can be just as damaging for student success as being absent.  At the start of the school day, teachers undertake explicit instruction of new concepts in literacy.  Missing this explicit teaching time is catastrophic for students and we have unfortunately seen very capable students perform poorly due to chronic lateness. This is so heartbreaking to see.  We have many students who are distressed when they arrive late and it is not their fault. We know how busy it can be in the morning, as many of our staff are getting their own children to school each day. However, arrival to school on time is crucial for our students and it needs to occur. 

The Principal team are on yard duty from 8:45am everyday and all students enter the classroom at 8:55am.  We encourage students to arrive at 8:45am so they can play with the friends and be energised and ready for the school day. Arrival by 8:50am is essential for a smooth start to the school day. 

Please see the article below outlining the importance of arriving to school on time. 

We all run late sometimes.  For your child, arriving late to school occasionally won't cause major disruption.  Inevitably, children will feel sick or tired some mornings, or other situations will prevent them from being on time.  But chronic lateness eventually takes its toll on a child's overall educational experience. According to the national initiative Attendance Works, missing just 10 percent of the school year in the early grades causes many students to struggle in primary school, and lateness in later grades is associated with increased failure and dropout rates. Fortunately, parents can help prevent tardiness from becoming frequent enough to negatively impact their child's school life.

Disrupted Routines

One of the most important aspects of school is that it is organised, scheduled and predictable. Students depend on the structure of the day. They know where they have to be and when. They know the main purpose for being in school is to learn and that routines are in place precisely to help them focus on that learning. When students are repeatedly tardy, these routines are disrupted. Children who are often late have trouble settling in and mastering routines. Tardiness can throw off their whole morning or even their day, especially if the late commute to school was stressful.  All children have a right to learn at school and it is unreasonable to disrupt the focus and attention of the rest of the class that late arrivals cause.

Social Criticism

The social experience has a powerful impact on a child's feelings about school and his or her ability to be academically successful. When a child continuously shows up late to class, other students are distracted. Attention is drawn away from the teacher or assignment and toward the child who has just arrived. Over time, classmates may begin to criticise this child, affecting how they feel about themselves in school. Children are especially conscious of fitting in and being accepted by peers. If your child is repeatedly tardy, they may become a target or outcast over time, and negative peer interactions can hurt their ability to concentrate on learning. According to the Encyclopedia of Children's Health, children with steady friendships throughout the school year enjoy school more, and children who can make new friends tend to perform better academically.

Low Achievement

Perform Well, a nonprofit policy research and educational organisation, reports that frequent tardiness is associated with lower grades and lower scores on standardised tests. It is also linked to low graduation rates. In addition, students who are routinely late at the primary school level are more likely to fail in secondary school -- or even drop out. In many classrooms, particularly at the primary level, morning routines are critical to daily lessons. 

Responsibility

Part of your child's education is learning to be responsible. The school experience teaches children how to meet expectations. They learn to follow schedules, obey rules, complete assignments and keep track of their materials. Learning responsibility in school is a precursor to functioning in the working world, as noted by William Kirby in his 2010 article "School Attendance Tied to Academic Success”.

Attendance is one of the ways children show they can meet their obligations. In many cases, a child's attendance depends on their parents' ability to help them be on time. Parents can teach their children organisational techniques that will help them get out of the house faster, such as packing their bags and laying out their clothes the night before school. But parents who drive their children must also remember to be punctual and responsible. After all, you are the primary role model.

Parent Requests for Grades in 2025:

How is the grade structure decided? 

At ARPS, our policy is to create a whole school grade structure which is either single year levels or multiage (across 2 year levels). The structure is dependent on the numbers of students in each year level, the dynamics of students in each year level, our knowledge of students in the school and the best operational timetable and staffing arrangements that can be created within the budget provided by the Department of Education. The exact class structure is often not finalised until all of our future enrolments for 2025 are confirmed. Parents should consider the likelihood that their child will be placed in either a single year level or a multiage class

Can parents choose teachers?

•            The short answer is no.

What can parents request?

•            That their child might be with (or not with) another student based on education needs, or if there may have been a past incident or negative history with another student. Parents may request something like, having your child separated from a good friend to help them focus or have the opportunity to make new friends. 

Who do I send my request to?

Follow this link and complete the online form: https://forms.gle/uhZTSxeBnAjTiLBu5 

Student class Place requests 2025

No later than Friday 18th October, 2024 (no exceptions)

How do we make grades for 2025?

We start by asking students to identify five ‘friends’ they might like to have in their grade for the next year. When we say ‘friend’, we mean someone who they would work well with, not always their best friend. Students have ample time and opportunity to be with their best friend, outside of school and classroom hours. Importantly we don’t guarantee these ‘five’ requests, usually students will get one or two of their ‘friend’ requests.  Sometimes not getting requests upsets students and their families. Invariably however, we find that students meet new friends (in their new grade) that they wouldn’t have met if we hadn’t encouraged mixing the grades, across their years at school. So, this is a deliberate strategy that supports students building their friendship groups across the years. 

Who makes the grades?

Classroom teaching staff and specialist teachers all contribute to making the grades. 

The Principal Class Team decides on the final grades. As a rule, we never make changes after the grades have been made. So please make your request before 18th October.

What factors do we consider when we make grades?

When we make grades, we consider things like: Academic capabilities / friendships / students’ behaviour. We want to ensure that grades have an even spread of boys and girls – we do not stream grades.

I trust this explains how we do this process; this is consistent with most schools.

Jump Rope for Heart- Fundraising for Heart Foundation

Albany Rise Primary School is participating in Jump Rope for Heart this year – a fantastic fundraising and physical activity program by the Heart Foundation.By participating in Jump Rope for Heart this term, our students will raise funds for the Heart Foundation as well as build their skipping skills, stamina and fitness. We’ll have skipping ropes available on the school grounds and are encouraging everyone to help raise funds for lifesaving research and support programs.Over the coming weeks (start 22/7/25 & completed 11/9/24) your child will learn new skills, increase their physical activity, and learn about heart health. The program will end with our school wide ‘Jump Off Day’ on the 11th of September 2024 where your child gets to show off their new skipping skills to their friends.When you register your child online, you’ll get access to additional skipping resources to help give your child a great reason to get away from the screens and get outdoors. Register and create your own secure webpage at jumprope.org.au/parents

Judith Drew

Principal