Principals' May Report

We at Aitken Hill Primary School recognise the rich Aboriginal heritage within our community and acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung, which includes the existing family members of the Gunung-Willam-Balluk clan, as the Traditional Custodians of this land. We embrace Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander living cultures as a vital part of Australia’s identity and recognise, celebrate and pays respect to Elders past, present and future.

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK

This week is National Reconciliation Week, which is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements and to further understand how we can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Throughout the week, our students will be learning about National Reconciliation Week and Aboriginal culture. 

The theme for this year's National Reconciliation Week is Now More Than Ever. 

National Reconciliation Week aims to tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation.  

ONLINE SAFETY

social interactions both in person and in an online space.

In our ever changing world, it is important to be aware of our young people's online interactions. 

Commonsense media is a website that helps parents and educators navigate the content of online apps, movies, books, tv shows, games, podcasts and youtube. The site recommends age appropriate media for children and also gives ratings and information about what you will and won't find in the app etc. This is especially helpful given the vast array of content children can access and will helps parents and carers feel more comfortable about what we allow children to use.

Jeff, our STEM Leading Teacher, has included further detail in the Online Safety - Snapchat section of this newsletter.

STAFF UPDATE

We welcome a few new staff to our school, classroom teacher Rebecca, STEM teacher Yurani, Art teacher Bell and maintenance Will and Heath.

We said farewell to Ian, our maintenance worker, Lina and our Italian teacher who both recently retired. We wish them well on their journey and thank them for all their hard work to support our school community. 

HOUSE SPIRIT

Our House Leaders have been working hard to organise and run special House Spirit days for our students.  House Spirit Week will be held from June 11 to 14. 

Our leaders have planned lots of fun activities for our students for the week and it will be great to see everyone coming to school in their house colours.

Our House Spirit will be working with our student leaders throughout the year to create authentic events and activities for our students and school community. 

Thank you to our House Captains! We look forward to our continued work together throughout the year.

NEW BUILDING

Work on our new building continues and is on schedule to finish at the beginning of October 2024.  

Below you will find a link to some of the architects drawings of the building. 

The building consists of 8 classrooms, 2 STEM rooms and a large library which can also be used as a meeting space for teachers and for parent sessions. The building also has a number of meeting spaces for staff to access.

This building is part of the Department of Education's new school expansion project.

NEW PLAY AREAS

Our new play areas opened at the start of term and our students have enjoyed using the new spaces. 

This project was funded by the Department of Education's Inclusive Schools Fund. 

TRAFFIC

I would like to ask parents/carers to be extra careful when driving during school arrival and departure times around our school.  Please be mindful of pedestrians and bike riders, especially during these busy times.

Unfortunately, we have witnessed many unsafe practices during the morning and afternoon each day. 

At the Community Centre we have witnessed:

• Illegal parking at the Community Centre next door
• Cars stopping in the middle of the carpark to drop off children
• Parking in the disabled car park without a permit
• Stopping outside the front of the Community centre which is a no standing point
• Children are running across the carpark whilst parents are trying to enter and exit the car park

On Elevation Boulevard we have witnessed:

• Parents entering the staff car park
• Parents dropping children off in the drive way
• Parents letting children out at the crossing and other spots on the road rather than the car park
• Children getting out of moving cars

We have reported these unsafe practices to the police and local council who will be coming to monitor and issue fines as necessary.

We appreciate your cooperation with this matter.