Assistant Principal Update

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Term 4 Week 3. I hope you have been enjoying the better weather we’ve been experiencing today and taking advantage of the longer spring days. I certainly have enjoyed getting back into riding to work with the warmer morning temperatures and lovely sunshine.

Prep/1 Concert – It’s Elemental! 

We are very excited about this year’s Prep and Year One Concert to be held at Thornbury High School on Thursday 2 November from 7:00pm. Tickets are now on sale through Try Booking. Tickets are $15 per adult and $12.50 per concession.

https://www.trybooking.com/CMKLB

Christy, Megan, and class teachers are working with students during PE and Performing Arts sessions developing the singing and dancing for the performance. Students will have a full rehearsal at school prior to the event and a rehearsal at the Thornbury High from 12:30-2:30pm on the day of the concert. Information about buses and consent will be available through Compass.

Learner Dispositions

Over the next 5 weeks I will be sharing with the community details about each of the five dispositions that we have introduced at APS as part of our Learner Dispositions Toolkit.  Our five learner dispositions are the characteristics or mental tools someone has when approaching learning. They are the characteristics we want students to develop self-efficacy and become the best learner they can be.

Reflection: focuses on how we can continually view learning as a journey and understand that looking back, and reflecting on our previous learning experiences is an imperative part of future growth and achievement. 

Let’s consider an example such as improving your free throw shooting in basketball. 

You currently make about 50% of your free throw shots and would like to increase this to 60% (set goals). You’ve spoken to your coach, and they have shared some YouTube videos to improve both your body position and hand release. You spend a few weeks practising these new skills (monitor your learning). At training each week, you spend a few minutes demonstrating the skill to your coach, explaining the things that are going well and where you are still struggling (seek and give feedback). At the end of the grading season you review your statistics online and see that you have made 7 out of 11 attempted free throws, calculating that you have achieved 63%. You feel that there is a little more room for improvement to above 65% (Reflect on your progress)

Emergency Evacuation Drill

This Friday we will hold an onsite lockdown drill. The drill is scheduled for some time prior to recess and will allow us to review our processes and protocols when locking down the school. This will be the first lockdown drill for the year, and as such, we will announce the drill to the students. We will be using the scenario of an extreme weather event. We will request that all classes and buildings are locked, and students move to a safe space in the room. Staff will be briefed about the procedures for the lockdown drill prior to the alarm being sounded and the announcement being made through the PA system.

Sun Safety

As Melissa mentioned,all students are required to wear a broad brimmed hat if they are in the playground. Those students without hats must be in the shade. There are four designated areas in the school which provide shade for students. Under the 3 Level Learning Centre, under the Ornamental Pear Trees, in the Northwest part of the forest and under the shade sails at the southern end of the school. Please speak with your children about the importance of being sun smart.

World Teacher’s Day 2023:

World Teachers’ Day is held internationally on 5 October. As it falls during the school holidays in many parts of the nation, Australia celebrates a little later, the last Friday of October each year. This year we will be celebrating in Victoria on Friday 27 October. World Teachers' Day is a chance to recognise and celebrate the incredible contributions teachers have made in Victorian communities. As a school we will acknowledge our teachers with a special morning tea, supported by the School Council and through a token of appreciation led by our class liaisons. 

Enjoy your week.

Shane Wilkie

Assistant Principal