Assistant Principal Update

Welcome to week 10 of the term. 

It has been a longer than usual Term 2 and with the weather becoming wet, windy and much colder this week, it has highlighted some of the challenges that happen as we near the end of the semester. Illness, tiredness, and longer dark days are on the rise. 

So, with this not so positive mental image I would like to continue with the message I’ve been presenting at assembly recently and remind everyone the importance of being optimistic. 

While it might not be necessary for Lennie to use their sunglasses at the moment, the message of remaining positive, focusing on the things we can control in our lives and being hopeful about the possibilities around us can positively impact our mental health and wellbeing. 

For me, at this time of the year, I find making time to exercise in some way is important. Often my cycling can be impacted by the weather and the shorter days, and it is easy to jump in the car rather than cycle, particularly when being pessimistic about the conditions. However, it is rare, even on a wet day, that I don’t arrive at school after riding feeling energised.  It reminds me to be optimistic, and to focus on what I can control (exercising) as opposed to what I can’t control (weather) and acknowledging positively, that I will feel better for doing so.

So with 7 days until the school holidays, I encourage you to share with your children what you are feeling optimistic about and ask them what they are optimistic about?

Regional Cross Country

Last Wednesday I was fortunate to be able to attend the regional cross-country championships at Kilmore and watch both Harrison and Grace compete. Both students ran amazing in what are highly competitive races on a challenging fast paced course. 

Harrison started his 3km race very well and was in sixth place as students ran past the grandstand on their first lap. Maintaining a steady, strong pace throughout, Harrison held on to finish in sixth place, improving on his 7th placing in 2023 and progressing to the State Championship for a second time. 

Grace also made a very good start. Running the 3km distance for the first time at the regional event, after previously progressing to States in the 2km event. Mirroring Harrison's race, Grace was also in 6th position as she passed the grandstand for the first time. Heading into the final 200m the 11-year-old girls was hotly contested with several students battling, all in contention for the coveted top 12 finishing spots. Grace finished strongest out of many of them, powering home in a personal best time to take fifth place.

Congratulations on yet another amazing athletic achievement, we wish them the very best for the State Championships which will be held on 24 July. 

Interschool Sport Grand Finals

This Friday we have several Year 5/6 Interschool Sports teams participating in the Ivanhoe District finals.

• Boys A AFL 9s Side
• Mixed B AFL 9s Side
• Girls Tee-Ball
• Girls A Netball
• Mixed B Netball

Congratulations to all the students who have participated in interschool sport this term. Regardless of whether you have made finals we hope you’ve all had an amazing time participating. For those teams who are progressing to the finals. We wish you the very best, you should be very proud of your efforts.

Report Cards

Semester One Reports will be published via Compass on Friday 27 June. An electronic copy of your child’s report is available for you to view online and download as required from Compass. If you wish to receive a hard copy of the report, please contact your child’s class teacher. The reporting on students’ achievements for the semester is an important part of the assessment process and each child’s individual journey.  We recommend families sharing the report with their child, celebrating their achievements, and positively discussing the next learning steps.  If you have any questions regarding your child’s report, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

Term 3 Planning

Our staff meetings and team planning time for week 11 is dedicated to the planning and preparation of Term 3. During this time teams are meeting to develop their term unit planners for English, Mathematics, STEAM and Wellbeing. In Term 3 our school wide STEAM focus is a ‘Humanities Inquiry’. Students will learn about a period from our past and investigate the impact events from these times had upon the people, culture and wider society. From this, students will develop a range of skills to compare, contrast, evaluate, and analyse how learning about history can be applied to our lives today. 

2026 Enrolments

Melissa and I conducted our final Prep Enrolment Tour last Friday. The new model of tour, with an information session followed by our wonderful Year 6 Student Leaders independently taking families around the school has received excellent feedback.

We are now in the final stages of organising our 2026 Prep Foundation Classes. If you are a current family with a student commencing Prep in 2026, please ensure your child’s enrolment form is received by the office before the end of term.

Furthermore, if you know of any other families considering Alphington Primary School for their Prep child, please remind them that forms need to be in as soon as possible.

Finally, we are considering enrolments for students entering Year 2 and Year 3 in 2026. If you know of any families interested in APS with children in these year levels, they are asked to contact the school.

Have a great week!

Shane Wilkie

Assistant Principal

A note regarding School Fees

Dear Parents and Carers

As we reach the end of term we are checking our budgets and the school finances. We have noticed this year that only 60% of families have paid the Curriculum Contributions for the year. We budgeted for 75% and can usually expect that up to 95% of families will pay this charge. 

We understand this year that the School Saving Bonus has confused many families and perhaps this has caused less families to pay. The School Saving Bonus cannot be used by schools to pay for the Curriculum Contributions. 

The Curriculum Contribution provides each student with all paper, books, pencils, other stationery items, art materials and other subject materials needed for the year. This could be charged to families through a booklist but we elect to have families pay the charge. 

In addition is the ICT contribution which supplies every student with a device to use, access to programs and a technician when needed. Other schools elect to have a Bring Your Own Device Program, with specific devices to be purchased by parents. 

We prefer to keep the devices as school items to support families. 

We appreciate that these contributions are voluntary and really appreciate the families that have paid these amounts.

It is not too late to pay and you can also make tax deductible donations to the Building and Library Fund if you like.

Please make contact with the office.

Thank You.