Principal Update

Welcome to week 9. Just over a week to go until the mid-year holiday break. With the weather becoming wet, windy and colder recently, it has highlighted some of the challenges that happen as we near the end of the semester, illness, tiredness, and longer dark days. So, with this not so positive mental image I would like to remind everyone the importance of being optimistic. 

Optimism; 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, 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?

Trivia Night

By all accounts the Trivia Night on Saturday night was a huge success. Congratulations to the winning team.

Thank you to all the volunteers who work tirelessly to organise these events. These are important community events and we are grateful to all those involved who put so much time in.

Bike Riding During Outside School Hours Care

Recently there have been several students riding bikes throughout school grounds after school. The school has licensed agreements with TheirCare out of hours care and sports organisations that provide access to the school grounds. The riding of bicycles on school grounds when these organisations are utilising the facilities is not allowed.

To ensure the safety of all children attending TheirCare and other authorised users of school facilities, students and community members must not ride bicycles, scooters, skateboards or similar devices on school grounds during OSHC operating hours; 7-9am and 3:30-6:00pm. 

During periods when school facilities are licensed for OSHC use, the Principal may restrict access to areas of the school grounds to support safe supervision and compliance with child safety obligations.

During school hours 8:30-3:45pm, cyclists must dismount at the school boundary and walk their bicycle or scooter to and from designated storage areas.

This is a reminder to all families and students regarding bicycles on school grounds. While we encourage the riding of bikes to and from school, the school grounds are not to be used for recreational bike use. Please ensure you are ensuring the safety of all school users by adhering to this policy.

School Grounds Officer Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge the work of our grounds officer Carlos. In just over a month Carlos has undertaken a significant amount of work to ensure our school and grounds are looking wonderful and maintained to ensure a safe environment for all the APS community members. He has also undertaken several small projects as we start to further enhance the grounds and gardens. Given the significant autumn and winter leaves at this time of year, we feel extremely grateful of Carlos’ endeavours in keeping our school looking amazing. 

Report Cards 

Semester One Reports will be published via Compass on Friday 19 June. An electronic copy of your child’s report will be available for you to view online now 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.  If you have any questions regarding your child’s report, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

This semester, due to the recent AEU work bans, and following advice from the Department of Education, reports will only contain numerical values showing students’ achievement against the standard using a progression point. While reports will not contain any written comments linked to content descriptions or achievement standards, teachers have taught, assessed and moderated all students learning against the Victorian Curriculum.

Have a great week!!

Shane Wilkie

Principal