Parent/Carer Survey - Building Upgrade and School Review

As recently posted via Compass, we received some very welcome news regarding additional funding for our school in the latest Victorian Government budget. This funding is for planning an upgrade of the main building to improve and modernise learning spaces for students and teachers. The master planning process will also plan for a new gymnasium on site.

This will be an exciting process that will hopefully lead to much-needed upgrades, providing our kids with the facilities they deserve. We are excited to think of all the possibilities and would love your input into this.

We have designed a simple survey for parents and carers to complete (see the recent Compass post to access). This survey will support our vision for the master plan as well as provide valuable information about our school for our upcoming school review (Term 4 2025). Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and have your say about how to continue to improve our great school.

Gumbuya AV System

In further exciting news, we are finally getting the AV system installed under Gumbuya!

A reminder that this was the fundraising project that was decided by our school council and where all the fundraising money from 2024 has been allocated. Over the past years we have seen an increase in the community usage of Gumbuya for a range of different events and activities and now we will be able to enhance these events with a huge LED screen and proper audio system - no more terrible portable speaker!

This is planned to be completed over the coming holiday period. A huge thank you to all who contributed to all the various fundraising events in 2024, and a special mention to our wonderful Parents and Friends group for their tireless efforts with all the fundraising. I would also like to thank Ben O'Brien for his work behind the scenes with the procurement of the AV system - thanks, Ben!

Recent Incursions/Excursions

We have had two recent events for the students in Year 1 and 4/5 to support their Term 2 Inquiry units:

Sovereign Hill

The Year 4/5 students have been learning all about the history of Australia, specifically how the gold rush event of the 1850s shaped Australia into the country we know today. They have learnt about immigration, life on the goldfields, the Eureka Stockade, and how the gold rush impacted various groups of people in Australia and enjoyed a trip to Sovereign Hill to complement and support their knowledge of this topic.

Mrs Sargood

The Year 1s have been learning about history through their Inquiry unit 'Then and Now'. To support their learning in this topic, they enjoyed the incursion featuring Mrs Sargood, who gave them a taste of school life in the 1870s.

Reports & Parent Teacher Conferences

Staff have been busy working on the student reports for Semester 1. They are currently being revised, edited and proofread and final assessment data is being collected. The Semester 1 reports will include the level of achievement and progress that your child has made against the Victorian Curriculum in the subject areas taught and information about participation, effort, and behaviour.

Reports go live on Monday 30th June and can be accessed via Compass. An opportunity to discuss your child's report will be provided during the Parent/Teacher Conferences on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July. Further information about the conferences and how to book will be communicated via Compass in the near future.

Italian Day! 20th June

On Friday the 20th June we will have our ‘Italian Day’ where all the school celebrates the culture and traditions of Italy. Students will experience a Tarantella (Dances from the South of Italy) themed incursion as well as being able to taste the flavours of Italy at the gelati van. Students are asked to come dressed in a costume or clothing related to Italy. The day will be full of many wonderful experiences and activities for the students.

Health and Safety Reminder - Student Illness

It is well and truly the cold and flu season and we are experiencing a number of colds and viruses that are impacting many members of our school community. To help protect our school and the wider community, we ask that unwell students stay home, given the impacts of flu and colds on our school community.

To help reduce the spread of flu, colds and viruses, we encourage students to:

wash and sanitise their hands regularly
avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
cover their nose and mouth when they cough or sneeze
if unwell, stay at home until their symptoms pass.

Face masks are available in all schools and can be worn by any staff or students who wish to do so.

We thank you for your support with this.

NumBots & Times Tables Rock Stars

Dear AGPS Parents and Carers,

We are delighted to inform you about the launch of two exciting Maths learning platforms: NumBots (Years P-2), and Times Tables Rockstars (Years 3-6).

Numbots is used to support understanding of number bonds and addition and subtraction skills in Years F-2. Times Tables Rockstars develops multiplication and division fluency in Years 3-6. We are excited by the positive impact that these apps will have on student learning.

Logging In:

Students will be shown how to log in and bring home a username label containing their unique login details. Times Table Rockstars (TTRS) and Numbots are separate apps, which are free to download on the app store. Students may need help entering the details, but once they’re in they will be able to play the game on their own.

Please ask your child’s teacher if they are struggling to login. Maths Circle (the creators of NumBots) cannot provide username and password information to parents, even during school holidays or out of hours.

Important: Please don’t allow siblings, friends or family to answer for students, as the programme progresses at the pace of each child. Do feel free to support your child if they’re stuck, and give them encouragement to keep trying - even if it takes a number of times to complete a level.

Little and often

For best impact, we recommend that students play regularly for short bursts at a time, aiming for 3 minutes, five times a week.

Please let your child’s teacher know if you have any questions.

Yours faithfully,

Hannah Dallas

Acting Learning Specialist

Pupil Free Day

A reminder that this upcoming Tuesday (after King's B'Day) is a pupil free day. As part of the Victorian Government Schools Agreement, all teachers are eligible for 1 professional practice day in 2025. These days are allocated to enable teachers to focus on the improved delivery of high quality teaching and learning.

In consultation with the staff and the school council, we have allocated the professional practice day as a pupil free day. Teachers will be working on areas such as planning, assessment and reporting. TeamKids will be available for all day care on this day.

Thanks for a great fortnight, everyone. I hope you all have a wonderful extra-long weekend!

Take care,

David

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