Alphington Primary School Newsletter

Assistant Principal Update

Shane Wilkie

Hello everyone,

Welcome back to school for the final term of 2025. Term 3 was certainly a busy term and Term 4 is traditionally one of the busiest of the year. This year Term 4 is also the longest at 11 weeks. So, with that in mind I would like to remind families and students to make sure you be kind to yourselves, build into the term and ensure that there is enough remaining energy come December and the busy end of year time. 

Year 2-6 Concert - From Page to Stage and Back Again

What a wonderful way to finish Term Three, with our Year 2-6 performance at the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar Performing Arts Centre. The feedback from families, staff and most importantly, students, has been fantastic. It was wonderful to be able to put together such an entertaining evening – a highlight of the year to date. 

The success of such an event is down to the hard work of many people so I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Greta, Alan and Megan in Year 6 for their time, contributions and extra hours ensuring the students were well prepared. To each of the class teachers for supporting with the class dances, planning costumes, and supporting throughout rehearsals and the evening. The team at the Ivanhoe Girls Grammar PAC were amazing in providing us with all that we needed and supporting us throughout the day and evening with sound, lighting, and resources. And to Kira and the STOMP Dance crew for a wonderful script, fantastic music, and choreography.

Learner Dispositions & School Values – What’s the difference? 

Our five school values are linked to our behaviours and are embedded in all aspects of life at Alphington Primary School and cater to learning, social and wellbeing needs. They support our endeavour to assist students to be outstanding in all that they do. Whereas our five learner dispositions are the characteristics or mental tools someone has when approaching learning. The are the characteristics we want students to develop self-efficacy and become the bets learner they can be.

 

School Values                                 Learner Dispositions

  • Respect                                Collaboration
  • Kindness                              Determination
  • Integrity                               Reflection
  • Curiosity                              Creativity
  • Resilience                            Optimism

World Teachers Day 2025

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 31 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 the support of the School Council.

Term 4 Professional Learning Community (PLC)

This week year level teams are meeting to develop their Term 4 PLC focus. Using the PLC model is the way we work at Alphington Primary School. It is a collaborative model linked to the Department of Education Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) and ensures all Year level team members are collectively using data, goal setting and best practice to ensure students individual learning needs are being met. 

This term we are encouraging teams to work across levels to allow for greater staff collaboration and the sharing of resources and research. 

 

We use the analogy of a cake, slice, and crumb. 

Teams begin with a cake, (maths). 

They then analyse the data and explore the teaching curriculum to identify a possible slice (calculating time). 

The final step is to identify the crumb… the specific aspect of the curriculum that they will focus upon when working with an identified group of students. 

For maths it may be… ‘How can students utilise a number line to solve problems to calculate and compare elapsed time?’ 

Staff create the crumb in the form of an inquiry question, which allows them to develop a specific action plan to ensure both student learning and a measurable marker of success for student achievement. 

 

At the end of the cycle teams share their findings with the school community, identifying new strategies to adopt and adding to the collective knowledge of the school’s curriculum programs.

Riding to School and Securing Your Bike

With spring well and truly in bloom and the weather improving it is a great time to be riding to school. I know I am trying to ride 3 times per week and with a noticeable increase in traffic it certainly is the healthier and environmentally friendly way to travel. 

At Alphington we have two main bike storage areas, one at the Northern part of the school with an entry on Yarralea Street and a larger area at the Adams Street entrance near the three-level learning centre building. We encourage students and adults to use these areas but also to ensure you have a quality lock and chain your bike using the bike storage racks provided. Unfortunately, the storage areas can be accessed during class hours by people from outside the school community and could be a target for those looking to steal bikes.

SunSmart Policy - Hats to be worn outdoors

As we start Term 4, it is a timely reminder that we are a SunSmart School. As such all students must be wearing a hat when outside. The recommendation is broad brimmed or legionnaire in design. Please ensure that your child has a labeled hat ready to use at recess, lunch and excursions. A spare is also a good idea to have in their bags.

We will implement the "no hat, no play" scenario where the students will be asked to play or sit in the shade if they do not have their hat at school. Thank you for supporting us with this.

Term 4 Class Newsletters

Please keep an eye out for your child’s Term 4 Class Newsletter which will be released by the end of the week. It is important that you take time to review the items in the newsletter. You will find information about a range of topics for this term.

  • Curriculum overviews for English, Mathematics, STEAM, Wellbeing and Specialist subjects
  • Upcoming dates relevant to your child’s classroom
  • Information about possible events, incursions, and excursions/camps.

  • And general information – nut policy, sun safety, birthdays, home learning.

     

If you have any questions about anything in the class newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teachers.

 

Enjoy your week.

Shane Wilkie

Assistant Principal