A Message from David & Cam...

This term is flying by and we will be enjoying our end of year celebrations in no time! We hope everyone enjoyed the public holiday and the long weekend for those lucky enough to have Monday off too. The staff were productive during the pupil-free day and used this time for assessment and reporting. 

Class Lists for 2025

We have begun the lengthy process of developing class lists for 2025. Our staff are incredibly committed to setting up all students for success and take considerable time working through this process to get the lists as right as possible. When developing the class lists we need to balance many priorities such as friendship groups, academic and social/emotional needs, balancing behavioural needs as well as considering parental requests - I am sure you can appreciate that this can be quite the challenge!

I understand that changing year levels and classes can be quite overwhelming and many students (and parents/teachers) can feel quite anxious about what the changes may bring. Whilst we try our very best to accommodate requests for class lists, not all can be fulfilled and this may contribute to those feelings of anxiety. If this is the case and your child is no longer with one of their friends, I encourage you to talk to your child and encourage them to approach the new year and new class with optimism and consider the possibilities that a new group of students can bring - chances are their friendship group is just going to grow in 2025.

Grandparents' Day

Last Friday we welcomed all the grandparents and other special visitors into our school. The schoolyard was packed and it was great to see such a large number of people attend. It was lovely to meet many of the grandparents and we loved seeing the joy on the student's faces as they proudly showed their visitors all around our school. We also really appreciate the effort that many had put in to get to this event as we know that some grandparents had travelled great distances to attend. 

The day was concluded with a great assembly and high-energy performance by 2 of our prep classes. The preps were very lucky to have such a large audience and the audience was very lucky to have such a fun performance!

As always, events like this are driven by the wonderful parent volunteers we have at our school. Thanks to Fiona and her team for setting this event up. We are so appreciative of all your efforts to help make this such a special event for so many in our community.

Fete Sponsorship

The AGPS Fete planning is in full swing and it is shaping up to be a wonderful event for our school and the wider community. This is a major fundraiser for our school and we are hoping to raise as much money as possible to improve our literacy and learning resources, ranging from books in our classrooms, to the learning environment and resources.  

We have some great sponsorship packages on offer and would love your support to share this around to anyone who may be interested in becoming a sponsor of this event. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, or know someone who is, please get in touch with me via the office of email david.king@education.vic.gov.au 

Student Achievement/News

Jensen - State Track & Field 1500m

Jensen participated in the state track and field event yesterday at Albert Park. We were told he had heavy legs but still smashed out a great time and came 5th overall! This is after running the 3rd fastest 3km time by a 12 year old earlier this week and qualifying for the Athletics Australia National Championships in Perth next year!

Maxine, Clara, Eva, Ellia and Alice - Australian Diamonds

These lucky girls were invited to participate in the recent Constellation Cup game between the Australian Diamonds and the NZ Silver Ferns. Thanks to the parents for sending through the details and pictures below. It sounds like such a great experience!

Wednesday 30th of October 2024 a few lucky AGPS students/netballers who participate in NetSetGo with Laverton Magpies Football and Netball Club were invited to the fourth and final game of the 2024 Constellation Cup between the Australian Diamonds and the NZ Silver Ferns game.

Not only were they invited – these netballers had a very special role! 

The netballers were invited to stand on the court at John Cain Arena with the Australian Diamonds for the Welcome to Country and National Anthem formalities. Our AGPS students Maxine, Clara, Eva, Ellia and Alice represented junior netball players on a national scale! 

The players were then invited back on court for half time netball drills and activities. The day included lots of excitement, back stage experiences and the players even got to meet the winners of the 2024 Constellation Cup Men’s Netball - the Australian Kelpies. The Kelpies handed their winning trophy over for the netballers to hold too (which they held high!). What a buzz for these AGPS students. 

If you or your child is looking for a fun and inclusive sport – pick netball (everytime!). 

As always, please send us any student achievements or news that occurs outside of school. We love celebrating their accomplishments with our whole community!

Staff Appreciation & World Teachers' Day

Last week we celebrated all of our staff at Altona Green. Each day throughout the week we had a small token of appreciation for the teachers and ES staff as a way of recognising and celebrating our wonderful staff for all that they do.

We would like to acknowledge the efforts of our staff throughout this year. We are constantly amazed at the commitment, positivity, enthusiasm and creativity of our staff and am so proud of all of their contributions to making AGPS such a special place. The level of care and support that they provide for all of our students is outstanding - THANK YOU! 

And a huge thank you to all the families that showed their appreciation with kind words, gifts, cards and other goodies. The staff certainly felt appreciated!

Transition Program and Step Up Days

Positive transitions are so important for all of our students and we are really proud of the robust and comprehensive transition program that we offer for all of our students, from our 2025 preps through to our Year 6 students making their way to secondary school.

The transition program for our current students includes:

• 21/11 - Step Up Day 1
• 28/11 - Step Up Day 2
• 10/12 - Final Step Up Day - at this transition session the students will be placed in their 2025 class with their 2025 teacher in their 2025 classroom. This is when all parents will be notified of their child's class and teacher
• 10/12 - Statewide Transition Day - all Year 6 students attending government secondary schools will participate in this 6-7 transition session

We are also really looking forward to welcoming our 2025 preps in a couple of weeks. Prep transitions go over a number of weeks and ensure that our newest members of our community feel comfortable and confident when they join 'big school' next year.

Scholarships to support students

Scholarships are available for students who complete Grade 4 to Year 11 in 2024, and for students enrolled in Year 12 in 2024 who plan to do tertiary studies in 2025.

The Department of Education administers a number of scholarships available to eligible students who are enrolled in Grade 4 to Year 12 in 2024.

Applicants for these scholarships will be evaluated on their:

• participation in school activities
• community involvement
• academic achievement.

Scholarships are either one-off payments or cover the duration of the student’s course or annual study.

Many of these scholarships have specific eligibility criteria, so please refer to individual applications for more information. Applications are now open, and close on Saturday 1 February 2025. For information on how to apply, refer to Student Scholarships.

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Take care,

Dave & Cam