Assistant Principal Update

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone managed to get some time over the Christmas and New Year period to relax, re-energise and spend some quality time with those close to you. After a fantastic 2023 I am excited and enthusiastic about the upcoming year and the busyness that comes with working in a primary school.

On Tuesday we welcomed back all students, it was amazing to see how quickly students were able to settle back into school, particularly our new Prep students to APS, who managed both the classroom environment and attending specialists on their very first day. It was also great to see lots of families back this week in the playground. 

Yard Games and New Down ball courts: Following consultation with the Student Representative Council in 2023, we organised the installation of painted yard games during the school holiday period. A variety of board games, hopscotch, wall targets and down ball courts were painted through out the yard. There will be an Action Team of students who will be responsible for the distribution of resources so students can interact with the games during recess and lunch.

Start Up Program: Over the first couple days I have received several positive comments from families and students about how great the yard and classrooms are looking. 

APS prides itself on providing a unique environment to ensure every person can achieve their full potential. At the forefront is the wellbeing of the whole community. 

To ensure we can provide a safe and supportive environment for all students, teams spend time during the curriculum days developing their year level Start Up Program.  The aim of the program is to provide a structure for all staff to follow to ensure a consistent beginning to the year for all students. This is usually implemented over the first two weeks.

Building Relationships - incorporating getting to know you, goal setting.

Teamwork – let’s not forget how complex teamwork is. We need to teach the skills involved. 

Celebrating Learners – understanding ourselves and others as learners and embracing individual differences. Exploring the 5 APS Learner Dispositions.

Understanding our Rights and Responsibilities - exploring our rights and individuals and as a community of learners - what responsibilities must we uphold?

Embedding our ‘School Values’ – one thing to recite them, but what do they look like? How do we live them?

Class Liaisons: Class liaison parents fulfil an important social and cultural role within our school community. The role is essentially a link between parents in the class, in relation to school social events, and between parents and school committees and sub committees. Communication involves the organisation and management of such events, being cognisant of privacy and confidentiality. 

The tasks typically carried out each year include:

• Organising a social evening or occasion for the parents of the class on occasions throughout the year
• Coordinating acknowledgement of teachers work on behalf of teachers. E.g. World Teacher’s Day, end of year.
• Coordinating assistance at other school events, if requested, including events organised by the Community Events & Fundraising Committee. E.g. APS Fair
• Encouraging parent participation at social events organised by the school community e.g. collecting names for a class table at a Trivia Night event, 
• Disseminate information/requests in relation to school events e.g. costumes for school concerts.

We would really like to see these roles continue to be reinvigorated in 2024. Information and nominations for the role will be included with your Term 1 Class newsletter and via Compass. Please consider whether you might like to do the role.

Mathematics Development Program – Year 3 and 5: In Term 1 of 2024 I am supporting the Year 3 and 5 classes in the mathematics curriculum. I will be working with students identified as working towards the ‘Strong’ Band in NAPLAN. This work will focus on extending and enriching students mathematical reasoning by exploring and solving real life authentic maths problems. While not specifically focused on NAPLAN, this program will support in preparation of NAPLAN to be held for Year 3 and 5 students in March 2024. Families of identified students will receive an email with further details from the class teacher this week. 

Have a great week everyone!

Shane Wilkie

Assistant Principal