Principal Report

The end of the school year is almost here!

I am not sure where this term has gone, but we only have one more week of school left for the year! We will be finishing up with an early dismissal on Friday 19th December at 1.30pm. The festivities have begun, and the talented Mr Redfearn has brought in a beautifully curated bonsai Christmas Tree Pine for us to enjoy. (The talents of our staff are endless!)

Sad Goodbyes

This year, we will be saying farewell to staff who have been an integral part of the 2025 teaching team. I know that you will join me in thanking them for an outstanding contribution to our school, and wish them all the best in their new roles for 2026.

Mia Rowland – Mia joined us this year, taking 1/2R. Mia has done an outstanding job of promoting consistent classroom routines for students, reducing cognitive load to allow for maximum focus on student learning. She has developed some beautiful connections with her students and we wish you all the best at your new school, Mia!

Nick Fergus – Nick joined the school in 2025, taking on the role of PE teacher and then 3/4Y with Dana. I know from experience that it is tricky wearing two hats in a school, but Nick has flourished in these roles. It is clear that the children love having him – particularly in PE, where he takes any opportunity to join in! We thank you Nick, for your contribution to our school and wish you all the best for 2026!

Kylie Szabo – Kylie has been a huge part of our school community for a long time – first, as a parent, and then adding the role of a staff member. Kylie has developed a great knack of encouraging reluctant learners to put pen to paper, but has also covered other roles within the school. She has done a great deal of work ensuring that our school is meeting its obligations in embedding indigenous education and culture at our school, and has also managed our social media accounts as well as our website. You will be missed, Kylie and we wish you all the best in your new role in the Department of Justice.

Simone Cheslett – Simone is similar to Kylie in that her initial connection with our community was as a parent and has then moved into an Education Support staff member role, being effective in ensuring students stay on task while developing great relationships that promote learning. Simone also has done a fabulous job of working in the school’s environmental sustainability space, working in conjunction with Resource Smart Schools, developing our veggie garden with our Sustainability Leaders and more recently, our frog bog. We wish you the best in your role as a director for an Early Learning Centre in 2026.

Thank you to our amazing volunteers!

We could not run a school so successfully without the support of our amazing parent/family volunteers. Our families practise reading with children, support students on excursions, help with fundraising activities, attend working bees and sit on School Council. These people support our students and we thank you for volunteering your time to our school. We will be having a “thank you” morning tea on Tuesday 16th December at 11.45am-12.15pm. If you have helped at our school, please come along so we can thank you for your contribution!

Thank you to our School Councillors

Our dedicated School Council meets each month during the school year to undertake their important role in the governance of Albany Rise PS. The work of our School Council focuses on oversight of important areas such as the school finances, buildings and grounds, school policy, strategic planning, parents and friends fundraising and out of school hours care provision. Many thanks go out to:

Chris O’Shea (President) who gave up countless hours and working days this year in the appointment of the new principal and to be part of the School Review
Andrew Muller (Treasurer), who also assisted in school principal appointment
Jade Horua (Vice-President)
Christina Conway (Secretary)
Aleisha Kinross
Amanda Lewis (Parent Association)
Paul Scolaro
Navneet Legha
And to our staff, who also volunteer their time to be on council –
Michael Mottershead, Collette Wilkinson and Narelle Seremetis.

Free Dress Birthdays

Some students find it difficult to come to school on their birthdays, however, we want them to be here and enjoy the day with their classmates. From now on, at Albany Rise PS, a child can come to school in free dress on their birthday! It makes the day special for them (and we can easily tell who is having a birthday and celebrate with them!)

Happy Birthday Ms Costello!

As students can now come to ARPS in free dress on their birthdays, Ms Costello felt it only right to come to school on her birthday wearing her school uniform! Happy birthday!

SPORTING ACHIEVEMENT

Congratulations to Lana 34R

Last weekend Lana participated in a GKR Karate tournament and was placed first in both her Kata and Kumite events obtaining gold medals.

WELL DONE LANA

STEM and Maths opportunities at ARPS for 2026

We are excited to report that we have secured places at the John Monash Science School (JMSS) for some of our high ability Year 5 & 6 students to undertake extension work at Monash University. These programs will be coordinated by Ms T, and provide mentorship to primary-aged students, teaching them a variety of concepts from science, maths and digital technology. Numbers are limited and students will be selected on the basis of their assessment data in relation to Science and Maths and their ability to be great representatives of our school.

School Reports

In preparation for end of year reports, our teachers have been working hard assessing student learning over this term. Student reports are due to go live on Compass from Wednesday 17th December, and can be accessed from your parent portal.

Teaching Teams for 2026

Foundation, Year 1 & 2 Team: Penny Price, Robyn Williams, Danielle Morlin, Ninette Paolucci

3/4 Team: Kym Redford, Natalie Tzanatos, Yan Ling Ngew

5/6 Team: Natasha Weaver, Natalie Smith, Rebecca Mason, Karen Costello, Daniel Redfearn

Mental Health & Wellbeing Leader: Dana Kroenert

Specialist teachers: Natalie Tzanatos (STEM), Yanyan Gan (Chinese), Daniel Redfearn (Visual & Performing Arts), Michael Mottershead (PE)

Curriculum Days for 2026

Our School Council has approved the 4 curriculum days and 1 Professional Practice Day for 2026. These days have been determined around the times appropriate for the delivery of professional learning for teachers and are student-free days. They are:

Tuesday 27th January (students from years 1-6 start Wednesday 28th January)
Tuesday 10th March
Monday 25th May
Friday 26th June
Monday 9th November

Planning for 2026 – Are you leaving ARPS?

We ask that you let us know if you are moving or have enrolled to another school in 2026. We require this information as soon as possible to establish classroom structures for the start of the new school year. If your child is currently in F-5 and will not be at ARPS in 2026, please notify the school office or email as soon as possible.

Thank you!

Jane Capon

Student of the Week