Assistant Principal Update

Welcome to week 3. It has been a wonderful start to the 2025 school year. 

Last Wednesday we had the Years 3-6 Swimming Carnival with amazing weather, albeit a little on the warm side – but great for swimming. It was amazing to see lots of families in attendance. The students were amazing both in their competition and spirit.

A big thank you to Natalie on coordinating such a wonderful event.

Mathematics Development Program – Year 3 and 5: 

In Term 1 of 2025 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 focussed 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 have received an email with further details from their class teacher. Our first sessions were very successful with students all engaged and showing great learner dispositions by embracing the priorities of problem solving and working mathematically, focusing on their thinking and strategies rather than just getting the ‘right’ answer.

Which students does Shane work with and why?

I often get approached by students and parents enquiring how students are selected for my extension or advanced maths groups. I would like to clarify that my work is not focused on only extension students - this is not a term I would use. I work with all students across a range of different achievement levels. The identification of students for groups is based on data, student achievement, school priorities and what best supports the classroom curriculum program.

For the past 2 years the priority has been maths, in line with the DET system priority. However, I also support with other curriculum areas in other capacities.  Over the course of the year, I tend to have groups from Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 and groups usually change each term and students would generally be involved in just one group per year.  

If you have questions about the specifics of the group programs I run please contact me. However, the best point of contact in relation to your child’s learning is their classroom teacher.

Road Safety around APS: 

At the start of the school year, it is important to highlight the importance of safe road use behaviours around the school. I would like to draw families and students’ attention to the following:

• Using the pedestrian crossing: It is important that all pedestrians travelling to and from school use the crossings appropriately. We need to encourage this for all pedestrians who may be travelling south or through the laneway to Alphington Park. Currently several people are crossing directly outside the main gate or northern gate, often in between parked cars, this is a very high-risk behaviour. While a slight inconvenience at times please always model positive road user behaviours for our students.
• Cyclist awareness: While the obvious benefits of increasing cyclists support traffic management around the school, please be aware of the dangers of travelling on both the road and paths when riding. Several cyclists are demonstrating unsafe behaviours such as riding at speed along paths, not giving way, heading out into traffic without signalling and weaving through traffic. If you and/or you child is a cyclist, please reinforce safe riding behaviours. A reminder also that bikes should be walked through the school grounds.
• School Access, Car parking & Adams Street update: A reminder of the various entry and exit gates around the school, parking and drop off options and cyclist options: 
  • Yarralea Street for drop off and pick up – entry and exit points at the main southern gate, and the northern basketball gate. Please be courteous and do not park over neighbours’ driveways.
  • There is bike storage in the forest with access via the most northern gate on Yarralea Street
  • Access on Adams Street has two gates, a southern one with bike storage and a Northern gate next to the gymnasium. 
  • Adams Street has short term 5-10 minutedrop off/pick up spots on the roadside with timber barricades which allow safe pedestrian travel into the school.
  • Phillips Street also has a gate which provides access to the Prep classrooms and playground. 

NAPLAN Online 2025: Wednesday 12 March – Monday 24 March – Term 1

Families in Years 3 and 5 will receive Information regarding NAPLAN Online via Compass. NAPLAN Online 2025 takes place in Term 1 this year. A timetable and schedule of when tests will be undertaken will be sent home in early March. 

NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents and carers to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress.

NAPLAN online is a tailored test that adapts to student responses, providing better assessment and more precise results. 

The NAPLAN Online platform is designed for students to undertake tests in the following order: Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy.

Year 3 students will complete their writing assessment using traditional pencil and paper format, while students in Year 5 will use the online platform. All classes will spend time ensuring students have had opportunities to use the NAPLAN Online platform prior to the assessment period. Teachers will also spend time ensuring students are comfortable leading into the NAPLAN period, reassuring them that these are point in time assessments and that they simply try their best.

If you have any questions regarding the upcoming NAPLAN assessment, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

Tutoring Program: 

Following three years of significant funding to implement the Tutor Learning Initiative

for all schools following the Covid-19 pandemic, the government changed the funding model last year to be based upon NAPLAN data. Due to the ongoing high results achieved by Alphington Primary School students, our funding is limited. As a result, we have adapted our model. In semester one we have a tutoring model focused on the priority students in Years 4 and 5. Our Education Support staff member, Lizzy, will be implementing the program each week. Teachers of the identified year level will develop the programs in consultation with myself and Lizzy. The focus will be on Literacy and Numeracy, with students receiving 1 hour per week in the identified areas.

Have a great week everyone!

Shane Wilkie

Assistant Principal