Welcome Back!

A warm welcome to you all and a special welcome to all of our new families that have joined the AGPS community this year. It was such a great morning on Tuesday as we were greeted with huge smiles and very excited children entering the school grounds. We loved seeing the students eagerly show their parents to their new classrooms and greeting their new teacher and we loved seeing the children back with their friends and seeing and hearing happy children playing outside.

We couldn't be more proud of the way all the students have started the school year. Everyone is so settled, positive and excited to learn! We have heard many positive messages from the students about their new classes and teachers and how happy they are to be back at school. Thank you all for your support in helping to make the start of the year such a positive one.

Here are some pics from the playground on the first day of school:

And here are some really excited big brothers, sisters and cousins welcoming their prep siblings/cousins to our school:

We are really looking forward to an exciting year. Please have a look at the Dates to Remember page of this newsletter to see all upcoming Semester 1 important events.

And here is a reminder of the classrooms for 2024:

Buildings and Grounds Projects

As always, we have a number of projects on the go at Altona Green. Over the holidays we made some changes inside our buildings. We now have a dedicated library in the Cottage (building near Gumbuya) and a dedicated STEM room which will provide a lot more space for all the fun and exploration. David's office has been cut in half and Liz now has an office at the front of the school and we have new meeting rooms and office spaces near the STEM room.

We were also really fortunate to be donated a kitchen from Bunnings for the staff room (thanks to Victoria Reynolds for contacting Bunnings and making this happen!). The kitchen in the staff room had not been updated since it was built in 1990 so this was long overdue. I would also like to thank Mark and Tracy for their work coordinating trades and fitting the kitchen. The staff are very appreciative!

Whilst our facilities are great and our grounds are looking wonderful there is always the next project that we are working on. Future projects are below:

Gym - we have been working on seeking grant funding to upgrade and modernise our gym. Fingers crossed we are successful this year!

Shops playground - the shops are fabulous (thanks again to the brilliant parents who designed and painted these!) and now they need an upgraded playspace around them to match.

Chess tables space - we would like to install artificial grass and garden beds to create a nice sitting a relaxing area for our students

Gaga pit - time to open this up again for our kids! We are planning on installing articifial grass, fixing the timber and giving it a nice coat of paint.

If you are interested in helping with any of these, or know anyone that might be, please contact Tracy or David and we may be able to get a working bee together.

Planning Week

Next week is planning week for each of our Professional Learning Teams (PLTs). Each teaching team is released from the classroom for a day to partake in their planning day. During the planning day your child will be participating in specialist subjects for the day.

Planning days are dedicated to the work of our teams and their focus on student learning. PLTs engage in student data analysis to inform their planning for the term ahead. Teachers work collaboratively to plan engaging, targeted learning experiences for their students. They may also undertake professional learning together, based on their shared goals for their teaching practice and student learning.

Meet & Greet

Our annual Meet and Greet is scheduled for next Wednesday 21st February from 3:30-6:30pm for grades 1-6. This is an opportunity to meet your child's teacher so that we can build a strong home-school partnership.

The Meet and Greet session is not a Parent/Teacher interview. Teachers will not be reporting on your child's progress at this time. The purpose of this meeting is to provide an opportunity for parents to share important information about their children and to get to know the teacher. Formal Parent/Teacher interviews will be held mid-year and you are able to arrange times to meet with your child's teacher as needed to discuss any concerns or to find out about your child's progress.

Further information about the Meet and Greets as well as how to book appointments will be published via Compass shortly.

Volunteering

Altona Green relies on the support and efforts of volunteers to provide wonderful experiences and a great environment for our students. Please see below for ways that you can volunteer and support our school:

Parents and Friends have planned many events that benefit our school and many of these can only operate with volunteer support. Keep an eye out for communication from Parents and Friends in the newsletter and joining the Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1711670309087291/) for opportunities to help out and meet other parents. Parents and Friends also have an online volunteer sign up form here https://signup.com/go/NAryeRX where you can register your interest in volunteering.
In-class support - if you would like to support in the classroom, please get in contact with your child's teacher and/or specialist teachers.

Kitchen Garden Volunteers

Our wonderful Kitchen Garden program cannot run without the support of volunteers. Trish would really appreciate help in both the kitchen and garden during lessons as well as general help with preparation in the kitchen and care of the gardens. If you can help please get in touch with us (email, phone or in person). Any help is greatly appreciated.

Communication

Here is an overview of the different communication methods of our school community:

Compass - Our main form of communication. This includes consent and payment for excursions/incursions/camps, bookings for parent/teacher interviews, student reports, important school dates and fundraising activities
Upcoming Dates - Important upcoming events are published via the newsletter and as a stickied Compass notification (stays at the top of your Compass newsfeed)
Newsletter - Published fortnightly on Thursday (alternate week to assembly)
Facebook - We primarily use Facebook to celebrate events and achievements and to share images and videos
Seesaw - Parents and carers can access their child's Seesaw learning journal to gain insights into the classroom. This includes student work and learning goals. This can also be used to communicate with the classroom teacher. Please note that Seesaw will be accessible again next week.
Curriculum Newsletter - Each teaching team publishes a curriculum newsletter early in the term. This provides information about different curriculum areas that your child(ren) will be focusing on for the term
Contacting your child's teacher - If you would like to discuss a matter related to your child please arrange a time to meet with your child's teacher. This can be arranged by sending an email, sending a message via Seesaw or contacting the office.

Reminders

As we begin a new year, it’s a good chance for some reminders:

Please make sure all of your child’s belongings are labeled clearly with their name.
The staff car park is only for staff during the hours of 8am - 4pm. Students are not permitted to walk through this area as it’s not safe.
Any visitors to the school must come through the main front gate and report to the office.
We very much value support from families. If you or a family member would like to assist please apply for a working with children check (this is free). Once you receive your card, please bring it to the office so that we can photocopy it and keep it on file.
Terms 1 and 4 are hats on terms. All students are required to wear a sunsmart hat during sport and break times. Hats (as well as other uniform items) can be purchased from the uniform shop.
The uniform shop is located in the BER near the Elizabeth Court gate and is open on Tuesdays 8:30 – 9:00am and Thursdays 3:00 – 3:30pm.
All students need to be in full school uniform.
Any students who arrive after 9:00am must sign in at the office and collect a late pass. Students arriving at school late must be accompanied by an adult or the parent needs to call the office to explain the reason for being late.
Parents are reminded that playground supervision (teacher on duty) is provided before school from 8.45am and after school until 3.30pm. Students should not be on the school grounds before or after these times unless supervised by their parents or an adult

Policies

The start of the year is also a good time to draw your attention to our school policies. The full list is here: https://www.altonagreen.vic.edu.au/policies/ however there are a few policies that I would like to highlight:

Student Dress Code (Uniform) - School Council approved a new Student Dress Code Policy last year. Please familiarise yourself with the compulsory items listed in the appendix as well as the uniform items not permitted.
Dogs at School - dogs are not permitted on the school grounds due to health and safety concerns. If you are walking to school with your dogs, please arrange for you child to meet you at the gate.
Mobile Phones - students must hand their mobile phones to the office at the beginning of the school day where they are kept securely for the day.
Personal Property - we encourage staff and students not to bring items of value to school, or to obtain appropriate insurance for such items.

Traffic Management

We would like to reiterate some important safety reminders about school drop-off and pick-up:

Park your car to a 100% stop, with the engine off, before your children exit the car
Ensure that your children exit on the curbside
Ensure that you and your children cross at the designated crossing area
Use the roundabout and not enter the staff car park to turn around
Adhere to the speed limit of 40km per hour
Please do not do U-turns and utilize the roundabout

We would also like to remind everyone that the staff car park is only accessible to staff and parents/carers who are accessing TeamKids. We have had a number of students walking/riding in the car park and this is a serious safety concern.

Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Annual Privacy Reminder

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website here.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in nine community languages:

Amharic
Arabic
Dari
Mandarin
Somali
Sudanese
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese.

C.S.E.F. - Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you have a valid means-tested concession card, such as a Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible.

Payment amounts this year are $125 for eligible primary school students. Payments are made directly to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions and sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

Please give a copy of your Health Care Card to the office or email me a copy of your card to:altona.green.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Thank you all for a wonderful start to the year. We look forward to what will be a really exciting year.

Take care,

David & Cam

Team Kids