Principal's Report

 Principal Report    

Book Fair and Open Afternoon!

Thank you to all who attended our Book Fair on either Wednesday or Thursday afternoon, and also to those who attended our Open Afternoon on Thursday. Children were very excited to show their classrooms and the rest of the school to their families, complete their activity passport to be in the draw for a prize and purchase a sausage and a drink. Prizes for the Book Fair hamper and for the Passport/Scavenger hunt will be drawn at next week’s assembly. There were some competitive Parents vs Children challenges and great geography and code breaking activities. Huge thank you to Ms Foley & our ES staff for manning the Book Fair, and to all of our teachers and pre-service teachers for organizing engaging and fun activities (and also for cooking sausages!) for our school community. Community and belonging are so important for our students – we know that connection improves their academic and wellbeing outcomes, and the way that families and schools work together at Albany Rise Primary School is second to none!

Thank you!

Once again, I am just astounded and grateful for the amazing Albany Rise Primary School community. For some time, we have been needing a projector that works in our hall.  This is for assemblies, graduations – a range of events.  In mentioning this to two of our parents, they spung into action and have so generously donated a projector to our school, which more than meets our needs.  We cannot thank them enough!  Thank you so much to Charith Jayasekara and Lahiru Akuratiyage for your incredibly generous donation to our school!

World Education Support Staff Appreciation Day

Last week we thanked our amazing Education Support staff for their dedication to our students and our school.  We could not do it without you! Thank you to Siheli & Nuzaira for writing a thoughtful speech on the incredible work our ES staff do, and also providing them with a gift. Thanks to Lyndelle, Collette, Kathy, Narelle, Michaela, Cas, Wendy, Lisa and Lily – we appreciate you!

Donation from Marathon Food Industries

Thanks also to Marathon Foods, who has donated some dim sims to assist us with our fundraising efforts – we appreciate your support! Thank you to our Parent Association and staff for helping with all of our fundraising activities.  Look out for more information as to when steamed dim sims are available for sale. 

Wellington Secondary College SRC (Student Representative Council)

This week, the Presidents, Danin & Vathiny, and Vice Presidents, Huying and Lily, of the Wellington Secondary College SRC made a visit to Albany Rise Primary School.  They presented a detailed proposal to work with our Year 3 & 4 students, with a focus on kindness, presenting some engaging ideas and activities to emphasize how important it is to be kind. Stay tuned for more details…

Walk Safely to School Day!          

 Over the past few weeks, our Student Voice Team have been encouraging students to walk safely to school, recognising the importance of regular daily exercise. Students were encouraged to walk to school, and if they drive to school, to park a bit further away and walk the remainder of the journey. 

Congratulations to Himanshu!

Himanshu received a cricket trophy for his excellent focus when playing cricket at his local club.  Well done – we are very proud of you!

Congratulations to Isaac!

Congratulations to Isaac, whose artwork was selected by Camp Australia as one of thirty winners across Australia, from approximately 10,000 entries.  Well done!

Congratulations to Max C!

Congratulations to Max C, who was the recipient of the Coach’s award at his local basketball club – well done!

Special visitor!

We were delighted last week to have a visit from our former principal, Mrs Drew. The staff and students were very excited to see her – pop in anytime!

Semester Two Student Reports

We will be providing student achievement reports for Semester 1 this year as usual.

The reports will be distributed in the last week of Term 2.

The reports will continue to provide important details about student learning attainment, but full descriptive comments may not be included as a result of industrial action taken earlier this term by the Australian Education Union.

We will of course be pleased to discuss with you your child’s progress at our next parent-teacher interviews scheduled for the beginning of Term 3 or, as always, you can arrange a meeting with your child’s teacher.

Student Free Day – Monday 25th May 

Monday 25th May is a student free day, so students are not required at school. 

Unfortunately, Camp Australia did not receive enough bookings to offer care on our student free day Monday 25th May, so they are unable to offer out of hours care at our school.

Glasses for Kids Program

At the beginning of Term 3, we are pleased to have the Glasses for Kids program onsite at our school.  This program provides free eyes checks during school hours and if needed, free glasses as well. Optometrists will be onsite on Monday & Tuesday 3rd & 4th August.  Forms will be coming home mid term 2 if you would like to take advantage of this great opportunity. 

Tours

We have hit the ground running, with several tours for families already completed this year.  If you know of any interested families, our group tours run most Mondays at 9.30am.  Please call the office for more information. 

Playgroup has arrived at Albany Rise!

 The Albany Rise Primary School Playgroup is officially in in session!  After the morning drop-off, if you have children aged 0-5years (who are not already at school), you are welcome to come to the Function Room,  where we will have a variety of toys and activities set up for the children to play, and parents/grandparents are welcome to have a cuppa and a chat. Families from outside our school community are also welcome. Gold coin donation if you can.  Huge thanks to Ann Dunford, who has kindly offered to facilitate our playgroup on Monday mornings 9.15 -10.30am during school terms. 

Outside of School: sport or other activity - Achievement of the Week 

We know how important physical activity and sport is for our students and to our school community, which is why we privilege time at school for PE and sport. We also know that we have some very talented students who participate in sports and activities outside of school. 

 We would love to celebrate their achievements!

 If your child has received an award or progressed to the next level of their activity outside of school (be it sporting or otherwise) , please let us know and we would love to celebrate their achievements in our newsletter. Please contact Mr Mottershead with information and a photo, or email through to our school office on Albany.rise.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Birthday Free Dress 

We know that every single day at school is important for learning and connection. Of course, we want to celebrate with our students when they have a birthday! Late last year, we introduced the practice of students coming to school in free dress on their birthday.  This seems to be working very well and will be continuing this year. Students are looking forward to being at school on their birthday, and also, it is easy to spot who has a birthday to make sure they have a great day! 

Thank you!

Jane Capon