Welcome to IPS

Welcome to our second edition of Inside Ivanhoe for 2025. Our students have had a wonderful start to the year, especially ourFoundation students who have settled in well. They are confidently tackling the school routines, they are curious learners and they are developing friendships and social skills. They are learning what it means to be part of the IPS school community.

Community

Our Year 4 students were asked what it means to be part of a community. Have a look at thoughts...

Welcome picnic

On Friday night our PFA (Parents & Friends Association) organised and hosted the annual Welcome Picnic. At 5:30pm the oval began to fill with families and picnic rugs along with a relaxed vibe. Luckily the weather held out and families enjoyed mixing and chatting with each other. Thank you to the PFA for organising this well attended and fun evening. It epitomises what the IPS community is all about.

Community can be defined as having a common purpose, sharing, belonging, looking out for each other. The IPS community has a shared purpose of the education of our children. As community members, this looks like taking an active part in your child's education and it is also about contributing to and belonging to our learning community.

At IPS we have a friendly, inclusive, compassionate, articulate and talented community. We are motivated to work towards getting the best outcomes for the children, educationally, socially, and emotionally. Being part of the community also includes demonstrating kindness, and helping others. As members we need to keep this in mind when driving around the school streets, making sure that all members are safe, looking out especially for children (not just our own). Don't forget to hold your child's hand when crossing the roads and role model road safety!

We have had a good start to the year, with nearly all drivers doing the right thing, but please keep in mind that being a responsible member of the community means thinking of others, so please don't park in the Kiss and Go spots as this prevents parents from being able quickly and safely drop off their children and leave. It causes congestion and ultimately frustration. If you're driving in Ailsa Grove, please don't park across our neighbours' driveways, please don't reverse into driveways or attempt a three-point turn, instead, please use the turning circle at the end of the street. Please help us to keep drop-off and pick-up times stress-free and safe for our children, by following the rules and being considerate members of the community.

Traffic Safety

Traffic is a big issue for our school particularly at drop off and pick up.

The widening of Ailsa Grove at the bottom of the hill is for turning your cars in. It is not a parking spot. Please be patient and wait your turn to use the circle and resist the temptation to use neighbouring driveways. Please leave yourself enough time so you don’t have to rush.

Reversing has an inherent risk and increases the chance of an accident occurring.

The Kiss & Go zone is a short term stopping area where drivers are allowed to stop and park the vehicle for a short time – no longer than two minutes – while the student exits or enters the vehicle from the kerbside doors.

This enables students to walk between the car and the school, using the safety of the footpath. The zone operates during peak periods allowing parents to park their vehicles for up to two minutes outside the school gates.

Did you know?

This area is not a parking space and fines and demerit points apply if the driver leaves the vehicle unattended longer than 2 minutes. Bylaws officers patrol during these times.

Avoid leaving engines running as there are lungs at work.

The "Kiss 'n' Go" drop off zones aid traffic movement.

Cyber Safety Parent Session at IPS

Parents Only Cybersafety Education Session Wednesday 5th of March - 6.30pm - 8pm

Understanding digital safety can be daunting, and it’s often hard for parents and carers to know how to approach what can be a tricky topic.

This interactive workshop will empower you with the skills and knowledge to:

Model a safe and healthy balance at home.
Participate in your child's online world.
Communicate openly about online risks.
Supervise and support your child.

Seating is limited. Book through COMPASS.

Celebrations and sharing food

For reasons specific to food allergies and safety, as well as the significant financial impost brought to bear, families are respectfully requested that under NO circumstances are you to supply birthday cakes, cupcakes, sweets, gifts and toys etc on school grounds – including at the OSHC program. The teachers have lots of strategies to acknowledge special days.

I apologise in advance if this seems harsh, but the wellbeing of every student must be our primary concern. Consider celebrating birthdays and other events at a local park or in your own home.

Many of our students are anaphylactic and food allergens pose a very real threat.

SunSmart - BRING YOUR HAT TO SCHOOL

We are a registered SunSmart school and children must wear wide brimmed hats in Term One and Term Four. Children without hats will be directed to the shade cloth areas at the top of the school near the Waterdale Rd building. Hats are required for Physical Education classes and Sport.

(Click this sunsmart link)

2025 Term 1 Working Bee 1st of March 3pm-5pm

Please come along to our next Working Bee. Prior to the date a job sheet will be put up online and you will be able to see what needs to be done and where you can sign on. Children who help can earn house points and we usually put on a bbq.

PFA Events & Community Building Opportunities

Please regularly refer to the PFA page in this and following editions of Inside Ivanhoe.

Some dates are yet to be confirmed.

Below are some "Save the dates" for this year's events.

Mother's Day stall Wednesday 7th May

Mother's Day Breakfast Thursday 8th May

Disco Friday 25th July

Trivia Saturday May TBC

Father's Day stall Wednesday 3rd September

Father's Day Breakfast Thursday 4th September

Biennial IPS Fair Saturday 22nd November

End of Year Picnic Friday 12th December

The next PFA meeting is Tuesday 18th of March in the Staffroom at 7pm (enter off Waterdale Rd).

School Council

Nominations for school council are now in. See the School Council page for more information about School Council and election timeline.

Be Proud Of yOUR School

Remember our school values are: Respect, Persistence, Independence, Resilience and Confidence.

Talk about these and model them for your child. It will help bring these concepts to life and make them more meaningful.

It is incumbent on all of us to bring these values to life and present them in ways that make sense to children. Here are some examples.

Persistence - Not giving up when things become challenging.

Persistence is not giving up, having more than one go at something, trying again when you get something wrong or just practicing to do your best.

Resilience - Being able to recover quickly from setbacks.

Resilient people often feel good about themselves. There is a difference between people who bounce back easily and those who get frustrated. If you can learn to bounce back you’ll do better at everything in life.

Confidence - Believing in yourself and what you can achieve.

Self-confidence is the belief in yourself and in your abilities. That you can do it. When you experience success, you feel good inside and you want to do better.

Independence – Being able to achieve things on your own.

Our aim is to ensure that every student is able to develop into an adult capable of looking after themselves, to thrive on the challenges that life throws at us, to experiment sensibly with risks and develop your own ways of doing things successfully.

Respect - Showing consideration for others.

Respect is thinking and acting in a way that shows others you care about their feelings and their well-being.

Rest assured that behaviours that disrupt learning and teaching will not be tolerated.

Meet our newest member of staff

I'd like to introduce you to our new Library Technician, Ella McNeill. Ella is stepping into Janet Waldron's role whilst she is taking long service leave to end of this term.

Hi! I’m Ella McNeill and I’m excited to be replacing Janet as your new Librarian for Term 1!

Allow me to introduce myself and some of my favorite things:

Hobbies: pilates; yoga; cycling; crosswords; jigsaws; chilling with my twenty-year-old cat

Food: porridge, spaghetti bolognese, stir fry

Drinks: tea, chai latte

Time of Year: Easter for the chocolate; Halloween

Things to Read: spooky graphic novels and picture books; any book about cats

Author: PG Wodehouse

Musician: Michael Jackson

TV Show: The Big Bang Theory; QI; Would I Lie To You?

I look forward to seeing you in the Library soon! 😊

I'm sure you'll join me in welcoming Ella to our wonderful school!

Environmental Leaders

Our Environmental Leaders will be presented with their badges at assembly on Monday. Families are very welcome to come to watch.

Ride to School Leaders

Our Ride to School Leaders will be presented with their badges at assembly on Monday. Families are very welcome to come to watch.

Meet the Teacher

Meet the Teacher bookings opened up this morning on COMPASS and will close at 4pm on Monday 17th February. Sessions times are 10 minutes each and are in person.

Finally

Don't forget that each class needs a class representative to help get things done! Contact your child's teacher if you are interested. If you're happy to help out every now and again, or you're interested in social get-togethers, you might want to consider adding your contact details to your child's class rep list. Keep a look out for the request coming soon!

We welcome and value families who would like to volunteer with us. Take a look at our classroom helpers information along with our Child Safe Volunteer information and please do volunteer. You'll find it really rewarding.

Thank you for your continued support.

Pam Wright

Co Principal

http://www.ivanhoeps.vic.edu.au/

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Victoria and pay respect to the ongoing living cultures of First Peoples.

PFA - save the dates