Principal Report

Class Structures and Staffing for 2024

As we move towards the end of the 2023 school year, we continue to make plans to ensure optimal learning opportunities for our students in 2024. In 2024, our class structure will be:

Class structure for 2024

Foundation M: Miss Danielle Morlin

Foundation /1W: Mrs Robyn Williams

1/2N: Mrs Natasha Weaver (Mon – Weds) & Mrs Penny Price (Weds - Fri)

2MS: Mrs Rebecca Mason (Mon – Weds) & Mrs Natalie Smith (Weds - Fri)

3/4E: Mr Blake Ewald

3/4C: Ms Karen Costello

3/4R: Ms Kym Redford

5JK: Mrs Trish Johnston (Mon – Weds) & Miss Celia Kelsall (Weds- Fri)

5/6A: Ms Megan Adaway

6P: Mr Gary Peel

Specialist Programs for 2024

Physical Education: Miss Celia Kelsall

Visual Arts: Mr Daniel Redfearn

Performing Arts: Mr Daniel Redfearn

Mandarin: Ms Yanyan Zheng

STEM: TBC

EAL: Mrs Ninette Paolucci

Tutor: Mrs Ninette Paolucci

Administration

Principal: Mr Judith Drew

Assistant Principal: Mr Michael Mottershead

Learning Specialist: Ms Kym Redford

Business Manager: Mrs Lyndelle Everitt

Administration: Mrs Janine Wilson & Mrs Collette Wilkinson

Library: Mrs Cas Foley

Education Support Staff

(Integration Aides/ Learning Support):

Mrs Collette Wilkinson

Mrs Michaela Megroz

Mrs Narelle Seremetis

Ms Kylie Szabo

Ms Simone Cheslett

Mrs Lily Akhyani

Mrs Wendy O‘Malley

Ms Lisa Cheung

Welcome to our new (and returning) staff in 2024:

In 2024 we would like to welcome:

Ms Penny Price (Year 1/2 teacher)

Penny comes to ARPs with a wealth of teaching experience and we are sure she will a strong asset to our team.

We look forward to introducing new staff to the students and community during our whole school transition sessions on Tuesday 12th & Tuesday 19th December. Students will formally meet their 2024 teachers on Tuesday 19th December. Information regarding student class placements will be sent home on Friday 15th December.

Farewell to staff:

Ms Catherine Vastbinder has found a wonderful position closer to home in 2024. Catherine has been an energetic staff member who is highly regarded by students, parents and staff. Catherine has had a positive and influential impact as a teacher at ARPS. Members of our teaching staff would often go and observe Catherine as she taught her class or small groups of students. This is a great example of how highly regarded Catherine is as a classroom teacher. Over the past 2 years, Catherine has worked to build our student leadership practices and Respectful Relationships Curriculum, along with a range of staff leadership roles.

We wish Catherine all the best for 2024 and beyond and thank her for her service to the Albany Rise PS community. We hope to see Catherine back to visit in 2024 and beyond. We will be officially fare welling Catherine at our school assembly on Friday, 15th December.

We are excited about what 2024 has to offer at Albany Rise Primary School and we look forward to working with all families to make our school the best that we can be.

Swimming Starts on Monday!

We are looking forward to all of our students taking part in our Swimming Program from Monday. The 8 day program ensures students are exposed the the curriculum requirements for Swimming that lead to all students being safe when in and around water. Families are reminded that students need their bathers, towel, thongs, and all of their normal school uniform items. PLEASE name everything, so we can be sure that all items are returned to their owners :) Swimming occurs every day except Tuesdays for the next 2 weeks.

Foundation First day Fun!

Our 2024 Foundation students enjoyed they first ‘real’ day of school with their teachers for next year today. The Students worked with their buddies (current Year 5s) to create some Art and Craft, read some stories and had some time to play together outside. It was lovely to see such a settled, happy group of Foundation students together for the first time at school. We are very excited about these students positive outlook and look forward to have all our new families join our school community in 2024.

Foundation Information night for 2024 enrolled students

Our Foundation teachers for 2024, Mrs Robyn Williams and Miss Danielle Morlin, had the opportunity to share information about our starting Foundation program on Tuesday this week with our new families (and some familiar faces). It was great to see a room full of interested parents, carers and grandparents, eager to ask questions and learn more about our Foundation program and ‘starting school basics’. Each of the families were provided with a bag of information, including a picture story book and other useful resources. We hope parents found our series of sessions useful over the past 9 weeks and I value feedback for improvements to our parent learning sessions for future Foundation families.

Market Day

What a fabulous Market Day event our Year 6 students created yesterday. Students in all year levels enjoyed the opportunity to purchase a range of great items and foods from stalls the students created themselves. I personally enjoyed my caramel smoothy, some great ‘salty’ popcorn, delicious cupcakes and some chocolate brownie biscuits – Yum! Many thanks to families who supported students with the market day preparations and stalls on the day, and congratulations to students for their weeks of hard work, planning, budgeting, advertising, surveying and collecting money as part of the Year 6 Financial Literacy Project.

Digital Licence- Year 5 and 6

Digital Licence+ is an innovative, online learning experience that helps build digital intelligence in students aged 10-14 years, giving them the knowledge and skills they need to harness the opportunities, as well as deal with the challenges of the digital world. In STEM this term, our Year 5 and 6 students have been working all term on completing all the components of the program to receive their digital licence certificate. This is a very comprehensive program, with many hours of work. Some students have been so eager to complete the course, they have undertaken some of the work as voluntary homework! There are a number of students who have now completed the program, and they will receive their certificates at assembly this week. Well done!

You can find out more about the eSmart Digital Licence online here: https://digitallicenceplus.org/about/

2024 Parent Payments: Reminder

Information regarding the 2023 Parent Payments was distributed 2 weeks ago. If you would like to choose a payment plan option, please remember to contact the office directly as soon as possible. To avoid a ‘late’ fee from Ross Office supplies, parent purchase of stationary should be completed by 18th December. Books can be collected from the office (for parents to name/ cover etc) for year 1 to 6 students on Thursday 25th January. Foundation families for 2024 can leave their books at the school, as the Foundation teachers will name and label these books.

Facilities and Minor works - UPDATE

Over the past week, our toilets in the hall have been out of operation, due to renovations and also some additional unanticipated plumbing works. Toilets in the hall (at least one) should be in operation again by this afternoon! Thanks to everyone’s patience- especially afterschool care and hall hirers.

Our student toilet block is almost complete. The final stages of the toilets connected to the admin building are being completed and we hope to be using these facilities very, very soon! Work on the junior girls and boys toilets will commence once the new facilities are able to be accessed.

Visitors to the school are asked to NOT use the student toilets. Visitors PLEASE use the adult toilets in the admin area, the function room, the hall (disabled toilet), or (if helping in the ARC) the staff toilet in the ARC building. It is not appropriate for adult and teenage visitors to be using the student toilet facilities, as we aim to adhere to Child Safe Standards.

Working bee Friday 1st December (4-6.30pm) – TOMORROW!!!

Thanks to many families who have offered to support our Working bee tomorrow night (and thanks to those who have donated money in lieu of time). The main tasks to be completed include:

Spruce up before carols night and before the break.
Garden beds & hedging
Playground behind Arc- tidy up
Drains
Gutters
Cobwebs
Setting up new storerooms
Dispose of old chairs outside hall
Odd jobs in classrooms
Repaint dots (Arc)

The free BBQ will be provided for all those families who attend.

Parent Helper’s Morning Tea Tuesday 5th December - Repeat

Our school is all the better because of the extra-ordinary help received from our parents and members of our school community. You, our wonderful parents and carers assist with classroom support, daily reading, working bees and with incursions and excursions. Our School Council and its Subcommittee members as well as the numerous Parent Association helpers, who plan school events and activities, add to the vision and culture of Albany Rise PS. The teaching and support staff, have valued your assistance and participation in the school life of your students and their school.

In acknowledgement of your tremendous support, we would like to extend an invitation to join us for Morning Tea, Tuesday 5th December from 1aam in the Function Room. Please keep this date free in your diaries.

CHRISTMAS CAROLS/CONCERT:

Please put the date of Thursday 7th December into your calendars for our Christmas Concert. We are thrilled that we can again host these wonderful community events. Classes are already learning songs and actions to share on the night.

We look forward to a great night.

Parents are reminded that the Staff Car parks at the front and rear of the school are not for parent parking. Parents with a valid disabled pass may use the designated space at the front of the school..

Student of the Week