From the Principal

I would like to begin by extending a huge thank you and congratulations to our student leaders for their outstanding efforts in leading last week’s ANZAC Day Assembly. Their thoughtful speeches, respectful presentation, and leadership helped create a meaningful and reflective experience for the whole school community. We are incredibly proud of the way they represented our school RICH values.

Term 2 is off to a fantastic start! Our Year 4 students had a wonderful time exploring maritime history on their excursion to the Polly Woodside, learning about life aboard a historic tall ship and gaining insights into Melbourne’s port history. Meanwhile, our Year 5/6 students embarked on their highly anticipated school camp to Golden Valley yesterday, with exciting adventures and team-building experiences already underway. We look forward to hearing all about their activities when they return.

I am thrilled to announce the arrival of our new Mod5 building! This is an exciting development for our school as we begin planning and setting up a fresh, innovative learning space that will support student engagement and learning. We can’t wait to see this new space take shape and be put to great use. A Parent Survey has been sent via Sentral - this is an opportunity for parents/carers to have a say about the best use for the Mod5 building.

A reminder that our Mother’s Day Assembly and Morning Tea will be held next Friday 9th May in the school hall. We warmly invite all mothers and special carers to join us for a celebration of the amazing contributions you make to our school and families. It’s a lovely event and we hope to see many of you there. See page for 3 for further details.

School Photo Day is scheduled for Tuesday 14th May - so get those haircuts and clean uniforms ready! All orders will be managed online this year, please refer to the Sentral parent notice and page 4 of this newsletter on how to place your order. If you have any concerns, please contact the school office for assistance.

Be sure to check Sentral for full details about our upcoming Education Week and Twilight School. This year’s Education Week theme is Celebrations of Cultures, and we’re planning a range of engaging activities and events to showcase and honour the diverse cultures that make up our school community. If you have ideas on how we could celebrate the different cultures at Athol Road PS please speak to your child's teacher - all ideas are welcome!

Student Voice Council have also organised the Biggest Morning Tea to be held during Education Week on Tuesday 20th May and we are inviting families to donate online to the Cancer Council using the link to the Athol Road PS fundraising page:

https://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/fundraisers/atholroadprimaryschool

Any donation big or small is appreciated - every bit counts!

In addition, Twilight School will be held during Education Week on Thursday 22nd May. 

Twilight School is an annual event where students commence school at 12.30pm and finish at 7pm. More information about this event will be shared soon. If your child needs to attend Before School Care on Twilight School, please book this in with the school office on 9547 1224 or email athol.road.ps@education.vic.gov.au

We are excited to welcome the following new staff members to our school community: 

Miss Lara Benkhauser, who joins us as a Teacher Aide in the Foundation Learning Space. 

Mrs Amanda Malin, an experienced teacher in the Year 1/2 Learning Space. 

Mrs Emily McIntosh, stepping into the role of the Visual Arts teacher.

We are thrilled to have them on board and look forward to the positive impact they will make – welcome to the ARPS team!

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to another productive and exciting term ahead!

Carmel Nigro

Principal