Principal's Message
Curriculum Day News
Our teachers undertook a wonderful day of Professional Learning on Friday, with the Seven Steps of Writing program the focus of new learning. Staff were provided with a broad range of new ideas and resources to build students’ skills and stamina for writing, with a particular focus on narrative, persuasive and informative text types. Staff were also provided with the opportunity to share their own writing pieces, allowing an opportunity to share the expertise and skills from within our staff team. We are looking forward to sharing and implementing this new knowledge over the year ahead, including opportunities to share exemplary student writing pieces at Assembly, in the newsletter and on various platforms online.
You can find out more about the Seven Steps of writing here: https://www.sevenstepswriting.com/for-schools/
NAPLAN
Our Year 3 and 5 students have commenced their NAPLAN assessments for 2023, with two of the assessments already completed (Writing and Reading). The students have shown high levels of engagement and we have been so pleased that families are supporting students by ensuring all have a good night’s sleep and arrive on time and positive each day. Opportunities for catch- up assessments will be provided for students who may have been absent for any reason over the testing days, so every student will have the opportunity to take part.
I also encourage families/parents/carers of Year 3 and 5 students to remind children that this is just one part of the assessments used all year at school, and reflect just a ‘moment in time’ during the year, and not all the skills and abilities the children demonstrate throughout the year.
Families may have noted that NAPLAN is changing this year. Instead of the old 10 band system used previously, students will now receive one of 4 ratings for each test area. The new ratings are:
Exceeding – A child has met the proficiency standard
Strong – A child has met the proficiency standard
Developing – A child has not met the proficiency standard
Needs additional support - A child has not met the proficiency standard
The new standards are designed to provide a clearer understanding of your child’s achievement levels. As is always the case at ARPS, we use the information from NAPLAN and all of our testing to inform planning and cater to the individual learning needs of each of our students.
Students Achieve Success
There are so many stories of students in our school achieving high levels of success in a range of learning areas, and especially in a range of sports both at school and beyond. Today I am sharing two exciting success stories:
Congratulations to Louise (Year 5) who won her two events at the recent division swimming carnival and who now progresses to the regional finals. A fantastic achievement
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Congratulations to Luke (Year 5) who achieved first place in the recent Victorian Sailing Championships. An Incredible achievement!
Reminder: Albany Rise School Council AGM 22nd March 6.30pm
Our Annual General Meeting for 2023 will be held with the ‘new’ 2023 School Council on Wednesday 22nd March at 6.30pm, where our Annual Report will be presented. This will be followed by our usual School Council Meeting at 7pm. Parents/Carers and staff are welcome to attend our Annual General Meeting, which will be held in the staffroom in the Administration Building.
REMINDER: Twilight working Bee 24th March (Friday) 4-7pm – ALL WELCOME
We are seeking the support of all our families to continue to make our school the best possible learning environment for our children. Our Twilight Working Bee on 24th March will be focussed on:
- Clearing gutters
- Painting (various)
- Removing cobwebs
- Clearing & tidying play space behind the ARC
- Tidying garden beds/ weeding/ clearing branches
- And more!
We will finish the evening with a free BBQ for all those attending.
A REMINDER WILL BE SENT HOME TO FAMILIES Tomorrow 😊
Please save the date and come along to help our School Community!
End of Term – Early Dismissal:
Please note, Term 1 concludes on Thursday 6th April, school will finish on that day at 2:30pm, please make arrangements to ensure your child is collected at that time. KidsCo will begin their afterschool care program from 2:30pm onwards. The school term will conclude with an assembly to bring the end of a busy term to a close.