Principal's Message

The hustle and bustle of school life is certainly returning for all. Our teachers and students have been working on establishing agreed ways in which they would like to work collaboratively to establish a successful learning community. These are referred to as ‘Essential Agreements’. 

The traditional term of ‘rules’ is no longer implied at Ripponlea. We all have a very good understanding that students need ownership over their learning, their environment and especially voice and choice in how they contribute.  The collective agreement changes every year to meet the common needs of the entire group. 

Building a community creates a sense of belonging. Our choices define who we are as individuals and as a community. Students identify how their choices help build a learning community, this then allows them to take greater responsibility and autonomy.  

In a community students have choice in how they learn, how they express their learning and how to choose an environment that can support their learning. This includes choices in how they interact with each other and how diversity enriches their community. 

Our students also unpack the six school values, including the values of RESPECT, PRIDE & SAFETY aligned to our PBS framework.  

Community 

We work cooperatively in a team and make sure no one is left out. We take pride in our environment and support each other in the tasks that need to be done.

Creativity 

We imagine, think creatively, share our ideas with others, and try new things.

Integrity 

We do what is right even when no one is looking. We are honest even when there might be consequences.

Open Mindedness 

We know, accept and value that everyone is different. We share ideas, listen to and respect everyone’s opinions.

Resilience 

We know that life can be challenging. We have a go even when it is hard. We bounce back from things that hurt and disappoint us and learn from our mistakes.

Respect 

We consider the rights of others and accept our differences. We take care of our environment and equipment.

As we start the new year, it is an opportune time for our students, staff and families to reflect on these values and identify ways we can demonstrate these in our daily lives. Values need to be lived and actioned. Small changes can come about when we set personal goals, family goals and community goals. 

'YOU TELL US' INTERVIEWS

Thank you to all families who attended these meetings with their child’s teacher. If this did not occur, please reach out to your teacher to reschedule at a mutually convenient time. Our teachers will not contact you, as we often see families opt out of this opportunity. 

MEET SOME OF OUR NEW STAFF

Kate Ries

Hello everyone. I’m super excited to be back in the Ripponlea family on a permanent basis. Some of you or your older siblings might remember me from my past work in the school or have had me as a CRT over the last several years. I love to spend my spare time cooking with my kids, paddle boarding, taking road trips with my family and spending lots of time at dog parks and beaches with my 2 crazy pooches. My experience with the Ripper community has always been wonderful and I am looking forward to an amazing year ahead with you all. 

Fiona Clark

I have joined Ripponlea Primary this year as an integration aide.

I have worked in this role in primary schools for nearly twelve years. 

Everyone has been very welcoming and I have been very fortunate to spend most of my time in Foundation so the students and I are learning about the school together. 

I have lived locally for just over twenty years and being able to walk to work is brilliant. The wonderful thing I have noticed about Ripponlea PS so far is how caring and welcoming the older students are to the Foundation students. It is a very special thing to witness.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP ASSEMBLY

We will mark this special occasion by inviting Josh Burns, the federal member for MacNamara. Josh will officiate the ceremony on Friday 4 March at 2:45 pm. All Year 5/6 families and families of students nominated by their class to be a part of the Student Representative Council are invited to attend the ceremony in person. 

Unfortunately, at this stage we are unable to have the whole school together in the Barrbunin until new conditions on restrictions are released by the DET. We will hold a school virtual Assembly via Zoom.  

SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTIONS & NOMINATIONS

Each year some of our school councillors will complete their two-year tenure and although some members might want to re-nominate, we genuinely have some vacancies that we would love to fill. School Councils play a significant role in schools. They are legally constituted bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within state-wide guidelines. In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.

This is a voluntary commitment from any parent or carer at our school. As a council we all attend a minimum of eight meetings per year. We are representative of both DET employees as well as parent members. There are specific roles and committees that oversee a range of school initiatives. 

Our committees consist of:

• Facilities & Environment
• Finance
• Governance  
• Ripper Families
• Publicity & Marketing 
• Sustainability

You DO NOT have to be on School Council to join a committee, just come along for one of their meetings. 

If any member of our community is interested in this role, please speak to Tarryn Holland our School Council president or Mrs Rose. 

We officially call for nominations to the Ripponlea School Council. Please read the following information to gain a better understanding of this role. 

SCHOOL PHTOGRAPHY REMINDER

This week all students have received a special introductory photo pack from Monarchy Photography. Each student has a unique code to enable families to access the website and order their photos. Each class will be photographed as well as individual photos. Sibling photos must be pre-ordered. Please do not worry if your child is absent on this day as we have booked in 'catch up' sessions. 

INCLEMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS

When it’s too hot or too cold to play outdoors, our students remain in their classroom supervised by teachers on duty and enjoy passive play. We often have Department of Education weather alerts which inform our actions. Naturally we try to avoid keeping the children inside so occasionally we may allow a little drizzle to fall without calling students in from outside play. On days where outside play is not appropriate, our teachers adjust their programs to accommodate the needs of our students.

SCHOOL UNIFORM POLICY 

Now that the year is well underway, we kindly remind all families that we do have an approved school dress code. This dress code has been developed by the RPS School Council in close consultation with our school community to ensure that it respects the rights of individual students whilst reflecting the values and interests of our community. 

The Student Dress Code aims to:

• Foster a sense of community and belonging and encourages students to develop pride in their appearance 
• Support RPS’s commitment to ensuring that our students feel equal and are dressed safely and appropriately for school activities. 
• Reduce student competition on the basis of clothing 
• Allow for the easy identification of RPS students and enhance the profile and identity of the school and its students within the wider community. 

The School Council has developed a dress code that we believe provides a range of durable and easy to wear clothing choices for students and is cost effective for families. 

Please refer to the following policy for guidance on appropriate school colours, clothing and shoes. Uniform Policy

PRIVACY & COLLECTION REMINDER 

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy.

Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website:

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

PARENT CONTRIBUTIONS

We thank all families who have already paid their yearly contributions for student resourcing and the delivery of extra-curricular items. As a small school, we heavily rely on these contributions to ensure that our students receive quality education, with quality resourcing and a range of unique experiences and opportunities. 

In developing the Parent Payments Schedule, our School Council always seeks ways to minimise costs for families. Whilst the government states that all contributions are voluntary, we do not want to cut back on what we can offer and penny pinch. 

Over many years there has been a firm commitment from our community and your generosity does not go unnoticed. We are extremely transparent in our practices and many members of our community can attest to the positive changes that have occurred over the last four years. 

We base all our decisions on what is best for our students.  

Within our school these contributions have allowed us to:

• Offer a wider range of subjects and special curriculum experiences such as our specialist programs for all year levels. 
• Enhance digital learning opportunities through the use of iPads and netbooks, digital tools such as Mathletics, Seesaw and many more. Our digital devices are borrowed during remote learning periods. We provide a high ratio of devices across the whole school, eliminating the need for families to buy their own. 
• Upgrade take home reading schemes, literature circle novels, new books for classroom libraries and the continued supply of new titles for our school library. 
• Increase maths resources with manipulatives that intrigue and motivate whilst helping students to learn.
• Continue to purchase musical instruments for the Performing Arts program. 
• Continue to purchase sports equipmentthat is used for every year level appropriate to children’s developmental needs and boost our ‘Active Schools’ resources. 
• Maintain the school grounds and facilities with regular maintenance and projects such as improvements to student toilets and play equipment.

In 2022 we would like to:

• Upgrade classroom furniture across the senior school. 
• Continue to accumulate fundraising funds to support our major Inclusive Outdoor Learning Deck project.
• Install larger screen televisions to replace obsolete Interactive White Boards. 
• Work on the children’s Indigenous Garden, upgrade the junior playground, playscapes along the fence line and increase seating and shaded areas across the school. 
• Increase sustainability practices by launching the Resource Smart Schools initiative. 
• Increase therapy services beyond the current Indigo Art program.
• Broaden intervention resources to support students experiencing reading difficulties.
• Ensure provision of inclusive resources and tools to cater to diverse needs of learners.   

We kindly request that all families consider making these contributions for the benefit of all students. Schools are not-for-profit organisations, we report profit and loss on every activity as well as seek grants to subsidise resources and excursions. For example, we often apply for equipment grants and sporting grants which has afforded our students free tuition in gymnastics and other activities.  

This year we are delighted to report that during the school holidays we were able to install two additional air conditioners which are now located in a 5/6 classroom and the Italian/French room which is used by our Outside School Hours Care provider. In addition, we also looked at our ICT budget and were able to install five 75-inch TVs to replace old and out-of-warranty interactive boards and their projectors.  We also purchased additional air purifiers for all specialist classrooms. 

If any parent or carer wishes to discuss their contributions, please reach out to Mrs Rose or Kate Crawford our Business Manager. This includes additional support if experiencing financial difficulties. 

Until next fortnight!

Natalie Rose Principal

Jess Grey Assistant Principal