A Message from David...

Fete

What a truly wonderful community event! After 2 years of uncertainty and minimal opportunities for community connection, it was so wonderful to see so many families and other visitors smiling, laughing and enjoying their time together at our fete. For our little school to put together such a range of activities and attractions was remarkable. I have been flooded with positive comments from people that attended our event with the majority mentioning how proud they feel to be involved with our great community.

To have such a well planned and organised event takes a tremendous amount of effort from the core group of volunteers that have spent countless hours over a number of months (years for some) setting the vision for the event and planning all of the finer details to ensure its success. I would like to thank Victoria Reynolds, Haley Ballingall and the Fete Committee for their efforts, persistence, adaptability and commitment to making this event such a success. This event could not have run without your hard work and I thank you all on behalf of the whole school community - THANK YOU!!

Term 2 Events

Term 2 is quite a short one this year (only 9 weeks!) but we have many exciting events and activities planned. Further details about all of these events will be sent via Compass and future newsletters.

Mother & Special Person's Day (6th May) - We invite all mothers and special people to attend a picnic at the school from 1:00pm - 3:15pm. You will be invited to have lunch with the children and then attend a special session in the afternoon in the classes. There will be scones and tea available for a cost of $7 per person and can be ordered here: https://compasstix.com/e/uhe8kzc6pk
Athletics Carnival & Prep - 2 Sports Day (26th May) - Our Year 3-6 students will be participating in our Athletics Carnival at Newport Athletics Track and our P-2 students will enjoy a tabloid sports/games day at school.
ES Day (16th May) - A day to thank and celebrate our wonderful Education Support Staff
Education Week (23rd - 27th May) Theme: 150 of Public Education - celebrations will commemorate the past, celebrate the present and imagine the future of education.
Reconciliation Week (30th May - 3rd June) Theme: Be Brave. Make Change - a challenge to us all to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for all.
National Simultaneous Storytime (25th May) - AGPS is joining in the annual event where a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country.
School Disco (23rd June) - a fun event for the students to celebrate the end of term.
Excursions and Incursions - There are a range of different excursions and incursions that are being planned by the different teaching teams to support the Term 2 curriculum programs.

Professional Practice Day - Additional Student Free Day in Term 2

As part of the Victorian Government Schools Agreement (VGSA) all teachers (except principal class members) are eligible for a professional practice day (PPD) each school term. Typically individual teachers select a date for their PPD and they are replaced with a casual teacher.

Due to the chronic shortage of casual teachers across Victoria, for Term 2, 2022, the Department of Education and Training have recently announced that schools have the option to hold each teacher’s allocated professional practice day on the same day for all staff.

As a result, we have scheduled our professional practice day for Friday, 3rd June. Students will therefore not be required to attend school on this day. TeamKids will be available for all day care on this day.

NAPLAN

All year 3 & 5 students will participate in NAPLAN assessments from the 10th of May. The students in those year levels have been preparing for the assessments so they understand and feel comfortable and confident with the style of testing. The results of the assessments will be available to parents mid-term 3. Here is a copy of the parent/carer information brochure that was sent home last term https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf

Year 6-7 Transition

Cam met with the Grade 6 students on Thursday afternoon to explain the process of applying for a place in a secondary school. To check which secondary school’s zone you are in, please go to www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au and type in your home address.

Please go through the handout that your child brought home and if you have any questions please give Cam a call.

The forms need to be completed and returned to school by Friday 13th May.

Cross Country

Our students competed in the District Cross Country Championships today. Our students were great competitors in their events and were so supportive and encouraging of all the other students from all the other schools. I would like to congratulate all the students on their efforts at this event and a special mention to Jensen, Harriet and Sam who were all placegetters in their age groups - well done!!

School Captains Lunch with Cam and David

On the final day of term, our School Captains joined Cam and I for our termly lunch meeting to discuss a range of items related to student leadership and their roles. This was a great way to reflect and celebrate a very busy term and set some goals for Term 2. Our School Captains have done a wonderful job so far and we are really excited about their ideas to continue to improve our school.

2023 Preps

If you have a child beginning prep in 2023, please contact the office as this greatly assists us with planning. Thank you to all those families that have already done so.

We are offering school tours for any families that are considering Altona Green for their 2023 prep child. The tours will be held on the following dates:

9:30am Tuesday 4th May
9:30am Tuesday 25th May
9:30am Tuesday 15th June

Please register your interest in attending any of these tours by contacting the office 9360 0777 or via email altona.green.ps@education.vic.gov.au

I hope that you all have a great weekend and the members of our community that celebrate Eid have a wonderful time with family and friends.

Take care,

David