From the Principal Team

Term 3 

So the year continues to rattle along at a rapid pace with our big events now just on the horizon. Students and staff have been working maniacally preparing for our production 'Aladdin Trouble', which is just around the corner. We are so excited to see the students get up on stage and give it their all. We invite all members of the community to come along and see the show; it can be a great experience for younger students to see their buddies and classmates up on stage and hopefully inspire students to be a part of future productions. 

Tickets can be purchased directly through Karralyka here - don't delay, tickets have been selling fast with more than 300 tickets sold for each night of the performance. 

We will also be ramping up communications about the Ringwood North Family Festival (Saturday October 21) so look out for advertising, announcements and requests from the committee as we get closer to the date. 

Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for August 22 and 23 this term. This will be a chance to look at student progress throughout the year and discuss plans for your child's growth, learning and development for the next few months. Years 4 to 6 include students in a 3-way process where students lead the discussion about their progress. Bookings will open around August 8 for these conferences. 

The baby train at RNPS continues to power on. I am starting to think that the old orchards we are built on must have been some very fertile soil. 

Personally, I have some exciting times ahead. My wife and I are expecting our second child in the next few weeks, so I will be taking a few weeks leave throughout August while we welcome the new one to our household. 

Mr Burley will be Acting Principal in my absence. 

Ms Emily Costello has already started working in 4PF this term, replacing Mrs Haylee Page who is about to commence a period of family leave. We wish Haylee all the very best for her new addition. 

Later in the term, Mrs Mendez (nee Tang) will commence family leave, too, and will be replaced by Ms Bindi Patel. The students in 2M have already had a chance to grill Ms Patel and are looking forward to working with her from the end of August. 

I would like to take the chance to thank Martha Ingham who finished up with us in mid-June to move onto a new challenge. Martha was with us for 3 years and was our first Webex interview hire in 2020. It was more than 3 months before we met her in person when Martha started! 

Coming into the office is Elle Stanley who will be helping out on the phones, in the office and in the classrooms, too. I'm sure you will all make Elle feel welcome to the community. 

Liz Downs is now managing the newsletter, so for any queries about advertising or including information, please speak to her in the office, on the phone or through email: ringwood.north.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Ken Chatterton

Student Excellence at RNPS

We would like to acknowledge the wonderful work of those students selected to participate in the Victoria High Achievers Program (VHAP) in Semester 1. Congratulations to Aidan Handyside, Seamus O'Rourke, Zach Stocker, Aurelia Cavill, Claire Zhang, Eloise Ryan, Zoe Keogh and Jessica Molloy for engaging in either the Writing or Mathematics extension course run by Virtual Schools Victoria (VSV). We are very proud to have three more students participating in the Writing course this term. Well done to Ilaisaane Pongi, Lucy Bray and Cameron Newnham for being selected! The Victorian High Ability Program provides high ability students from Victorian government schools in years 5 to 8 the opportunity to participate in a 10-week virtual enrichment program. Students meet with like-minded peers at neighbouring Victorian government schools through weekly virtual lessons run by expert VSV educators. We have recently teamed up with Heathmont East Primary School and will be running Master Classes with them this term and then hosting our own in Term 4.

The Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiad (APSMO) is an esteemed competition that challenges students from the Australasian region to showcase their problem-solving prowess. Throughout their weekly sessions preparing for each contest with Mrs Trend, students hone a wide array of skills that prove invaluable in both practice sessions and the actual competitions. The budding mathematicians refine their critical thinking abilities, tackle complex mathematical problems that require innovative approaches and logical reasoning. They cultivate their analytical skills, learning to dissect intricate problems into manageable components and devise effective strategies to solve them. It has been wonderful to observe the students develop perseverance and resilience in the face of challenging problems, as they persistently work through different methods and explore various avenues for solutions. At the end of each session, students are given the opportunity to enhance their mathematical communication skills, as they need to articulate their thought processes and justify their answers concisely. A huge congratulations to Jesse Berka, Maggie Shi, Claudia Bradbury, Lync Cannatelli, Liam Handyside, Jackson Molloy, Lucas Folletta-Smith, Lachlan Burrows, Xavier Aitken, Nash Mitchell, Aidan Handyside, Paul Gong, Kaitlyn Rolfe, Iris Liu and Claire Zhang who make up our 2023 Maths Olympiad Team, and have finished in the Top 10% for the past two contests. The third contest will take place on Tuesday 1st August where we hope to maintain our outstanding results! 

Chantelle Trend

Upcoming changes to NAPLAN Reporting

Ahead of NAPLAN results for students being released from Monday 17 July 2023, we are sharing some changes to this year’s reporting. These are changes being introduced nationally by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

NAPLAN will continue to measure student achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, and grammar and punctuation but the results will now be presented in 4 proficiency levels:

These are:

· exceeding

· strong

· developing

· needs additional support.

This change will give schools, parents and carers clearer information that details student achievement against new proficiency levels.

Students’ NAPLAN reports will continue to show how they are tracking against their peers and provide an indication of their skill levels against national averages and where we would expect them to be in order to get the most out of schooling. 

Each set of NAPLAN results is an important milestone but it’s also important that students know that one result does not define them – these results are about making sure every student gets the support they need so they can continue to get the best from their learning.

When we provide you with your results, you will also receive information about what the new proficiency levels mean.

As ever, you’re welcome to speak to me, or your child’s teacher with any questions about these changes.

Free Dental Checks

Smile Squad are returning to RNPS again this year.  The dental van will be setup at school from July 11th.   If you would like your child to receive a free dental check-up, consent must be provided by a parent or guardian; refer below for further information.

Also, look out for the gift sets which will be handed out to students over the next couple of weeks.

Enrolments Open

A reminder to any families with children ready to start school in 2024 that enrolments are now open. We encourage all sibling enrolments to be completed ASAP. See the office for more information. 

If you have friends, neighbours or family members whose children are starting school next year, please encourage them to choose RNPS. Each Prep enrolment in future years helps ensure the continued provision of programs and services for all students year-after-year.