Principal's Report

Jay and Rosalie proudly holding the ACPS School Captain Honour Board where their names will be proudly displayed forever.

JSC Badge Presentation - Friday 8 April at Assembly 1.45pm

At next week's assembly we will be having the special badge and certificate presentation of our Semester 1 Junior School Council representatives. Congratulations to the following students

3/4F Jasper, Leila

3/4M Molly, Anoosha

3/4 Z Jackson, Emily

5/6B Robert, Lawson, Daniel

5/6E Greta, Rosalie, Jack (Captain)

5/6J Paddy, Indiana

We invite families to join in the celebration and attend our final assembly for the term.

Wow what a TREADIFIC effort for our TreadLightly recycled shoe drive. The ACPS community collected a whopping 1010 shoes, weighing 194 kg in total!!!! Special mention to 3/4Z and our Prep classes who collected at least 180 shoes each! The rubber in these shoes will be recycled to make shop, gym and playground flooring and other shoe components will be used in more recycled products. What an excellent way to reduce landfill and see ingenious ways materials can be recycled. Thanks to everyone involved. 

ACPS Happy Earth Day was celebrated last Friday so the school was filled with so many wonderful dress ups representing what we love about the Earth. There were animals, insects, spiders, landmarks, humans, blossom trees and so much more. Thanks to all the students and teachers for their efforts to educate themselves and others, conserve energy as part of School Earth Hour and discuss ways we can help the planet.   

Our beautiful healthy Rhode Island Red chickens are settling in but are not yet ready for socialising with classes – it’s a big adjustment! They will be named very soon by the Grade 1 and 2 students and we have a roster of families join to care for them each week. Further families can email Sarah.Bailey2@education.vic.gov.au if you want to join in for holidays or Term 2.

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Initiative- SWPBS - “Be your Best”

Our staff are being trained in the initiative SWPBS and we would like to communicate the school’s approach at ACPS with you. Our commitment is to develop students who are resilient, caring and connected with each other and the community. Our goal is to establish and maintain a positive and supportive community, where we are inclusive and mindful of others.

Within this safe environment, students are encouraged to fulfil their social, physical, emotional and academic potential. All students are encouraged to be kind and always to “be your best”.

Acknowledgements for positive behaviours:

• Smiley faces – staff are constantly on the lookout for any positive behaviours in the classroom or the playground, and a smiley face sticker is awarded to students.
• You Are Great (YAGA) – Staff nominate students each week for YAGA Awards. In Assembly students are awarded a YAGA certificate to take home. We are building student capacity and would encourage families to continue the celebration at home following the “surprise” of getting a YAGA.

Please see the attachment for the following:

• School positive behaviour matrix
• Positive behaviour expectations and acknowledgement

Feedback:

• Do you have any comments regarding how you could reinforce these positive behaviours at home and at school which we can share with the community? Please email meredith.thornton@education.vic.gov.au.

This year’s Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open! 

Reading allows children to explore new worlds, all from the comfort of their own home. It’s a lot of fun, and a great way to improve literacy skills.

Register your young readers at:  https://www.vic.gov.au/register-and-log-in-premiers-reading-challenge

Andersons Creek versus Anderson's Creek

Where has the apostrophe gone?

Please see the article from Jimmy Harris on the School Council President's page.

Covid 

With positive cases of Covid in students continuing to trickle in, I encourage all parents/carers to continue RAT testing twice a week. As a community, I believe we've done a terrific job in doing this as we've largely avoided spreading the virus. Thank you!

If your child tests positive or is a close contact needing to isolate, please talk to your class teacher about school work they can do at home. Your teacher will provide you with the learning. In addition, https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/ResourcePackage/ByPin?pin=BC54J2 has links to resources for a wide range of subjects and for all age groups from Foundation upwards.

As the weather is cooling down, I ask that students have adequate clothing to wear in class and out in the yard. With classroom air purifiers running and windows/doors open for ventilation, students may be feeling the cold more than usual.

NAPLAN 2022

This year NAPLAN will be held between Tuesday 10th May and Friday 20th May. This is a National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) that all students in years 3 and 5 (and 7 and 9) across Australia undertake. NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The results of these tests provide information for students, parents, teachers and principals and can be used to improve student achievement.

This year NAPLAN is online (with the exception of the Grade 3 writing test). NAPLAN Online is a ‘tailored test’ design that adapts to correct and incorrect student responses providing a more precise understanding of each student’s achievement. The online platform uses technology to make the test more engaging for students.

All students are expected to participate in the NAPLAN Online tests. Catch-up tests will be available for individual students who are absent on the test days. 

Support can be arranged for students with disabilities, if the student regularly uses similar support for classroom assessment tasks. If your child is eligible for support due to disability or exemption, you should discuss this with his/her teacher prior to the test. Parental consent is required before any support due to disability or exemption is granted. 

Students may be withdrawn from NAPLAN by their parent or carer. This is a matter for consideration by parents and carers in consultation with the principal. If, after consultation, you decide to withdraw your child, you must sign a student withdrawal form. 

Students are given opportunities to take part in practice tests at school. This enables them to know the types of questions they might be asked and what the test situation might look like.

The tests are undertaken during May and the results are usually sent to schools in late August and they are then passed on to parents. You will receive your child’s personal NAPLAN report. The report will describe your child’s particular skills in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The report will also show how your child performed in relation to national minimum standards. 

Below is the proposed timetable for the implementation of the tests at Anderson’s Creek

For more information about NAPLAN you can visit the NAP website at www.nap.edu.au.

If you have any questions or concerns about NAPLAN feel free to contact your child’s classroom teacher, Terpsi Milliaresis (NAPLAN coordinator) or myself.

Brooke Eastwood brooke.eastwood@education.vic.gov.au NAPLAN coordinator 2022

Have a happy and safe weekend...

Sue Dyos