Principal's Report

Dear Parents, Families and Community members,

Principal Update

A warm welcome back to all students, staff and families after the recent school holidays. After only two weeks it is clear that our students are ready to get stuck back into their learning and routines. Welcome to our new families who commenced this term along with many new staff members who have started with us. If you are new to the school community, please reach out if you have any wonderings about how things work at our school; there are lots of people around who will jump at the opportunity to help out if they can!

You will see quite a bit of information is included in this newsletter so I will stop here and let you digest it all!

Enrolments 

It is incredible to think that in just 6 short years, we have gone from a teeny tiny student population of around 150 students and 20 staff to now a large, fully fledged school supporting nearly 750 students from Year Prep to 12!

Government schools and regional offices are required to manage enrolments so that all students can attend their local school now and into the future. We are fortunate in Victoria that all children have the right to attend their local neighbourhood school. This means that regardless of capacity, eligible children and young persons have the right to be admitted to their local school - with wonderful choices wherever you may reside!

 A student’s designated neighbourhood school is generally the school that is nearest the student’s permanent address as determined by the school zone (this can be determined by looking on the 'find my school website'). 

At ACS, we are the designated neighbourhood government school for all local primary aged students. We are also fortunate to be able to offer a Specialist Pathway from Years Prep to 12 for eligible students. 

What this means is that any primary aged student who resides in our school zone, based on evidence of their permanent residential address, is guaranteed a place at our school. This includes students who reside in our school zone and also meet the criteria for our Specialist Pathway.

As the designated local neighbourhood school for a growing population of primary – school aged students, we must retain the ability to accommodate all in-zone, designated neighbourhood school enrolments. This includes ensuring capacity for those families who move into our zone during the school year which is quite a few as you can imagine when you look around and see the new houses popping up.

Due to such high enrolment demand from within the school zone, the Department of Education requires that we follow the conditions outlined above and in the school's Enrolment Management Implementation Plan.

What does this mean for our current families?

No change! 

All students currently enrolled at ACS remained a valued part of our community. Whether you are in the zone or not in the zone, you are a big part of our identity and hugely important to us.

The only slight change is for NEW enrolment requests at a Primary level and only for families/students residing out of our school zone. In adhering to the DET's enrolment management plan, we are currently unable to accept enrolment applications from primary-aged students who live outside our school zone unless:

• they already have a sibling attending Armstrong Creek School (Primary)
• they meet the criteria for our specialist enrolment pathway (subject to the availability of places).

The availability of places in our specialist enrolment pathway will be determined in Term 4 2023, once in-zone enrolments have been confirmed. Families who would like their child to be considered for a place in our specialist enrolment pathway for 2024, are invited to submit an Expression of Interest which can be found on our website.

Naplan - Changes to Reporting

Ahead of NAPLAN results for students being released from Monday 17 July 2023, it is important to note that there has been 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

ACARA has indicated to us that 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. This provides valuable information to teachers about how we can continue to support your child.

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.

Once we receive individual student result packages we will send them home with each child together with the information sheets provided by ACARA. Like any new or modified process, it will take us time to adjust and learn the new way of doing things so be aware we might not have all the answers for parents/carers right away!

Fencing 

You may notice some temporary fence panels or timber base boards around the boundary replacing parts of the existing fence structure. The school had identified many defects in the original fencing causing a significant amount of rusting. Whilst there was no immediate risk to anyone, the rapid erosion on fence panels only a few years old posed a few queries around their quality and raised concerns they could cause accidental injury if touched by our students. 

As an interim measure, the faulty panels will slowly be removed and replaced with temporary fencing. Whilst admittedly quite unsightly, this will at least ensure any little fingers do not get hurt or cut by rust until the faulty parts of the fence are replaced. As a Public Private Partnership school, our facilities management, along with buildings and grounds maintenance is provided by a third party in Downer. We will continue to work with them to ensure a positive and swift outcome for all but did want to let the community know as more and more panels are removed and replaced.

Parking 

A reminder to families that parking in the following areas is prohibited:

• In the disabled parking bays unless a Disability Parking Permit is clearly displayed at the left side or centre of the front windscreen, so that the permit number and expiry date can be seen from outside.
• In the driveway area of the staff car park (near the admin office) in front of the skip bins or in front of the bus gate.  This area MUST be kept clear at all times
• In the staff car park closest to the bike shed end of the school - this car park is strictly for staff parking only.

There are many varied reasons for these guidelines which relate primarily back to safety, access and general management of a large community of users. We certainly do appreciate that parking is not always easy and would like to thank those who have already made best attempts at finding other solutions. 

Jump Rope for Heart kicks off this term at Armstrong Creek School!

Jump Rope for Heart is the Heart Foundation’s primary school skipping challenge that helps kids move more, have fun and raise funds for lifesaving research and programs.

This year we’ve got an audacious goal to see our student Heart Heroes at Armstrong Creek School to log 40 hours of skipping throughout the program! Register your child online, so they can receive the full benefits of the program and participate in online fundraising, simply follow the link below to get started. www.jumprope.org.au/parents

Students will be skipping from week 5 to week 9, throughout the term in PE lessons/during movement breaks and during recess. During this time, you can share their online fundraising page with family and friends to help raise money for this great cause.

We will hold our school Jump Off Day in week 9, this will mark the end of the program and is a chance for everyone to come together to skip and show off their newly learned skills.

Thank you for supporting the Jump Rope for Heart program!

Scholastic Book Club Offer

Issue #5 has been sent home with students. 

 Orders must be placed online by Friday 28/7/2023 and remember there is a wonderful free giveaway offer is available for all orders over $30!

Term 2 Award Winners

Stay well this winter!

In Victoria, influenza (flu) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection numbers are high among children aged 5 to 11 years, particularly in those in their first few years of school. 

The Victorian Department of Health expects more respiratory infections over Term 3.

Most children with flu or RSV have a mild fever, runny nose or cough. Some children, particularly babies and children with underlying medical conditions, may have more severe illness.

Keeping our school community well

Parents, carers and students are encouraged to:

• wash and sanitise their hands regularly
• avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing · stay at home if unwell and consult a general practitioner (GP) or NURSE-ON-CALL as needed
• stay up to date with flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Our school has masks for staff, students and visitors if they want to wear them.

Flu vaccinations

Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and your family from getting the flu. Annual flu vaccination is recommended for everyone aged 6 months and older. As part of the National Immunisation Program, it is free for:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and older
• Children aged 6 months to under 5 years
• People aged 6 months or older with underlying medical conditions.

Flu vaccinations can be booked through GPs, pharmacies or your local council immunisation service.

Find out more

For more information about staying safe this winter, refer to: · Stay well this winter on the Better Health Channel, translated into 16 languages · Influenza and immunisation on the Better Health Channel · Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on the Better Health Channel · Getting vaccinated against influenza.

Have a great week everyone!

Kathryn Sier

Acting Principal