Mother's & Special Person's Day

We had a wonderful time celebrating all the mothers, grandmothers and other special people in our children's lives last Friday afternoon. It was great to see so many people enjoying time together under Gumbuya with their friends and families. And it was also great to be able to invite people into the classrooms to participate in a range of different activities with the students - we haven't been able to do that for quite some time!

A huge thank you to Fiona for her organisation of the stall and the event and to all the other volunteers that have worked behind the scenes to help create such a successful occasion for all of our families.

I hope all the mums and other special people in our community had a wonderful day on Sunday and were able to relax, get spoilt and enjoy the day with their loved ones.

Fundraising Update

For Term 1 this year our school community has raised approximately $32,000 (including $29,135.15 from the Fete!). This is a tremendous effort by our school community! The money raised this year is added to the previous year's fundraising efforts and goes directly towards the development and improvement of the sporting facilities of our school.

School Council are currently working through a process to redevelop the basketball courts and area behind the gym to incorporate running tracks, specialised sports courts and additional sports spaces (see below pics for examples). School Council are also looking to renovate and modernise the gym as part of our school facilities upgrades. All of these developments will greatly improve our outdoor and indoor sporting facilities and support us to develop happy, active and healthy kids.

Thank you to everyone that has supported our fundraising efforts and thank you for your continued support to make our school even better!

Clubs

Our lunchtime clubs have started up again this week to provide students with a range of options during lunch breaks. These clubs are really important for many of our students as lunchtimes can often be overwhelming and having calm and structured spaces can support the social and emotional development that takes place in the schoolyard. The clubs also provide additional experiences for students which may be related to their interests or an introduction to something new that may very well become their interest.

A special mention to the teachers that put their hands up to run these clubs (Ainsley, Liz, Hannah, Cam, Jovana) as well as Isabelle, Briar, Brooklyn and Mason who have created their dance club 'Music and Motion' which was a huge success on Monday. They independently designed and organised the club and created a great experience for so many students. I have a feeling that Music and Motion will be a very popular club this term!

NAPLAN

This week our students in year 3 and 5 have participated in the NAPLAN assessments. This year is the first time that AGPS students have completed the assessments digitally (with the exception of year 3 writing) and students have been given opportunities to familiarise themselves with the testing format to ensure they feel prepared and ready for the official test days. NAPLAN assessments are an important way to monitor the progress of our school over time and help inform our strategic direction as we work towards continual school improvement.

KEFAR Leaders Award

Our student KEFAR leaders have started a new reward system to acknowledge students in the playground that are displaying our KEFAR values. Each day a KEFAR leader looks for students being kind, helpful and respectful and hands out special tickets that go into a draw for a prize that will be drawn at the next assembly. This is a great way to recognise and reinforce the wonderful behaviour of so many students during lunchtime and a great initiative by the KEFAR leaders.

2/3 Camp

We are very excited to announce that we will be having our first ever Grade 2/3 Camp in Aireys Inlet Activities – Angahook Holiday Camp! The camp will run for one night and be very well supported by a number of staff members. This is a wonderful memory-making opportunity for our students and we can’t wait!

The activities look amazing and we will work with the camp to develop a program that includes appropriate activities for this age group. More detailed information will be communicated in due course including a Parent Information Session.

Assembly

We held our first whole school assembly last Friday and it was terrific to see the whole school together again. The school captains and other student leaders run the whole event from planning to implementation. It is great to see them overcome their fears and develop confidence with public speaking as the year progresses.

We invite parents and carers to attend future assemblies and will begin class presentations at each assembly for the remainder of the year. 6F are scheduled to present at the next assembly on 20th May.

Election BBQ

AGPS is a polling place for the upcoming federal election on Saturday 21st May 2022. Nathan Arundell is organising a BBQ fundraiser during the day. We are seeking a number of volunteers for our upcoming Election Day BBQ.

Shift 1 - 7.00am – 10.00am (3 volunteers needed)
Shift 2 - 10.00am – 1.00pm (3 volunteers needed)
Shift 3 - 1.00pm – 4.00pm (3 volunteers needed)

If you could spare a few hours on the day, please sign up with your contact details on the following link: https://signup.com/go/NAryeRX

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 Wednesday 25th May
9:30am Wednesday 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

Thanks again for a really busy but really terrific fortnight! I hope you all have a great weekend.

Take care,

David

TeamKids 2