Dear Armadale Community,

I hope you are well and enjoying this spell of warmer weather. The children will still need their hats with them every day up to the end of Term 1, Thursday April 6th. In Term 2, as the weather starts to cool down children will need a raincoat or waterproof jacket with them available in their bag every day as we will start to experience inclement weather.

Congratulations to all our Year 1 students, Mrs Brown and Miss Sozzi as their performance and showcase of their learning dazzled the entire school and audience on Tuesday morning at our assembly. And there was the dancing to “We Are Family” where the children brought their parents and family members to the front of the hall to share in a wonderful celebration.

Congratulations also to all the Year 5 and Year 3 children who sat their NAPLAN tests this week. Tomorrow we will finish the online testing with Numeracy. It is unfortunately a very grilling environment in which to be assessed and technological issues were a minor source of distraction for some students. They didn’t however lose any of their time. It’s just a consequence of a national online testing system. We look forward to receiving the results at an earlier time than previously and to use this data to target our planning and teaching to meet children’s needs.

Incidences of Gastro, RSV, Flu, and COVID are on the rise.

Just a reminder to our community that we still have plenty of RATs available for you to make use of and the latest vaccinations/boosters are being rolled out through pharmacies and your GP. We will also have to increase our vigilance of hand washing and sanitising to ensure infections are not spread throughout the school. Please continue to keep any unwell children at home. I also understand that there are some trials for combined RSV, Flu and Covid vaccines but unsure if these are readily available as yet to the general public.

Exciting News!!

Our playground works will commence on Monday 20th March with some of the preliminary work being undertaken tomorrow morning. We may lose some of our playground space around the sandpit and close to the red ropes and towards the Northcote Road fence whilst construction is underway.

The asphalt works were completed yesterday in front of the children’s toilets. That had been an area of concern for some time. But as with our chimney, I’ve learnt to be patient.

Harmony Day is next week on Tuesday March 21st

Please refer to the compass alert that has already come out and a final one will be sent to the community tomorrow with all the details.

News from School Council and OOSHC - Please read

Dear Armadale Primary Community,

I am very grateful to have the lovely opportunity to address our school community. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am floored by how quickly the year is underway. It literally feels like yesterday that we were shaking sand out of our towels from long days spent at the beach and trying to wash ice cream and icy pole stains out of the kids’ bathers (why do we always let them choose raspberry flavour?) from what felt like the summer break we all needed. I can’t believe that nearly 2 months have gone by since my wife and I were negotiating with our kids to try on last year’s school uniforms to see if they still fit, and re-ordering new lunch boxes and school hats. And now Term 1 is almost wrapping to a close and I am only just getting on top of figuring out what sports and afterschool activities are on which day and is it my day or your day to do pick up or drop off?

School sports and cocurricular activities aside, it has been great to get out and enjoy to some of the many fun school social events that have been run by our ever-busy PFA and their team of class reps including (but not limited to) year level drinks at Otter’s Promise, the Snackadillo Burrow and kitchen garden, and of course the Welcome Picnic a couple of Fridays ago.

So as the community turns our attention to Easter and the hotly anticipated Term 1 OOSHC School Holiday Program, I wanted to take a moment to share some news about our OOSHC program. After 8 years of running the much-loved OOSHC Program, Trevor Wong is stepping down as our OOSHC Co-ordinator.

Trevor has without a doubt left an indelible mark on the Armadale Primary community. As a regular user of our OOSHC Program over the years, I have lost count of the number of early mornings I have seen Trevor’s happy smiling face greet Rio and Flynn with funny joke or an enthusiastic fist bump as he ushers them into the MPC to join the mass of kids who are attending the before care program. It is that same smiling face and cheeky grin that greets me as I return late in the afternoon to pick up the kids who are fed, happy and (somewhat) exhausted from an afternoon filled with playing soccer, shooting hoops, making creative arts and craft, or playing dress ups.

In the car on way home the kids will tell me all about the creative games that Trevor and his amazing team will play with them, or new tricks on the basketball courts that they taught them, or tasty meal they made for them. As I listen to their stories, the consistent emotion that keep feeling is one of gratitude. As busy parents with a demanding jobs, like many other parents and carers, I am so unbelievably grateful that Armadale Primary has invested in a safe after care program that our kids can be a part of.

So as Trevor steps down from his post as the leader of OOSHC, we would like to express our bottomless thanks for the exceptional work he and his team have done in providing a caring, safe and supportive beforecare, aftercare and holiday program for all our students (past and present). Trevor’s innovative approach to program design can only be matched by his limitless energy levels and his fierce desire to never wear anything but shorts even when it’s the middle of winter. On behalf of the school council, we wish Trevor all the best on his next adventure and we will always remember the positive impact he had on our kids, our families and the wider school community.

On a serious note, the school council is acutely aware that the OOSHC program has always been the jewel in the crown for our school. We understand that this changing of the guard enables is no small task. Finding a replacement for Trevor will entail a thorough review of the entire OOSHC market. We are looking into a variety of outsourced models that are suitable for our school and wider community. Irrespective of the outcome though, the person (or people) we select and engage to lead our OOSHC program will align with our school values and will ensure that we can continue to run a program that is well governed, safe, fun, commercially viable, and sustainable for the long term.

Should any members of the school community wish to share any comments, thoughts or concerns about the program and it’s direction, I encourage you to email our Principal, Rochelle Cukier, directly (rochelle.cukier@education.vic.gov.au).

We will keep you informed as to the progress of our search and will update you all accordingly.

But for now, let us celebrate the positive impact that Trevor has had on our Armadale community during his 8 years with us. Trevor’s last day will be on April 21st should you wish to speak with and wish him well him before he leaves.

Kind Regards,

Rod Hampel

School Council President

KISS N GO

This is a reminder that Kiss n Go zones are 2 minute zone only. These are not a parking area. Unfortunately, parking officers will be notified if people continue to use this for parking between 8.30-9.30am and 3.00-4.00pm to ensure that all parents are able to access this zone.

Warm regards,

Rochelle

Extra Curricular Term 1