Principal's Message

This week has felt like every season in one day and everyone is getting excited for the final week of the year. We have just received an updated operational guide and we hope that this will bring good news for community members coming onsite before the end of this year. We will give you updates early next week and we will also release a final bulletin on Thursday 17th of December.

As we draw closer to the final week of the term, we remind you of some very important dates on our calendar. 

IMPORTANT DATES TO END THE TERM 

• Thursday 10th – Soiree Performance on Zoom. 
• Friday 11th – Stepping Up Session 1
• Tuesday 15th – Year 6 Graduation @ 6pm onsite
• Thursday 17th – Reports go live on COMPASS
• Thursday 17th – Stepping Up Session 2 - Meet the Teacher
• Friday 18th – Last day Term 4 (Whole School Assembly on Zoom @1:00pm) (School Finishes 1:30pm)

RIPPONLEA PS RECEIVES SUBSTANTIAL FUNDING TO UPGRADE ITS FACILITIES FOR STAFF & COMMUNNITY MEMBERS

Have any of you ever wondered where adults in our school actually go to use the toilets and the state of our 100 year old facilities? Well this will not be the situation anymore. There was a lot of commotion last Friday and if it wasn’t for a release of social media by Nina Taylor, none of us would have realised what we were about to receive. 

The Minister for Education has approved funding of $243,665.00 for a toilet refurbishment to provide modern facilities at Ripponlea Primary School through the 2020-21 Minor Capital Works Fund. The facilities will include additional toilets for community and staff use, shower and an accessible toilet in the main building. Additional spaces adjoining the facility will hopefully include a new first aid room and much needed storage. 

RIPPONLEA KINDERGARTEN FINALLY BREAKING GROUND ON THEIR BUILDING PROJECT

Last week was the defining moment in the long awaited Inclusive Kindergarten Facilities project, as we all met with the kinder committee, architects and finally the newly appointed builder.  Works are commencing on the 14th December and we might see a number of extra cars parked on Carrington Grove. Whilst workers will remain predominantly on the kinder site, children from the Kinder will have access to our playgrounds and spaces when not in use. The new facilities for the Kinder will not only provide safety and access to all their families, but improve the fencing and appeal of this wonderful early childhood setting. 

GRADUATING CLASS OF 2020

On Tuesday 15th December, weather permitting, we will have the pleasure of celebrating a significant milestone in the lives of our Year 6 students and their families. This is a highly emotional time as their significant years at Ripponlea are coming to an end. Given the easing of restrictions we plan to have a “Graduation Style Picnic” event outdoors with our students and their families. 

This is a time that we realise that leaving us will be some long time families of the school, with their youngest child graduating. These families have not only supported their children but the whole school on so many levels. 

WHOLE SCHOOL “STEPPING UP” TRANSITION SESSIONS

We know that many families and students will be anxiously awaiting the announcements of their class placements and teacher allocations. To facilitate a smooth transition for all students across the school, each student will step up into the next year level on Friday 11th December between 12:00-1:00pm. Students will gather in their learning spaces and meet with teachers, but these teachers will not be the teaching teams for 2021. The purpose of the Stepping Up session is to introduce students to the learning spaces, meet their peers, learn about the expectations of the year level and find out about the exciting events and activities that shape the program in that particular year level. 

On Thursday 17th December at 2:00 pm all students will step up once again but this will be when they meet their teacher and peers for 2021. We have taken considerable care and consultation in developing our classes to ensure we maximise opportunities for all students. Not every parent request can be accommodated in this process, as this is merely an impossible task. We have considered what’s in the best interest of the collective and ask that parents remain optimistic and help students to continue to be resilient during this process. There will be no changes made to any classes once announced. 

CONGRATULATIONS TO BILLY 1/2D

A special mention and congratulations goes out to Billy W in 1/2D for his recent win in a NAIDOC Week colouring in competition. The students all partook in a colouring design which Billy took home to complete in his own time. Billy's mum then entered his work into a NAIDOC Week challenge where Billy come out a champion. Great work Billy we look forward to your work again next NAIDOC Week in 2021! 

STAFFING UPDATES FOR 2021

Whilst we can look at 2020 with a lens of challenge and adversity, we also celebrate that for many of our staff 2021 brings new opportunities and experiences. 

Ms Rebecca Skinner has been a long time parent of the St Kilda Primary School community and now delights in the opportunity to be working as a classroom teacher as part of the Prep team for the next year. Rebecca has led implementation of the Positive Behaviour Support framework at RPS and will undoubtedly use some of these skills in her new role. As one of our much loved Foundation teachers, Rebecca will be missed over this next year. 

Ms Alicia Oliver-Cook has been a member of the school’s leadership team since 2018 and a valued RPS teacher since 2014. She has led the Literacy PLT and the Year 3-6 Sub School and has been a member of the 3/4 team over the last four years and has always dreamt of working in an IB World School that delivers the Primary Years Programme. Alicia has successfully gained a one-year position at Murrumbeena Primary School for 2021. 

Ms Lucy Feben joined us from Ashburton Primary School and never imagined that her first year at Ripponlea would be a year of flip-flopping from onsite to remote learning. Although based at Ashburton she is excited to be joining Oakleigh Primary School as a Foundation teacher in 2021. We thank Ms Feben for all contributions to Ripponlea and the impact she has made on the students of 1/2A. 

Ms Claire Brooks joined our community in 2019 and many have felt she has belonged right from the start. Unfortunately, Ms Brooks is an ongoing staff member at McKinnon Primary School and needs to return to her base school in 2021. She is looking forward to reconnecting with her colleagues and community and we wish her all the very best in 2021. We thank her for her contributions to the staff, students and community of RPS. 

Ms Tamara Thompson has recently ignited the talents of RPS students and provided our community the opportunity to watch the sensational Soiree. Ms Thompson has contributed her many talents during remote learning and inspired a number of our students to engage and enjoy dance, singing and drama. Due to a restructure in our specialist program we are unable to offer Ms Thompson another year at RPS.  We thank Tamara for sharing her enthusiasm for dance, drama and music.

Ms Tania Watts – Hall was previously an ES – Integration Aide and embraced the role of our Intervention Specialist. She has been studying a teaching degree throughout most of 2019 and 2020 and recently applied to work as an additional learning support staff member at Coatesville Primary School. Tania is looking forward to working in a large IB school for the next twelve months. Tania has been a valued member of the RPS community for many years and has made a significant impact on the learning of many children with special needs. We look forward to her return in 2022.

We wish all staff leaving RPS all the success in 2021 as they join their new communities. 

WELCOME TO OUR NEW STAFF

With our thorough recruitment processes completed we are delighted to announce the following teachers joining Ripponlea in 2021: 

Mr Brenton O’Hoy joins our school community for 2021. Brenton is currently a classroom teacher at Brunswick West Primary School. Brenton firmly believes in building strong partnerships with families for the benefit of his students. He is excited about joining Ripponlea and meeting all the students. 

Ms Jordane Hyamsreminds us of our very own Ms Luca Dickinson. She worked at Armadale Primary School until last year when she decided to plan the trip of a lifetime in 2020. Taking the plunge of a year of travel, we know all too well the series of events that occurred next. Jordane motivates and inspires her students to be the best that they can be. Ms Hyams is delighted to be joining the Ripper family in 2021. 

Ms Sarah Coughlin is currently a classroom teacher at Elsternwick Primary School and will be joining us in 2021. Sarah has an extensive background in social work and brings a wealth of prior experiences. Sarah understands the power of a classroom community and team work. Sarah is looking forward to meeting all the students, staff and families and recently shared that she feels part of the community already living locally. 

We have also secured a number of our existing staff on contract positions for 2021. 

Recently we have been approached by Blackburn Primary School to transfer one of our existing staff members on family leave, Wendy Bennett. As a result we have been able to offer Ms Dominique Wimpole a permanent position at Ripponlea Primary School.

STUDENT ENROLMENTS & CLASSROOM LOCATIONS

Based on our current enrolments we anticipate that across the school we will continue to see families make some important decisions around relocation from metro Melbourne. We have also witnessed a surge of offers from private schools in the local area. Enrolment patterns across all schools seem to be impacted as we met with a Department of Education and Training financial advisor. Our Foundation numbers were stabilised until some families relocated as well others considering another year of kinder placement.

We are still offering enrolments and if anyone knows of any families who are considering a move to Melbourne, please let them know about Ripponlea. 

Across the school we will have the following number of students and classes. 

REPORTS ON COMPASS

Student reporting in Semester 2 this year will reflect adjustments to our curriculum programs and the disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19). In many circumstances less curriculum content has been covered and priority was given to the areas of English and Mathematics as well as some other specialist areas.

Our modified reports will include reporting on English and Mathematics with a short description of what was taught, a comment on your child’s progress across the semester and a teacher judgement against the Victorian Curriculum. 

For all other curriculum areas delivered, we will provide a short description of what was taught and a short comment on your child’s progress across the semester.

Reports will go live on the COMPASS platform on Thursday 17th December. All families leaving Ripponlea in 2021 are encouraged to download all reports from the portal before the end of the term. 

WELLBEING SNIPPET - HEIDI ROGERS' WISDOM ON CONTROLLING OUR CHILDREN

Try as we might, we can't control our kids. We may think we can do it, but what we're really seeing is compliance. And that ain't going to last forever (just ask the parents of any teenager)! All we have with our children, particularly as they get older, is influence. You CAN impose your will, revoke privileges, punish them, and achieve what you may think is control, but in actuality, it’s just an illusion. If you fixate on control, and they get in a tricky situation and need your help, it’s unlikely they’ll come to you for help. What about when they’re a teenager? Are you going to lock them in the house to stop them from sneaking out? ‘Control’ isn’t sustainable. To wield influence effectively, we need connection. When have you ever been influenced by someone who you didn’t feel connected to? When we fixate on controlling our children, we erode connection. The result? We have less influence over our children and set ourselves up for more power struggles, conflict, and being kept out of the loop with their problems and concerns… especially as they get older. Here's a snippet I covered on the topic in a recent webinar. I'd love to hear your thoughts on control vs influence - it's always a contentious topic! 

THEIRCARE HOLIDAY PROGAM

Until Friday next week (only 9 more sleeps) 

                                                Natalie Rose                              Jess Grey

                                                   Principal                         Assistant Principal