Principal's Message
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY
Thank you to our fabulous parent volunteers for running the Mother’s Day Stall last Friday, giving our students the opportunity to purchase a small token of appreciation for their loved one. We hope that all the special women of our RPS community were spoilt with lots of love from their families over the weekend. There are a thousand ways to be a mother to someone so thank you to all the women who provide love, care and support for children in our community. Thanks to our mums and grandmas, the aunts and best friends, the neighbours and teachers, the co-workers and carers for all your love, a shoulder to cry on and for every wise bit of hard learned advice you have shared.
DEVELOPING DEEP LEVELS OF READING COMPREHENSION
Last Thursday, our classroom teachers had the pleasure of engaging with Deb Sukarna, a highly skilled and sought-after educational consultant. Deb has been a leading educator for over 35 years and is particularly praised for her evidence-based practices in literacy education. Having learnt extensively from Misty Adoniou in the key focus area of Writing, Deb has supported our teachers to target Reading in the classroom. It certainly wasn’t light reading on the day and our class teachers have an abundance of ideas for students to develop deeper levels of thinking when reading a range of texts.
HEIDI ROGERS - PARENT WORKSHOP – CHANGE OF DATE
We have received feedback from members of our community that our proposed workshop clashes with the upcoming Battle of the Bands, a special annual social event for many families of RPS. In response, we have moved Heidi’s workshop to Thursday 3rd June at 7:00pm.
Based on feedback from parents, Heidi will be presenting the following topic at her parent workshop:
- 5 HABITS OF RESILIENT FAMILIES - Learn the five key traits to implement that create a happier home, connected relationships, and less anxiety for all.
Please register your participation via the following google form. https://forms.gle/U8pT6QSgVWScwTAK9
HAPPY CAMPERS AT CAVE HILL
It was an absolute pleasure to spend time with our Year 5/6 students accompanied by staff members, Braden Leech, Sarah Coughlin and David Bremner, and two student teachers, Emily and Sophie. This experience for everyone was so important on many levels. Stepping into the rich history of Sovereign Hill and then having an opportunity to build life skills, relationships, independence and resilience. We relished the outdoors through activities such as canoeing, mountain biking, archery, ropes courses, giant ladders and much more. We were so proud of the way our students represented our school and embraced the many challenges put before them. The weather gods were even kind to us too!
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT
Cupid has struck Ripponlea and we are delighted to share with our community that two of our lovely staff members have become engaged to their respective partners. Emily Ingamells is still beaming since sharing her joyous news, whilst Jordane Hyams was eager and smiling to share her surprise update. Later this year we are excited to hear that Lydia Ioannides will finally walk down the aisle after her wedding was postponed in 2020.
Looking forward to those wedding bells ringing loudly later in the year!
GLEN EIRA COUNCIL PARKING UPDATE
We have received notification from Glen Eira Council that all parking restrictions such as the extended Kiss and Go Drop zones along the school will now be reinstated to the original parking restrictions that were present prior to May 2020.
It is understood that the temporary restrictions were introduced to improve parking opportunities for parents following the Covid-19 announcement back in May 2020 as schools recommenced and to allow parents to practise social distancing. Given that the Covid-19 restrictions have now been further eased, allowing normal school operation, council may likely start sending parking inspectators to monitor the situation.
The following aerial photos show the original restrictions that will be reinstated soon.
2020 ANNUAL REPORT – PRESENTATION TO COMMUNITY
Next week, just before our School Council meeting, we will be presenting our 2020 Annual Report. Despite a challenging year in 2020, the school can be proud of its delivery of a remote and flexible learning program and how it was able to continue implementing some key improvement strategies and goals.
The Annual Report to the School Community provides principals and school councils with an opportunity to share the year’s achievements and progress with the school community. This includes reflecting on the school’s performance and explaining the positive impact of school improvement efforts on student outcomes. The preparation and publication of an Annual Report is a legislative and regulatory requirement for all schools under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic), Ministerial Order 1280 and the National Education Agreement 2008. It reflects the Department of Education's commitment to building pride and confidence in our government schools and highlights the importance of transparent communication about school performance with our school communities.
Please join members of School Council on Tuesday 18th May at 6:20 pm in the staffroom.
SCHOOL REVIEW
It has been four years since the school’s current Strategic Plan has been actioned. The school has developed a number of Annual Implementation Plans to chart this direction. Time has come to acknowledge and validate the extensive work of the school and its staff in meeting school-wide goals and targets. The work of the school over the last four years has been transformational in teaching and learning practices in literacy, teacher collaboration as well as the increased emphasis on student wellbeing. The School Review will take place in Term 3, whereby a panel of DET representatives, a reviewer and some challenge partners will work with our school to identify how the FISO Continua of Practice has been implemented over the last few years and the impact of our work on student outcomes.
Our Strategic Goals:
- To optimise every student’s learning growth and outcomes across all areas, with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy.
- To develop a supportive and inclusive learning environment where students are challenged and engaged.
- To develop a whole-school improvement culture with distributed instructional leadership and collaborative teams.
SCHOOL ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
We kindly remind families that all organised school activities such as incursions and excursions require consent via COMPASS but payment via the QKR portal. Please ensure all incursion/excursion notices/reminders are read on COMPASS and that the required consent and payment is provided.
FINALLY… THANK YOU FOR STAYING HOME
We are so incredibly blessed to live in a city and country which has been able to ease restrictions to allow a COVID-normal that is not too far removed from our lives prior to 2020. At this time, we witness devastating images on the news and offer our sincerest support and wishes to our many community members who have families overseas. Although our lockdown period here in Melbourne has passed for now, we know the message is clear that we must still be vigilant and stay home if we feel unwell. As we enter the colder months, colds and flu symptoms will increase and these may present similarly to COVID-19. So thank you to the families of RPS who are heeding the advice of the Department of Health and Human Services on how to keep us all staying safe and well. Please visit their website if you would like to learn more.
Until next fortnight!
Natalie Rose Jess Grey
Principal Assistant Principal