Principal's Message

We have finally reached the last leg of the big race and everyone deserves the title of RPS Remote Learning Champions. To our creative students, staff and families we give you a standing ovation and applaud your perseverance, patience and positivity as you run the last leg of this crazy term. 

Even in the last week of this term we witness high levels of engagement in our special virtual events and remote learning program. We have seen such a variety of learning opportunities on Seesaw and deeply thank our teachers and families for continuously supporting our students through this lockdown period. 

In particular, we thank our Education Support Team – Kim, Natalie, Mark, Fred, Emily – and our onsite team – Kay, our learning tutor, Antonia, our regular casual relief teacher, and Nick Martin, a new member of the team. 

From House Challenges, Meme Challenges, Family Challenges, Wellbeing Videos, Family Trivia Night, Footy Code Virtual Assembly and finally a Virtual Disco to groove into the holidays, there is simply no more that can be said about the Ripper spirit. To our Foundation and Year 1 families, we know that this is not the typical community connectedness you expected over the last 18 months but we hope you have made valuable connections; you have the support of our existing Ripper families and please know that we look forward to achieving so much more in the near future. 

FAMLIY TRIVIA NIGHT 

What a fantastic night led by the ever-talented quiz master Mr Leech. Over 60 families and staff joined the evening to exercise every brain cell on a variety of subject matter. 

Fact: Did you know that Mr Leech was actually on Channel 7’s The Chase recently? He entertained through rounds of popular culture, sport, history and general knowledge, interspersed with a little bit of boogie and a number of ‘dad’ jokes. 

Fact: We do love his dad jokes!

Thank you to all who participated – it sure was a fun way to unwind in the middle of this last week of term.

FRIDAY VIRTUAL DISCO @2:00pm VIA ZOOM 

Please join us at 2:00pm to end Term 3. We have on the decks for you, Sarah and Mr Leech and some of our Year 5/6 groovers. Come dressed in your Footy Colours (or those of any other sports code). 

Who will be the AFL champions this year? Hedge your bets, will this be Melbourne or Bulldogs? We know quite a few members of our community are feeling the sense of excitement already. For all our footy fans, we hope you enjoy watching the Grand Final over the holidays.  

SCHOOL REVIEW - VALIDATION DAY UPDATE

Under virtual conditions we completed our first day of the review process.  Each member of the leadership passionately presented to the panel strategic actions linked to each goal as well as key enablers and barriers to meeting our goals. The panel looked at all the data sets of the school, inclusive of NAPLAN results, parent, staff and student opinion surveys. Collectively we determined which goals were met or not met. 

The panel also unpacked the school’s self-evaluation on the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes. The panel felt that on several items we were too harsh on our self-reflection, so we adjusted our judgements accordingly. The whole process was very affirming and emotional in reflection when we listened to our students present on what it’s like being a student at Ripponlea. They spoke of their experiences and what they value most: namely the community and the opportunities to be involved.

Our leadership team have led strategically throughout the years and the amount of work achieved in a short timeframe has been astounding, especially compounded by the last 18 months of the pandemic. We all feel highly privileged to be leading our community – students, staff and families. John Hunter, our reviewer, is looking forward to attending onsite to observe classroom practice, talk further with students, parents and all staff. We are hopeful that the review provides our school a more realistic Strategic Plan moving into the next four years. 

NAPLAN RESULTS

Congratulations to all of our Year 3 and Year 5 students who recently received their results. There is a lot to acknowledge for the way our students performed in the National Testing program. Although this is only one form of assessment, we have a range of other information that indicates the school’s overall strengths on improving student learning outcomes in Literacy and, in particular, on student Writing outcomes. There has been significant work in this area over the last four year, working on strengthening the craft of our writers from Foundation to Year 6. As we embark on our new Strategic Plan and chart our next priorities, we have already identified and are well placed to commence our improvement strategies in Numeracy. 

Year 3 - Top 2 Bands:

Year 5 - Top 2 Bands: 

REMOTE REFLECTIONS

Back in August when we issued the invitation for feedback on our remote learning program, we had hoped we would not so quickly be returning to our laptop screens and iPads. Nevertheless, our teachers took on board the feedback shared by many parents and we continue to appreciate the genuine views of parents who see the impact of our program at home. 

Year level teams were given the following data and the teachers responded in the following ways:

• In Foundation, it was clear that variety was key. They had an emphasis on small group sessions and introduced a virtual playtime to allow the students to connect across the classes. Whilst most families responded that the work set was the right amount, the Foundation team issued matrices of learning activities to support families who desired more. The team also issued skills-based activities to allow students to practise and consolidate handwriting, sight words, and so on.
• The Year 1/2 team learnt from their feedback that the amount of work was about right. The team shifted gear to focus further on ‘share time’ and wellbeing, sometimes 1:1 sessions. As the term continued, the team observed a diminishing number of students who were happy to stay on for longer live sessions and consider that small group sessions would be appropriate . If a further period of remote learning occurs, the team would like to implement more small group sessions to increase explicit teaching, connectedness and collaboration.
• The Year 3/4 team continued in daily Webex live lessons although they found that few students were making use of the virtual help desk. The team focused on small group sessions in Maths and Literacy each week to bolster connections. Students also had the opportunity to work in a virtual “study buddy” arrangement to support peer connections and their collaborative skills with adjustments made to suit individual needs.
• The Year 5/6 team recognised a fatigue in their students early on in this lockdown and a reticence to engage in live lessons at the beginning of the school day. The team flipped their schedule to allow for students to begin the day in small groups to interact positively and get ‘warmed up’ for the live lessons and learning activities. An earnest attempt to replicate Literature Circles in the virtual world was heavily adapted to suit student engagement; instead of structure responses to texts being read, students met for “Book Club” styled discussions which they appreciated in being given the opportunity to verbalise their observations and responses to the text.
• Our specialists have continued to contribute engaging lessons in a variety of ways from learning new words in French, to sing-alongs in Music, creating obstacle courses in PE and designing their own footy shirts in Art. We know how much our community values the specialist team program and hope that we can create more interactive opportunities in future.

Again, we appreciate the efforts of our co-teachers at home (the families!) and your valuable feedback. Although we are hopeful for a Term 4 which is onsite, we feel that your feedback and support will assist us to reinvigorate the learning program if remote schooling is again required. A big thanks to the staff, students and parents who have dug ever so deep to try and keep up our levels of engagement and motivation.

TERM 4 – GLEN EIRA ACTIVE SCHOOLS - GO FOR GOLD PROGRAM 

We have registered all Ripponlea students to get active from 4th - 29th October. Four weeks to become the Glen Eira Active Schools Champion in 2021. One lucky student will win a Fitbit and prizes will also be awarded for our special events run by our school leaders. 

Each child will receive a Virtual Golden Ticket on Seesaw at the start of Term 4 and each time you walk, ride or scoot around the neighbourhood, complete a physical activity at home, or even better come to school you simply tick one of the boxes on your ticket or keep a tally of your activities. 

Being active helps keep us fit and healthy so whether you walk, ride or scoot to school, follow along to an online class, walk your dog, kick a ball or visit your local playground, it all counts. At the end of October, parents will submit an online entry to go into the draw to win a Fitbit Ace, as well as help our school take out the interschool honours!

www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/active-schools 

Wishing every family a safe and relaxing holiday break. We will all await the Premier's announcement this coming Sunday and will plan accordingly for a successful Term 4. We hope our families and in particular our students continue to stay connected and active in the outdoors. 

Until next term!

Natalie Rose Principal

Jess Grey Assistant Principal