Principal's Message
Welcome back everyone, we hope you all enjoyed time spent with your families, friends, and loved ones, perhaps celebrating Easter, Passover or most recently Orthodox Easter. Melbourne certainly blessed us with some warm weather and we hope you all took advantage of this extended holiday break, relaxed and re-energised yourselves in readiness for a busy term ahead. This term we welcome new families to the school and hope that their start to school has been smooth and that they have already experienced our welcoming community.
It has been a slow and steady start to Term 2 and very much appreciated by everyone given the two public holidays throughout the week. This certainly assisted our students and staff to ease back into the routines of school life.
Upon our return to school, you might have noticed all of the holiday works and changes that have occurred throughout the school. We saw many excited Year 1/2 students as they entered their learning spaces to find fresh, bright and a range of flexible furniture options across their learning spaces. The students when asked how they were feeling about the change they instantly replied with approval and happiness and pleasantly surprised our staff when they said, “we really need to look after this furniture so that it doesn’t end up being dirty and damaged like the old ones”.
Our old uniform shop has been refurbished and has now become our Literacy Intervention space. Students are now being withdrawn into this learning space to work Ms Tania Watts- Hall, our literacy intervention specialist, in the MiniLit Literacy Intervention Program. The space can also be used for external therapy providers and a space for our teachers to conduct one to one assessments with students in a space with minimal disruptions or distractions.
The old uniform shop has moved next door to the old resource room and parents are now able to view a display of all our uniform items, including samples to try, second hand uniform items and some additional stock the school still holds. The uniform shop continues to operate on Friday mornings. We have plenty of large sizes in stock, so please check QKR to confirm if we still hold the size you need, otherwise all new stock can be ordered through EduThreads online.
The most impressive of all works has been the refurbishment of the school’s library. We have taken on board all feedback our community had provided through the SCP Surveys and completed a much-needed makeover. Ms Jess Grey and her husband Steve worked over the holidays to install new bench tops, cupboard doors, circulation desk, flooring, creating small hubs for learning and large spaces and open spaces for groups to listen to stories being read. The floor plan of the library has changed significantly and the whole space has opened up with brightness, colour and functionality. Shelving was relocated to make the best of the natural light filtering in through the northern windows. Throughout the term some new additions will be seen in the library including an updated trolley to replace the original one (desperately facing retirement) which will allow for the housing of a greater selection of board games as well. Stay tuned for further details as they occur. In the meantime, please look at the images or drop in for a visit.
All this work has been made possible through the generosity of our school community. Our parents have made a range of tax deductible donations and have contributed to either the Building Fund, Library Fund or made a contribution to the maintenance and special projects budget. To each and every one of our parents we deeply thank you for making this all possible. We also acknowledge the work of Ms Jess Grey and in particular Steve, her husband in our library.
Our next project is to upgrade our air conditioners, freshen up the painting across the corridor that leads to the Foundation and 1/2 rooms and re-carpet some of our classrooms. Donations are always welcome throughout the year. If any parent is interested in joining our Facilities and Environment committee of school council, please come and speak to Colin Smith or George Keon-Cohen.
ANZAC ASSEMBLY
We deeply thank our Year 6 students and Mr. Leech for organising such a touching and moving assembly to acknowledge the history and significance of Anzac Day. We heard our students highlight historical facts, provide an insight into the lives of our soldiers and recall the unsung heroes - the animals of war. We heard poems being read and a narrative account of a soldier's life before death in the trenches, written by one of our students. Many members of the audience were emotionally touched by what they heard, the manner in which the students paid their respects and how well they presented to their peers, teachers, parents and visitors.
COMMITTEES OF SCHOOL COUNCIL
Have you ever wondered how you can contribute to making improvements across the school for the benefit of our children? The School Council has formed several committees to assist the RPS Council with work that needs to be done. These committees are active and the parents involved are bringing their skills to helping the school flourish.
We would like to invite other community members to contribute to these committees and help the school in a positive way. The following provides a summary of the School Council Committees. Please use this information as a guide for determining your interest in participating. Committee details are listed below and dates of their meetings are posted on the COMPASS calendar for your reference. If you are interested in joining one (or more) of the committees, please come along to any of the meetings.
Facilities & Environment Committee:
Chair- Colin Smith Colin.Smith@wgpsn.melbournewater.com.au
This Committee is responsible for planning and developing the school's facilities such as its buildings and grounds; organising Working Bees and other actions to maintain or improve the appearance of the school. They provide advice to School Council on the school’s Master Plan and seek funding to deliver priorities. This year the committee is working on the playground upgrade.
School & Community Partnerships Committee:
Chair – Kylie Jeffares kylie@jeffares.com.au
This Committee is responsible for developing ways for the school to work more actively with its community, including parents and carers and the wider community; developing fund raising activities for the school and developing school functions to build the school community. Ripper Families is part of this committee.
Marketing & Publicity Committee:
Chair – Jess Grey & Martyn Rose grey.jessica.j@edumail.vic.gov.au & mrose@bellpotter.com.au
The Marketing & Publicity Committee is responsible for the promotion of the School to the community. The Committee follows an annual marketing plan that incorporates ideas and recommendations for marketing of the School.
Governance Committee:
Chair – Jaclyn Paltos jacpaltos@yahoo.com.au
The Governance Committee is responsible for developing and revising School Policies. These policies form part of the guiding principles that influence decision making.
Finance Committee:
Chair – Michael Kent michael@kent.name
The Finance Committee is responsible for the annual budget, monitors the expenditure and investments and reviews the parent contributions.
Click here to view the School Council and Committee Meeting Schedule for 2019.
Committees serve as advisory bodies to the School Council and assist Council with their activities. Committees regularly report at School Council meetings to provide advice and make recommendations, however School Council has the final responsibility for decisions. Committees are open to non-school council members and provide members of the school community an opportunity to become involved in school planning and Council matters.
CANBERRA TOUR
On Monday we farewelled our Year 5/6 students who have been waiting so eagerly for this special camping/tour experience of the nation’s capital city. The group will spend five days touring Canberra, flying up on Monday and returning home by bus on Friday. All students and staff will be staying at the Australian Institute of Sports.
I have already heard about their glorious meals and a visit to Parliament House on their first day. We are so grateful that this year our teachers have volunteered to take our students on such an experience. Ms Jess Grey, Mrs Bronwyn Howell, Ms Claire Brooks, Mr Braden Leech, Ms Zoe Keystone, Ms Tania Watts - Hall and Mr Jack Temple (son of Mrs Brooks). The tour also includes a visit to Questacon, National Museum, National Gallery, War Memorial, Telstra Tower, Royal Australian Mint and much more. A jammed packed adventure and a lifetime experience. Here are some snapshots of the first few days:
PLAYGROUND
Last week Josh Burns - Labor Candidate for MacNamara visited the school to make a pre-election promise. Ms Kate Ashmor - Liberal Candidate for MacNamara will also visit the school shortly to present our school library with a copy of The Dame. Ripponlea Primary School is once again a polling place for the Federal Election (more info in the School & Community Partnership section).
ENROLMENT
At the end of last term all schools in Victoria who had a designated neighbourhood boundary, will now will be referring to this boundary as a school zone. Ripponlea’s zone has not changed dramatically and we will continue to follow the department’s Placement Policy. The school zone can be viewed below.
Families will soon be able to log onto a website, enter their address and find out which school they are able to enrol in. Families who have queries about enrolling at Ripponlea can contact the school directly. This new zone does not affect existing families or younger siblings of the school.
- Parents with children living in our school zone will always be able to request enrolment in our school.
- Parents with children living outside our zone still have the choice to request enrolment, but their enrolment will depend on our capacity. We will continue to manage enrolments using the Department’s Placement Policy.
- The Placement Policy has not changed. The Department has provided us with additional information to help apply the policy consistently when we’re nearing our capacity.
NAPLAN PREPARATIONS
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The tests cover skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has responsibility for the central management of NAPLAN. A Test Administration Authority (TAA) is responsible for the implementation of NAPLAN in each territory and state. In Victoria, the TAA is the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).
For us at Ripponlea NAPLAN Online will take place from 14 May to 24 May.
WELLBEING OPPORTUNITIES AT RIPPONLEA
We have been lucky to be selected by DBT in Schools Australia to provide comprehensive psychological services on site at school. DBT in Schools combines the best approaches from clinical psychology and school psychology to support challenges faced in life by our students. If you would like for your child to access this free service, please contact Jess Grey grey.jessica.j@edumail.vic.gov.au. For detailed information about the service, please visit www.dbtinschools.com.au.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY - 12TH MAY
To all the lovely mothers, aunties & grandmothers of Ripponlea Primary School, we wish you a day of lots of spoiling and surprises.
Until next fortnight!
Natalie Rose Jess Grey
Principal Assistant Principal