End of Year Concert Details

Our annual End of Year Concert is on this Thursday!

Your children have been singing their hearts out in preparation for their year level performances and are looking forward to seeing you underneath the peppercorn tree on Thursday December 19th.

As you know, our wonderful Parents' Association is facilitating a number of food stalls and a BBQ for the event. Don't forget to get in touch with them if you can help out!

On the day...

Food available from 4:30pm. Get in early to avoid the queues. You will need to supervise your children at all times.
Students are to arrive no later than 5:45pm. They will meet their class teachers in their waiting zones (see map below).
The concert will start punctually at 6:00pm and is expected to go no longer than 90 minutes. We would greatly appreciate any help with packing up the chairs at the end of the concert.
Families are asked to take home all of their rubbish and the consumption of alcohol is strongly discouraged.

We are all looking forward to seeing you at this light-hearted family event as we wrap up yet another great year at Auburn South!

Farewell to Mrs Court

Dear Parents and Students,

It’s time for me to hang up my art smock and leave the creative space I have loved working in at Auburn South for the last 30 years. I arrived in 1989 and walked into a space very different from what it is today. It was a tribute to 1970’s design with hessian walls, orange and brown paint work, split levels, a mezzanine and a court yard. It was a wonderful space to work in and I know the students loved it too.

I have always enjoyed making things and realise how lucky I‘ve been to be able to pass on my knowledge and love of art to the students of all ages at Auburn South. 30 years ago classrooms were very different. Today, technology has changed them dramatically, but not so much in the art room and I think that’s a good thing. We have hands for making things, not pushing too many buttons. As useful and seductive as electronic devices are to us all, I hope the students I have taught will not forget how to play and have fun with learning through art. I hope they will enjoy making art as much as I have enjoyed being able to teach them.

Over the past few years I have worked part time, with Mrs Smith taking on the full time teaching load. I know I’m leaving my job in very capable hands.

I would like to say a very big THANK YOU to all the kids at Auburn South for delighting me with their creativity, spontaneity, curiosity, warmth, humour and wonderful storytelling through their art making. I’ve also learnt a lot from all of you! THANKS also to the staff for their support and comraderie over the 30 years I’ve been teaching at Auburn South.

Happy art making everyone,

Irene Court

Farewell to Miss Janover

Dear ASPS Community,

As some of you might be aware, I will not be returning next year.

I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you all for making my time here so memorable. It's been a pleasure getting to know you and being part of this fantastic community over the past three years.

Wishing you all a safe and happy 2020.

Best Wishes,

Grace

Farewell to Miss Corrigan

Dear Parents, Staff and Students,

Leaving ASPS is one of the hardest things I have ever done and just writing this short farewell note makes me feel like crying! The best way that I can express how I feel is by saying that this school community has become like family and home to me - I will miss it so much. Thank you to all of the wonderful and kind people that have supported and encouraged me during my 3 years at Auburn South. Looking forward to 2020, I will be taking all that I have learnt overseas to the UK where I will be continuing my teaching career in London.

Thank you and farewell,

Beth

Farewell to Xinyi Zhao (Chinese Language Assistant)

Dear staff and Students,

How time flies!It’s time to say goodbye. I’m grateful to have this amazing working experience in such a lovely school as all the teachers are so responsible and enthusiastic for students and work. I learned a lot as a member of this team. Also I am so impressed by all the kids because you are so creative and inquisitive. Thanks for your great effort to learn Mandarin. I hope you can continue your passion for learning a language. Life is a journey and I believe this experience is one of the best parts of it!

Thank you and all the best,

Xinyi Zhao

Staff Thank You

With the year drawing to a close, I would like to recognise the efforts of all ASPS staff; our amazing teacher teams, education support teams (admin, integration, library and ICT), the SAKG team (Karen and Andrea), our talented instrumental music teachers, the uniform shop managers (Alicia and Lydia), the canteen team (led by Liz and Fiona), our maintenance team from UMS (particularly Brendan) and the cleaning team from Spotless. The collective efforts of our whole team is what makes ASPS the great school that it is.

There are of course individuals that I would like to recognise and thank:

Senior Leadership Team

Sharron (Shaz) Bailey and Ben Zonca (Assistant Principals)

Michael Wainwright (operations and co-curricular)

Kathy Arnold (Learning Specialist)

Supported By: Alicia Smith (Daily Organisation)

Team Leaders

Amy Shen (Prep Team Leader)

Sabrina Cheng (Year 1 Team Leader)

Sophie Doran & Ashleigh Prosser (Year 2 Co-Leaders)

Rhian ap Rees & Hayley Street (Year 3 Co-Leaders)

Reyna Dudhwala (Year 4 Team Leader)

Julian Van Marle (Year 5 team Leader)

Carol Chang (Year 6 Team Leader)

Visible Wellbeing Leaders

Kate Frayne

Sean Micelli

One of the many things that I am appreciative and proud of is our staff’s willingness, enthusiasm and motivation to contribute beyond their classroom roles (i.e. year 5/6 production of The Daily Express!).

Thanks are also extended to staff that have taken on extra responsibilities (including the leadership roles detailed above) in areas of sustainability and the Student Green Team (Beth Corrigan and team!), Teachers Across Borders (Ms Chang, Miss Doran & Miss Prosser) the Science Talent Search Team (led by Ms Kretsis, curriculum working parties, the China Trip Team (Ms Shen and Mr Hunte), The Maths Olympiad program (Mr Hunte), Respectful Relationships (led by Miss Keay, Miss Donnelly) Prep Transition Team, lunchtime and before school clubs and the list goes on and on. Thank you!

Parent Volunteers Thank You

A huge thank you to all parents that have contributed so generously throughout the year, particularly those that have helped via:

School Council (including the finance, trading operations and policy development and review sub-committees)
Parents Association (and our year level teams!)
Winter Ball and Trivia Night Teams
Parent Green Team
School Improvements Sub-Committee
Canteen & Uniform Shop
Parent Reps
SAKG Volunteers
Class Helpers and Working Bee Volunteers

I would also like to make special mention of Fiona Cumberlidge who, with her youngest child leaving our school, is stepping down from her role as canteen manager. Fiona’s contributions within the school will be missed and we thank her for her many years as an active parent volunteer through events such as the Mother’s Day Stall and for her work in the ASPS canteen.

Used Maths Books

If you are a speedy recycler of your child’s school workbooks, would you please consider donating your child’s 2019 Maths workbook to me. This will greatly assist with my ongoing study of teaching and learning of mathematics at Auburn South.

Items can be returned with your child after you have perused them, either at the end of this term or the beginning of Term One 2020. They may be dropped at the front office, marked for my attention.

Many thanks

Kathy Arnold

Sneaker Laundry Report: Shoes for the homeless

Rhylee and Eugene from the sneaker laundry would love to say a special thank you to the Auburn South Primary School Community for it generous donation. In such a short amount of time we managed to donate 249 pairs of shoes for the homeless. These shoes will be washed, disinfected and deodorised then distributed to the homeless in time for Christmas. It will make a huge difference to so many lives. Thank you.

Thank you to the ASPS community for supporting Rhylee with this fundraiser. We appreciate the timing was short, but it’s great that we had such an amazing response.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas,

Rhylee Turner (Year 3 Student)

Celebrating Australia’s top student inventors: ASPS Student win national award!

Some of Australia’s top student inventors have been revealed following the national final of the Young ICT Explorers competition, where inventions aimed at changing the world took centre stage.

This was the 10th rendition of the competition, which is run by software company SAP Australia. It is open to school students from Years 3 to 12. Winners receive mentoring to develop their project further, as well as cash prizes.

The competition is aligned with the school curriculum so students can apply what they learn in the ICT/Digital Technologies classroom to develop a technology related project of their choice. Students are tasked with creating something that solves a problem, using any technology such as software, apps, robots, websites, games or virtual reality.

Over 1200 Australian students took part in the Young ICT Explorers competition in 2019. And, for the first time, half the entries were from female students. The program is supported by several universities including UNSW, Deakin University, Queensland University, University of South Australia, and James Cook University. Additional partners include CSIRO, the Australian Computer Society and The Smith Family charity.

Throughout 2019, students presented their projects and pitched their ideas to judges at regional and state competitions which have taken place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Townsville, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Auckland. Over 50 winners of every age-category from each roadshow event competed at the national final, judged by tech experts from universities, government and business.

Aquerator (Year 5-6 category)

Created by Lawson Gallup, Gabrielle Simcox, 13, Auburn South Primary School, VIC

Inspired by images of dead fish in the Darling-Murray river, Aquerator is a mobile self-sustaining water aerator robot, designed to aerate stagnant river systems by providing oxygen to dying fish. The robot, which is solar powered, is also a solution to algae detection.

Source: Education Matters Magazine

General School News

Lost Scooter