INFORMATION FOR YEAR PREP PARENTS 2021 - Updated 18/12/2020
The 2021 information handbook for parents/guardians of new students in 2021 can be accessed either in the PDF below or in web form on this page, noting that parents have the option to change the language if desired on the web page (but not on the PDF)
The 2021 information handbook for parents/guardians of new students in 2021 can be accessed either in the PDF below or in web form on this page, noting that parents have the option to change the language if desired on the web page (but not on the PDF)
| prep_parent_handbook_2021_-_updated_feb_arrangements.pdf |
Welcome to Ascot Vale PS
AVPS Purpose and Values
Our Purpose:
Ascot Vale Primary School provides a safe, supportive and engaging multi-age learning community that aims to motivate and stimulate students’ curiosity, enabling them to become creative and passionate lifelong learners.
We Value:
RESPECT; RESPONSIBILITY; EXCELLENCE; EMPATHY; GRATITUDE
We are committed to equity principles and strive for all students to experience success, develop confidence and self-esteem, and achieve the highest possible learning and social outcomes. We recognise the need to develop ongoing relationships by maintaining children in the same small cohort over two years, where possible. Our programs aim for high quality academic learning and all round physical, social and emotional development.
We believe in nurturing each child to their potential through developmental learning practices and an integrated holistic approach to education. Ascot Vale PS follows the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model that brings the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) into the classroom. It creates a line of sight between the whole school improvement approach and classroom practice.
Our School Strategic Plan and Annual Implementation Plan focuses on:
Welcome to our unique learning community
Sue Osborne
Principal
&
Michael Downing
Assistant Principal
Covid-19
Ascot Vale PS students, like all Victorian school students, undertook a remote learning model during Term 3 2020 to help reduce movement of people across Victoria and slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). With falling case numbers and reduced community transmission we returned to on-site learning from the start of Term 4. This transition was carefully managed at AVPS. A Return to School Guide communicates important strategies are being implemented at AVPS to guide the actions and behaviours of all school community members to ensure a happy and safe return to school for all students. We encourage all parents to read this guide, available at this link, http://avps.vic.edu.au/news-and-events.html . It contains information about:
· restricting access to the school site for anyone other than immediate school staff and students
· adjusting arrangements for drop off and pick up, including units being allocated specific gates to enter and exit the school and assigning extra time for teachers to greet and farewell students at gates
· enhancing cleaning and hygiene arrangements
· parent-teacher meetings and interviews to be held remotely
· parameters around shared materials and items brought to and from home
We encourage parents and carers of 2021 students to read the guide above to gain a detailed understanding of the strategies we have in place to address Covid Safe principles.
Staff, students and parents have been consulted in the development of this guide and as 2020 concludes, we will continue to respond and adapt our approaches to feedback, advice and observations as we plan for 2021. Any updates to this guide will be made to the website above.
COVIDSafe Principles for Schools
Ascot Vale PS will apply the following principles for maintaining a COVIDSafe School. They are aligned with Victoria’s COVIDSafe principles for business and acknowledge the unique school setting as both a place of work for staff and a learning environment for children and young people, drawing on local and international literature.
A combination of strategies is required to minimise transmission risk. No single strategy completely reduces risk and not every measure will always be feasible and applicable to all educational settings. Where some controls are not feasible, others may be enhanced. Strategies may also be adjusted over time in line with changing risk of transmission in the community.
Multi-age Learning and Teaching
At Ascot Vale PS, children are organised into multi-age groups, known as ‘Units’, whereby two teachers share an open plan teaching and learning space and are assigned the equivalent of two classes of children. In 2020, the multi-age structure is organised in the following way:
Unit 1 P/1/2*
Unit 2 3/4/5/6
Unit 3 P/1/2*
Unit 4 3/4/5/6
Unit 5 P/1/2*
Unit 6 3/4/5/6
Unit 7 P/1
*Denotes team teaching, where two teachers plan and teach two combined classes
NB: All units have a multi age arrangement, where units visit each other periodical for multi-age learning
The AVPS multi-age structure commenced in 1984 with support from the wider school community, in response to an emerging issue of increased school wide anti-social disruption. A number of critical factors, including teacher readiness, staff ownership, parental involvement and collaborative planning has ensured that the multi-age approach at Ascot Vale PS has had a positive and lasting impact on establishing and maintaining a positive school environment over a 35 year timeframe.
Our multi-age classrooms reflect an organisational structure in which children of different ages (at least a two-year span) and ability levels are grouped together. The multi-age structure allows younger and older children to interact socially and academically.
The multi-age structure enables all children to learn at their appropriate developmental stage whilst taking into account individual learning needs. The structure will change over your child’s years at school as we refine and re-organise the groupings according to the educational needs of the children, staff changes and enrolment numbers fluctuating. When this does happen, parents are informed; the multi-age methodology however is the foundation upon which all educational decisions are made at Ascot Vale PS.
The following features of multi-age at Ascot Vale PS helps make us a Unique Learning Community:
The AVPS multi-age structure is subject to change in enrolments.
Curriculum
Teaching and Learning at Ascot Vale PS reflects the Victorian Curriculum, found at this link https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au.
The Victorian Curriculum F–10 sets out what every student should learn during their first eleven years of schooling. The curriculum is the common set of knowledge and skills required by students for life-long learning, social development and active and informed citizenship. The school follows a two year cycle, whole school curriculum scope and sequence plan, using an integrated and inquiry approach to learning.
Specialist Subjects
Specialist classes are taught by specialist teachers for one hour per week (P-6) these include: Physical Education, Visual Arts and our Japanese Language Program.
In addition, all children are scheduled to visit the library each week and are encouraged to borrow and read books regularly. Children in Years P-1 also participate in classroom music classes each week.
Items your child requires for specialist sessions include:
A range of curriculum support and enrichment programs are offered at AVPS. These include:
Staff Teams
AVPS teaching staff meet regularly in teams to collaboratively plan teaching and learning programs using a Professional Learning Community (PLC) approach to school improvement. Groups of teachers work collaboratively at the school level to improve student outcomes. This approach starts from a simple idea: students learn more when their teachers work together.
Building a PLC is a proven way for schools to increase student learning by creating a culture that is:
AVPS Instructional Teaching and Learning Model
The Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model is the instructional teaching and learning model implemented by teaching teams (P-6) at AVPS. GRR lessons feature the following stages, known as ‘Whole, Part, Whole’:
The GRR instructional model is supported at AVPS by the High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS), which are ten instructional practices, appearing below, identified by the Victorian Department of Education and Training that reliably increase student learning wherever they are applied.
High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS)
Setting Goals
Structuring lessons
Explicit teaching
Worked Examples
Collaborative Learning
Multiple Exposures
Metacognitive Strategies
Questioning
Feedback
Differentiated teaching
The High Impact Teaching Strategies feature prominently in AVPS planning documentation and teaching & learning programs across the school. This document can be accessed at the link above.
Bounce Back
The BOUNCE BACK! Wellbeing & Resilience Program provides the environmental building blocks and the personal skills for fostering resilience in children and young people. The program focuses mainly on the teaching of coping skills to help children and young people respond positively to the complexity of their everyday lives. In other words, children are taught how to ‘bounce back’ after experiencing sadness, difficulties, frustrations and hard times. The key concepts of resilience and wellbeing, with age appropriate content in the following areas are:
Self-knowledge
MVIMP – Moonee Vale Instrumental Music Program (Years 3 – 6)
This is an instrumental music program offering tuition in the following categories: Brass, Woodwind, Strings, Percussion and Bass Guitar. MVIMP is organised in collaboration with three other schools in our area: Ascot Vale West PS, Moonee Ponds PS and Moonee Ponds West PS. Children attend an instrumental music lesson each week and have the opportunity to participate in concerts and the school band. Our combined concert is held every year in term four at Moonee Valley Racecourse.
Piano – Lessons are offered by Lamplight Music to students in Years 1 – 6. There is also an opportunity for students to participate in piano exams if they wish. Students have the opportunity to participate in the annual piano concert.
Guitar – Lessons are available for students in Years 2 – 6.
Dance - provided by Dance Theatre in the school hall after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on Saturdays.
Kelly Sports - Offered on Wednesday after school (P-6). Pending Covid-19 restrictions.
Camps and Excursions
Excursions and camps are essential to assist children with their physical and social development and understanding of their world. Children participate in excursions and incursions each term and students from Years 3 – 6 have the opportunity to attend camp at least once per year. Due to the pandemic there have been no camps in 2020 and School Council has recommended no camps in 2021. We are planning to re-establish our camping program in 2022.
Communication
Ascot Vale PS recognises that clear communication underpins strong home – school partnerships. The school aims to develop clear, two-way communication that fosters a strong community network and supports student learning. The AVPS Communications Policy, aims to:
Ascot Vale PS has four major communications pathways:
1. Compass
2. School Website
3. Class Dojo
4. Direct contact – in person, by phone or email
1. Compass is the school’s preferred method of disseminating information to the school community. Compass is a comprehensive education management system with a variety of uses, including:
2. Website
The AVPS website is a hub of information about the school and is accessible at: www.avps.vic.edu.au
Our web based newsletter is distributed fortnightly on Thursdays and it is an important source of information for parents/guardians. It contains dates, events, information about teaching and learning programs, student achievements and sports updates. The newsletter is accessible at http://avps.vic.edu.au/newsletter.html. Both the website and newsletter are able to be translated into many different languages by simply clicking on an option tab in the top left corner of each page.
3. Class Dojo is a school communication platform that teachers, students, and families use to share what is being learned in the classroom through photos, videos, and messages.
4. Direct Contact
PHONE: 03 9370 6507
EMAIL: ascot.vale.ps@education.vic.gov.au
IN PERSON: Office hours 8:30am-4:00pm Please make an appointment to meet the Principal, Sue Osborne, Assistant Principal, Michael Downing or your child’s teacher
Student Engagement and Wellbeing
AVPS aims for children to develop a sense of belonging. School then becomes a familiar and safe place and this feeling of connectedness is optimal for learning. If problems or issues arise, it is best to discuss these in the first instance with your child’s teacher. The intention is that issues may be resolved quickly and efficiently by approaching the class teacher promptly. If the situation does not improve, parents are encouraged to make an appointment with the Assistant Principal who is also the Student Welfare Coordinator. If the Assistant Principal or parent/guardian believes the situation is still not resolved then it will be referred to the Principal.
We suggest that parents/guardians make an appointment to meet with teachers to allow ample time to discuss concerns. Please be aware that teachers may not always be available to meet without notice due to other commitments, such as staff or team planning meetings being scheduled on any given day before or after school.
Facilities
Considerable developments have taken place at Ascot Vale PS in recent years. A refurbished Art, Library and ICT space (Learning Studio) with a Science area, sound studio and stage was built in 2011. Portable buildings were replaced with a music pavilion and community room with a shared kitchenette. Our grounds feature learning and play decks, tiered seating facing our oval and running track, sensory garden. In 2019 a capital works program resulted in refurbished student toilets, a new oval, extensive landscaping, a new playground, refurbished staffroom, office and first aid facilities. We have a hall for assemblies, excellent physical education facilities and an Out of School Hours Care program room that currently operates from our learning studio. The buildings have been designed to support community partnerships and joint school community use of our facilities.
ICT – Information and Communication Technologies / iPad 1-1 Program
Currently under review
A one-to one iPad program is implemented for all year 5 and 6 students. Sets of notebooks are available to all students in all year levels to support their learning. Technology at AVPS enables students to access the internet for information and research, as well as to plan, create, publish and to connect with their peers and staff to communicate and collaborate, thus supporting their learning.
Attendance: IT’S COOL TO BE AT SCHOOL!
Regularly attending school is very important for a child’s connectedness and continuity of learning. Being away from school disrupts learning and some children may find it difficult to make friends. Unless your child is ill, they must attend school each day. Holidays during school time can disrupt your child’s education. We encourage you to take holidays during term breaks. It is expected that the school will be notified via COMPASS (our preferred method) phone, or written note regarding all student absences.
Punctuality: ON TIME AT NINE!
For the same reasons as outlined in attendance, punctuality is very important. Young children can become distressed if they are late and have missed out on the beginning of a lesson. Also, it is disruptive to the rest of the class if the teacher has to ensure that late students ‘catch up’ on the class activity. Importantly, being on time is a good life skill to develop. Students who are late MUST report to the office before attending class to have their attendance recorded by office staff and to receive a late pass to be handed to the teacher.
Nude Food
At AVPS, we actively encourage all students to bring as little rubbish as possible in their lunchboxes. Please use reusable containers where possible.
Eating
AVPS provides ample opportunities for children to eat and drink throughout the day. A break is scheduled every two hours for this purpose. Please pack two small lunches, one to be eaten at 11.00am and the other to be eaten at 1:30 pm. Children often need small and frequent serves to keep them going throughout the day. Please also provide a water bottle labelled with your child’s name to enable them to access water in the classroom all day.
Emergency Information
It is important that the office has current contact details for parents / guardians and alternative emergency contacts details in case you are unavailable. If these change at any time please update this information on COMPASS or alternatively, inform the office as soon as possible.
Student Charges
AVPS Student Charges are arranged in the following ways:
1. Essential Student Leaning Items
2. Excursions, Sport & Swimming
3. Camp (Years 3-6 students only)
4. MVIMP (instrumental program for years 3-6 only)
5. Voluntary Contributions
a. Building Trust Fund
b. Library Trust Fund
c. Student Sponsorship
d. Working Bee
In 2021, most payments can be made online via COMPASS. Payments can also be made in person at the office. Special lunch days and fundraising events held throughout the year may require a cash payment.
1. Essential Student Learning Item Charge
At the time of publishing, the 2021 student charges were not available.
The 2020 Essential Student Learning Item charge was $180.00 per student in years P-6. This charge covered the costs of items, activities or services that are essential to support student learning of the standard curriculum. Year prep students have an additional charge of $17.00 to purchase a recorder for the two year classroom music program.
2. Excursions, Swimming and Sport
Excursion costs will be charged separately, as the need arises in 2021
A Sports Levy was charged in 2020 to cover additional costs to deliver a full and comprehensive PE and Sports program as follows:
$25.00 for Years P-1-2 –covered costs for gymnastics
$50 for Years 3-4 - covered costs for gymnastics, athletics & cricket carnival
$127.00 for Years 5-6 – covered gymnastics, athletics and interschool sports
Swimming lessons are usually an important part of the school’s program and run over a two-week period. However, this program did not run in 2020 due to Covid-19. When the program resumes, swimming lessons will be provided by trained instructors at the Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre. Parents will receive a permission form and further information regarding swimming in the term before lessons start. 2021 costs are yet to be confirmed (as at 6/11/2020).
3. #Camp deposits will be collected to secure arrangements for year 3-6 students’ camp programs. #When the program resumes
5. Voluntary Financial Contributions
Parents are invited to make voluntary contributions to the following school funds:
Reporting to Parents / Student Led Conferences*
*At the time of publishing, parents and visitors are not allowed on the school site, due to Covid-19, therefore, parent - teacher meetings will be held remotely.
Reporting to parents is integral to the teacher’s role. AVPS has two formal opportunities for parents / guardians to meet with teachers and two formal written student reports are distributed per year.
The first opportunity to meet with the teacher is held in term 1. This is known as ‘Meet the Teacher’ where the teacher and parent/guardian are introduced to or reacquainted with each other; they share relevant information about the child that will assist in the positive transition to the new school year.
The second meeting is held as a ‘Parent Teacher Interview’ and occurs after the Semester 1 Student Reports have been distributed (mid year).
Student Led Conferences (SLC) are also held mid-way through semester 2. As the name suggests, these conferences provide an opportunity for students to share their learning with parents and the classroom teacher, outlining their achievements and their goals for future learning. SLC’s present differently in each level of the school and reflect the developmental stages of students as they progress through the school. Features of our SLC’s include:
Mid semester reports in the form of a checklist are also provided at the end of terms 1 & 3 as a brief progress report.
Parents are welcome to make an appointment to meet with their child’s teacher at any time throughout the year as they feel necessary.
Parent Participation
Parent participation is currently (at the time of publication, Nov 2020) greatly impacted by Covid-19, due to parents and visitors not being allowed to enter the school site. Nevertheless, parent participation at AVPS is encouraged; there are great benefits from parents/guardians actively participating in their child’s school. Helping at school is a great way to meet other parents, particularly when you are new to the school and children always benefit from their parents forming close connections with the school. See three examples below about how parents/ guardians may participate more fully in our school.
School Council and Subcommittees
Ascot Vale PS School Council meets 2-3 times per term. Decisions regarding strategic planning, school policies and the allocation of resources are made following the work undertaken by the School Council’s three sub-committees:
Finance
Buildings and Grounds
Education and Policy
School support and involvement
Parents are encouraged to be involved in their own child’s education in the following ways noting that some of these activities may be modified or may not take place depending on Covid-19 restrictions lifting:
School Uniform / Clothing
A school uniform is available for children to wear. It is not compulsory but is available as a practical and attractive choice. This is available from Primary School Wear (PSW) who operate a uniform shop at the school usually twice per month, at advertised times. Orders can also be placed on-line (www.psw.com.au) for home delivery. A second hand uniform shop is also available. Details about uniform sales is available in the newsletter / on our website.
Please ensure all clothing is clearly labelled with your child’s name
Visiting School Nurse
The visiting school nurse checks Prep children for general health, vision and hearing in their first year at school. Parents / guardians will receive a questionnaire to complete before this visit that will outline the procedure and give you the opportunity to ask questions. You will receive notification of the visit via Compass as well.
Immunisation
All children MUST have an up to date immunisation status certificate (not a photocopy of their health check book) before they can start at AVPS. Please contact office staff if you require assistance. For more information see: http://www.health.vic.gov.au/immunisation/fact-sheets/factsheets/primary_school/
Sunsmart / Hats
Ascot Vale PS has a Sunsmart policy that requires all students to wear hats for all outside activities between 1 September until 30 April each year. All hats must be broad brimmed or legionnaires style, which offer the best protection from the sun. These should be clearly marked with your child’s name.
Student Medication
Non‐prescribed oral medications (eg: head‐ache tablets) will not be administered by school staff unless a parent or carer has:
http://avps.vic.edu.au/uploads/9/5/6/5/95656824/student_medication_authority_form.pdf
All parent or carer requests for the school to administer any prescribed medications to their child must be in writing on the medication authority form provided, signed by a medical practitioner and must be supported by specific written instructions including the name of the student, dosage and time to be administered (original medication bottle or container must provide this information clearly labelled).
It is the parent or carers’ responsibility to ensure medication is within the expiry date.
Students who experience Anaphylaxis and Asthma do not need a completed medical authority form. This information should already be covered in their relevant health plans, signed by a medical practitioner. See more information below.
Allergies / Health Concerns
Please notify the school of any allergies, conditions or other health concerns pertaining to your child. This information is strictly confidential but must be recorded to help us care for your child.
Anaphylaxis and Asthma
All students who suffer from Anaphylaxis or Asthma must have an up to date action plan presented to school. Please refer to our anaphylaxis management policy: http://avps.vic.edu.au/uploads/9/5/6/5/95656824/anaphylaxis_management_policy_avps__2019.pdf
First Aid - Injury and Illness
If your child is injured at school, a staff member trained in first aid will make an assessment and treat the injury with basic first aid. If your child becomes sick during school time, an assessment will be made by a staff member. Parents/ guardians may be contacted in the event of an injury or illness and in some cases arrangements will need to be made for your child to be collected from school. Our procedure for any head injury is that parents/guardians will be contacted immediately, even if minor and we will recommend the action required.
Celebrating Birthdays
Please read our guidelines about celebrating student birthdays at AVPS http://avps.vic.edu.au/uploads/9/5/6/5/95656824/celebratingbirthdaysguidelines2017.pdf
Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) Program
Ascot Vale has a before and after school program, known as OSHC. Parents who wish to use the program must register with Camp Australia. Registration forms are available from the office or online https://www.campaustralia.com.au/. Parents can make permanent or casual bookings. The phone number for the program is 0423 795 247 and during the day parents can leave a message for the Coordinator. The hours of the program are 7.30 to 8.45 am for before care and 3.30 pm to 6.00 pm for after care. During term 1, Prep children will be collected from their classrooms at the end of the day by an assistant in the program. Information regarding the program is included in the newsletter each week.
Policies
A list of up to date school policies can be found online on our website: http://avps.vic.edu.au/policies--standards.html
Class Placement
Staff work together to create mixed ability teaching and learning groups/Units for the beginning of each school year and consider a complex mix of ability, personality, friendship and gender needs. Parents’ views regarding siblings being together in a multi-age Unit will be considered each year. All other student placements will be decided by the staff.
Helping Your Child to Read
Reading together is a valuable thing to do. Reading increases your child’s vocabulary, expands your child’s understanding of the world, and gives them confidence when using language. Reading is also an important way to make the link between spoken words and written words.
Here are some general tips:
Learning to write begins with scribbling and drawing. This is an important first step and should be encouraged. The next step is to encourage your child to write letter-like shapes, before moving on to practise writing the alphabet – both capitals and lower case letters. After this, encourage your child to write sentences containing short words.
Here are some general tips to help your child when writing:
Literacy and Numeracy Tips to help your child every day
This is a guide (summarised above and below) for parents of children aged 0-12 that provides handy tips and ways to help children develop literacy and numeracy skills.
Helping Your Child Develop Numeracy Skills
Developing numeracy skills early gives children an important foundation for their learning and development. It helps prepare them for daily life, including general problem solving and handling money.
Maths includes noticing numbers, shapes, patterns, size, time and measurement. Incorporating maths into everyday experiences is easy and fun. Maths is everywhere – in the playground, at the shops and at home.
Children need lots of experiences in making, counting, drawing and talking about numbers. The activities in this section will help your child to develop these skills. You may feel the maths your child is doing at their early childhood centre, kindergarten or school is different from how you were taught, but you can still support your child in many ways. Make connections for your child by explaining how numbers and counting are a part of everyday life.
Talking about maths
It is important for children to develop specific language skills related to maths. Visits to the playground, or helping at home, provide rich and meaningful contexts to develop these skills. It might take time for your child to use these terms and language effectively, but exposure to this mathematical talk is a strong support for future learning.
Some activities to develop mathematical language:
Helpful Hints:
*Non-Covid times
Term Dates - 2021–
Access at this link:
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/datesterm.aspx
Please Note: School finishes at 2:30pm on the last day of terms 1, 2 and 3 and 1:30pm on the last day of term
AVPS School Day Times
School starts at 9:00am and finishes at 3:30pm each day. It is important that students are at school for at least 5 minutes before 9am. When the first bell goes at 8:57am, classrooms are open so students can unpack and prepare for the start of their day. The school grounds are supervised from 8:45am before school and until 3:45pm after school. Children are encouraged not to arrive earlier than 8:45am and children who have not been collected by a parent or guardian by 3:45pm need to come to the office, where parents/guardians will be phoned. If this happens frequently, arrangements need to be made for children to enrol in Out of School Hours Care. *Non-Covid-19 times
AVPS Purpose and Values
Our Purpose:
Ascot Vale Primary School provides a safe, supportive and engaging multi-age learning community that aims to motivate and stimulate students’ curiosity, enabling them to become creative and passionate lifelong learners.
We Value:
RESPECT; RESPONSIBILITY; EXCELLENCE; EMPATHY; GRATITUDE
We are committed to equity principles and strive for all students to experience success, develop confidence and self-esteem, and achieve the highest possible learning and social outcomes. We recognise the need to develop ongoing relationships by maintaining children in the same small cohort over two years, where possible. Our programs aim for high quality academic learning and all round physical, social and emotional development.
We believe in nurturing each child to their potential through developmental learning practices and an integrated holistic approach to education. Ascot Vale PS follows the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model that brings the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) into the classroom. It creates a line of sight between the whole school improvement approach and classroom practice.
Our School Strategic Plan and Annual Implementation Plan focuses on:
- Improving learning growth of all students, particularly in literacy and numeracy
- Activating student voice, agency and leadership
- Strengthening the collective efficacy and practices within a Professional Learning Community
- Developing an evidence-based pedagogy
Welcome to our unique learning community
Sue Osborne
Principal
&
Michael Downing
Assistant Principal
Covid-19
Ascot Vale PS students, like all Victorian school students, undertook a remote learning model during Term 3 2020 to help reduce movement of people across Victoria and slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). With falling case numbers and reduced community transmission we returned to on-site learning from the start of Term 4. This transition was carefully managed at AVPS. A Return to School Guide communicates important strategies are being implemented at AVPS to guide the actions and behaviours of all school community members to ensure a happy and safe return to school for all students. We encourage all parents to read this guide, available at this link, http://avps.vic.edu.au/news-and-events.html . It contains information about:
· restricting access to the school site for anyone other than immediate school staff and students
· adjusting arrangements for drop off and pick up, including units being allocated specific gates to enter and exit the school and assigning extra time for teachers to greet and farewell students at gates
· enhancing cleaning and hygiene arrangements
· parent-teacher meetings and interviews to be held remotely
· parameters around shared materials and items brought to and from home
We encourage parents and carers of 2021 students to read the guide above to gain a detailed understanding of the strategies we have in place to address Covid Safe principles.
Staff, students and parents have been consulted in the development of this guide and as 2020 concludes, we will continue to respond and adapt our approaches to feedback, advice and observations as we plan for 2021. Any updates to this guide will be made to the website above.
COVIDSafe Principles for Schools
Ascot Vale PS will apply the following principles for maintaining a COVIDSafe School. They are aligned with Victoria’s COVIDSafe principles for business and acknowledge the unique school setting as both a place of work for staff and a learning environment for children and young people, drawing on local and international literature.
A combination of strategies is required to minimise transmission risk. No single strategy completely reduces risk and not every measure will always be feasible and applicable to all educational settings. Where some controls are not feasible, others may be enhanced. Strategies may also be adjusted over time in line with changing risk of transmission in the community.
Multi-age Learning and Teaching
At Ascot Vale PS, children are organised into multi-age groups, known as ‘Units’, whereby two teachers share an open plan teaching and learning space and are assigned the equivalent of two classes of children. In 2020, the multi-age structure is organised in the following way:
Unit 1 P/1/2*
Unit 2 3/4/5/6
Unit 3 P/1/2*
Unit 4 3/4/5/6
Unit 5 P/1/2*
Unit 6 3/4/5/6
Unit 7 P/1
*Denotes team teaching, where two teachers plan and teach two combined classes
NB: All units have a multi age arrangement, where units visit each other periodical for multi-age learning
The AVPS multi-age structure commenced in 1984 with support from the wider school community, in response to an emerging issue of increased school wide anti-social disruption. A number of critical factors, including teacher readiness, staff ownership, parental involvement and collaborative planning has ensured that the multi-age approach at Ascot Vale PS has had a positive and lasting impact on establishing and maintaining a positive school environment over a 35 year timeframe.
Our multi-age classrooms reflect an organisational structure in which children of different ages (at least a two-year span) and ability levels are grouped together. The multi-age structure allows younger and older children to interact socially and academically.
The multi-age structure enables all children to learn at their appropriate developmental stage whilst taking into account individual learning needs. The structure will change over your child’s years at school as we refine and re-organise the groupings according to the educational needs of the children, staff changes and enrolment numbers fluctuating. When this does happen, parents are informed; the multi-age methodology however is the foundation upon which all educational decisions are made at Ascot Vale PS.
The following features of multi-age at Ascot Vale PS helps make us a Unique Learning Community:
- Children are able to spend longer periods of time with the same teacher. This allows the teacher to develop a deeper understanding of a child’s strengths and needs, and is therefore better able to support the child’s development.
- All children being challenged to achieve to their potential; they are not limited to achieving a designated year level standard.
- Children develop a sense of family and community with their classmates, staff and parents. They become a community of learners who support and care for each other.
- Families have the opportunity for siblings to be placed together in the same unit.
- Children with additional needs benefit from the multi-age classroom as it encourages inclusion, self-respect and creates a learning environment that motivate and engage students.
The AVPS multi-age structure is subject to change in enrolments.
Curriculum
Teaching and Learning at Ascot Vale PS reflects the Victorian Curriculum, found at this link https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au.
The Victorian Curriculum F–10 sets out what every student should learn during their first eleven years of schooling. The curriculum is the common set of knowledge and skills required by students for life-long learning, social development and active and informed citizenship. The school follows a two year cycle, whole school curriculum scope and sequence plan, using an integrated and inquiry approach to learning.
Specialist Subjects
Specialist classes are taught by specialist teachers for one hour per week (P-6) these include: Physical Education, Visual Arts and our Japanese Language Program.
In addition, all children are scheduled to visit the library each week and are encouraged to borrow and read books regularly. Children in Years P-1 also participate in classroom music classes each week.
Items your child requires for specialist sessions include:
- Visual Arts – Smock
- Physical Education – Sport Shoes, Sun Smart Hat, Sunscreen (September to April)
- Library – Book bag
- Music – Recorder, which is available for purchase at the office
A range of curriculum support and enrichment programs are offered at AVPS. These include:
- A comprehensive parent funded instrumental program the Moonee Vale Instrumental Music Program, (MVIMP ) for years 3-6 students
- Choir for all year levels
- Piano tuition for all year levels
- Guitar tuition for years 3-6 students
- A camps / outdoor education program
- Visual and performing arts
- Information & communication technology (ICT), including a 1-on-1 bring your own device (BYOD) iPad program for Year 5-6 students - this is currently under review
- Physical education, health and sport / interschool sport, cross country /athletics / swimming events
- Scheduled swimming program once a year (pre-Covid19)
- An active Student Representative Council (SRC) and a student Environment Protection Activist (EPA) group
Staff Teams
AVPS teaching staff meet regularly in teams to collaboratively plan teaching and learning programs using a Professional Learning Community (PLC) approach to school improvement. Groups of teachers work collaboratively at the school level to improve student outcomes. This approach starts from a simple idea: students learn more when their teachers work together.
Building a PLC is a proven way for schools to increase student learning by creating a culture that is:
- focussed on continuous improvement by linking the learning needs of students with the professional learning and practice of teachers
- committed to professionalism
- fuelled by collaborative expertise
AVPS Instructional Teaching and Learning Model
The Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model is the instructional teaching and learning model implemented by teaching teams (P-6) at AVPS. GRR lessons feature the following stages, known as ‘Whole, Part, Whole’:
- Whole group tuning in (~10 minutes)
- Part - Independent or guided practice (~40 minutes)
- Whole group share time (~10 Minutes)
The GRR instructional model is supported at AVPS by the High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS), which are ten instructional practices, appearing below, identified by the Victorian Department of Education and Training that reliably increase student learning wherever they are applied.
High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS)
Setting Goals
Structuring lessons
Explicit teaching
Worked Examples
Collaborative Learning
Multiple Exposures
Metacognitive Strategies
Questioning
Feedback
Differentiated teaching
The High Impact Teaching Strategies feature prominently in AVPS planning documentation and teaching & learning programs across the school. This document can be accessed at the link above.
Bounce Back
The BOUNCE BACK! Wellbeing & Resilience Program provides the environmental building blocks and the personal skills for fostering resilience in children and young people. The program focuses mainly on the teaching of coping skills to help children and young people respond positively to the complexity of their everyday lives. In other words, children are taught how to ‘bounce back’ after experiencing sadness, difficulties, frustrations and hard times. The key concepts of resilience and wellbeing, with age appropriate content in the following areas are:
Self-knowledge
- Courage – developing the skills and perceptions that lead to being more courageous in many areas of one’s life
- Optimism (Look on the Bright Side) – having confidence in one’s own ability to solve problems and take positive action and developing skills in focusing on the positives, even in difficult situations
- Success (STAR, CHAMP, WINNERS) – identifying one’s own relative character and ability strengths and limitations, setting and achieving goals, being organised and persisting, becoming self-disciplined and being resourceful in solving problems
- Core values – acting on important pro-social beliefs about how one should behave towards others
- Emotions – skills for responding with empathy to the feelings of others and recognising the feelings and intentions of others
- Relationships – skills for successfully interacting with others, making and keeping friends and avoiding and managing conflict
- Bullying – activities that encourage awareness of the harm that is caused by bullying and developing skills and attitudes that enables bystanders to support individuals being bullied
- Emotions – recognising and managing one’s own negative emotions such as anger, sadness and worry etc and recognising, enjoying and amplifying one’s own positive emotions such as happiness, pride and excitement, changing a bad mood into a good mood
- Helpful thinking – using rational and helpful thinking and positive self-talk to cope with negative events and feelings in one’s life
- Humour – learning how humour can be used to assist with coping in hard times as well as supporting others.
MVIMP – Moonee Vale Instrumental Music Program (Years 3 – 6)
This is an instrumental music program offering tuition in the following categories: Brass, Woodwind, Strings, Percussion and Bass Guitar. MVIMP is organised in collaboration with three other schools in our area: Ascot Vale West PS, Moonee Ponds PS and Moonee Ponds West PS. Children attend an instrumental music lesson each week and have the opportunity to participate in concerts and the school band. Our combined concert is held every year in term four at Moonee Valley Racecourse.
Piano – Lessons are offered by Lamplight Music to students in Years 1 – 6. There is also an opportunity for students to participate in piano exams if they wish. Students have the opportunity to participate in the annual piano concert.
Guitar – Lessons are available for students in Years 2 – 6.
Dance - provided by Dance Theatre in the school hall after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on Saturdays.
Kelly Sports - Offered on Wednesday after school (P-6). Pending Covid-19 restrictions.
Camps and Excursions
Excursions and camps are essential to assist children with their physical and social development and understanding of their world. Children participate in excursions and incursions each term and students from Years 3 – 6 have the opportunity to attend camp at least once per year. Due to the pandemic there have been no camps in 2020 and School Council has recommended no camps in 2021. We are planning to re-establish our camping program in 2022.
Communication
Ascot Vale PS recognises that clear communication underpins strong home – school partnerships. The school aims to develop clear, two-way communication that fosters a strong community network and supports student learning. The AVPS Communications Policy, aims to:
- Outline the ways in which information will be communicated by the school to the community, and
- Suggest the most suitable avenues for community members to communicate with the school.
Ascot Vale PS has four major communications pathways:
1. Compass
2. School Website
3. Class Dojo
4. Direct contact – in person, by phone or email
1. Compass is the school’s preferred method of disseminating information to the school community. Compass is a comprehensive education management system with a variety of uses, including:
- Attendance, roll marking and reporting absences
- Event management, e.g. excursions
- Payments
- School calendar and event scheduling
2. Website
The AVPS website is a hub of information about the school and is accessible at: www.avps.vic.edu.au
Our web based newsletter is distributed fortnightly on Thursdays and it is an important source of information for parents/guardians. It contains dates, events, information about teaching and learning programs, student achievements and sports updates. The newsletter is accessible at http://avps.vic.edu.au/newsletter.html. Both the website and newsletter are able to be translated into many different languages by simply clicking on an option tab in the top left corner of each page.
3. Class Dojo is a school communication platform that teachers, students, and families use to share what is being learned in the classroom through photos, videos, and messages.
4. Direct Contact
PHONE: 03 9370 6507
EMAIL: ascot.vale.ps@education.vic.gov.au
IN PERSON: Office hours 8:30am-4:00pm Please make an appointment to meet the Principal, Sue Osborne, Assistant Principal, Michael Downing or your child’s teacher
Student Engagement and Wellbeing
AVPS aims for children to develop a sense of belonging. School then becomes a familiar and safe place and this feeling of connectedness is optimal for learning. If problems or issues arise, it is best to discuss these in the first instance with your child’s teacher. The intention is that issues may be resolved quickly and efficiently by approaching the class teacher promptly. If the situation does not improve, parents are encouraged to make an appointment with the Assistant Principal who is also the Student Welfare Coordinator. If the Assistant Principal or parent/guardian believes the situation is still not resolved then it will be referred to the Principal.
We suggest that parents/guardians make an appointment to meet with teachers to allow ample time to discuss concerns. Please be aware that teachers may not always be available to meet without notice due to other commitments, such as staff or team planning meetings being scheduled on any given day before or after school.
Facilities
Considerable developments have taken place at Ascot Vale PS in recent years. A refurbished Art, Library and ICT space (Learning Studio) with a Science area, sound studio and stage was built in 2011. Portable buildings were replaced with a music pavilion and community room with a shared kitchenette. Our grounds feature learning and play decks, tiered seating facing our oval and running track, sensory garden. In 2019 a capital works program resulted in refurbished student toilets, a new oval, extensive landscaping, a new playground, refurbished staffroom, office and first aid facilities. We have a hall for assemblies, excellent physical education facilities and an Out of School Hours Care program room that currently operates from our learning studio. The buildings have been designed to support community partnerships and joint school community use of our facilities.
ICT – Information and Communication Technologies / iPad 1-1 Program
Currently under review
A one-to one iPad program is implemented for all year 5 and 6 students. Sets of notebooks are available to all students in all year levels to support their learning. Technology at AVPS enables students to access the internet for information and research, as well as to plan, create, publish and to connect with their peers and staff to communicate and collaborate, thus supporting their learning.
Attendance: IT’S COOL TO BE AT SCHOOL!
Regularly attending school is very important for a child’s connectedness and continuity of learning. Being away from school disrupts learning and some children may find it difficult to make friends. Unless your child is ill, they must attend school each day. Holidays during school time can disrupt your child’s education. We encourage you to take holidays during term breaks. It is expected that the school will be notified via COMPASS (our preferred method) phone, or written note regarding all student absences.
Punctuality: ON TIME AT NINE!
For the same reasons as outlined in attendance, punctuality is very important. Young children can become distressed if they are late and have missed out on the beginning of a lesson. Also, it is disruptive to the rest of the class if the teacher has to ensure that late students ‘catch up’ on the class activity. Importantly, being on time is a good life skill to develop. Students who are late MUST report to the office before attending class to have their attendance recorded by office staff and to receive a late pass to be handed to the teacher.
Nude Food
At AVPS, we actively encourage all students to bring as little rubbish as possible in their lunchboxes. Please use reusable containers where possible.
Eating
AVPS provides ample opportunities for children to eat and drink throughout the day. A break is scheduled every two hours for this purpose. Please pack two small lunches, one to be eaten at 11.00am and the other to be eaten at 1:30 pm. Children often need small and frequent serves to keep them going throughout the day. Please also provide a water bottle labelled with your child’s name to enable them to access water in the classroom all day.
Emergency Information
It is important that the office has current contact details for parents / guardians and alternative emergency contacts details in case you are unavailable. If these change at any time please update this information on COMPASS or alternatively, inform the office as soon as possible.
Student Charges
AVPS Student Charges are arranged in the following ways:
1. Essential Student Leaning Items
2. Excursions, Sport & Swimming
3. Camp (Years 3-6 students only)
4. MVIMP (instrumental program for years 3-6 only)
5. Voluntary Contributions
a. Building Trust Fund
b. Library Trust Fund
c. Student Sponsorship
d. Working Bee
In 2021, most payments can be made online via COMPASS. Payments can also be made in person at the office. Special lunch days and fundraising events held throughout the year may require a cash payment.
1. Essential Student Learning Item Charge
At the time of publishing, the 2021 student charges were not available.
The 2020 Essential Student Learning Item charge was $180.00 per student in years P-6. This charge covered the costs of items, activities or services that are essential to support student learning of the standard curriculum. Year prep students have an additional charge of $17.00 to purchase a recorder for the two year classroom music program.
2. Excursions, Swimming and Sport
Excursion costs will be charged separately, as the need arises in 2021
A Sports Levy was charged in 2020 to cover additional costs to deliver a full and comprehensive PE and Sports program as follows:
$25.00 for Years P-1-2 –covered costs for gymnastics
$50 for Years 3-4 - covered costs for gymnastics, athletics & cricket carnival
$127.00 for Years 5-6 – covered gymnastics, athletics and interschool sports
Swimming lessons are usually an important part of the school’s program and run over a two-week period. However, this program did not run in 2020 due to Covid-19. When the program resumes, swimming lessons will be provided by trained instructors at the Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre. Parents will receive a permission form and further information regarding swimming in the term before lessons start. 2021 costs are yet to be confirmed (as at 6/11/2020).
3. #Camp deposits will be collected to secure arrangements for year 3-6 students’ camp programs. #When the program resumes
- Moonee Vale Instrumental Music Program (MVIMP) – Year 3-6 students only. Charges for this program will be collected at the beginning of each term.
5. Voluntary Financial Contributions
Parents are invited to make voluntary contributions to the following school funds:
- Building Trust Fund – contributing towards improving the school’s amenities
- Library Trust Fund – for the purchase of books
- Student Sponsorship – ensures students don’t miss out on participating in camps and excursions
- Working Bee – paid in lieu of attending working bees
- Student classroom resources – shared resources
Reporting to Parents / Student Led Conferences*
*At the time of publishing, parents and visitors are not allowed on the school site, due to Covid-19, therefore, parent - teacher meetings will be held remotely.
Reporting to parents is integral to the teacher’s role. AVPS has two formal opportunities for parents / guardians to meet with teachers and two formal written student reports are distributed per year.
The first opportunity to meet with the teacher is held in term 1. This is known as ‘Meet the Teacher’ where the teacher and parent/guardian are introduced to or reacquainted with each other; they share relevant information about the child that will assist in the positive transition to the new school year.
The second meeting is held as a ‘Parent Teacher Interview’ and occurs after the Semester 1 Student Reports have been distributed (mid year).
Student Led Conferences (SLC) are also held mid-way through semester 2. As the name suggests, these conferences provide an opportunity for students to share their learning with parents and the classroom teacher, outlining their achievements and their goals for future learning. SLC’s present differently in each level of the school and reflect the developmental stages of students as they progress through the school. Features of our SLC’s include:
- Children presenting evidence of their learning to parents and their teacher.
- Teachers guiding rather than leading the conversations.
- This evidence may appear in the form of a portfolio of learning (paper or digital).
- Conversation about learning goals.
- Confidence and complexity of presentation increasing as your child grows and develops.
Mid semester reports in the form of a checklist are also provided at the end of terms 1 & 3 as a brief progress report.
Parents are welcome to make an appointment to meet with their child’s teacher at any time throughout the year as they feel necessary.
Parent Participation
Parent participation is currently (at the time of publication, Nov 2020) greatly impacted by Covid-19, due to parents and visitors not being allowed to enter the school site. Nevertheless, parent participation at AVPS is encouraged; there are great benefits from parents/guardians actively participating in their child’s school. Helping at school is a great way to meet other parents, particularly when you are new to the school and children always benefit from their parents forming close connections with the school. See three examples below about how parents/ guardians may participate more fully in our school.
School Council and Subcommittees
Ascot Vale PS School Council meets 2-3 times per term. Decisions regarding strategic planning, school policies and the allocation of resources are made following the work undertaken by the School Council’s three sub-committees:
Finance
Buildings and Grounds
Education and Policy
School support and involvement
Parents are encouraged to be involved in their own child’s education in the following ways noting that some of these activities may be modified or may not take place depending on Covid-19 restrictions lifting:
- Attending Parent Teacher interviews and Student Led Conferences
- Attending Unit Information sessions
- in the classroom- reading, writing, cooking, sharing a hobby, their work or an interest
- Being a regular Literacy / Numeracy mentor for students in need of 1:1 assistance
- Excursion or swimming program assistance
- Assist with athletics / swimming / cross-country events (Years 3-6)
- Helping coordinate whole school events
- Nominate for School Council and/or sub-committee of School Council in Feb each year
- Attending parent training programs, eg, ICT, literacy
School Uniform / Clothing
A school uniform is available for children to wear. It is not compulsory but is available as a practical and attractive choice. This is available from Primary School Wear (PSW) who operate a uniform shop at the school usually twice per month, at advertised times. Orders can also be placed on-line (www.psw.com.au) for home delivery. A second hand uniform shop is also available. Details about uniform sales is available in the newsletter / on our website.
Please ensure all clothing is clearly labelled with your child’s name
Visiting School Nurse
The visiting school nurse checks Prep children for general health, vision and hearing in their first year at school. Parents / guardians will receive a questionnaire to complete before this visit that will outline the procedure and give you the opportunity to ask questions. You will receive notification of the visit via Compass as well.
Immunisation
All children MUST have an up to date immunisation status certificate (not a photocopy of their health check book) before they can start at AVPS. Please contact office staff if you require assistance. For more information see: http://www.health.vic.gov.au/immunisation/fact-sheets/factsheets/primary_school/
Sunsmart / Hats
Ascot Vale PS has a Sunsmart policy that requires all students to wear hats for all outside activities between 1 September until 30 April each year. All hats must be broad brimmed or legionnaires style, which offer the best protection from the sun. These should be clearly marked with your child’s name.
Student Medication
Non‐prescribed oral medications (eg: head‐ache tablets) will not be administered by school staff unless a parent or carer has:
- Completed a medication authority – see link below for authority form (a practitioner does not need to complete this)
- Labelled the medication clearly with the child’s name
http://avps.vic.edu.au/uploads/9/5/6/5/95656824/student_medication_authority_form.pdf
All parent or carer requests for the school to administer any prescribed medications to their child must be in writing on the medication authority form provided, signed by a medical practitioner and must be supported by specific written instructions including the name of the student, dosage and time to be administered (original medication bottle or container must provide this information clearly labelled).
It is the parent or carers’ responsibility to ensure medication is within the expiry date.
Students who experience Anaphylaxis and Asthma do not need a completed medical authority form. This information should already be covered in their relevant health plans, signed by a medical practitioner. See more information below.
Allergies / Health Concerns
Please notify the school of any allergies, conditions or other health concerns pertaining to your child. This information is strictly confidential but must be recorded to help us care for your child.
Anaphylaxis and Asthma
All students who suffer from Anaphylaxis or Asthma must have an up to date action plan presented to school. Please refer to our anaphylaxis management policy: http://avps.vic.edu.au/uploads/9/5/6/5/95656824/anaphylaxis_management_policy_avps__2019.pdf
First Aid - Injury and Illness
If your child is injured at school, a staff member trained in first aid will make an assessment and treat the injury with basic first aid. If your child becomes sick during school time, an assessment will be made by a staff member. Parents/ guardians may be contacted in the event of an injury or illness and in some cases arrangements will need to be made for your child to be collected from school. Our procedure for any head injury is that parents/guardians will be contacted immediately, even if minor and we will recommend the action required.
Celebrating Birthdays
Please read our guidelines about celebrating student birthdays at AVPS http://avps.vic.edu.au/uploads/9/5/6/5/95656824/celebratingbirthdaysguidelines2017.pdf
Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) Program
Ascot Vale has a before and after school program, known as OSHC. Parents who wish to use the program must register with Camp Australia. Registration forms are available from the office or online https://www.campaustralia.com.au/. Parents can make permanent or casual bookings. The phone number for the program is 0423 795 247 and during the day parents can leave a message for the Coordinator. The hours of the program are 7.30 to 8.45 am for before care and 3.30 pm to 6.00 pm for after care. During term 1, Prep children will be collected from their classrooms at the end of the day by an assistant in the program. Information regarding the program is included in the newsletter each week.
Policies
A list of up to date school policies can be found online on our website: http://avps.vic.edu.au/policies--standards.html
Class Placement
Staff work together to create mixed ability teaching and learning groups/Units for the beginning of each school year and consider a complex mix of ability, personality, friendship and gender needs. Parents’ views regarding siblings being together in a multi-age Unit will be considered each year. All other student placements will be decided by the staff.
Helping Your Child to Read
Reading together is a valuable thing to do. Reading increases your child’s vocabulary, expands your child’s understanding of the world, and gives them confidence when using language. Reading is also an important way to make the link between spoken words and written words.
Here are some general tips:
- Visit your local library to select and read books together, and to attend story time sessions. Library story time sessions are a great way to share the joy of reading with your child in a group setting.
- Encourage your child to select books, magazines, catalogues, or multimedia stories according to their interests.
- Set aside time for reading every day. Reading before bedtime is a good habit to get into. » Position yourself so your child can see the words and the pictures.
- Run your finger across the page with each word to help your child identify and remember words and sounds.
- Share wordless picture books to develop imagination, ideas and vocabulary by naming and describing things in pictures.
- Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books. This will help develop your child’s love of language.
- When reading to your child, read stories with expression, or try putting on the voices of characters. This will help make reading fun.
- Point out important features about a book – for example, the words and pictures, the front cover, the spine, the contents page, or the title.
- Explore words using a dictionary.
- Encourage your child to take over some or all of the reading if they feel confident. » If your child is confident with their reading, allow them to read without interruption. Fluency is gained with confidence. Mistakes can be discussed after a block of reading, or in subsequent readings.
- Allow your child to read at their own pace. Model good pace when you read to them.
- Give your child the opportunity to re-read books.
Learning to write begins with scribbling and drawing. This is an important first step and should be encouraged. The next step is to encourage your child to write letter-like shapes, before moving on to practise writing the alphabet – both capitals and lower case letters. After this, encourage your child to write sentences containing short words.
Here are some general tips to help your child when writing:
- Make sure you give your child the necessary resources, such as pens, pencils, paper or notebook, and a desk. Creating a special ‘writing box’ to store your child’s pens and pencils helps them see writing as an important activity.
- Support your child to read their writing aloud.
- Encourage your child to create a picture, drawing or collage that visually represents their ideas.
- Always proudly display your child’s work in a prominent position in your house. This will give them confidence, and demonstrates the importance of writing.
- Create an ‘ideas bag’ or ‘ideas folder’ to use as a writing prompt. To inspire writing ideas, collect objects such as photographs, pictures cut from magazines, brochures, movie tickets, or any other found items
Literacy and Numeracy Tips to help your child every day
This is a guide (summarised above and below) for parents of children aged 0-12 that provides handy tips and ways to help children develop literacy and numeracy skills.
Helping Your Child Develop Numeracy Skills
Developing numeracy skills early gives children an important foundation for their learning and development. It helps prepare them for daily life, including general problem solving and handling money.
Maths includes noticing numbers, shapes, patterns, size, time and measurement. Incorporating maths into everyday experiences is easy and fun. Maths is everywhere – in the playground, at the shops and at home.
Children need lots of experiences in making, counting, drawing and talking about numbers. The activities in this section will help your child to develop these skills. You may feel the maths your child is doing at their early childhood centre, kindergarten or school is different from how you were taught, but you can still support your child in many ways. Make connections for your child by explaining how numbers and counting are a part of everyday life.
Talking about maths
It is important for children to develop specific language skills related to maths. Visits to the playground, or helping at home, provide rich and meaningful contexts to develop these skills. It might take time for your child to use these terms and language effectively, but exposure to this mathematical talk is a strong support for future learning.
Some activities to develop mathematical language:
- Use specific terms when asking for items. For example, ask your child to get the ‘one litre’ milk bottle from the fridge, or the ‘one kilo’ bag of flour from the cupboard.
- When cooking, talk about different measurements used, such as teaspoons, millilitres, litres, and cups. Discuss ideas about empty and full.
- As you walk, talk and play together describe your child’s movements as they climb ‘over’ the fence, slide ‘between’ the poles, and swing ‘under’ the monkey bars. This helps your child understand language related to spatial awareness.
- Sorting activities support your child to understand concepts such as ‘same’ and ‘different’. Use recycling as an opportunity to sort items to place in the rubbish. For example, paper, plastic, food waste and general waste.
Helpful Hints:
*Non-Covid times
- Student Free Days – there are four Student Free Days each year when the teachers undergo training / professional development and/or report writing. Children are not required to attend school on these days. Two of these days will occur at the beginning of the school year, the other two student free days will occur later in the school year. Dates will be advertised in the ‘Key Dates’ section of the fortnightly newsletter.
- If you have a concern about your child, do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher, the Assistant Principal or the Principal.
- Children should know their address, telephone number and the best route between home and school.
- Children should be able to recognise their clothes. All clothing and personal belongings must be named. If your child has a school bag please consider putting a key tag or coloured ribbon on it to make recognising it easier.
- If you need to collect your child from school before the end of the day please report to the office. You may also enter the details on Compass to speed up the exit process.
- Please notify the school if your personal information changes.
- * Children should be on time for school. Please have your child at school between 8.45 am and 9 am
- If your child is absent from school parents are asked to log the absence on Compass, which serves as permission and explanation for the absence.
- * Excursions are an important part of the curriculum that your child is encouraged to attend.
- Thongs or open toed shoes are not to be worn at school. School shoes or runners are the preferred choice for footwear.
- If you drive your child to school please observe all the parking laws and Drop Off Zone details in Bank and Moonee Streets. Do not double park or use the Bank St laneway as a drop off zone, as this puts your child and others in danger. Avoid doing U turns in Bank and Moonee Street. Instead, drivers are encouraged to park away from the school and walk a short distance.
- Bicycles, skate boards and scooters are not permitted to be ridden in the school yard during school hours (8.45 am to 3.45 pm), under any circumstances. There are racks for bicycles to be stored during the day. Students need to provide their own bike lock and ensure that helmets are always worn.
- Hats must be worn from September to April by all children for all outside activities.
- The newsletter link is sent to families fortnightly, when published via a Compass alert. This can be accessed at any time on our website.
- *School Assembly is held fortnightly on Monday afternoons 3.00 – 3.30 pm. Parents / Guardians welcome.
- School gates are locked from 9.15-3.15pm every school day. Please access the school via the main Bank St entrance during these times and please report to the office.
Term Dates - 2021–
Access at this link:
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/datesterm.aspx
Please Note: School finishes at 2:30pm on the last day of terms 1, 2 and 3 and 1:30pm on the last day of term
AVPS School Day Times
School starts at 9:00am and finishes at 3:30pm each day. It is important that students are at school for at least 5 minutes before 9am. When the first bell goes at 8:57am, classrooms are open so students can unpack and prepare for the start of their day. The school grounds are supervised from 8:45am before school and until 3:45pm after school. Children are encouraged not to arrive earlier than 8:45am and children who have not been collected by a parent or guardian by 3:45pm need to come to the office, where parents/guardians will be phoned. If this happens frequently, arrangements need to be made for children to enrol in Out of School Hours Care. *Non-Covid-19 times
2021 Prep/Foundation February Attendance Arrangements
The first day of school for AVPS year prep children in 2021 is Monday 1st February
WEEK 1 2021 - PLEASE NOTE CHANGED ARRANGEMENTS
Year prep students will attend 4 full school days per week for the remaining weeks in February 2021. There will be no school on Wednesdays for the remaining weeks of February to accommodate Prep Entry testing and to allow children time to settle into school gradually.
Year Prep students will attend five days per week from March 2021.
Actual start and finish times in 2021 may continue to be subject to Covid-19 restrictions (as they have been in 2020) and will therefore be confirmed in the last week of January 2021.
The first day of school for AVPS year prep children in 2021 is Monday 1st February
WEEK 1 2021 - PLEASE NOTE CHANGED ARRANGEMENTS
- Monday 1st February, 9:00am – 1:00pm
- Tuesday 2nd February , 9:00am – 1:00pm
- Wednesday 3rd February - 9:00am – 1:00pm
- Thursday 4th February, 9:00am – 3:30pm
- Friday 5th February, 9:00am – 3:30pm
Year prep students will attend 4 full school days per week for the remaining weeks in February 2021. There will be no school on Wednesdays for the remaining weeks of February to accommodate Prep Entry testing and to allow children time to settle into school gradually.
Year Prep students will attend five days per week from March 2021.
Actual start and finish times in 2021 may continue to be subject to Covid-19 restrictions (as they have been in 2020) and will therefore be confirmed in the last week of January 2021.