Ascot Vale Primary School
Ascot Vale Primary School
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ASCOT NEWS

28th November 2019, Term 4, Issue 5

 We value: ​
Respect         Responsibility         Excellence         Empathy        Gratitude
AVPS VISION
All Ascot Vale Primary School students are empowered to learn, achieve and experience high quality teaching practice for learning in a multi-age environment within a unique learning community. This will equip them with the knowledge, skills and dispositions for lifelong learning and to shape the world around them.

Our vision and values combine to make us a ‘Unique, Learning Community’​

FROM THE PRINCIPAL TEAM

VISION & VALUES
We are excited and very pleased to share our new AVPS Vision and Values (above), endorsed by School Council this week. These were shaped and developed via an extensive consultation process, involving a wide range of community members. We appreciate the time, thought and effort of all who participated in this very important process. 

A sample of Student Representative Council members recently  'road tested' the Vision and Values to make sure they are 'child friendly' and reflective of what we really consider to be the most important things to focus our attention on. We are pleased to note the V&V's passed the 'kid' test and that this group left the activity genuinely excited about the prospects for starting a 'gratitude revolution' after debating the merits of naming 'gratitude' rather than 'kindness' (which was a very popular response in the consultative process) as one of our values. The conclusion being that 'kindness' is a key characteristic or outcome of several of the selected values and has therefore been captured nicely and will be a strong feature of what we expect at AVPS, without it actually being 'named'.  

Our vision and values will serve as a foundation for decision making and action. They promise to shape the way community members work together to create norms and expectations and to focus on what is important. 

Please find below the draft key behaviours that will form the foundation for teaching and learning about our new values. Teachers and students will shape and implement these from the beginning of  2020.
AVPS VALUE
KEY BEHAVIOURS (draft)
Respect
Honour, Admiration, Equality, Courtesy, Tact, Grace, (towards yourself, others, the environment, difference, cultures/customs.)
Responsibility
Duty, Good Judgment, Actions, Behaviours, Participation, Leadership
Excellence
Personal Best, Persistence, Effort, Creativity, (in the following contexts: learning, performing, socialising, behaviours and attitudes) 
​ Empathy 
Listening, Understanding Others, Patience, Supporting, Caring, Compassion, Kindness, Sensitivity
​Gratitude
​Appreciation, Kindness, Positivity, Optimism, Reflection (outwards), Actions, Words (towards people, things or feelings)
GRATITUDE PROJECT
THANK YOU to our wonderful parents and caregivers who responded to the recent 'gratitude project', where you/they were invited to send a secret email of gratitude to a staff member at AVPS to complement our focus on staff health and well being in the month of November. The inbox was overwhelmed with the most heartfelt messages of appreciation to our amazing staff. AND IT WORKED A TREAT. These messages were shared at a staff forum yesterday and were met with genuine surprise and sincere appreciation. It was just what we all needed to help get us through the busiest and most challenging term of the year.

It was also a fitting way to launch our new values, where gratitude plays a very important part. Below are a few reasons why gratitude has been selected as one of our values and we look forward to learning and sharing our own experiences in implementing this and our four other new values, respect, responsibility, excellence and empathy,  over the coming months. 

Why gratitude works. Gratitude is a selfless act. Its acts are done unconditionally, to show to people that they are appreciated. “A gift that is freely given” is one way to understand what these acts are like. Gratitude can be contagious, in a good way. There are a variety of things that can conjure positive feelings of appreciation or gratitude that may guide people towards meaning and better health. Positive psychology defines gratitude in a way where scientists can measure its effects, and thus argue that gratitude is more than feeling thankful: it is a deeper appreciation for someone (or something) that produces longer lasting positivity.

WALK A THON - ALL SYSTEMS GO
Weather reports suggest the walk-a thon is good to go this Friday. We look forward to a fabulous afternoon, with thanks to Jason, Heath and the SRC for arranging this. Thanks for those who have signed up to help. It's not too late, please email Jason if you can help out from 2:30-3:30 this Friday. [email protected] 

WALK TO SCHOOL - CONGRATULATIONS AVPS

AVPS achieved the highest participation rate out of the 19 schools involved in the recent Moonee Valley Walk to School initiative. WELL DONE everyone for contributing to our 95% participation rate.  AVPS will receive a generous 'Active kids' incursion as a result and we look forward to enjoying this in 2020. 

FETE UPDATE
We are pleased to announce that, to date, the 2020 Fete has made a profit of over $28,000. Which is an exceptional result given the challenging weather conditions on the day. These funds will go directly towards the installation of a new playground; see details below.

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS
The school has recently engaged with Justin Staggard, the landscape architect who designed our beautiful new playground and surrounding garden and rock spaces. Justin collaborated with some of our children to design a new playground in the 'old' section adjacent to the sandpit and lane way. We love that Justin's values and objectives include:

​The playspace should be a journey that leads along many paths and children can barely contain their enthusiasm upon entering.

We look forward to sharing the concept design with our school community in the coming weeks / months and for this project to be constructed as soon as possible in 2020. Once again, we thank our fundraising co-ordinator Sue Macaulay and the entire AVPS community who have supported our fete and other fundraising events in 2020 which will contribute significantly towards the costs of our new playground. 

AVPS UNIT STRUCTURE 2020
Please find the 2020 Unit structure in the table below. Staff are currently in the process of placing students into groups for the 2020 school year and we plan to publish staff roles in the next newsletter. Thank you to parents /guardians for forwarding their requests to Michael by the due date. At this stage, no further requests will be accepted, unless in exceptional circumstances.

The 2020 structure was determined by staff and SRC input with the model below being the most supported choice by children and teachers. The following recommendations have been made to help accommodate and develop the AVPS multi age approach within this structure:
  • Changed locations of 5/6’s  to avoid segregation of year levels - eg: We wish to avoid P-2 & 3-6 blocks or building(s)
  • Units to buddy up (1 & 6, 2& 3, 4 & 5) to encourage relationship building across the age groups
  • Buddy time to be timetabled fortnightly on Mondays 2:30-3:30 across the school as a minimum requirement.
  • Establish a staff multi-age leadership role.
  • Establish protocols & procedures regarding multi-age.
UNIT 1
​Years Prep / 1 / 2
UNIT 2
​Years 3  / 4 / 5 / 6
UNIT 3
​​​Years Prep / 1 / 2
UNIT 4
​​Years 3  / 4 / 5 / 6

UNIT 5
​​Years Prep / 1 / 2
​
UNIT 6
​​Years 3  / 4 / 5 / 6

SAVE THE DATE- THANK YOU MORNING TEA
All parents and volunteers are invited to attend our end of year Thank You morning tea, which will be held in the staff room this year. We have much to celebrate and be grateful for and Friday 6th December from 11:00am is the time to do this. We hope you can join us. 

YEAR SIX GRADUATION
The AVPS Year Six Graduation celebration will be held on Wednesday 11th December - arrive 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start. By now, families will have received and returned an expression of interest form, to help cater for the event.  Graduating students are requested to dress in smart, age-appropriate casual attire. We look forward to celebrating this event along with families and year six students. ​​
Kind regards
Sue Osborne  & Michael Downing,
​AVPS Principal Team
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS - NOVEMBER 2019   
On Monday 25th November, AVPS school council had our last meeting for 2019.  It has been an eventful and rewarding year for us, starting with the School Review at the start of the year, developing the  Vision and Values for AVPS as well as shaping our next Strategic Plan.  Our team of volunteer parent and teachers are a dynamic and enthusiastic group and it has an absolute pleasure working with them this year.

Behind the scenes, the Finance Sub-Committee and capable office manager Kylie Moverley have been busy crunching numbers and monitoring the school's finances and budget.  The school has numerous policies which need constant review and this mammoth task has been the main focus for the Education and Policy Sub-Committee team.  Buildings and Grounds has continued to develop  the School Master plan, manage the Capital Works and plan for our a new Big Playground. 

I would like to thank all School Councillors below for contributing their many unpaid hours to attend meetings and volunteering their time and energy to helping the school.

Parents :  Meagan Thompson, Richard Moody, Rebecca Doherty, Ebony Mychajllik, Freya Dos Santos, Benjamin Delaney, Kate Mohay, Helen Millar
Additional Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee members : Angelica Inserra, Ashley Robertson
Staff : Sue Osborne, Michael Downing, Sarah Ashton (Bergin), Benjamin Kline, Rozeena Sen

School Council will reconvene in February 2020 to have our last SC meeting for the term.  6 parent vacancies which will become available in 2020 so we are seeking interest from new parents for this rewarding and meaningful role.  Please do not hesitate to come and speak to me if you are interested and I can chat to you about what is involved.

Enjoy the last few weeks of term and wishing the AVPS community a wonderful holiday break!

Helen Millar
School Council President
KEY DATES
FFF= Fresh  Fruit  Friday
Term 4, 2019
Fri 29th Nov- FFF - Unit 5
Fri 29th Nov - Walk-a thon - 2:30- 3:30pm - weather permitting
Mon 2nd Dec - Walk-a thon -2:30- 3:30pm - back up date!
Tue 3rd Dec- PSW Uniform Shop - 3:00-4:00pm
Wed 4th Dec - 2nd Hand Uniform Shop 8:45-9:15am
Fri 6th Dec- FFF - Unit 6
Fri 6th Dec- Parent / Volunteers Thank You Morning Tea - Staff Room - 11:00am - All Welcome
Mon 9th Dec - Assembly Unit TBC- Hall - 3:00- 3:30
Wed 11th Dec - Year 6 Graduation - arrive 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start
Fri 13th Dec- FFF - All Units
Mon 16th Dec - Year 3-6 Swimming Fun Day
Tue 17th Dec - Year 6 Luna Park Excursion
Tue 17th Dec - Year 3/4 Queens Park Excursion
Wed 18th Dec- Prep Transition # 3 (Hall) and whole school transition session - 9:30-11:00am
Wed 18th Dec- PSW Uniform Shop - 9:30-10:30am
Thur 19th Dec - 2nd Hand Uniform Shop - 8:45-9:15am
Fri 20th Dec- Santa Assembly - Oval (weather permitting) 9:15- 10:15am
​
Term 1, 2020
Wed 29th Jan - First Day for Year 1-6 Students
Thu 30th Jan - First Day for Year Prep Students
Term Dates 2020
​TERM 1 - 29 Jan - 27 Mar
TERM 2 - 14 Apr - 26 Jun
TERM 3 - 13 Jul - 18 Sep
TERM 4 - 5 Oct - 18 Dec
Public Holidays 2020
​TERM 1 ​- Mon 9 March
​LABOUR DAY
School Closed
TERM 2 - Mon 8 Jun
​QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY
​​
​School Closed
TERM 4 - Tue 3 Nov
​MELBOURNE CUP DAY​
​
School Closed
Pupil Free Days 2020
​
Please make alternative arrangements for the care of your child or children on the following dates, as students are not required to attend school on Pupil Free Days and on the Student Led Conference Day (SLC) children are only required to attend at their appointment time:
Pupil Free Days 2020
​TERM 1 ​-  Fri 6 Mar
​TERM 2 ​- Tue 9 Jun
SLC TERM 3​ -Wed 16 Sep
​TERM 4 ​- Mon 2 Nov
IMPORTANT REMINDERS​
​
Please click on the heading above to access important reminders for AVPS parents and /or guardians, which are updated fortnightly.


OPTIONAL/ EXTRA CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES @AVPS
​Please click on the heading above to  discover how your child / children can become involved in extra curricular programs at AVPS.
NEWS FROM THE SPORTING FIELD 
​PE lessons
The last two weeks of PE lessons for Prep – Year 6 have been focusing on dance! We have been set up in the hall using a website called GoNoddle to learn basic dances. Prep – Level 2 have been focusing on the classic dances such as the Chicken dance, Hokey pokey and the Macarena. Prep -  2 will be moving on to line dances such as the bus stop and the electric slide. Level 3/4 have been doing these dances as a warm up and moving on to slightly more involved choreography. While Level 5/6 have been focusing on the Year 6 Graduation dance, the 5’s have been helping with the choreography while the 6s will be filmed so that the dance can be shown at graduation. Before we start dancing we have been using Fresh Start Fitness to get our hearts pumping and at the end of the lesson we use Flow to calm our bodies and minds before we head back to class. GoNoddle has an array of channels that promote dance, fitness, yoga and stretching.
 
Students have commented on how much they enjoy the website, so parents if you are looking for some ideas on how to keep your kids active while surviving the Summer holiday heat, set up GoNoddle on a device under the air conditioning and let them exhaust themselves! There is something for everyone on that website.
 
Interschool Sports / District T-shirt
I still have a few t-shirts and football jumpers that have not been returned, just a reminder to parents to look through children’s bags or dirty laundry for any white District T-shirts or purple Interschool T-shirts/football jumpers. If students could bring them to school and put them on my desk that would be amazing!
 
Year 3 – 6 Swimming Fun Day 
Parents please look on Compass to give approval for the Year 3 – 6 Swimming Fun Day, if you cannot access Compass go to the office and they will more than happily help you.
 
Cheers,
Britt Stephenson

A NOTE ABOUT REQUESTS
Please be aware that the school does not and cannot accept requests for teachers or units. The reason being, it is impossible for the school to satisfy such requests from everyone if this was to become usual practice across the school. It also sets parents/carers up for great disappointment if request are made that cannot be accommodated. This is a situation we would prefer to avoid and therefore ask parents/carers not to request a particular teacher or unit. AVPS staff go through a complex and comprehensive process of determining individual and social needs of students in developing unit groups for the following year, noting our multi-age structure also encourages students and teachers to be together for more than one school year where possible. 

Please note, students and their families will be informed about their 2020 Unit placement in the final week of term 4 and will have the opportunity to meet with their new unit and teacher (where possible) before the end of the school year.

YEAR PREP ENROLMENTS 2020 or STUDENTS LEAVING
To assist us with planning for the 2020 school structure, please finalise any Year Prep or new enrolments for 2020 as soon as possible. In addition, please notify the school if your child/children will not be returning to AVPS in 2020. It is important for the school to have this information at the earliest possible time to help organise unit structures, budgets and staffing arrangements. Your cooperation in this matter is much appreciated.
2020 AVPS ENROLMENT- UPDATE
We are only able to accept 2020 Year Prep- 6 student enrolments if Ascot Vale PS is the student’s closest Victorian Government Primary School. Regional Department of Education and Training (DET) Victoria staff have communicated that AVPS must limit the number of students enrolling from outside the designated neighbourhood area to prepare for a forecast increase in enrolment numbers in the coming years from within our designated neighbourhood. We are obliged by the Department of Education and Training (DET) to accept all students for whom Ascot Vale PS is the closest Government school to their permanent residence (residential address, not business). 

Please visit the Find My School website to identify your closest Government school. If AVPS is not your closest Government school, your child may be placed on a waiting list.  Please contact the school (9370 6507) if you are unsure or have queries about our enrolment restrictions. 

The school requires proof of current residence - either a current local council rates notice, utility bill or rental agreement and match this to a driver’s licence or passport. We accept all siblings, regardless of current residential address, however, at least one sibling must be currently enrolled.

PARENT PAYMENT POLICY AND CHARGES 2020
​School Council have approved the attached policy and arrangements for student charges 2020. Features of the student charges include:
​
  • A $10.00 increase in Essential Learning Items (the first increase in three years).
  • Excursions, Sport and Swimming to be paid 'as you go' (when needed) in 2020.
  • Swimming charge is TBC but will be no more than $115.00
  • Canberra Camp deposit of $150 for Year 5 / 6 students and $50 for Year 3/4 students. 
  • No change to MVIMP charges. 
  • Part Five - Parents/ carers are encouraged, but not obliged, to contribute to our optional contributions to enable AVPS to add value to the following:
    • Building Trust Fund - the bulk of which will go towards replacing and landscaping the old playground.
    • Library Trust Fund - for the purchase of books.
    • Student Sponsorship - to enable all students to participate in camps and excursions. 
    • Working Bee - in lieu of attendance at these events. 

Please find the 2020 SAMPLE Student Charge Sheet and Parent Payment Policy below for your information, noting these charges are not due until 2020. More information will be provided later in the year regarding how parents/carers can pay for these charges. We are planning to set up online payment options via Compass, as well as continuing to accept payments in person at the office in 2020. ​
6_parent_payment_policy_avps_2019_-_2020.pdf
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student_charge_sheet_2020_sample.pdf
File Size: 130 kb
File Type: pdf
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OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS CARE (OSHC)

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OSHC phone:​​ 0423 795 247
Coordinator:​​ Dee Seneviratne

​How to get started ​​before using our programs you must register online for an account. Registering is quick and easy. Visit our website to begin www.campaustralia.com.au​​

Once registered you can make bookings and cancellations, view your statements and manage your details anytime of the day online. Keep in mind we are able to take bookings at short notice to help busy families. ​

Save on Care. ​You can save 50% or more on Before and After School Care fees with the ​non-means tested Child Care Rebate. Almost all families are eligible. To find out more, call our Customer Service Team on 1300 105 343 Monday to Friday
​Please access files below to view the OSHC fortnightly report and/or the Camp Australia Holiday Program.
​
Dee and the OSHC team
8._congratulations_letter_to_graduating_students.pdf
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​email: [email protected]
phone: (03) 9370 6507
fax: (03) 9370 5150
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Why AVPS
    • Principal's welcome
  • Enrol
    • General Enrolment Information
    • Prep / Foundation Transition
    • Information for New Families
  • MVIMP
  • Community
    • School Council, Parents & Community
    • Parent Payment
    • Policies & Standards
    • Child Safe Standards
    • School Strategic Planning
    • Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)
  • News and Events
    • School dates
    • Newsletter
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