​ASCOT NEWS
2nd December 2022, Term 4 Issue 2

Ascot Vale Primary School
‘Unique Learning Community’
Where we value:
RESPECT      RESPONSIBILITY      EXCELLENCE      EMPATHY      GRATITUDE
"Hands up, hands down. We are on Wurundjeri land."
PLAYGROUND UPGRADE
 Year 3 / 4 Camp
A wonderful time was had by all at the recent Year 3 / 4 Campaspe Camp. Thank you to Lucy Mackinnon (for co-ordinating this) and the staff who attended to help make it such a successful camp.  Please enjoy more images at the end of the newsletter.
Please click on the headings below to discover more. 
REMINDER: You can change the language at the top left hand corner of the webpage
FROM THE PRINCIPAL TEAM 
Dear Parents, Carers, Staff and Students,

Welcome to Issue 2 of Term Four's Ascot News - our final newsletter for the year. 

As we prepare for the end of the 2022 school year, we would like to thank our AVPS families for supporting our staff and students to get through, what has been described by Department of Education and Training staff recently as, one of the most challenging school years. Although we managed to make it to the end of the school year without a lock down (thank goodness), it is acknowledged that the pandemic still caused considerable challenges for schools and communities to manage. 

Thank you to our parents and carers for your co-operation and understanding, particularly ​around the management of illness, which was a strong feature of 2022. This may have disrupted many a parent or carer who was asked to collect symptomatic children throughout the year. This was carried out with grace and understanding and was most appreciated by our school staff.

We invite parents and carers to join staff at recess time (11:00am) on Wednesday 7th December for an opportunity for us to express our gratitude face to face. 

Thank you to our staff for continuing to demonstrate unwavering dedication, optimism and fortitude.  Our teachers and support staff truly are a magnificent team; they make coming to work a joy. 

And thank you to our wonderful AVPS students who manage to put a smile on our faces everyday. 

We wish you and your family a most enjoyable holiday break (when the time comes) and look forward to seeing you again in 2023 from Tuesday 31st February (see Key Dates below). 

Kind regards 
Sue  &  Michael 
​
Picture
Sue Osborne, Principal
Picture
Michael Downing, Assistant Principal
KEY DATES & EVENTS 
Please access our AVPS Key Dates & Events page AT THIS LINK.

Term 4- IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Fri 9th Dec - Pupil Free Day - Self Evaluation - Please make alternative arrangements for the care of your child/children on this day. Bookings are open for full day care on 9/12/22 at this link: www.campaustralia.com.au​​
Tue 20th Dec - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL YEAR - Early Finish 1:30pm. Please make arrangements for the early collection of your children. 

START OF TERM DATES  & DAYS  2023
​TERM 1 2023
The first school day in Term 1 for Year 1-6 students will be TUESDAY 31st January 2023. 
The first school day in Term 1 for Year Prep students will be WEDNESDAY  1st February 2023
​​THE RESILIENCE PROJECT (TRP) parent and carers hub
TRP UPDATE
The Resilience Project will continue at AVPS in 2023.
Parents and carers can re-watch 2022 videos and access activities and resources anytime via the Parent & Carer Hub. 
You can also stay up to date with The Resilience Project news and events by signing up to their Newsletter.
​
The Education Team
The Resilience Project
(03) 9113 9302 (option 1) [email protected]
SCHOOL STRUCTURE AND STAFF ROLES 2023
​The 2023 School Structure will be similar to the 2022 version except that it  features one less class (Unit 3 x 1) due to a reduced enrolment.
Ascot Vale PS is currently planning for an enrolment of 261 students at the start of the 2023 school year. 
This is a reduction of 23 students (or a class of students) from 2021.  

2023 SCHOOL STRUCTURE
The AVPS school structure for 2023 will be as follows:
  • UNIT 1 - Year Levels: Prep/1/2 (x 2 groups)
  • UNIT 2 - Year Levels: 3/4 & 5/6
  • UNIT 3- Year Levels: Prep/1/2 ​(x 1 group)
  • UNIT4 -Year Levels: 3/4 & 5/6
  • UNIT 5 - Year Levels: Prep/1/2 (x 2 groups)
  • UNIT 6 - Year Levels: 3/4 & 5/6

STAFF NEWS
AVPS will be farewelling the following staff from the end of 2022
  • Bridie Naughtin - Bridie will be taking leave in 2023 and plans to return to her ongoing teaching position in 2024
  • ​Isabella Rope - will be taking leave from May 2023. Bella will perform a range of teaching roles in term 1 and part of term 2.

Welcome New Staff 2023
We look forward to welcoming the following new staff members in 2023:

  • Zara Mason 
  • Emily Walker

2023 STAFF STRUCTURE (TEACHERS)
CLASSROOM:
Unit 1 - Year P-2 - Annie Cuthbert and Chris Middleton
Unit 2 - Year 3-6 - Ben Kline & Sarah Ashton (*3/4) and Zara Mason (5/6)
Unit 3 - Year P-1 - Doug Skate 
Unit 4 - Year 3-6 - Ellen Waters (3/4) and Kiedo Bull (5/6)
Unit 5 - Year P-2 - Amanda McClure and Heath Smith
Unit 6 - Year 3-6 - Jason Simpson & Emily Walker (*3/4) and Rozeena Sen & Jamie Saggers  (*5/6)

* Shared classroom roles. Days and time fractions to be confirmed at the start of 2023. 

SPECIALIST:
Inclusion - Jamie Saggers
​PE - Emily Walker 
VISUAL ARTS - Lucy McKinnon
JAPANESE - Andrew Truong
TUTOR - Isabella Rope & Jason Simpson
P-2  Classroom Music - Katherine Anderson
3-6 STEAM - Isabella Rope
END OF YEAR EVENTS AND REMINDERS
Here are some important End of Year reminders and invitations:

PARENT / CARER MORNING TEA - 7/12/22
All available parents or carers of AVPS students are invited to join the AVPS staff at a morning tea on Wednesday 7th December from 11:00am in the Learning Studio / Library. Please simply turn up, (via the main entrance of the school) to help us celebrate the end of year and express our gratitude to school community members.
 
PIANO CONCERT  - 7/12/22
Family members of students who learn piano at AVPS are invited to a Piano Concert to be held on Wednesday 7th December 2022. Starting 7:00pm in the AVPS Hall.  See flyer attached.
 
PUPIL FREE DAY –  9/12/22
Parents and carers are reminded to please make alternative arrangements for the care of your child or children on Friday 9th December 2022.  Staff members will be engaged in school self-evaluation activities on this day.
Camp Australia is keen to run a full day care program on this day but require minimum numbers for this to take place. Bookings are open for full day care on Friday 9th December at this link: www.campaustralia.com.au​​
Please reserve a place for your child / children ASAP to enable this program to operate.
Any queries? Please contact Dee or her team members:
OSHC phone:​​ 0423 795 247
Coordinator:​​ Dee Seneviratne
 
YEAR 6 GRADUATION CEREMONY - 14/12/22
This will be an invitation only event taking place on Wednesday 14th December from 5:00pm. Families of year 6 students will receive a separate invitation to this event.
 
END OF YEAR ASSEMBLY - 20/12/22
AVPS community members are warmly invited to help celebrate the end of the school year at our End of Year Assembly. 
DATE: Tuesday 20th December – last day of the school year
TIME: 9:00am – 10:00am
LOCATION: School Oval / Deck – weather pending
BYO: Chair
More details below​
piano_concert_2022.pdf
File Size: 660 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
camp 2023
Please place these dates in your diary now.
The year 3-6 combined Camp will be held in term 4 next year.
Year 5/6 – Mon 23 – Wed 25th October 2023
Year 3/4 – Wed 25- Fri 27th October 2023
Club Lorne - https://www.clublorne.com.au/
Expression of Interest including deposits for camp will be communicated in term 1 next year.
TRANSITION ‘STEP UP’ DAY
All government secondary schools will host a Year 7 Orientation Day (for Year 6 students) on Tuesday 13 December 2022.

On the same day at Ascot Vale PS will hold our “Step Up” transition session, where students will meet their 2023 class/unit and associated teachers.

Current kindergarten or pre school students will also attend this day – their 4th and final transition session. Students will have an opportunity to be involved in a structured, step up lesson with time set aside, for a group conversation/ question time (note students will not bring anything with them) This is good practice to support students in their move from one year to the next. 
​​SEMESTER 2 STUDENT REPORTS
Semester 2 student reports are currently getting their final touches from teachers who have been working very hard on these out of school hours for the past 4 weeks.
​
It is planned that these will be distributed electronically via COMPASS on Monday 19th December. A news feed will accompany their release. 
END OF YEAR (EOY) ASSEMBLY
AVPS community members are warmly invited to help celebrate the end of the 2023 school year at our End of Year Assembly. Here are the details:
  • WHAT: EOY assembly showcases each unit presenting an item, farewell to community member leaving – highlighted by our graduating year 6 students, piano awards plus a few more items – it is a great time all together for one last time in 2023
  • DATE: Tuesday 20th December – last day of the school year
  • TIME: 9:00am – 10:00am
  • LOCATION: School Oval / Deck – weather pending*
  • BYO: Chair
END OF YEAR- EARLY DISMISSAL
The last day of term 4 for students at AVPS is Tuesday 20th December with an early finish time of 1:30pm.
Parents and carers are asked to please make alternative arrangements for the care of children from 1.30pm. 
STAFF LEAVE
The following staff will be taking leave prior to the end of the school year.

Sue Osborne (Principal)  - Long Service Leave from 15/12/2022 - 20/12/2022 (4 days). Michael Downing will be acting on Sue's behalf during this time. Thank you Michael. If parents or carers wish to communicate or meet with Sue prior to the end of the school year, please email her ASAP /by Thursday 8th December at [email protected]. Alternatively, arrangements can be made to catch up at the beginning of the new school year. 

Kiedo Bull (Unit 4 - Year 5 / 6 Teacher) - Parental Leave - Kiedo is on call to begin parental leave (any day now). We wish Kiedo and his partner all the very best as they prepare for the birth of their first child. 
SEEKING COMMUNITY THOUGHTS & FEEDBACK
As we prepare for our four-yearly school review, to be held at the end of term 1 2023, AVPS staff are currently undertaking self-evaluation tasks until mid-February 2023. Staff will participate in evaluation tasks on the upcoming pupil free day (9/12/22), where our goals, targets and key improvement strategies of the plan we set up four years ago (our School Strategic Plan) will be analysed. 

Parents and carers are invited to provide their feedback via an online form at this site (click link). 
Students will be given the opportunity to provide their feedback before the end of the school year. 

Opportunities will be made available for community members to participate in review activities towards the end of term one 2023. Dates and details will be shared in February next year. 
OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS CARE (oshc)
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
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS - members
2022 AVPS School Council Members:

PARENTS:
  • Annalise De Mel 
  • Meredith Ross 
  • Lela Drakulic 
  • Richard Moody
  • Scott Miller
  • Kate Mohay
  • Melinda Morpeth
  • Melanie Quin
STAFF:
  • Michael Downing 
  • Rozeena Sen 
  • Ben Kline 
  • Jason Simpson​
EXECUTIVE OFFICER 
Principal:  Sue Osborne ​
NOVEMBER MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
Our school council last met on Monday 28th November 2022.

Please find highlights of this meeting in the sections below.
POLICY SUB COMMITTEE
At our final meeting of the year, the Education and Policy  sub-committee reflected that 2022 has been a most productive year; perhaps making up for the disruption of the previous two. 

Many new policies have been approved and made available to our school community this year via our Policy and Standards web page here: https://avps.vic.edu.au/policies--standards.html  
We encourage community members to access and familiarise themselves with this page to help keep abreast of our school operations.

The most recently developed and approved AVPS policies include:
  • Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy 
  • Yard Duty & Supervision
  • Health Care Needs
  • Anaphylaxis
  • Inclusion and Diversity
  • SunSmart
  • Digital Learning 
  • Student Dress Code

Community Consultation
Thank you to the parents, students and staff who have provided feedback on the policies and standards developed throughout 2022.   

Special thanks also goes to our AVPS Education and Policy Sub - Committee members, Melanie Quin, Annalise De Mel, Jason Simpson and Sue Osborne, who have worked diligently throughout 2022 to ensure our policies and standards have been developed or updated with appropriate levels of community and School Council consultation throughout the year. ​
​OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS CARE (OSHC) SUB COMMITTEE
​The Outside School Hours Care sub committee of School Council is currently seeking community feedback to review the provision of OSHC at AVPS in the form of a survey.  We recognise the experience of the last two years may have impacted the way families manage their day to day commitments. Therefore, this survey will address covid impacts on OSHC usage. 

​Please access the survey at this link.
​PUPIL FREE DAYS 2023
The following additional staff Professional Practice Day dates were approved at the November School Council as Pupil Free Days at Ascot Vale PS in 2023, where parents and carers are asked to please make alternative arrangements for the care of your children on these dates.
  • Friday 2nd June 2023
  • Monday 10th July 2023

All pupil free days for 2023 (below) are adjacent to a weekend, public holiday or school holiday, in an attempt to achieve minimal disruption to the school community.

TERM 1
  • Friday 27th January 2023 - 'Teaching Writing' Professional Development 
  • Monday 30th January 2023 - Start of Year Pupil Free Day 
TERM 2 
  • Monday 24th April 2023 - Staff Professional Practice Day
  • Friday 2nd June 2023 -  Strategic Planning Development Day
TERM 3 
  • Monday 10th July 2023 - Staff Professional Practice Day
TERM 4 
  • Monday 6th November 2023 - Report Writing Day 

REMINDER - START OF TERM DATES - TERMS 1 & 2 2023
The first school day in Term 1 for Year 1-6 students will be Tuesday 31st January 2023. 
The first school day in Term 1 for Year Prep students will be Wednesday 1st February 2023
The first school day for all students in Term 2 will be WEDNESDAY 26th April 2023.
FINANCE SUB COMMITTEE
The main business for the Finance Sub Committee in November was to approve the indicative cash budget for the 2023 school year. 

Our Business Manager David Cauchi, has been working hard behind the scenes with Sue and a department School Finance Liaison Officer to develop a budget that takes into account intricate details of funding sources (government grants, parent contributions, fundraising, facilities hire etc) and expenditure needs across about 50 budgets (e.g., classroom/curriculum, ICT equipment and services, activities/events, camps/excursions, buildings / grounds / maintenance, professional development, staff replacement and administration.)

​The budget was developed based on a conservative enrolment estimate of 261 students and will be updated in the new year to account for any changes in enrolment numbers in 2023. 

The finance committee also noted the good work of the Trivia Night planning team AND attendees, whose combined efforts helped raise a valuable $8000 to go towards the costs of the new playground. THANK YOU, from the Finance Sub - Committee of the AVPS School Council. 
Trivia Night Thank You 
​Thank you to AVPS community members who supported our recent Hawaiian themed Trivia Night. We managed to raise over $8000 on the night, which is a phemoninal effort. These valuable funds will contribute to the cost of the new playground that is currently being built onsite. See photo at the top of the newsletter. 

Thank you to the following AVPS community members who helped organise the event: 
  • Richard Moodie - Trivia Master, host and planning team member
  • David Butters -  Trivia Master assistant and 'dot' distributor
  • Hazel Grunwaldt - Event project manager and planning team member
  • Ian Potter - Beverage supplies
  • Laura Wilson - Beverage supplies, decorations and planning team member
  • ​Claire Topliss - Decorations co-ordinator and planning team member
  • Katie Roberts - Hamper co-ordinator and planning team member
  • Lydia Belegris - Art work and planning team member
  • Melinda Morpeth - Hampers (etc) and planning team member
  • Annalise De Mel - Hampers (etc) and planning team member 
  • Trent Waters - Beverage supplies and planning team member
  • David Cauchi - Business Manager and Bar & Hamper Sales
  • Christina Micucci - Bar & Hamper Sales
  • Elsie Osborne - Bar Sales​

Thank you to our wonderful school community members who generously donated goods for the auction items  or hampers that looked amazing.

Thank you also to the generous sponsors, appearing in the image below, who donated goods or services for auction items or hampers.

Combined, these donations helped enormously to make the fundraising event such a GREAT success. 

Enjoy the pics below that show the beautiful decorating talents of our volunteers and our hard working (volunteer) 'bar staff'. 
Picture
'Bar Staff'
Picture
ENVIRONMENT TEAM
Hi AVPS Community.
The Environmental team and gardening group have been busy planting, watering and mulching the garden beds. They have planted some natives after the team researched native species. They have planted pig face, Lilly Pilly, Midyim Berries, Grevillia and bottle brush. They then discussed and shared with their classmates the benefits of planting native species, sharing this poster with their units:

Tomatoes are growing, the silver beet, mint, parsley and spinach is thriving in the unit 3 courtyard and the sunflowers are up but not in bloom.

We would like to thank all the volunteers who have helped out at working bees, donated seeds and gardening equipment and of course all the Environment Team members for all their hard work throughout the year.
​
Keep it green, Doug and The Environmental Team.
HEALTH & PE NEWS
Picture
​We have been enjoying learning lots of new skills and sports in P.E. this term.
 
Our junior classes have been learning the skills associated with tennis, soccer and tee ball. We have played a range of games that have helped up to practise serving, maintaining ball control, striking from a tee, fielding, dribbling and passing a soccer ball. If the weather impacted our sessions (which became quite a regular event!) we moved indoors to learn and play table tennis instead.
 
In the middle years, we successfully completed a four week block of hockey lessons delivered by an external coach, Sally. She was wonderful in teaching us how to trap, pass, jink and dribble the ball. We enjoyed playing number hockey and attempting to score goals against an opposition. Outside the hockey clinic, we enjoyed playing tennis and tee-ball. ‘Rapid Fire Tee-Ball’ was a modified game we played and proved to be a crowd favourite each week.
 
The senior students have exceeded expectation this term, successfully facilitating the one-hour lessons they planned in their first week back at school. Respect, engagement and effective communication have all been stand out attributes of the lessons, with facilitators and participants working together to learn and practise various skills. We have experienced a range of sports including, basketball, athletics, soccer, European handball and Quidditch. 
Year 3 / 4 Campaspe Camp
​Please enjoy these Campaspe Camp pics. 
ASCOT VALE COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD
Please peruse the community notices in the files and slideshow below:
ascot_vale_-_kelly_sport_term_1_2023__1_.pdf
File Size: 2937 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
ascot_vale_yoga_flyer_2022.pdf
File Size: 2326 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
ascot_kindergarten_flyer_1_2022.pdf
File Size: 332 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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