​ASCOT NEWS
4th March 2022, Term 1 Issue 2

Ascot Vale Primary School
‘Unique Learning Community’
Where we value:
RESPECT      RESPONSIBILITY      EXCELLENCE      EMPATHY      GRATITUDE

  The Resilience Project @ AVPS

 We are delighted to announced The Resilience Project has arrived at AVPS - more details below.
Please click on the headings below to discover more. 
FROM THE PRINCIPAL TEAM
Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Welcome to our second 'Ascot News' (newsletter) for 2022. 

Our newsletters are published two to three times per term and are usually released on the Friday after our scheduled School Council Meetings.  Parents / Carers receive a Compass alert with a link to the newsletter when it is available. These links are also published on our 'Newsletter' web page You may wish to bookmark this page.

The Ascot News regularly features:
  • News from the Principal Team
  • Key Dates / Events
  • School Council News
  • Health & PS News
  • Outside School Hours Care updates 
  • Community Noticeboard
AS WELL AS:
  • Coming Soon - Kids News

​One of the most useful features of AVPS newsletters and the website is the ability to change the language. We encourage families to become familiar with this function, located in the top right corner of each AVPS web page, including the newsletter.  See image below

The AVPS Communications policy outlines our approach, featuring four major communications pathways:
  1. Compass
  2. School Website
  3. Class Dojo
  4. Direct contact – in person, by phone or email

Please access the AVPS Communication Policy in the file below to find out more. This and other policies are available on our policy page of the AVPS website. 
​
Best Wishes
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Sue Osborne, Principal
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Michael Downing, Assistant Principal
communication_policy_avps_2021.pdf
File Size: 500 kb
File Type: pdf
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KEY DATES & EVENTS
Access our AVPS Key Dates & Events page AT THIS LINK.
​THE RESILIENCE PROJECT (TRP)
AVPS staff and students have begun 'Resilience Project' learning this week.  Please enjoy the updates and images below - we hope this might encourage conversations about TRP at home. 

The founder of TRP, Hugh Van Cullenberg, initially developed the program for all ages to benefit from, including us adults. Many of our staff have attended Hugh's presentations over recent years and are excited about the prospects of implementing the school based program at AVPS. Please visit this website to find out more about the program. More specific information about our school program will be released to AVPS parents/carers, in the form of a 'parent portal'  from term 2. We look forward to sharing this. 

YEAR 5/6 TRP UPDATE
Unit 2b students reported they learned about the importance of Gratitude by watching videos of Hugh Van Cullenberg, the founder of TRP. He told stories of his travels and work in India, where he met students who were truly grateful for the things around them, even though, compared to our lives in Australia, these things were quite basic and sometimes in very poor condition. Hugh discovered that these people routinely focussed on what they 'have got' rather than what they 'haven't got' and they expressed gratitude for these things and people in different ways every day. They also happened to be the happiest people Hugh had met!
​
Unit 2b teacher Bridie reported that TRP this week helped everyone focus on how lucky we are to have a good quality education, compared to other parts of the world.  She said the kids were focused and engaged by the videos and booklets that each student received.

YEAR 3/4 TRP UPDATE
Unit 2a teacher Ben reported that the year 3/4 kids have enjoyed learning about emotional literacy this week. The focus was on identifying and describing different emotions in ourselves and others. They enjoyed watching TRP videos and using their very own TRP book. 

PREP - 2 UPDATE
Unit 5 teacher Heath reports that TRP in the P-2 classrooms has focussed on Feelings and Bodies. The children really enjoyed viewing TRP videos and are catching on to the ideas about body language showing how other people are feeling. 

Please enjoy viewing TRP charts and student responses from Unit 5 below:
CHROMEBOOKS & NOTEBOOK PROGRAM
Students in Year 3-6 have been allocated their 1:1 device, which has generated some real excitement in the classrooms.

Below are some quotes from students in Unit 6 & 2.

REGARDING YEAR 3/4 1:1 CHROMEBOOKS
Isabelle, Jhanak, Anika, Evelyn, Sadie from Unit 6a report:
"I love that I can have a background with my favourite colours and no-one else will change it."
"The stylus is sooooo cool. It's good for drawing. It's got a laser pointer and a magnifying glass"
"It is really quick to log in and operate"
"We don't have to rush to get computers anymore because we have our own."
"The flexible touchscreen is GREAT"
"Everything about it is great!"

​Unit 6a teacher, Jason, reports: 
"Apart from the Chromebooks themselves, the kids are really loving the Google Suite of tools and docs. In particular, they are surprised at how easy it now is to manage their drives and documents. They are really excited and engaged about learning and the use of ICT."

REGARDING YEAR 5/6 1:1 NOTEBOOKS
Maeve, Pearl, Indi, Iona & Jessie from Unit 2a report:
"There's a lot more freedom"
"It's easy to access 'stuff' - files and work." 
"It's better for the environment because there's less printing."
"There is less rush to get to the computers. I always know my computer is going to be in its storage place with my name on it, waiting for me."
"It's much quicker to sign in."
"We use the notebooks for just about everything- writing, maths, reading, research and assessments."
"I LOVE IT"

COVID SAFE PLAN AND STRATEGIES
Our school Covid safe plan (see file below) has recently been updated in line with DET’s updated Operations Guidelines (28/2). The updated guide includes new or updated information, including
  • extension of COVIDSafe measures, including rapid antigen test screening
  • changes to advice on face masks (no change for primary schools), staff vaccinations requirements regarding third dose, and visitors to schools.
  • Gov QR code check ins no longer required - all visitors to schools, including parents, who enter school buildings (eg parent/ teacher meetings) must show a staff member up to date vaccination status to enter
These settings will be in place until the end of Term 1 2022, unless otherwise advised.

​In summary we anticipate most of the following will continue for the remainder of term 1:
  • Students who are screened for any symptoms of Covid (not related to known causes or conditions) must be masked, isolated and collected by parents. Parents will be asked to test students and even with a negative test, students cannot attend school until symptoms have gone. (We have a number of students still being sent to school with symptoms - colds - spreading symptoms, thus reducing the total number of students attending)

​See - Managing illness in schools and early childhood education and care services - information for parents and carers
https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/managing-illness-schools-and-early-childhood-education-and-care-services
  • Masks continue to be mandatory for all y3-6 students and all staff indoors
  • Ask all students to BYO masks - whilst we have spares in case of emergency we ask every child to have at least one spare on their person
  • Staggered starts and finish times to the school day remain
  • Encourage all students to BYO drink/ water bottle
  • Split breaks continue (P-2 and 3-6)
  • Encourage teaching and learning outside (weather/ activity permitting)
  • Encourage parent meetings online outside  (weather / privacy permitting)
  • School Assemblies online
  • RATs for staff and students (see below)
covid19safetymanagementplan_10-02-2022.pdf
File Size: 468 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
​RAPID ANTIGEN TEST COLLECTION & PLAN
The RAT program will continue until the end of Term 1 , although this will be monitored and may end early if recommended by health advice. All students and staff in mainstream schools are recommended to test twice a week. Consider setting common days for testing. Mainstream schools are asked to support the program through setting common days for testing (for example, Monday and Thursday).

Close to 40% of RAT tests were collected today for week 6,7 and half of 8 testing.  Thankyou for arranging this. 

Collection will be available next Monday 7/3 also, from 9.00-9.30am in the hall (via U3 gates). 
​
Please be aware that a collection of tests not picked up in previous rounds of distribution are not available. Testing kits are for students for the few weeks ahead so we encourage you to pick up allocated tests now. 
​ENROLMENT / SCHOOL TOURS @ AVPS
Enrolments for 2023 are now open. We encourage parents of current siblings to collect or request an enrolment form now. Full details about the enrolment process can be found on our website at: https://avps.vic.edu.au/general-enrolment-information.html

Please click this link to book into a 2022 school tour.
School Tour #3 - Friday 4th March 9:30am - sold out
School Tour #4 - Thursday 10th March 9:30am
School Tour #5 - Tuesday 22nd March 9:30am
School Tour #6 - Tuesday 5th April  9:30am

We encourage current families to share this information with kindergartens too please.
​MVIMP UPDATE
The MVIMP management committee met this week and decided to delay commencement of  MVIMP lessons until the beginning of term two 2022.  This is due to the increase in Covid-19 cases across schools and the higher Covid-19 infection risk associated with music tutors attending several schools each week. The health of students and the tutors is at the heart of this decision.  Consequently, there will be no MVIMP charge to families in term 1, 2022.
 
In the meantime please expect messages and updates from your child’s music tutor in term 1.
 
We look forward to MVIMP commencing in term 2. 
 
Thanks for your understanding,
​​NAPLAN 2022 
All year 3 and 5 students will have their 2022 NAPLAN tests conducted online this year (except for year 3 Writing). School preparedness for going online is taking place now with a practice test scheduled for the school late in March.

The online test window this year stretches across 9 school days - more details here https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-test-window-infographic.pdf Please see your child’s classroom teacher asap if you have any questions or concerns about your child participating in NAPLAN next term. 
​
What is NAPLAN? See https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan
​​camp deposits
​Reminder - both year 3/4 and 5/6 Camp deposits are due next Wednesday 9th March.  If you have an existing credit note from 2021 that you would like to use for this deposit, please contact Christina at the office before making payment online. If you have any further questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us at school as soon as possible. Failure to follow up this deposit request may lead to your child not securing a place on camp.
staff news
We recently said farewell to Kylie Moverley and Zorica Rakovic.

Until February 2022, Kylie has been the Business Manager at AVPS for the past three years, however, her impact will last a very long time to come. She began her tenure without an office in 2019, (it was being renovated) and promises for things to be more settled in 2020 and 2021, well …. just didn't eventuate. She took on challenges with gusto and did a particularly outstanding job of ensuring AVPS finances ran like clockwork. No job was too big or small for Kylie, she would often be out of the office tending to mishaps; she was the self appointed chief cleaner of playground slides! Her connections to staff and parents was rock solid but her work with children was unique for a Business Manager. Kylie made a strong commitment during lockdowns to be there for the students in the onsite program; to greet and farewell them with a cheerful smile every time.  This made a huge difference to the kids and adults who came across our Smiley Kylie, particularly during tricky times.  We are all thrilled for Kylie to have been appointed to a promotional position and wish her well but will miss her very much. 
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Farewell & best wishes to Kylie Moverley - Business Manager

In a similar fashion, Zorica Rakovic joined our staff in March 2020 in a Education Support - Literacy Intervention role, just as the pandemic struck! It has been two rocky years, however in this time, Zorica provided excellent 1:1 or small group support to students in need of a boost to their literacy skills; both onsite and off.  Previous to this, Zorica was a dedicated AVPS parent volunteer who gave her time selflessly to AVPS in literacy support, Working Bees and grant writing. Zorica worked tirelessly to co-ordinate the writing of several large grants that resulted in the installation of the sensory garden (leading to the circular deck) and turf / irrigation system, near the basketball court, to the value of tens of thousands of dollars. Zorica also successfully gained several 'Telstra' employee grants for AVPS, resulting in many thousands of dollars worth of literacy resources for the school. Zorica's quiet, behind the scenes impact on AVPS has been enormous - THANK YOU ZORICA. Zorica's role at AVPS has been discontinued due to a funding decline and we are sorry to see her go. We wish Zorica all the very best in the future. 
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Farewell and best wishes to Zorika Rakovic - Literacy Intervention

New AVPS Business Manager

David Cauchi has recently been appointed to the Business Manager position at Ascot Vale PS. He comes from a school administration position at Northcote Primary School and his previous work life includes managing adult/ Arts education settings and working in the banking industry. David is already settling in nicely to the AVPS office and community routine and is quickly 'learning the ropes.'

We look forward to working with and getting to know David more in the coming weeks. 

Welcome David
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AVPS Business Manager - David Cauchi
​​​PUPIL FREE DAY & PUBLIC HOLIDAY REMINDERS
​A Pupil Free Day will be held on Friday 11th March. Parents and/or carers are therefore requested to please make alternative arrangements for the care of their child or children on that day. 

​Teachers will be engaging in Professional Learning about The Resilience Project and the Teaching of Writing on that day. 

The Labour Day Public Holiday will be held on Monday 14th March, the next weekday, resulting in a long, long weekend for the children. The school will be closed on this day
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS
The 2021 School Council held their final meeting on Monday this week. The first meeting of the 2022 School Council will be held on Monday 28th March. 

Thank you to the following volunteers who have been appointed or will be continuing their two year appointment in 2022. 

SCHOOL COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP 2022
APPOINTED 2022
PARENTS:
  • Annalise De Mel - self nominated
  • Meredith Ross - self nominated
  • Lela Drakulic - co-opted
  • Richard Moody - co-opted
DET STAFF:
  • Michael Downing - co-opted
  • Rozeena Sen - co-opted
  • Ben Kline - co-opted
APPOINTED 2021
PARENTS:
  • Scott Miller
  • Kate Mohay
  • Melinda Morpeth
  • Melanie Quin

DET STAFF:
  • Jason Simpson​

EXECUTIVE OFFICER - ongoing
Principal Sue Osborne 

We look forward to a productive AVPS School Council year in 2022.
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS 2021
A big feature of the February AVPS School Council meeting was a data presentation and discussion focusing on student achievements from recent years, linked to our School Strategic Plan. Staff and parent members of School Council alike were so impressed with the achievements of our students, particularly given the recent significant disruption to learning, it was agreed these results should be shared more widely. Comments at the meeting suggested this data provides a sense of reassurance that the kids at AVPS have and are generally making good to great academic progress, when compared to schools with similar demographics, despite the challenges of the pandemic. Please find the data sets in the images below.  

WELL DONE TO OUR AVPS STUDENTS - we are immensely proud of your efforts. 

The results in the slideshow below are linked to the following AVPS four year School Strategic Plan goal and targets:
​GOAL 1 – To improve literacy and numeracy learning outcomes for all students. 

TARGET 1.1 – Increase in the percentage of year 3 & 5 students achieving in the top two NAPLAN bands in:
  • READING,  WRITING & NUMERACY

TARGET 1.2 – Increase the percentage of students working above expected levels in teacher judgment in all year levels in:
  • READING, WRITING, NUMBER & ALGEBRA

Please see the eight images below.
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - QUICK UPDATE
Block B - Learning Studio roof – replacement work as you can see has commenced, slowed down by Covid hitting construction company during January. Hopefully completed in the coming 3-4 weeks.

Playground Installation (upgrading the ‘big kids’ playground) – further detailed drawings are being submitted to the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA).  While we are still hoping to complete by the end of term 2, we started this process pre Covid. 
​
Shade Sail Structure outside Unit 6. Official Approval given by VSBA a few business days ago - confirming our successful application for the $25,000 grant. Contract for our preferred supplier has been prepared this week and we hope work will start in the coming school holidays. 
FLEMINGTON MARKET - coming soon to avps
Good news!  The Flemington Market, once housed at Mount Alexander College, is coming soon to AVPS. 

School Council approved this arrangement in 2021 and plans are afoot in 2022 to see this to fruition..... after the 'Block B' roof restoration is complete. 

Stay tuned for more information about a start date later in the term. 
PARENT PAYMENTS - THANK YOU
The School Council Finance Committee would like to extend gratitude to our Parent/Carer community for supporting AVPS via the parent payment arrangements in 2022. 

There have been some recent changes to the wording of the Department of Education and Training's Parent Payment Policy and we are aware that this has caused some confusion about what payments need to be made. Please contact the office if you require assistance with payments. (9370 6507)

AVPS essentially relies on parent payments to enable the provision of a full and engaging teaching and learning program at AVPS.  For example, the 1:1 (Years 3-6) Chromebook /Notebook and 1:2 Chromebook  (Year P-2) programs would not be possible without the financial contributions of parents. Thank you for supporting AVPS.

​Please find more information about parent payment arrangements at this link on our website.
HEALTH & PE NEWS
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Have you met our new Health & PE teacher, Jamie Saggers?

She isn't exactly new but is enjoying a change of focus in 2022 from Year 5/6 classroom teacher to PE/Sport/Tutoring as well as leading the Year 5/6 Teaching team. She is managing all these roles with a big smile on her face. Thank you Jamie. 

Enjoy Jamie's Health & PE update below.


​RIDE TO SCHOOL DAY
Date: Friday 25th March 2022

We encourage families to join in the fun on National Ride2School Day by riding, walking, skating or scooting to school.

National Ride2School Day is the perfect opportunity for students and school communities across Australia to embrace a healthier start and to try riding
and walking to school.

Fun Facts:
For every kilometer you actively travel instead of driving, you save 243.8 grams of carbon emissions. But what does that actually mean? On National Ride2School Day 2021, students across Australia saved 27 tonnes of CO2 by actively travelling to school – the equivalent of planting 187 trees. That’s only one day of the year.
Imagine if we did that every day. Over a year we’d save 5,400 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of planting 37,800 trees!

Attached is a 'Ride Ready' checklist, to help you get your bike ready (if that's how you choose to get to school!)

We look forward to seeing as many children as possible enjoying a happy, active and safe journey to school on March 25th!
r2s_checklist.pdf
File Size: 29 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
SWIMMING UPDATE
There were smiles all round for this incredible bunch of swimmers who represented AVPS in the recent District Swimming Carnival at Queens Park Pool.  Ribbons or no ribbons, they represented our school with such pride.

Their energy, persistence and enthusiasm didn’t waver throughout the day, cheering from start to finish, regardless of whether an Ascot Vale student was in the race.

A huge congratulations to the 2022 Swim Team, and a massive thank you to David, Trent and Bridie for helping to coordinate the group, getting them to each event on time and supporting everyone along the way.

We wish the swimmers moving on to the Division event all the very best! 🥳

​Please enjoy the following photos and videos capturing the day. ​
OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS CARE (oshc)
newsletter_4th_march_2022.pdf
File Size: 1564 kb
File Type: pdf
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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
ASCOT VALE COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD
Please peruse the community notices in the slideshow below:

Location