ASCOT VALE PRIMARY SCHOOL No. 2608

March 1, 2017 Volume 1, Issue 4

Website: www.avps.vic.edu.au Newsletters are available online

Ph: 9370 6507 Fax: 9370 5150

www.twitter.com/AscotValePS

We value: Multi-age learning, High Expectations for all, Diversity, Creativity & developing positive Relationships

Key Dates - Term 1, 2017 14-24/3/17 Senior Swimming Lessons

Mon 20/3/17 Unit 3 Assembly (including SRC 2017 badge presentations) – 3pm hall

24/03/17 District Cross Country

27-31/03/17 Cultural Diversity Week Celebrations

Mon 27/3/17 Unit 4 Assembly– 3pm hall

Mon 27/3/17 School Council and Sub Committees – from 6pm

Fri 31/3/17 Last day of term 1 – 2.30pm dismissal (Term 2 commences Tuesday 18th April 9am)

Save the Dates Mon 24/04/17 Pupil Free Day – Please make alternative arrangements for the care of your child/children

Tue 25/04/17 ANZAC Day - Public Holiday – No School

Mon 12/06/17 Queen’s Birthday – Public Holiday – No School

Mon 06/11/17 Pupil Free Day – Please make alternative arrangements for the care of your child/children

Tue 07/11/17 Melbourne Cup day – Public Holiday – No School

Sat 25/11/17 AVPS FETE Day – Mark this in your diary

LOTE – Community Survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AVPSLOTE

All community members are encouraged to complete this survey.

See page 4 for details

Closes 5pm Wednesday 22nd March 2017

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From the Principal Team

We hope everyone enjoyed the extra-long

weekend and made the most of the

beautiful March weather this week.

Pupil Free Day – A Closer Look at Writing

The staff certainly made the most of the

pupil free day last Friday, being inspired and

challenged by a highly respected

educational consultant, Alan Wright. Alan

has worked extensively in the United States

and Australia promoting best practice in the

teaching of writing. He has a fabulous blog

at this site: http://livinglifetwice-

alwrite.blogspot.com.au/p/about-me.html ;

feel free to visit it.

Writing is one of the areas in the AVPS

School Strategic Plan identified for

improvement. AVPS is like most schools

where student reading outcomes

consistently outperform writing. Alan’s

presentation paved the way for teachers to

question the manner in which writing is

taught and to try researched best practice

teaching approaches. The presentation

included the following elements:

Igniting Writing

Beliefs about Writing – teaching Writing

Setting up the Writing Environment and Expectations

Exploring Craft

The Art of Learning to Read Like a Writer

Teachers as Writers- The Power of Modelling and Demonstrating

We look forward to sharing some of our

children’s writing in the coming weeks.

Cultural Diversity Week

AVPS will be celebrating Cultural Diversity

Week in the final week of Term One; starting

on Monday 27th March. This is an

opportunity for the school to celebrate the

depth and breadth of cultural backgrounds

represented at the school. We also have a

whole school focus on one particular

cultural group, this year’s being: Australian

Indigenous Culture. The children will take

part in multi-age rotating activities on the

morning of 27th March.

One of our AVPS parents, Neville (dad of

Celia U1) visited the school on Friday to

share insights with staff about teaching

Australian Indigenous Studies in schools.

Neville works for the Victorian Aboriginal

Education Association (VAEA) and provided

a wealth of knowledge pertaining to:

The important role schools have in teaching Australian Indigenous Studies throughout the whole year (not just during a special focus week).

The cultural sensitivities that exist.

The best terms to use when describing Indigenous Australians.

Explaining the importance of and difference between a ‘Welcome to Country’ and “Acknowledgement of Country’ ceremony.

Thank you Neville and co from VAEA for

sharing these insights with us.

Please see your child’s teacher if you are

able to assist in helping to celebrate

Cultural Diversity Week at AVPS; either

focusing on your own cultural background

or on the topic of Australian Indigenous

Culture.

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Mid Semester Reports – Term 1

Mid Semester reports will be sent home

with students on Thursday 30th March. This

‘snapshot’ report gives you a brief yet

accurate assessment of your child’s current

performance against the achievement

standards in English and Mathematics, as

well as information about whether your

child has made adequate progress this term

in these key learning areas. Please note,

students may still have made adequate

progress even if they are not at standard.

While students of all ages and year levels

can be anywhere along the learning

continuum at any one time, emphasis is

always placed on supporting students to

progress along this continuum.

The marking system for English and

Mathematics is either:

• Below expected standard

• At expected standard

• Above expected standard

We have continued to use the expansive set

of work habits, attendance and punctuality

on a five-point rating scale, similar to the

more comprehensive report that will be

sent home at the end of semester 1, in June.

Dog on School Grounds

A reminder that while dogs are allowed on

school property, parents have a

responsibility to ensure that their dog is on

a short lead and controlled by an adult at all

times, not a child. Our full policy is available

online at:

http://avps.vic.edu.au/documents/Dogsons

choolgroundspolicy2014.pdf

Thank you for your support with this.

Students arriving early There have been a large number of students arriving early to school without parent or carer supervision. It is the parent’s responsibility to care for students:

1) travelling to and from school and 2) outside the times of supervision

before and after school Supervision IS provided from 8.45am before school at to 3.45pm after school. Students must not be left attended outside of these times. http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/spag/safety/Pages/supervision.aspx

Prep 2018 Enrolment / Transition We are now accepting 2018 prep enrolment forms regardless of where you live. Updated enrolment information and key dates have been recently added to our website. Please visit http://www.avps.vic.edu.au/Enrolments.html for more specific information. We have scheduled an information session for prospective families of children entering school next year. This will be held in Annie’s classroom; Unit 4 on Wednesday May 3rd at 7:00pm. Please register at the following link: AVPS Prep 2018 Information Session 2017 AVPS School Tours School Tours are also available in term 2. Please click on the link to book into a tour.

Booking Link Tour Date & Time

AVPS School Tour 1 Thursday 27th

April 9:30-10:30am

AVPS School Tour 2 Tuesday 2nd May

11:30am -12:30pm

AVPS School Tour 3 Monday 15th May

9:30-10:30am

AVPS School Tour 4 Thursday 25th May

11:30am -12:30pm

AVPS School Tour 5 Wednesday 31st May

10:00-11:00am

AVPS School Tour 6 Tuesday 6th June

9:30-10:30am

AVPS School Tour 7 Wednesday 21st June

11:30am -12:30pm

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Languages Other Than English (LOTE) We are seeking feedback from community members about the teaching and learning of language at AVPS. For many years the school has offered Italian as the Language Other Than English. This language and culture has served AVPS very well in recent years being capably taught by Assunta Righi, who is a trained LOTE teacher as well as classroom teacher at AVPS and is currently on 12 months leave.

It is important to note Italian is considered a perfectly good choice of language for children to learn. The Department values the teaching of any language. We are currently taking the opportunity to ascertain community ideas and perceptions around the following points pertaining to the teaching of language at AVPS:

Preferred learning methods.

Student engagement levels.

Preferred language options.

It is also important to point out the survey results will be considered along with other sources of information, appearing below, when making a recommendation to School Council:

The Department of Education and Training Victoria (DET) supports diversity; all languages are valued.

Asian languages are a priority; however, the government has not taken a firm stance on this issue. That is, the teaching of Asian Languages is not compulsory.

DET considers providing LOTE pathways to Year 10 as a priority.

Languages taught at feeder secondary schools are worthwhile considering, however AVPS feeds to many secondary schools who offer different languages.

Capacity for LOTE teachers to network with teachers of the same language from local schools is also an important factor.

Here are some other sources of information to consider when completing the survey:

Languages other than English spoken at home as a first language by AVPS students: Of our 269 students, 88 identify as having a language background other than English. 36 of these students speak English at home as a first language, whilst 52 students speak a language other than English as their first language at home. Of those 52 students, 14 different languages are represented including: Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Tamil, Gujarati, Hindi, Vietnamese, Malay, Tagalog, Mandarin, Oromo, Somali and Amharic.

Languages offered at neighbouring State Primary Schools: Ascot Vale West PS - Spanish Flemington PS – Chinese Moonee Ponds PS – Italian Moonee Ponds West PS – Japanese Flemington PS – Chinese Debney Meadows PS – Mandarin Kensington PS – Indonesian Essendon PS- Japanese Essendon North PS Aberfeldie PS – Japanese

Languages offered at neighbouring State Secondary Schools: Mount Alexander College – Japanese, Chinese & Italian Essendon Keilor College – Japanese & Italian Strathmore SC– Greek, Italian & Japanese Buckley park SC– German & Japanese Brunswick SC – Italian & Chinese

The LOTE survey closes 5pm Wednesday

22nd March 2017 and is available at the

following site:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AVPSLOTE

Please note, students from Years 1-6 will also be encouraged to complete this survey at school. Efforts will be made to assist non-English speaking community members to complete the survey. Your participation in this LOTE survey is much appreciated.

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School Council Elections Update

Congratulations to the following candidates who were recently elected to the 2017-2018 AVPS School Council – parent category:

Benjamin Delaney Phillip Empey

Angelica Inserra Ebony Mychailyk

These newly elected parents will be joining

the following existing members:

STAFF - Michael Downing, Annie Cuthbert,

Amanda Mcclure, Ellen Waters & Sue

Osborne.

PARENTS- Rebecca Doherty, Anita Cordon,

& Helen Millar.

The first meeting is on Monday 27th March AT 6:00pm.

Buddy Bench – new at AVPS

Our SRC Buddy Bench has been installed in the courtyard. We have shown students the bench at assembly, highlighting that it is a meeting point for students looking for someone to play with. Not a place to just hang around on or at. The idea is that you sit on the bench, a little like waiting for a bus; however, in this case, you’re waiting for a buddy to come by and ask if you’d like to play. Likewise, if two people sit on the bench, they can ask each other. Please visit the buddy bench with your child and have a discussion about its use. This is another way that AVPS students can show others that they care about their peers, by asking them to play. Prep for Parents – Making and keeping friends Starting school contains lots of anxiety-ridden unknowns for your child including a

new teacher, harder lessons, different clothes and where they'll sit in class. But perhaps the most unsettling challenge for your child may be around making new friends while keeping those they already have.

Friends are people that your child can sit with, play with, talk to, share things with, confide in and sometimes argue with. Your child’s teacher has an important role to play in supporting children to make friends. Some of the ways in which a teacher can do this includes identifying their skills in making friends; seeing which children are chatty, confident and good at interacting with other children and those that are a little more cautious. Children’s friendships are often very fluid and it is the quality of friends that your child has that is important, not the number. Whether your child has one special friend or many friends isn’t really the issue. As long as they are happy and content you can be assured that they’ll do fine. Conflicts between children are a normal part of growing up and are to be expected. These conflicts are not considered bullying, even though they may be upsetting and need to be resolved. Tips to help you Let your child know that if another child

doesn’t want to play with them, they still have friends and people who care about them.

Encourage your child’s interests and get them involved in clubs or groups that have similar interests.

Offer to carpool – this will provide opportunities for your child to mix with others and helps you to get to know the other parents. Often it is the parents who make the first connections when it comes to developing friendships and this takes some of the pressure off the children.

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Through your behaviour and the time and effort you put into your own friendships, your child will learn how to be a friend and have friends.

Talk to your child about forgiveness. Sometimes friends do things that upset us. This doesn’t mean the friendship has to end. Understanding that everyone makes mistakes is an important lesson to learn.

Related links Happy Child’s How to Help Your Child

Make Friends Better Health Channel’s Friendship – How

to make new friends Essential Kids Children and friendships –

Take steps to help your child learn appropriate social and coping skills.

Parenting Ideas – Friendship skills for kids and Essential friendship skills for kids

Raising Children Network’s Imaginary Friends – Make-believe friends grow out of healthy active imaginations. They give children a great way to express their feelings and a playmate to practise their social skills with.

Regards, Sue & Michael, Principal Team

From The Business Manager The first Camps Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF) payments have been received by our school and have been allocated to the eligible Families who have applied for the CSEF payment. Families who have a Centrelink Healthcare or Pension card and are eligible for the Government’s CSEF payment can apply to receive $125.00 per child. If you are eligible to do so, please bring your card with you to the office and apply now. Should you have any concerns at all about this payment, please see Janet or Sue.

If any families are experiencing financial difficulties, please do not hesitate to see Janet or Sue to set up a payment plan.

Kind regards, Janet Coward coward.janet.r@edumail.vic.gov.au

PSW Uniform Shop Our school uniform is supplied by PSW Quality Apparel. This is available for new purchases in the following ways: 1. Online. To order online, use the PSW

website, www.psw.com.au and follow the prompts.

2. Our AVPS Uniform Shop which opens in the hall/canteen area usually on the first Tuesday of the month from 3:00-4:00pm. However, due to the holidays, the next on-site uniform sales will take place on Tuesday 28th March.

3. Visit the PSW shop in Deer Park which is located at 58 Westwood Drive, Deer Park. Telephone: 9768 0342. Opening Hours are 8.30am – 5.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am – 5.00pm Saturday. Closed on Sunday

Second Hand Uniform Store Next Open: TBC

Location: Learning Studio on the mezzanine

level.

Prices: All items are $2.00 each.

Opening Times: The uniform store

generally opens twice a term, depending on

stock levels.

Contact Details:

Carolyn Martin (0411 254 708)

Donations of Uniform:

Items can be left at the office. We encourage parents/guardians to wash

second hand uniform items before wearing

or donating.

Regards, Carolyn

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Ascot Vale Primary School

Out of 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

Hope everyone did enjoy the long weekend

and had a restful time. It is amazing how fast

time passes by and once again we are

approaching the end of a school term.

Information regarding the holiday clubs is

available at the service if any parents are

interested in sending their children.

OSHC has been ever so busy with so many

children attending. We have had many new

enrolments in the last couple of weeks and

we would approach those new parents to

have our child information sheets signed

and up to date. We also request our existing

parents to update any changes or additions

to the list of persons authorised to pick up

your child etc. which enables us staff to look

after your children effectively. We also

make a humble request from all our parents

to let us know if your child is not attending

any session due to illness etc. or if you have

picked up your child early from school. Since

our OSHC group is now quite large it helps

us staff immensely in getting our child

attendance numbers etc. accurate at this

very busy time and staff does not have to

step away to make calls to parents etc.

In the next couple of weeks, we will

concentrate on the completion of the OSHC

family tree and then we will be onto the

many Easter craft activities. We will also

have our Easter Party earlier than usual.

There is much happening in OSHC and

something to look forward to everyday.

Wishing everyone a great week

Dee and the OSHC Team

Senior Swimming Fun This Week

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Pascoe Vale Girls College invites prospective students and their parents to attend our

Open Day on Wednesday 19th April 2017.

Information sessions followed by tours of the College will be held at the following

times:

1. Morning 9:00am – 10:30am

2. Afternoon 4:00pm – 5:30pm

3. Evening 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Parents and children need only attend one session. There is no need to register

attendance at a session.

New for 2018- The Select Entry Accelerated Learning (SEAL) Program for

girls who have above average academic ability and achieve at a high level

Pascoe Vale Girls College is proud to announce the introduction of the SEAL Program that

provides personalised teaching and learning that meets the needs of gifted and talented

learners. The program provides stimulating learning experiences that challenge, extend and

develop the gifts and talents of students by offering acceleration and enrichment. SEAL students

will study a faster paced curriculum and have the opportunity to study concepts in greater depth.

There is a greater emphasis on higher order thinking and learning skills and independent learning

and research.

The SEAL Program is suited to girls who are capable of studying curriculum at a faster pace than

mainstream classes, have a strong passion for learning, are capable of working independently,

enjoy intellectual challenges and have superior ability to problem solve.

Visit the College website for more information and to apply for the SEAL Program:

www.pvgc.vic.edu.au

If you are unable to attend our Open Day Sessions, the College also conducts tours with

the Principal throughout the year. Bookings can be made by calling the College on:

9306 2544 or online at www.pvgc.vic.edu.au/our-school/enrolment

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2017 AVPS STAFF & PROGRAM ARRANGEMENTS UNIT TEACHER/S DAYS YEAR LEVEL

Unit 1 Rozeena Sen Mon-Fri P/1/2

Poppy White

Bev Loft

Mon, Tue, Every 2nd Wed 3/4 Every 2nd Wed, Thu & Fri

Unit 2 Amanda McClure Mon-Fri P/1/2

Fiona Stewart Mon-Fri P/1/2

Rebecca Green Mon-Fri 3/4

Unit 3 Marg Blair Gannon Mon-Fri Prep / 1

Jude Wigley Mon-Fri 2/3

Unit 4 Sarah Bergin Mon-Fri 5/6

Annie Cuthbert Mon-Fri P/1/2

Unit 5 Bronwyn Carpenter Mon-Fri 4/5/6

Ellen Waters Mon-Fri 4/5/6

SPECIALIST SUBJECTS SUBJECT TEACHER DAYS YEAR LEVELS

Science Fiona Stewart TBC P-6

Physical Education Ian Lumb Wed, Thu & Fri P-6

Art Lucy Mackinnon Wed, Thu (all day) &

Every 2nd Friday

P-6

Music Katherine Anderson Friday P-1

SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF

STAFF MEMBER ROLE DAYS

Tina Kountouri Library/Literacy Support Mon – Fri

Maria Scarpaci Integration Aide Mon - Wed

Thuy Nguyen Integration Aide Wed - Fri

Kerry Kinniburgh Integration Aide Tue & Thu

Joanne Haar Integration Aide Mon - Wed

Jackson Clarke Integration Aide Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri

ADMINISTRATION Sue Osborne Principal Mon-Fri

Michael Downing Assistant Principal Mon-Thu

Janet Coward Business Manager Mon-Fri

Christina Micucci Administration Monday, Wednesday, Friday

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MAINTENANCE / TECHNICAL SUPPORT STAFF MEMBER ROLE DAYS

Steve Evangelou ICT Technician Friday afternoons

Alan McCarthy Maintenance Thursday mornings

Naveen Yellala School Cleaner Mon-Fri afternoons

Emmanuel Miyine School Cleaner Mon-Fri afternoons

OPTIONAL PROGRAMS / EXTRA CURRICULAR The following programs incur an additional fee:

SUBJECT TEACHER DAYS YEAR LEVEL /

ARRANGEMENTS

MVIMP Moonee Vale

Instrumental Music

Program

This program has been

operating for 30+ years

and is managed in

conjunction with:

Ascot Vale PS

Ascot Vale West PS

Moonee Ponds PS

Moonee Ponds West PS

Anthony Baker – Percussion Monday Year 3-6 fee paying students

only

By arrangement with AVPS

MVIMP co-ordinator Bev Loft loft.beverley.r@edumail.vic.gov.au

Katherine Anderson –

Woodwind (flute) Tuesday

Simon Fisenden – Bass Wednesday Katherine Anderson – Woodwind (saxophone & clarinet)

Wednesday

Les Gyori –Violin and Viola Wednesday Caitlin Taylor – Brass Wednesday Lex Tier – Band Thursday Janet Butler – Cello Thursday

Guitar Linden Lester Thursday 1:30-2:30

By arrangement with Linden Lester : 0409 320 435 lindenlester79@gmail.com

Piano *

*Currently full –

accepting names for

waiting list

Belinda Sun Michelle Lam

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

P-6 by arrangement with Joshua Cowie: 0413 884 067 cowie@iprimus.com.au

Dance Theatre Raelene Brady

Tuesday: 5-8pm

Saturday:

9am- 12 midday

P-6 by arrangement with: Raelene or Bruno: 0423 089 981 or 0421 859 540 dancetheatre@gmail.com

Soccer Time Kids Soccer for 1-5 year olds

Sunday Mornings

8.30-12 midday

Phone: 1300 476 223 www.soccertimekids.com.au

Big 5 Sports Netball - Kirsten & Soccer - Cameron

Wednesdays 3:40-

4:40

ENROL ONLINE: www.big5sports.com.au OR 0422 043 853