2022 APS Newsletter Issue 3


Junior School Council Report

Hi I’m Alex Wang, school captain. I’m going to give you an update about what’s been happening in the last 2 weeks. Let's begin!

On Wednesday the 2nd of March, students participated in a House Competition in which the four house colours (red, blue, green and yellow) competed against each other to win house points. There were 8 games, 4 for the seniors and 4 for the juniors.



The senior students supported each other and even for the juniors, the atmosphere of chanting words of support made the Junior School Council members feel proud because their organisation and planning skills had paid off. 


Here were the results from the house games (*drumroll*)

1st: Yellow House winning with 65 points
2nd: Green House with 40 points
3rd: Blue House with 25 points
4th: Red House with 10 points

Last Tuesday, Year 5s and 6s had a video call with our sister schools in Taiwan. We played 2 truths and a lie with our penpals but we had to speak in Chinese while the Taiwan students had to speak in English.


Well, that’s all from me! Enjoy the next week!

 

         Alex Wang



Principal's Report

Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members,

We are half way there!

Focus on Learning
The staff at APS have taken a deliberate stance this term to do everything to protect learning time, for both students and staff. The very core business of schooling was disrupted so frequently in the last two years that as educators, there is a great sense of urgency to prioritise essential learning above everything else that is good-to-have.

This stance is in line with the DET's request for schools to remain conservative on all things COVID in Term 1 while the situation is still volatile. Further, with our Late Works Project (construction work) taking place, the school is simply unable to host big community events at this stage.

Despite being 'quieter' on the community engagement front, with this newed focus, energy and desire for learning, we have seen incredible progress on student learning in all learning areas. Particularly noticeable is an unprecedented level of Chinese being heard and spoken in the school as students enjoy their newfound 'fluency' in the language. Well done to all!



Tailored learning support has also been implemented rigorously throughout the school, funded by both the school and the DET Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI). Over the last month, we have been recommenced all of the following programs:
  • English literacy support (TLI)
  • Mathematics support (TLI)
  • Chinese literacy support (APS)
  • Chinese background speaker extension (APS)
  • Principal's extension - French in Semester 1 and Secondary Maths in Semester 2 (APS)
  • Victorian High-Ability Programs for Years 5 and 6 (DET)


Staff have also been learning focused with various professional development having taken place within the space of 6 weeks:
  • "Career Start" Workshops (Graduate teachers and mentors)
  • Primary School Mathematics and Science Specialist (Amanda)
  • "Finance Matters" training (Marianna)
  • Online NAPLAN training (Lizzie)
  • Bilingual Working Party Workshop (Fangni & Travis)
  • APS x Richmond West PS x Richmond High School Inter-School Project (Fangni)
  • Successful application to DUET - Music Teacher Support (Jasmine)
  • Visit to YarraMe (Sercan & Caroline)
  • Evolve & Paul Sahlberg Conversation Series with Gonski (Stanley)


Late Works Project

Thank you for your cooperation and patience with the single entrance arrangement (for our roof works). We understand that finding a convenient parking spot can be hard on Albert St during drop-off and pick-up times.

Don't forget Lithgow St is very quiet, so if you don't mind the slight detour for exercise, parking on Lithgow St may be a good option!

COVID
Unfortunately a small number of COVID cases has been identified at APS over the last week. (Note: As per DET instructions, parental communication regarding COVID cases at school is only sent to the parents/carers of the classes affected.)

Please continue to be stringent with monitoring for COVID symptoms and refrain from sending your child to school if you have any doubt.

If your child tests positive via RAT or PCR, please contact Marianna straight away by calling 03 9428 5977.

Updated Policies
As part of DET requirement, schools are required to update different policies each year, based on the review cycle set for each policy.

Please note that APS has recently updated the following policies to be aligned with the updated DET policies, which are all available on the School Policies page of our website:
  • Anaphylaxis (& Anaphylaxis Communication Plan)
  • Asthma
  • Bullying Prevention
  • Yard Duty & Supervision

Call for Casual Relief Teachers (Subtitute Teachers) & Volunteers
As you may have heard on the news, Victoria is currently going through a massive shortage of CRTs. As the school's Daily Organiser, I can attest to the 'stress' this shortage has put schools under.

If you know of any CRTs that would be interested in working at APS, please encourage them to send through their CV to abbotsford.ps@education.vic.gov.au 

Similarly, we are still looking for 1-2 volunteers who can assist with English literacy support. If you or anyone around you would be interested in volunteering at APS, please refer them to the Volunteering page of our website and contact us via abbotsford.ps@education.vic.gov.au

---

XÄ«nkÇ”le! Enjoy the long weekend! 

Stanley xiaozhang

Chinese Online Library Information Session

As mentioned in our recent communicaton regarding support for Chinese at home, Abbotsford PS is partnering Mandarin Matrix in 2022 to introduce their Dual Language Immersion curriculum resources and a Chinese online library to Australia!

Through this partnrship, all students will have an enhanced collection of Chinese graded readers to choose from for their independent reading each morning (which are funded through the Voluntary Contributions 2022 policy).

In addition, for families wishing to obtain online access to additional readers, activities, interactions designed for students from Chinese/English bilingual schools, Mandarin Matrix is offering individual account subscription to APS families at a significantly discounted rate.

We will be co-hosting an information session with Mandarin Matrix this coming Thursday evening to introduce what the online library platform. Please see the information below:



School Photos



Mental Wellbeing and Family Support

We have all had two years on intensively uncertain times, and with constant news items in the media relating to the perils of climate change and geopolitical wars, we are all beginning to feel a bit jaded, under siege and in need of a lifeline. Harder still to cope with is your child's growing awareness of things being amiss in the wider world. 

One of the best things about Abbotsford is our strong sense of shared community and friendship which helps us to feel supported and cared about when the chips are down. I get a lot of information sent to me that I think would be useful to share with you to ease the path of parenthood during challenging times, so I intend to post a few interesting resources and articles over the next coming months.

For this week: Parent Circle – Helping your child cope with bad world news



Upcoming Events

Monday, 14 Mar
Labour Day (Public Holiday)

Tuesday, 15 Mar
School Council (2022 Special Meeting)

Friday, 18 Mar
National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence - Rotational Activities (2-3:30pm)
Note: The in-person Parent Info Session has been cancelled. A link with the presentation will be sent to all parents in the next issue of the newsletter.

Wednesday, 23 Mar - Friday, 25 Mar
Life Education

Friday, 25 Mar
Years 5 & 6 District Summer Gala Sports day (9:45am-1pm)

Monday, 28 Mar - Friday, 8 Apr
Smile Squad Oral Health Visit

Monday, 28 Mar
Years 3 & 4 Royal Botanic Gardens Excursion

Tuesday, 29 Mar
School Council

Friday, 1 Apr
Foundation Learning Morning and Teddy Bear Picnic (9:45-10:45am)

Tuesday, 5 Apr
School Photos

Friday, 8 Apr
End of Term 1 (Early finish for students at 2:30pm)

Community Noticeboard

2 MAYFIELD STREET - WORKSHOPS FOR CHILDREN

CAMP AUSTRALIA
CA
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FITZROY CITY SC


LENNOX MARKET
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RICHMOND JUNIOR FOOTBALL CLUB


NORTH RICHMOND COMMUNITY HEALTH - VACCINATION INFO