Junior School Council report Newsletter Week 5 Term 1 

By Betty & Sophia

JSC Senior representatives

Swimming
Congratulations to Edwin and well done to everyone who participated in the swimming carnival. Edwin will be representing APS at the next division competition on the 14th of March.  

Yellow House fundraising
This Term, Yellow House will be running a Drawing Competition fundraising event. Stay tuned for more details. 

Classroom news from: 

Foundation

This is the last week of assessments for the Foundation students!

Year 1 & 2

In writing they have been planning, drafting and editing.

In Chinese, they have been playing maths games.

Year 3 & 4
In writing, they have been making creative stories.

In Chinese they have been using ‘Mandarin Matrix’ to learn to read Chinese texts as well as listening to audio.

Year 5 & 6
Year 5 & 6 have been learning about famous people in history and the people on the Australian currency. They have been writing biographies and beginning their Narratives

In Chinese they have been learning new words that are themed around purchasing items for school in shops.

New House names
Junior School Council representatives received some creative and interesting names for our four Houses and will be sending out a shortlist in the next week so that everyone can vote on their favourite House name.

Hello everyone!

As I’m sure many of you would attest, school life is a busy one and the past fortnight has been no exception.

Literacy Information Sessions
Thanks to those who attended our literacy sessions on Monday and Tuesday afternoons last week. We hope they shed some light on how we teach English and Chinese here at APS and how to best support your child at home. I hope you found the ‘what you can do at home’ suggestions useful and please, if you require further information, don’t hesitate to approach one of our learning specialists or classroom teachers. I think you would all agree that a teacher’s job is complex and multi-faceted. Not only are they responsible for delivering a program of best practice teaching and learning, but they care for the wellbeing and development of each and every student.  I can’t thank our wonderful team enough!

Swimming Trials
On Wednesday the 15^th Feb we had 13 students represent our school at the District Sports Swimming Trials. We are really proud of all the students’ effort and would like to especially acknowledge Ed, one of our Vice Captains, who has made through to Regionals. Good luck Ed! Thanks to Hang and the parent volunteers who attended with our students.

Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent Teacher Conferences have commenced and we are currently half way through. Our teachers have enjoyed the opportunity to meet with parents and we thank you for taking the time to be available. Please ensure you are on time and that your conversation stays within the ten minute allocation!

Admin Reminder
A reminder from Marianna that we still require some missing information from a few families. This includes birth certificates and immunisation status as well as updated medical plans for students who require them. Please ensure these are provided as soon as possible please.

Make a Difference Fund
We currently have positions available for students in our Term 1 after school clinics/clubs. These are students who are in receipt of CSEF (families who have a Health Care Card).
Currently we have the following: Soccer (F-2: 2 places), Basketball (F-6: 2 places), Football (  F-6: 1 place), Coding Club (3-6: 1 place), Fizzkids Science (F-5: 1 place), Chess (1-6: 1 place) and Robotics (1-6: 1 place). Please speak to Marianna at Reception to sign up for these spots!

Community Noticeboard
As promised in last week’s assembly we now have a Community Noticeboard up above Lost Property. If you have something that you would like to display please bring it to the front office first, and then we will display it for you.

Crossing Supervisor Removal
As per the Compass email on Thursday 23^rd February, you would be aware that the school was notified that Stuart, the Crossing Supervisor on Victoria Cres, is expected to change location and not be replaced. We are extremely upset with this decision and have sought further explanation from Yarra City Council. In the mean time we acknowledge that Stuart has made it safe for our students to cross not only Vic Cres, but also goes out of his way to assist the crossing of Mollison Street. We thank him for ensuring our students and their families are safe when crossing these roads and wish him well (and hope he will come back!!) Please refer to the School Council President report in this Issue.

Volunteers for Fundraising Sub- Committee
As you may be aware there are a number of ways that members of our school community can become involved. From time to time we require people to lend a hand at school events, in both the preparation stages and during the event. For each occasion, I will put the official call out for volunteers but wanted to take the opportunity now to ask for donations of second hand uniform. We envision the first second hand uniform sale occurring before the end of this term. We will also be organising a working bee, to be held toward the end of Term, which will focus on gardens and grounds.
At some of our whole school events we have a raffle. If you, or anyone you know, has anything they can donate/contribute toward the prize pool please let me, or one of the parents on School Council know. Thank you in advance!

Communication
I have had a number of communications from parents regarding a variety of things including behaviours their child has experienced and other general administrative questions. While I value being someone who is open and approachable and am honestly happy to assist where I can, I would like to clarify the process for communication from parents. As the first point of call, please speak to your child’s teacher in a timely manner. If your child comes home and talks about something that occurred that day, and you feel any concern, please try to let the teacher know as soon as possible so that they can follow up with the necessary parties. Our teachers endeavour to correspond with you within 48 hours and will inform me if they require further support. If there is something you feel has not been addressed appropriately, but you have spoken to the teacher about, then please inform me. For wellbeing related concerns, please arrange to speak with either the classroom teacher and/or Caroline, our Student Wellbeing Officer. For administrative enquires, please see Marianna in Reception. Refer to the diagram below which can be found in the Parent Handbook which is located on the school’s website.

I would like to acknowledge the support that the school community has provided me since assuming the role of Acting Principal, during this transitional time. I really do appreciate the feedback and interactions I have had with members of our vibrant, dynamic community.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Lizzie

Acting Principal

Hello APS Community,

I trust everyone has settled into the new year and the new classing arrangements.

A special welcome to the new Foundation parents and to the biggest Foundation cohort to have ever been enrolled at Abbotsford.

With the new Foundation group, our school is now at capacity! Something that seemed unachievable a little over 2 years ago.

A further special welcome to the new staff who have joined us this year namely: Leah Gibson, Shuyin Qiu (who are covering for Hao Lao Shi and Travis), Cheng Ma and Zoran Vasic as well as to Michael Moxham-Lalor who is the 3/4B form teacher this year.

I’m pleased to confirm that the substantive principal recruitment process is progressing and representatives from School Council and from APS Staff are working closely with the Department of Education on this. School Council will provide further updates on this as they become available.

Like many of you School Council was horrified to learn of the City of Yarra’s unilateral decision to remove the safety crossing officer at Victoria Crescent.

School Council will send a letter to City of Yarra on behalf of the school community. We strongly encourage everyone who feels strongly about this matter to do the same. City of Yarra’s email address is info@yarracity.vic.gov.au, please also CC

LangridgeWardCouncillors@yarracity.vic.gov.au

Sue.Wilkinson@yarracity.vic.gov.au

Amanda.Stone@yarracity.vic.gov.au

Herschel.Landes@yarracity.vic.gov.au

who are Councillors in the City of Yarra into your correspondence. School Council is exploring every possible avenue to have this decision reversed, if you would like to assist with this please let us know.

If you have any queries I encourage you to please send them to schoolcouncil@abbotsfordps.vic.edu.au

Melissa Hii

Tuesday, 28 Feb 2023
Dream and Lead Conference for selected Junior School Council members
Parent-Teacher Interview Day 3 (3:50pm-5:50pm)

Wednesday, 1 Mar 2023
Parent-Teacher Interview Day 4 (3:50pm-5:50pm)

Friday, 3 Mar 2023
Assembly 34B Chinese (9:05-9:45am)

Monday, 13 Mar 2023
Labour Day (Public Holiday)

Tuesday, 14 Mar 2023
School Council (6:30-8:30pm)

Friday, 17 Mar 2023
Assembly 56B Chinese (9:05-9:45am)

Monday, 20 Mar 2023 - Thursday, 23 Mar 2023
NAPLAN for Years 3 and 5

Friday, 24 Mar 2023
Foundation Learning Morning and Teddy Bear Picnic (9:50-11:30am) - TBC
Year 5/6 District Summer Gala Sports Day (9:45am-1pm) - TBC

Friday, 31 Mar 2023
Assembly 34A English (9:05-9:45am)

Wednesday, 5 Apr 2023
School Photos

Thursday, 6 Apr 2023
End of Term 1 (Early finish at 2:30pm)