We acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Bunurong Peoples of the Kulin Nation where we gather, learn and grow at Aspendale Primary School.

We pay our respects to past and present Traditional Custodians and Elders of all nations,  and their ongoing cultural, spiritual and educational practices.  

We extend this respect to all Torres Strait Islanders and any First Nations peoples who learn or visit these grounds. We thank you for sharing and caring for the land we are learning on.

New version of the Acknowedgement of Country
Above is an updated Acknowledgment of Country that has been written in consultation with staff, students and members of our community. We recieved positive feedback and approval from our friends at the Bunurong Land Council in 2023. 



Aspendale Primary School commemorated Reconciliation Week.
We understand that for many members of the APS community, this is a challenging time.

Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Now more than ever, these conversations are important to be having. 

As a school, we commemorated the week by focusing on developing our sense of community and connections with a whole school event. 

Our School Captains made a video during camp to commemorate the week. It starts with our school's Acknowledgement of Country. You can watch the video here. 


Thank you to Gus, Surina, Warren & Edie for helping create the video. You all did an amazing job understanding the purpose of the week. 

Dear parents and carers,

As Term One draws to a close, it’s pleasing to see the progress we have made as a school community across the first ten weeks of our 100th year.

On a teaching and learning front, our staff have implemented clear learning routines across our classrooms, looked to encourage expected behaviours and followed our response to behaviour flowchart when needed. We have increased our understanding of the science of learning and continue to trial and refine our instructional practices in accordance with this.

Our refurbishment of our Year 1 & 2 learning spaces is well underway. It has been exciting to have our Year One students move back in this week whilst our Year Two students have moved out so that work in their space can begin over the holidays. Our new playground is hot property and we are enjoying seeing our students utilise the equipment. Thanks to our School Council, our Buildings & Grounds sub-committee and our staff for their coordination of each of these school improvement works.

Over the term there have been a range of extra-curricular activities on offer for our students. Thanks to all of our staff and members of our school community who work together to provide these wonderful opportunities for our students. Running club and breakfast club have worked in tandem on Wednesday mornings to have our students feeling physically and mentally fresh for the day. Our choir and band have rehearsed regularly and enjoyed opportunities to share their passions with our school community. Our lunchtime clubs are back in action and well attended.

House Athletics

On Monday, our Year 4-6 students headed to Dolamore Oval in Mentone for our annual House Athletics event. Our students modelled our expected behaviours across the day allowing for friendly competition, congratulatory handshakes and a ribbon or two for each child. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the students for their enthusiastic participation, thank our community for their support and help throughout the day, and acknowledge our staff for their important contributions. A special thank you goes to Katie Scott for organizing another memorable community event.

F-4 Intensive Swimming Program

Tomorrow marks the conclusion of our Foundation to Year Four intensive swimming program at Mentone Aquatics for 2025. Over the course of the program, students have worked on improving their swimming techniques, developed their self-management skills, and enjoyed spending time with their classmates. We are grateful for the support of our school community, especially with the bus transport to and from the venue. A big thank you to our staff for helping the students follow their routines each day and our students for representing themselves and our school well. A special mention to Shey O’Brien and Katie Scott for their work in organizing our swimming program this year.

Continuous Reports

On Wednesday our first round of continuous reports were published on the Sentral Parent Portal. We have seven rounds of continuous reports each year, providing a snapshot of each child’s learning progress in English, Mathematics and a Unit of Inquiry. Twice a year, these reports are accompanied with a child’s progression against the curriculum and a written comment.

Our intention with this form of reporting is to provide regular, timely updates on a child’s learning with their family. Thank you to our teaching staff for preparing our first round of continuous reports and to our parents and carers for engaging with them.

ANZAC Day 2025

We have been invited to participate in the Longbeach RSL’s ANZAC Day service at 9:30 on the 25th April. Families who are interested in joining us, we will meet at the corner of Sherwood St and Station St between 9:10 and 9:30. I will email more information on the first day back of Term Two

A reminder that school finishes at 2:30 tomorrow. Assembly will begin at 1:55.

School resumes for Term Two on Tuesday 22nd April.

Enjoy the school holidays, take some time to rest and recharge and we look forward to continuing to work together to support our students in Term Two.

Tom

This year, the Aspendale Primary School AIP continues to focus on the teaching of reading.

As part of this focus, we are ensuring our English planning and teaching across all year levels incorporates  a mix of Core Literacy Skills, including, phonemic awareness, phonics, word study, oral language, reading fluency and handwriting; as well as English Skills, such as reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary and discussion.



This means that a number of year levels might be teaching Literacy Units using Mentor Texts, while others will continue to work through a range of shorter learning tasks that build these skills and knowledge separately.



A key component of our literacy focus this term has been review of prior learning. Each literacy session, the students will start by retrieving their knowledge from a previous lesson, taught either earlier this year, or sometimes back to learning from last year as well. This process is found to help learners encode information into their long term memory, deepening understanding and helping to make learning stick.


The next element of literacy that we are focusing on is active participation through multiple opportunities to respond. This means that throughout a lesson, each and every student has a chance to think, write or draw, talk to a partner or to the whole class, to explain their understanding, and check their responses, then refine, redo or build upon their thinking.



Thanks,
Mel Jacobs 
Literacy Learning Specialist

April is Autism Awareness Month and a great opportunity to celebrate our autistic students, learn more about how we can support and include them, and help foster understanding and acceptance of autism among all students.

Autism Awareness Month is an offshoot of the United Nations’ sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on Tuesday 2 April 2024. The day will begin a month of global events to celebrate autistic people.

Our school is committed to understanding, including and celebrating our autistic students and values the contribution they and their families make to our school.

To celebrate Autism Awareness Month, we would like to share some resources that support autistic students and their families.

The Department of Education has worked with organisations for autistic people and lead researchers in autism to develop new resources for schools to help us better understand, support and celebrate the strengths of autistic students.

• AllPlay Learn Inclusive School Communities:Monash University’s AllPlay Learn team has developed evidence-based guidance and resources on how to create inclusive school communities where everyone feels welcome and supported. It includes videos on engaging with other parents, using inclusive language and student resources you can share with your child or children.
• Amaze has produced videos and tip sheets for parentson how to include families of autistic children.

• The Art of Learning video.

Support for autistic students

The department has established the Diverse Learners Hub to help meet the needs of diverse learners, including autistic students. It is key initiative of Disability Inclusion and flagship of the Autism Education Strategy. The hub provides evidence-based advice, information and resources on best-practice inclusive teaching for autistic students.

• Autism Education Strategy – aims to improve educational outcomes and supports for autistic students. Also to foster inclusive school communities that welcome them and their families, and value their contribution.
• The I CAN Education- site provides practical tools and guidance for neurodivergent students, parents and carers and teachers to support Disability Inclusion reforms.

What is autism?

• Understanding autism(opens in a new window) – information about autism and teaching autistic students.

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-imperfects/id1476501557

Year 6 learning
Year 6 students have begun the process of asking questions that they will have a chance to answer after the holidays about autism. There have been many great questions ranging from which famous people do we know, that are diagnosed or publically discuss their autism  - Eminem and Elon Musk! to how do you get diagnosed? How long does it take? Who can do the diagnosis? And the quality question, what is autism? 

Students in Year 6 will have an opportunity to hear from students around the school who have confidentially shared what helps them in our classrooms, in the yard and in friendship groups. 




Reach out to our Inclusion Leader Jessica Johnston if you have any questions or would like more information. 

Hi everyone,

It is nearly that time of year again, where we hold our first SRC/ Whole School Fundraiser for the year!

The Good Friday Appeal raises money for the Royal Children’s Hospital to provide medical equipment, research, education and training, and patient and family care for those in need. 

Our Student Representative Council has been working extremely hard this term to organise the day. They have been informing classes about the fundraiser and also hanging up many eye-catching posters around the school to promote the Good Friday Appeal at APS.

This year our fundraiser will be held on Thursday the 24th of April (Term 2, Week 1). 

The SRC have decided on a theme - Pyjama Day! Students are welcome to dress up in their favourite pyjamas, ugg boots, and warm oodies. 

We kindly ask for a gold coin donation on the day, to raise funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital. 

Thank you very much,

The APS Student Representative Council

APS 100 Years Celebration & Afternoon Tea

We look forward to another opportunity to celebrate our 100 Years of Learning at APS. 

Please note: School Tours are for past students, families and/or staff. 

(RSVP required)

Students attending the gallery after school must be accompanied by an adult.

If you know any past students, families and/or staff, please forward the following invitation and RSVP link to them also. https://forms.gle/HVz35ciF4Wrg1Jw7A

SELLING LIKE HOTCAKES! 

Come one, come all, to the most amazing APS event of the Year!
Yes!
You guessed it, our Parent Social Fundraiser is fast approaching and tickets are selling like hotcakes. Purchase single, or table tickets, whatever takes your fancy. 

Dress to impress (1920s theme), raise a glass, and have a fun night of laughs and shenanigans!!!

If you missed out last year, be sure to get in quick this year as this is certainly a night not to miss.

Simply go to the website below or scan the QR code to book your spot!

Please contact us via our school email to express your interest - 

aspendale.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Another huge THANK-YOU to Dana & Dude Balloons and Events for supplying the wonderful balloon displays for our 100 Years Celebration afternoon on Friday 16^th May.

Thank- you Dana!

A message from Soccajoeys Springvale, a fun and engaging soccer program designed for children.

We’re currently running programs for kids aged 5 - 13 and would love the opportunity to share this with your school community.