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,

What a thrill it was on Monday to head to Frankston Arts Centre and see our Year 5 & 6 students take to the stage with confidence and enthusiasm in our biannual senior musical production! The weather theme of the show has been particularly appropriate with Aspendale Town experiencing most of the different weather towns our show moved through all in the one week.

Finding the Spark

It was wonderful to have so many members of our school community attend a rehearsal, matinee or the evening performance of our musical production. The show has been in development since 2024 with our Performing Arts teacher, Stela Matthews, sourcing and arranging the music and developing the story concept.

In 2025, our senior students have steadily developed the show throughout the year by learning their part in their class band, mastering the choreography and many of them have put themselves forward for speaking parts in the script. The commitment to the performance has shone through with the polished rehearsals that led into the fantastic performances across Monday at the Frankston Arts Centre.

We had the opportunity to thank the students and staff for their support of the musical performance on Monday evening. I’d like to thank Luke Drohan, one of our instrumental teachers, for his assistance with each of our class bands and his time at both rehearsals and at our performances on Monday. I’d also like to again thank Stela Matthews for creating a school culture where all of our students can experience success in the Performing Arts, across dance, drama and music, all whilst having heaps of fun.

Year Three Camp

Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting our Year Three students who have headed away for their first camp. Our Year Three students are visiting Gundiwindi Lodge in Silvan, which is situated on a beautiful hillside surrounded by bushland. The students enjoy outdoor activities, the opportunity to meet some farm animals and building their confidence and resilience. We look forward to hearing about their adventures when they return tomorrow and in future newsletters.

Father’s and Friend’s Afternoon

Next Thursday afternoon is our Father’s and Friend’s Afternoon. Students can invite their dad or another special person in their life to spend the afternoon with them at school, joining in fun activities together. The choir will perform at 2:40 and our activities will start at 2:45. We look forward to another successful community event.

Daffodil Day Update

Thanks to our school community for supporting the action of our Year Five students by purchasing daffodil pin to raise money for cancer research. Our community raised $537. There is a letter of appreciation from the Cancer Council further in the newsletter.

Parent Opinion Survey

A reminder that the annual parent/caregiver/guardian opinion survey from the Department of Education is now live. I encourage as many parents and carers to complete the survey as possible as the information we gather from the survey helps us to understand what is working at our school and what we need to continue to develop. The more voices we here from, the more complete this feedback can be. Please contact the office via our school email address aspendale.ps@education.vic.gov.au if you cant find the survey invitation that was emailed to all families last week. Thanks for taking the time to complete the survey and continuing to support our school.

Enjoy the last few days of August,

Tom

What a fantastic start to Term 3 it has been in Year 2! Our classroom has been buzzing with excitement, creativity, and plenty of magical moments.

Book Week Festivities
We dived headfirst into Book Week with colour, character, and a whole lot of imagination! Our room was filled with everyone from crayons and a fairy in a book to Harry Potter, Pig the Pug, and so many more beloved characters. We even spotted a few real-life Wallys hiding among us! It was a joy to celebrate the wonderful world of books and storytelling together.

Inquiring About Forces
Our Inquiry unit is off to a flying start as we explore the fascinating world of forces. We've been investigating how magnets work and discovering how different forces can change the movement and shape of objects. The hands-on experiments have really sparked our curiosity!

Buddy Time & Science Week Fun
Science Week brought even more excitement as we teamed up with our buddies to create and test out parachutes. There were lots of laughs, problem-solving, and creative designs! This week, we had the pleasure of watching our buddies shine on stage in their incredible production, Finding the Spark — what a treat!

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)
Year 2 have been working hard to follow our school’s Positive Behaviour for Learning values. We’ve been earning lots of tokens and even had enough for a class-wide reward (1200 total for the class). 2M are first to have a whole class reward! What did we choose? A comfy Slipper Day! Everyone was cosy and happy as we enjoyed a day of learning in our favourite slippers. We look forward to seeing what 2MT and 2S decide on their whole class reward day too. 




We can’t wait to see what the rest of the term brings!

Positive Behaviour for Learning(PBL)

Last week Olivia and Emily (two of our PBL leaders) visited all the classes to let them know about our new PBL badges. There will be a new badge each year for students to collect once they reach 100 tokens. We look forward to presenting these at assemblies from now on. There are already a huge number of students who are eligible to receive one. Below is what our first badge looks like.

Last Thursday we showcased our PBL framework to a visiting teacher from Malvern Central Primary School. She was keen to see our PBL practices in action and asked a lot of questions in preparation for presenting the framework to her school staff. She was so impressed by all the practices we have in place she is now planning to bring a team of staff for a visit next term.


Bread tag donations

Please keep collecting your plastic bread tags and bringing them into school. We are very keen to continue using these as our tokens to prevent them going straight to landfill.

The Premiers’ Reading Challenge ends on September 5^th. On the following Friday (12^th), students who have completed the challenge will be presented with their prize book in year level assemblies.

They will also be honoured at assembly and photos of participants will appear in the school newsletter the following week. Students need to have all their books entered online by September 3^rd at the latest. Any problems logging in to enter books please contact Leanne Peterson (Yr 5), Sarah Cornell (Yr 5) or Georgia Bourke (Yr 1).

? iPads in the Classroom: Supporting Learning, Minimising Distractions

At our school, iPads play a key role in supporting learning across Years 4 to 6. They are used daily to enhance lessons in maths, literacy, science, inquiry, and the arts. Whether students are creating videos, collaborating on shared documents, researching a topic, or using educational apps, iPads help make learning more engaging, interactive, and creative.

To ensure these tools are used safely and effectively, we’ve moved towards a model where the school provides and manages the devices. This shift offers many important benefits for students and staff alike:

✅ Why School-Managed iPads are better than Bring Your Own Device:

• Focused on Learning
  School iPads are set up for education – no distracting games, social media, or personal messages. Students can concentrate on learning without constant pop-ups or interruptions.
• Fair and Equal Access
  Every student uses the same device setup with the same tools, making it easier for teachers to plan and for all students to participate equally.
• Simpler Tech Support
  With school-owned iPads, our IT team can manage updates, solve issues quickly, and reduce time lost to troubleshooting.
• Safer and More Secure
  Devices stay at school, ensuring student data and content are managed responsibly and used only for learning purposes. They are always charged and ready to use.
• Less Social Conflict
  Without access to messaging or games during school hours, students experience fewer distractions and social pressures.

This approach allows us to make the most of technology in the classroom, while keeping the focus firmly on learning. We appreciate your ongoing support as we continue to create a safe, inclusive, and future-ready learning environment for all students.

Please see Office Staff for purchase, limited sizes and numbers available.

Smile Squad is back - you will need to complete a new consent form for 2025

Dear families,

The Smile Squad team from Better Health Network Parkdale are coming back to our school on 25^th August.

Smile Squad is the Victorian Government free school dental program.

This means all students can get a free dental check-up at school.

How to access free dental care

We need your consent before we can provide services. Consent is usually provided by a parent or guardian.

Sign up to Smile Squad at: https://bit.ly/smilesquadvic

OR use the below QR code:

Please complete and submit the consent form by 25^th August 2025.

With a focus on preventing body dissatisfaction and serious eating issues, this session provides information and practical tips to help parents better understand and promote positive body image and healthy relationships with eating and physical activity in the home. It provides practical strategies to be a positive role model, reduce the impact of risk factors in a child's environment. The session also explores when to be concerned and what you can do, including referral and support information.

Date: 1st September 2025

Time: 7pm – 8.15pm (AEST)

Via Zoom (time-limited recording available)
Register: HERE

Cost: $15pp

For info: Full registration link https://events.butterfly.org.au/portal/event/?id=EP_Raising_Body_Kind_Teens4046978637&Name=01/09/25%20RBBC

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!