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,

PYPX

Our Year Six students are well into their PYP Exhibition (PYPX), a self-directed inquiry supported by their teachers and staff mentors. Through the transdisciplinary theme Sharing the Planet, students explore an issue of personal interest, guided by key concepts and the Learner Profile. Each week, they share updates on their progress in our school newsletter, leading up to the final Exhibition where they present their learning to our school community.

This week our Year Six students have been meeting with their teacher mentors. Each student is matched with a staff member who supports them through their learning journey and as they prepare for the Exhibition. It’s been great to see these meetings happening across the school. I’ve had the opportunity to chat about the sustainability of golf courses, what’s in the water we drink, gender equality in baseball and softball and the intersection between disability and mental health with my mentees.

Big Green School’s Conference

On Friday I had the privilege of accompanying our Environment Leaders and School Captains to Patterson Lakes PS to hear their presentation at the annual Big Green School’s Conference. Our students shared their sustainability initiative, to incentivise keeping our yard clean by motivating students through inter-house competition. They also shared the work that is going on to establish our 1,000 Year Forest. Thanks to each of our student leaders for their work across the year and for representing our school on the day. Thanks to Megan Thomas for supporting the students and Leanne Nelson for helping transport our students.

Changes to Digital Device Use

You may have heard the announcement from the Deputy Premier and Minister for Education last week.

From 2027, the Victorian Government is introducing changes to the use of digital devices for students from Prep to Grade 6.

Under the new guidelines, schools:

• will no longer invite families to purchase or bring their own digital devices to use at school for Prep to Grade 6
• will follow new recommended digital device times, including minimal device time for Prep to Grade 2; and a maximum of 90 minutes per day for grades 3 to 6.

These changes are intended to support families by reducing cost-of-living pressures. They will also support students by reducing screen-time which can reduce the risk of eye strain, sedentary behaviour, and reduced peer interaction. These reforms complement Victoria’s nation-leading mobile phone restrictions, ensuring an integrated approach to addressing digital distraction and the inappropriate use of technology

Aspendale Primary School is well-placed to meet this announcement. Our BYOD program concludes in 2026 with our Year Six cohort and our staff are mindful of the amount of device time across each day. Thank you to the leadership of Lina Pietrasik, our ICT Coordinator, and our staff and wider community for their ongoing consultation to ensure students use digital devices effectively at our school.

Monday 3rd of November

Monday 3 November is a school day. If your child will be away on this Monday for the Melbourne Cup weekend, please notify their classroom teacher.

Finally, thank you for supporting our mango and tea towel fundraisers—mango orders close tomorrow!

Enjoy the end of your week,

Tom

 

Hello from Sophia and Emily today we will be talking about the people we have met throughout our tour of China in 2025. 

We were so lucky to have our tour guides and home stay parents to make our experience complete and guide us through this adventure. 

Jessie

Jessie was our tour guide for Beijing. She was fun, friendly, and always providing us with heaps of fun facts and information. When we got a question right she would come around and give you fun toys. She made our trip 10x better!

Jo

Jo was our other tour guide for Nanijing. She toke us to the Nanijing wall and the market were we could bargain. She was happy to answer any questions we might of had.  She was also a great group photographer.

Leon

Leon was out last tour guide for Shanghai. He took us to Disneyland, underground market, boat ride, and the really cool city lights. He made sure to provide us with heaps of water throughout the day!

Wendy and Terry (the organisers of the China trip)

Wendy and Terry were the ones that took us to our hotels and made sure we were all settled in. They were very friendly and always keen to take care of us. One of the students left their jumper in nanjing and kindly our friends Wendy and Terry helped get it shipped over to Shanghai!

Sister school students and teachers

The students and teachers were very welcoming and made sure we were involved in most of the activities. We got heaps of waves and smiles just walking to class by the students! It was fun hanging out with them and trying to speak to them in Chinese.

Homestay

Our homestay parents and kids took us to heaps of fun activities and lots of yummy restaurants! Everyone had a different , experience with their home stay parents. Some went to zoos, parks, museums, movies, and tried different foods!