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. 

What a lovely end to last week with our annual mothers and special person’s afternoon. Followed by Education Week this week where we have enjoyed having many new families tour for next year and our Grandparents open morning on Tuesday. 

We are so delighted that our families are able to find time to connect with our whole school community. We were also proud of our school choir for their performances on Friday and Tuesday. 

On Monday and Tuesday this week I was privileged to attend the ACEL Inclusion and Disability Conference. It featured some very insightful speakers, including Chris Varney . Chris spoke passionately about the power of acceptance, neuro diversity within our schools and the power of education.
 

Here at Aspendale we are fortunate to have our dedicated Inclusion leader, Jess Johnston. Part of Jess’s role is to spend time in classrooms supporting and up skilling our staff in making adjustments and formulating goals for our students.  All to enhance inclusive education for our students.  

Next week we will be celebrating our Education Support team for ES appreciation day, for all the wonderful work they do supporting the students at Aspendale. 

This month is Neurofibromatosis Awareness month. NF affects 1 in 3000 people in Australia and there is currently no cure. 

It is something that you are born with and can affect people in many different ways.

NF can cause tumors to form on nerve cells under the skin. Some health issues related to NF are learning difficulties, hearing loss, blindness, bone abnormalities and scoliosis.

The SRC would like to raise awareness about this condition by hosting a dress up day.

Date: Wednesday 24th of May. 

What to wear: Blue and Green (the colours of NF awareness)

Please bring a gold coin donation to support the cause.

Thank you for your support.

The SRC and Mrs Jones

The Act for Peace Ration Challenge is about raising awareness for Refugees all around the world.

A refugee is someone who has left their home or their country due to conflict. 

During the challenge, you eat similar rations to Syrian Refugees. The rations include rice, lentils, dried chickpeas, tinned sardines, tinned kidney beans and vegetable oil. This is all you get for 3-5 days!

This year Ella Ryan in Year 6 will be participating in the Act for Peace Ration Challenge.  She will be doing this with her family, Mrs Jones and Mr Pearce, under the banner of Aspendale Primary School. 

Dates: - Monday 19th - Wednesday 21st June

For more information about the challenge, go to the Act for Peace Ration Challenge website:

https://actforpeace.rationchallenge.org.au/

If you would like to support us and donate to the cause, the link to our fundraising page is below:-

https://schools.rationchallenge.org.au/t/aspendale-p-school

This week, we have started to explore our new central idea; 'Animals have basic features and needs that enable them to survive'. 

To begin this unit, we asked the students what they knew about animals and also if they had any questions about animals that they would like to explore. Some of these questions included:

• Why do animals have patterns - like dots and stripes?
• How can some animals breathe underwater?
• Why do some animals have shells?
• Why do some animals need claws?

We were also lucky enough to have a visit from 'Reptile Encounters' where we got to have a close up look at some of these incredible animals and their different features. The students got to hold a wide variety of reptiles throughout this incursion, such as bearded dragons, blue tongue lizards, snakes and crocodiles! We can't wait to experience more exciting provocations like this to investigate our new unit of inquiry!

Over the last few weeks our bright and creative Year Two students have been inquiring into lifecycles and living and non living things.

Our students really enjoyed delving deep into these topics and researching their chosen Bunurong  animal on the ipads.

To show their understanding of these topics they showcased their learning with creative flair using google slides, flipbooks and posters.

It was a real pleasure witnessing them have great pride in their work and feeling that sense of achievement.

Statement of commitment to child safety

Aspendale Primary School is a child safe organisation which welcomes all children, young people and their families.

We are committed to providing environments where our students are safe and feel safe, where their participation is valued, their views respected, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Our child safe policies, strategies and practices are inclusive of the needs of all children and students.

We have no tolerance for child abuse and take proactive steps to identify and manage any risks of harm to students in our school environments.

We promote positive relationships between students and adults and between students and their peers. These relationships are based on trust and respect.

We take proactive steps to identify and manage any risk of harm to students in our school environment. When child safety concerns are raised or identified, we treat these seriously and respond promptly and thoroughly.

Particular attention is given to the child safety needs of Aboriginal students, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, international students, students with disabilities, those unable to live at home, children and young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) and other students experiencing risk or vulnerability. Inappropriate or harmful behaviour targeting students based on these or other characteristics, such as racism or homophobia, are not tolerated at our school, and any instances identified will be addressed with appropriate consequences.

Child safety is a shared responsibility. Every person involved in our school has an important role in promoting child safety and wellbeing and promptly raising any issues or concerns about a child’s safety.

We are committed to regularly reviewing our child safe practices, and seeking input from our students, families, staff, and volunteers to inform our ongoing strategies.

Click here to view our school Policies