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. 

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2025 Calendar 

Event	Date
NAPLAN testing for Years 3 & 5	12th March 13th March
Leadership Assembly - Year 6 badges	14th March
Harmony Week  Whole school Picnic/Cultural Dress or Orange attire on Wednesday	17-21st March 19th March
NAPLAN testing for Years 3 & 5 continues	17th March 18th March
Lightning Premiership	21st March
World Maths Day	26th March
Years 3 & 4 Swimming Program	24 - 28th March
Year Foundation, 1 & 2 Swimming Program	31-4th April
Last day of Term 1	4th April
Easter Monday	21st April
Term 2 commences	22nd April

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Dear parents and carers,

It’s that time of the year again, our final newsletter. On behalf of our school community, it is a terrific opportunity to express our gratitude to the staff and volunteers who work together each day to provide our children with the wonderful learning opportunities they enjoy.

To our teaching staff, thank you for the professionalism, dedication and kindness you demonstrate every day.

To our Education Support admin staff, thank you for the friendly way you go about your work in our school office, keeping our school organised whilst helping staff, students and families with their various needs.

To our Education Support classroom staff, thank you for the connections you build with students across the school, the support you offer their families and your engagement with our teaching and learning programs.

Thank you to Bill Wong, our IT technician. You always save the day for us on Tuesdays and Thursdays and your calmness when faced with our tech concerns is always appreciated.

Thank you to Peta Forward, our Canteen Manager, for your dedication and organisation. Our students enjoy Thursdays and Fridays and the opportunity to enjoy a yummy lunch. Thank you also to our volunteers for your commitment to our canteen. We greatly appreciate all of your time and friendly faces.

Thank you to our school crossing supervisor, Charles Stewart, for the way you greet and farewell our students each day, making sure they can head home safely.

Thank you to Lisa Webber for running the Peaceful Kids program this year. We have appreciated the work you have done with students across the school. We wish you well with your next adventure.

To our School Council and members of our sub-committees, thank you for your time and expertise throughout the year. We appreciate your time, your ideas and your support of our school and the community.

I’d like to say a special thank you to our School Council President, Kevin Riant. In his time at our school, Kevin has been a member of the Finance, Buildings & Grounds and Education sub-committees, as well as being our Treasurer for two years and President for the past five years. He has been on two School Review panels and has always challenged us to keep improving the school whilst being very supportive of all the work we do.

To all of our parent and carer community, thanks for your ongoing support of our school. We appreciate the different ways you contribute to each child’s learning, including supporting your child at home, volunteering in the classroom, on excursions, in the library or garden and in other various ways.

Year Six Graduation

Last night we had the opportunity to celebrate our Year Six students and their time at our school with their families. It was wonderful to spend the evening sharing memories and acknowledging the caring young people who are embarking on their next adventure. Thank you to our Year Six teaching team, Jack Powell, Leah Macdonald and Cait Fletcher for their organisation of the evening. Thanks to staff and parents who helped prepare the evening, especially Dana Meyer for the stage decorations, Laura Curnow for the graduation biscuits and Carla Youngs for the dinner set up.

We look forward to celebrating our Year Six students with our student community at our final assembly on Wednesday. This will begin at 12:40 with an early dismissal at 1:30.

Exiting Families

At Graduation we farewelled the following families. We thanked them for the various ways they have contributed to our school community, including serving on School Council, on sub-committees, volunteering in the canteen, our vegetable garden, our school library, on excursions, in the classroom, as class-parent representatives, at working bees, at election day barbeques and in many other ways.

The Bennett family	The Lakeland family	The Rogers family
The Boardman family	The Laughlin family	The Rokvic family
The Chen family	The Macdonald family	The Ryan family
The Chapman family	The Matthews family	The Savic family
The Clarke family	The McAuliffe family	The Seeary family
The Collison family	The McIver family	The Skinner family
The Cosic family	The McDowell family	The Sparks family
The Curnow family	The Meure family	The Stokes family
The De La Cruz family	The Mills family	The Swan family
The Durey family	The Mitchell family	The Taylor family
The Dutton family	The Mounter family	The Trace family
The Edwards family	The Mouthe-Santos family	The Wainwright family
The Follett family	The O’Donnell family	The Walder family
The Fletcher family	The Overton family	The Woodhouse family
The Harvey family	The Perkin family	The Wu family
The Hosking family	The Riant family	The Young family
The Kacper family	The Read family

 

2024 Student Leaders

Last Wednesday I had the privilege of meeting with our current Year Five students and announcing the leadership positions for 2024. We commended each child for the self-reflection they have done in their leadership applications and the way they have supported each other in the process. Further in the newsletter you will find a full list of our leaders for 2024.

Carols reminder

A reminder that our Carols assembly will take place in the courtyard tomorrow afternoon. We will start at 2:20, allowing us to present our 2024 school and House captains to the school community and award our certificates from last week.

Staffing Plan for 2024

Further in the newsletter I have shared our staffing structure for 2024. Our students will spend time with their 2024 classroom teacher and 2024 class tomorrow morning.

Last week we farwelled our staff who are moving on or taking a career break in 2024. This week John McHaffie has accepted a position at Seaford North PS. I would like to say thank you to John on behalf of the school community for the seven years he has worked at our school, as a classroom teacher and this year establishing our STEM specialist subject. We will update the community when we have appointed a replacement.

2024 Curriculum Days

Next year, we have had two curriculum days approved by School Council for Term One. The first one is the 29th of January. Students in Years 1-6 will return to school on the 30th of January with our Foundation students starting on the 2nd of February.

The 12th of March will also be a curriculum day. Our staff will work with the Primary English Teachers Association of Australia to further our understanding of how students learn to read.

TheirCare will offer a program on the 29th of January and the 12th of March.

A Personal Thank You

Coby Larrieu returns as our Prinicipal from long service leave at the beginning of next year. I will return to my role as Assistant Principal.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the school community for your support during my time as Acting Principal this year. Thank you to Amelia Busuttil, our Assistant Principal, our School Improvement Team, our staff and our School Council for your regular feedback and counsel over my time. It has been a privilege working with the school community with the aim of continuing to provide an engaging, welcoming learning environment for all of our students.

I hope you all have a restful and enjoyable summer holiday, spending time with the people who bring you joy. I look forward to working with you again in 2024,

Tom

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It is with excitement that I share with our school community our staffing structure for 2024. As mentioned, our students will spend time with their 2024 classroom teacher and with their 2024 class tomorrow morning.

 

Two of our Year Four teachers aren’t able to attend tomorrow morning but will visit on Monday to meet their class and spend time working with them. Tomorrow, these classes will still spend time together with a current member of our teaching team.

 

 

FY	Carla Youngs	4MB	Melissa McSweeney & Emily Bourke
FS	Chloe Stubbs	4G	Corey Grindley
FR	Zoe Richards	4C	Ruby Clohesy
1O	Shey O’Brien	4S	Neve Skillen
1B	Caitlin Beer	5B	Matt Bird
1G	Georgia Bourke	5P	Leanne Peterson
2N	Luke Nisbet	5C	Sarah Cornell
2PT	Lisa Phillips & Michelle Thompson	6M	Leah Macdonald
2S	Freeman Smith	6F	Cait Fletcher
3P	Laura Pearce	6D	Trent Dowling
3JP	Emma Jones & Lina Pietrasik	6W	Jess Wood
3B	Jacqui Bladier	Physical Education	Katie Scott
Visual Arts	Natalie Tideman & Jude Hale	Performing Arts	Natalie Tideman & Stela Matthews
Chinese (Mandarin)	Hong Ma	STEM	TBC
Learning Enhancement	Michelle Thompson, Lina Pietrasik & Amy Gardiner

 

Principal: Coby Larrieu

 

Assistant Principals: Tom Pearce & Amelia Busuttil

 

Leading Teacher: Jess Johnston (Inclusion)

 

Learning Specialists: Melissa McSweeney (Literacy), Leanne Peterson (Wellbeing), Lisa Phillips (Numeracy)

 

Business Manager: Amelia Mastorakos

 

Office Adminstration: Judy Prosser & Amber Demmler

 

Inclusion Support: Tenille Northam, Jo Lovett, Mel Beech, Heidi Ellison, Santhi Paramasivam, Jo Backstrom, Kylie-Anne Freshwater, Sophie Conway, Dianna Baltas, Molly Kitchen, Morven Begg, Geordan Anagnosto and Melanie McCoy

 

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As mentioned earlier, last Wednesday we had the privilege of announcing to our 2023 Year Five students their leadership positions for 2024. Each student did a terrific job of reflecting on their qualities, preparing their application and supporting their peers.

Tomorrow we will introduce our school community to our School and House captains.

Next year we will present each student with their leadership badge at a Friday afternoon assembly. We will advise the community of this next year when we have a confirmed date.

School Captains	Edie Hill Bione Warren Lac Surina Morris Angus Nevans
House Captains	Coolup (red) Abigail Fairweather Bailey Cipriano   Wooruk (green) Ivy Schena Joshua Bennett   Kurboroo (yellow) Kobi Taylor Jack Whelan   Bullum Bullum (blue) Phoebe Webster Kai Hasnat
STEM Leaders	Harper Leek Kai Schmidt Ramsay Harry Andrew Ashley De Valle Andrew Hude Eli Cole Jasper Gibson Liam Johnston Elod Tarjani Toth Oliver Fisher Hamish McIntosh
Visual Arts Leaders	Grace Roberts Maddy Hobson Ebony Jenkins Gene Selzer Hugo Boonyarungsrit Hudson Macdonald
Performing Arts Leaders	Isabel Newton Obi Thorne Angus Dymond Frankie Amos
Community Leaders	Harrison Rhind Nash Murray Sam Warren Molly Leek Bodhi Lowndes Willow Kane Adele Kerr Willow Kane Olivia Clark Hannah Dawid
Library Leaders	Anna Heins Emily Morel Sean Giles Harry Irlam Emily Bennett
Marine Ambassadors	Harry Drummond Sienna Kerr Freja Benham Tyler Petterson Sophia Clavant Harper Waddell Chilli McLean
Environment Leaders	Josh Meunier Cillian Lee Kirwan Marriott Lea Marlon Hemming Luke Boult Josh Willemsen Ollie O’Brien Sean Krummel
Sports Leaders	Charli Castle Oliver Baker Lucy Cronin Tom Bennett
Media Leaders	Matilda Tarlinton Lucy Everts Louis Rutherford Curtis Moor Zac Segal Gracie Lappen Finn Marshall Hayden Shovelar Mali Ogris Shah Keeley McMahon
Mandarin Leaders	Scarlett McHugh Freya Niculescu Isabella Nikitina Willem Silver
PBL Leaders	Will Riley Audrey Rockman Rory Phillip Evie Daley Marcus Murray Archie Taylor Frankie Storey
Buddy Leaders	Jarrah McConchie Riley Mill Axel Patzold Thomas Ziagas

 

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Wednesday lunchtimes have been a highlight for many around the school. We pride ourselves on an inclusive Garden Club who plant, garden, EAT, de-snail and have lots of fun together. Everyone is welcome. This Wednesday, we have said goodbye to quite a few regulars as they head off to Secondary School.

We have also said the biggest thank you we can muster to Robyn, our parent helper. Robyn will be taking a bit of a step back next year but we hope she will visit a lot.

I have been lucky enough to have worked with Robyn for over two years of Wednesday lunchtimes now! I know she will be missed. 

Woody, in Year 6 has also put his heart and soul into the garden. It will be quite strange to not hear his announcements declaring "Garden club is now on for students in Year 3-6 in the veggie Garden." He has been a key member since Year 3.  Thank you so much for your help and enthusiasm Woody.

~ Cait Fletcher 












If anyone is interested in volunteering or helping keep our Garden Club running in another way, please let us know. Until next year, happy gardening!

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