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. 

NAPLAN – Year 3 and 5

Our Year Three and Five students began the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) this week. They participated in the Writing assessment on Wednesday, Numeracy on Thursday and they will complete the Reading and Language Conventions next week. Thank you to all the students for trying their best during NAPLAN.

Foundation & Year 1 swimming program

Our Foundation and Year 1 students have started the intensive swimming program this week. The program will continue into next week, then the year 2-4 students will take part in the later portion of next week and into the final week of term.

Curriculum Day: Exploring the Science of Reading.

On Tuesday staff participated in professional learning with Karen from Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA) as they delved into the science of reading. This was a key step towards our 2024 Key Improvement Strategy of furthering staff understanding of an agreed upon, evidence based model of reading acquisition and refining our teaching and learning program to align with this. Staff spent the afternoon reflecting on how closely aligned our current practice is and where there are opportunities for further development.

Swimming – Division Championship

Aspendale was well represented at the Division Swimming Championship on Tuesday  at the Oakleigh Recreation Centre. As always, our students gave their best efforts and should be very proud of their involvement at this level of competition. Congratulations to the Boys 10 Year Old Freestyle Relay Team, - Archie G, Charlie B, Dominic D and Alexander M for placing 2^nd!

Thank you to Mrs Scott and the families for supporting the students at this event.

Bayside Area Principal Forum:

Last week Aspendale Primary was invited to share our work at the Bayside Area Principal Forum. I was joined by Jess Johnstone (our Inclusion Leader) to present our work, achievements and successes through working with the Christy – Inclusion Outreach Coach from the Department of Education.

We were very proud to be invited to share our work. Even though we were extremely nervous to present in front of approximately 150 Principals, Assistant Principals and Regional staff, we displayed our school values of Passion and Commitment through our presentation and the steps we are taking to bring to life our school mission: To provide a high quality, supportive and engaging learning program which builds the academic, social and emotional capacity of every student at our primary school.  We aim to develop lifelong learners who care for themselves, others and the community around them, and actively contribute to a more sustainable and peaceful world.

Teaching Excellence Program:

Luke Nisbet and Matt Bird have been successful in their application for the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership – Teaching Excellence Program.

“The Teaching Excellence Program (TEP) is a year-long professional learning program for highly-skilled teachers supporting and challenging them to become even better teachers. Through the program, teachers analyse their teaching practice to deepen content and pedagogical content knowledge in and across the key discipline areas. They access contemporary, evidence-informed research and apply this learning to their students’ learning needs. Teachers utilise a practitioner inquiry approach to deepen their knowledge, capability and confidence to teach even more effectively in their context.”

Congratulations Luke and Matt, we look forward to seeing and hearing about the impact this program has on your teaching and leadership.

Staffing Update

Our Principal Coby Larrieu is on leave. Tom Pearce will be the Acting Principal during this time.

Reminders:

A reminder that our annual ‘Night on the Green’ takes place tomorrow night - Friday 15th February. We look forward to welcoming our school community from 5-7pm in our school courtyard.

Harmony Week – 18^th -22^nd March.

House Athletics – Year 4-6, Monday 25^th March.

The final day of term 1 is on Thursday 28^th March and school will finish at 2:30pm on this day.

• Please note that donations of books and baked goods have now been closed. Further details about where, when and how to donate your baked good prior the event, will be provided in next weeks Newsletter.

• We are overwhelmed by the community support and response to our event and thank you for this.

To begin the new lunar new year- the Year of the Dragon- we held our very own a lantern festival at lunchtime. Students answered riddles and won prizes. 
When it was over, we asked.... why should we stop with one day of celebrations?

InkHeart Book Review

 By The Library Leaders

Age Recommendation: Grade 4 – Grade 6

Rating; 4.5 stars

InkHeart is a fantastic book about a 12 year old bookworm who discovers that if her father reads aloud, things (including people) are removed from their story and added to real life.

She then uncovered that once, a long time ago, when she was a toddler,  her dad had read out some villains by accident, and they built a destructive empire, but she, her great aunt and their mistrusted guide with his horned martian named Gwin, go on a journey to the villains hideout when her dad gets kidnapped with a mysterious, rare book that everyone is desperate for.

APS - VIOLIN AND VIOLA LESSONS 2024!

Introducing Peter O’Shea

Aspendale Primary School has a new violin and viola teacher this year!

Our new violin teacher is Peter O’Shea. Peter is a vibrant local string teacher. Peter has experience in teaching both individuals and groups, and is currently working both in schools and home studio settings.

Peter has studied at Monash University and University of Melbourne. He enjoys playing a teaching a diverse range of World Music (Fiddle Music) AMEB, ANZCA and Suzuki repertoire and pedagogy.

He has produced is own Elementary Violin teaching Book “Violin Fever Volume 1”.

We look forward to having Peter become part of the Instrumental Teachers’ team at APS and part of the community.

Please contact Peter directly if you would like to find out further about our program run by Peter.

Peter O’Shea (B.A. Music, Grad Dip Music, Dip Music.)

Email: posheamusic@gmail.com

Phone: 0409193004