Term Expo

It was wonderful to see the turnout of parents and extended families at the two sessions of our Term 1 Expo. The expo is designed around showcasing to home what your child has been doing this term. Sometimes it might be a piece of writing, sometimes it's a big construction, or, like in this picture, it was showing mum or dad how to play a maths games that the Year 1 students had been playing that term. All of these types of exchanges build a stronger school-home connection. Students feel pride in sharing their learning and parents feel pride in what they see. Thank you to all those who attended. Our Term 2 Expo will take place in the last week of Term 2 in July. 

STEM

This term we introduced STEM as a separate, stand alone specialist subject for our Year 3 to 6s. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - a collection of disciplines that combine for a highly engaging class that is all about solving problems of tomorrow. 

On Thursday, our Year 5 and 6 students had a chance to share their term's work - fully functioning arcade machines. Set up in the plaza, the students took turns in playing each other's machines. Some used table tennis balls to score points, others were innovations on basketball shooting, while there were even some involving a hidden team member inside the machine controlling things. We can't wait to see what STEM brings next term!

Good luck to Miss Gilmour and Miss Dalziel!

We say farewell to two long serving staff members as they head off to family leave once more. Tulleah Gilmour and Molly Dalziel, who both started the at the same time in 2017, will soon be welcoming new babies to their respective families. We thank them for their most recent posts as in Student Support for Tulleah and starting STEM for Molly. We wish them all the best and look forward to their return visits with new bubs in tow. 

As two staff members finish up, we have two new staff members starting next term. Mark Brisbane will be taking over the Student Support role. Mark comes to us from Tarneit P-9 School where he has been involved with primary teaching and is very familiar with the new Disability Inclusion Profile model that has been introduced into our region this year. Mark has already sat in during this week's Student Support Group meetings to become familiar with our school and students. 

Krysten Egan returns from family leave to take on the STEM role for the rest of the year. Krysten has been with the school on and off after starting her family, and we are lucky to be able to once again use her experience in a role in our school.

Enjoy the break

Whether you will be at home or if you are lucky to be heading elsewhere, I hope you have a safe and enjoyable break over the coming few weeks. A reminder that I will be taking long service leave for the first eight days of next term and Mrs Roberts will be looking after everything here. I look forward to seeing you all in Week 3. 

Regional Swimming Finals

Our Girls 11 Y.O. relay team headed off to the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Swimming finals on Friday, March 21st to represent our school, our district and our division. Ruby, Ellie, Jemima and Emily gave their all on the big stage of the best swimming relay teams. Well done girls!

On Tuesday after school our in 2025 School Council was officially convened with the group comprising of the following members

During the meeting we sought nominations for office bearers and we are please to announce the following members have been appoints

School Council President - Daniel Arnephy

School Council Vice President - Arun Vijay

School Council Treasurer - Liz Greaves

Thank you to our school council members and office bearers who give up their time to form an important component of school governance. 

Meetings will be conducted on school grounds at 4.30pm on the following dates 

May 20th      

June 17th

July 29th

September 2nd

October 21st     

November 25th

ANZAC Day Service - 24th April

On April 25th we commemorate Anzac Day. This year it will be on the first Friday of Term 2.  Anzac Day is a public holiday so we won’t be at school, but to mark this special day we will be having an Anzac service in the plaza on Thursday April 24th. We will be holding a minutes silence, hearing some poetry and a special performance from Ashy Out Loud. We encourage all classes to make a wreath to present and parents are welcome to join. It will be from 1.50pm on April 24th. 

Between now and then, Anzac Day pins and other items will be available to purchase from the office. All funds go to the RSL

What a busy few weeks! It’s all been happening in Year 1 with the colour run and of course the expo!  Thank you to all of the parents and carers who came to either event and supported the Year 1 students showcasing their hard work! Amidst all the fun, we’ve still been working hard in the classroom. Students have been:

-Measuring the length of different objects and ordering from longest to shortest. 
-Writing procedures, and including adverbs and time connectives in our writing. 
-Reading with increasing fluency and expression
-Making connections to texts we read
-Reading and spelling new sounds and high frequency words in Phonics.
-Learning about 2 digit numbers and their place value
-Recording our “Going on a Bear Hunt” videos to share at the expo! 

We've had an exciting end to the term, and the students are super excited for the upcoming school holidays! In the past few weeks, they have been:

• Designing and building arcade games in STEM, showcasing their creativity and problem-solving skills.
• Exploring the area of different shapes in maths, applying their knowledge in hands-on activities.
• Delivering exceptional performances in debating, demonstrating confidence and persuasive speaking skills.
• Mingling with the Grade 2 students during PJ Day, participating in and playing games together.

It's been a fantastic term filled with learning, teamwork, and fun. We can't wait to see what Term 2 brings!

This year we are celebrating Mother's Day in two ways!

First up, we will be having our now traditional Mother's Day event before school in the hall on Friday, May 9th. Come in with your child/children for a morning of coffee and craft making. It's a great opportunity to socialise with others in a relaxed environment. 

A new initiative for this year is a special luncheon at the Gardiner Hotel (away from the kids!). For $80 you'll enjoy a 3 course lunch and a chance to get to know some of the other parents in a different setting. 

Tickets for the luncheon are on sale from Monday 31st March via www.trybooking.com/DAAFW 

Thank you to the organisers!

Friday the 4th of April was Junior School Council Term 1 Fundraising Day. Children arrived in a buzz of excitement to see the outfits that staff and children were donning for the day. Notable mentions were Mr Worlle’s slippers and Mr Hone’s entire ensemble. On a serious note we are pleased to advise that APS raised $433 of which will be split in half, with half going to the Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal and the other to worthy projects that the JSC chooses to fund throughout the school year. The JSC would like to thank the APS community for their generous support! 

Thank you to all our amazing visitors who shared in our learning at Expo this week. The students loved showing you all the amazing things we have been up to.

In Term 2, we are excited to start working on: 

• multiplication and division (just our mental strategies for now)
• a new classbook
• writing expositions and explanations

Across the school we are all looking at Sustainability. In Year 3 our unit is Harmony With H2O. Students will learn about Earth's natural resources and the importance of using them sustainably. They will conduct simple experiments related to the water cycle, desalination, and filtration. Students will explore the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans and consider actions they can take to reduce the amount of single-use plastic they use. They will investigate the importance of rainforests and the unique animals that call the Amazon rainforest home.  Your students will learn about the processes involved in the water cycle and use this knowledge to create a three-dimensional model to share with you at Expo next term.

The last few weeks of Term 1 have been action-packed!

In writing, debating has been a highlight, with students working hard to write and present their speeches while delivering strong rebuttals. Many reflected on the experience and are eager to do it again.

Our Connected project on Australian Democracy saw students creating thoughtful and detailed monuments to represent key milestones.

Interschool sport has been going well, and we’ve begun training for Term 2 sports, including softball, football, and netball.

Prep Pals continues to be a wonderful experience, with Year 5s helping the Preps with measurement, rhyming, and syllables while strengthening their connections.

A major highlight was our STEM Arcade project, where Year 5 and 6 students designed and built their own arcade games. In the last week of school, each year level had the opportunity to play one another’s games, which they absolutely loved.

We also celebrated our final Colour Run at Ashburton Primary. Students had an amazing time running through vibrant colours and cheering on other year levels—a fantastic way to end the term!

Need to know when something's on? 

We have dates! Lots of them! Head over to the calendar on this site to see what's coming up!

https://www.ashburtonps.vic.edu.au/parent-information/upcoming-events