Newsletter – Week 7, Term 1, 2022 – Message from Admin Team, P&C General Meeting Tonight, Telethon Kids Institute FREE Online Forum COVID Webinar, Canteen, Harmony Day

Message from the Executive Administration Team

Dear parents and caregivers

Thank you to all parents and carers for your support over the past few weeks. Your kind words and positive feedback for teachers, the admin team and school officers has been appreciated. We have a great team at Wembley and that includes every student and parent in our community. There is much beyond our control at the moment, but what remains in our control is how we respond to situations that arise and how we treat one another. The CARES values are being modelled by the community and that has resulted in our students coming to school feeling safe and happy to be here, when they can.

I know many families are doing it tough right now with isolation and sickness, and we understand and empathise. If you need support, reach out for help to your friends, family, the school or through the many support services out there.

A huge thank you must go to my leadership team – Alan Ramsey, Milani Grace, Rachel Cusack and Natalie Mueller. The way in which they have handled the constant changes to guidelines, making those changes clear and creating new processes almost every week in response has been incredible. In addition, communicating with a huge number of families and supporting teachers with implementing home learning when necessary. All on top of their usual responsibilities. It has all been done calmly and with a smile, a testament to their leadership skills. Our school officers Nola, Deb, Jennifer and Sarah and MCS Lee have also been working hard to support us with attendance, relief staffing and communications in addition to their normal roles. What a team!

Our teachers and EAs have kept the classroom routines in place, teaching and learning is progressing in every classroom and when I walk around the school, the classrooms feel calm and engaged. Providing home learning for students who are close contacts of positive cases and have been directed to isolate has been challenging but I thank every educator for their work to maintain the connection with our students at home, who have to isolate through no fault of their own. Our teachers and EAs are simply amazing.

WPS Principal Appointment: I am happy to confirm that I have been appointed for a further 12 months as principal, until the end of Term 1, 2023. I feel incredibly privileged to lead Wembley PS and look forward to a rewarding year ahead.

Positive cases: If any member of your household tests positive, including parents, your WPS child/ren or their siblings, please notify the school as soon as possible. The preferred communication is to wembley.ps@education.wa.edu.au or the SMS attendance system.

It is important to note that all members of the household must isolate for the full 7 days from the date of the test, regardless of whether they are testing negative or are asymptomatic.

Asymptomatic school close contacts: As communicated last week, if your child is deemed a close contact and returns a negative test result and is asymptomatic, they can return to school during their 7 day isolation period. Please note that your child must isolate at all times outside of school.

 Notification of COVID cases: Commencing today, a daily update of positive cases in the school will be communicated by 4pm each day (if there are cases to report). It is hoped this will streamline the process and prevent multiple emails needing to be sent each day in some instances. Close contacts will continue to be notified by email and text as soon as practicable with specific information for their children about isolation and testing.

Teaching and Learning

STEAM: The Year 3s in Room 27 were very busy on Friday with a design and building challenge. Their task included so many opportunities to apply their learning in mathematics and technologies including measurement, symmetry, repeated addition, labelling diagrams and properties of materials. Not to mention the collaboration and creative thinking! Great work by Ms Sugden and her class of Year 3s.

 

Engagement and Relationships

Year 4-6 Swimming Carnival: Our Year 4-6 faction swimming carnival will now take place on Friday 25 March at HBF Stadium. At this stage, spectators are welcome under current settings. We will be asking parents and carers spectating to adhere to the stadium’s 2 square metre rule in the stands and wearing masks as an additional protective measure as much as possible as we are in the very high caseload setting. We can’t wait to see our students in the pool!

School Board Parent Representatives: In May, the terms of three (3) current School Board parent representatives are expiring; School Board Chair Professor Tama Leaver, Jeff Gidman and Darren Westphal.

Both Prof Tama Leaver and Jeff Gidman intend to re-nominate for their positions on the School Board. Darren Westphal has decided to step down from the Board at the end of his term in May after three years. All these members have been outstanding in their contributions during their tenures.

Darren has provided fantastic insight and perspectives during his time on the Board, both as a supportive and engaged parent and in relation to his education and medical background. Jeff is currently leading the School Grounds Master Plan (Board sub-committee) and Tama Leaver has been on the School Board since 2016, was the Deputy Chair in 2020 and has been Board Chair since April 2021.

The process from here is to call for nominations to join the School Board as a parent representative. Should there be more than three nominations, including those from Tama Leaver and Jeff Gidman, an election will need to be held.

Nomination Information and Process: The WPS School Board is an unincorporated Board. Board members participate in school governance by supporting the principal and school staff to implement the strategic directions outlined in the Department’s 2020-24 strategic directions Every student, every classroom, every day and Building on Strength and the WPS Business Plan 2020-22 to achieve year-on-year improvement.

• Endorsing and reviewing the School Business Plan and noting the school budget
• Processes to review school performance
• Processes to determine satisfaction levels
• Reporting school progress and achievement and endorsing the Annual Report
• Input into policy development
• Communicating with the broader community the functions of the Board.

The Board is seeking parents with diverse skill sets. We are about to begin the development of the next School Business Plan and will continue to work on policy reviews and two improvement strategies; communication, and a buildings and grounds master plan.

Please submit your nomination via this link: https://forms.office.com/r/rEPGpaabi7

On the form, please include; name, occupation, year levels of children at WPS, and a brief description (no more than 150 words) of the skills and expertise you would bring to the Board. Board members who are renominating also need to re-apply.

 

Yours in learning

The Senior Leadership Team

Tamara, Milani, Alan, Rachel and Natalie