Message from Administration
Dear parents and caregivers
It has been such a positive start to the school year at Wembley. Our students have been very settled, despite the nerves from some, bubbling excitement from others and significant changes in routine and new environments to navigate. I’m sure there are some tired young people at the end of each school day, which is all very normal as we settle back into learning after the long summer break. I know this successful start is all down to the supportive classrooms our staff are building combined with the positive messages from parents and carers about returning to school. It has also been wonderful to resume parent information sessions in our preferred face to face format. We look forward to strengthening our connections with you this year, moving forward without the restrictions of the past few years.
Our students were very excited to welcome the Fremantle Dockers to Wembley yesterday, including Travis Colyer. Thanks to Mr Bowman for organising!
COVID:
Although COVID is not having the same impact, we have already experienced some cases in the first 2 weeks of school. Please stay vigilant for symptoms and test if any doubt so we can limit transmission. We will continue to use all available precautions in the school environment; air purifiers where needed, ventilation as a priority and hand hygiene. Please continue to report positive cases to WA Health via the online form here and to the school via Compass when marking your child absent. WA Health still recommends a minimum 5 days isolation, see current information here.
Important Dates:
As communicated, please see Compass to check for relevant school events. You can switch between the weekly and monthly view to see what is coming up. In Term 1, we usually hold parent-teacher meetings in Week 9. Due to NAPLAN shifting earlier and clashes with EduDance, our half day school closure to facilitate these meetings will now take place in Week 2, Term 2. The short week in Week 10 of this term due to Good Friday and the shorter week at the start of Term 2 has given us less options to facilitate these meetings earlier. This half day school closure is an approved annual half day closure as per our reporting to parents schedule. Please continue to contact your child’s teacher at point of need with any concerns or information required.
Save the Date
Year 4-6 Faction Swimming Carnival: Wednesday 8 March
ANZAC Day Service: Thursday 6 April at 9am
Parent-Teacher Interviews ½ day school closure: Wednesday 3 May 12pm
Staffing:
We welcome many new staff to our school in 2023. Thank you for making our new members of the community feel so welcome.
Deputy Principal: Mr Scott Sullivan
K/PP Teacher: Ms Celeste Cunningham
Music Teacher: Ms Alana Porter
Year 4 Teacher: Ms Ellen Lawless
Year 5/6 Teacher: Mr Jeff Cornez
School Psychologist: Ms Melissa Birch
It is also fantastic to welcome back Mrs Michelle Lucas (Year 6), Mrs Sophie Hillen (Pre-primary) and Mrs Jessica Ralph (Early Childhood).
Principal role: I look forward to a great year ahead leading Wembley Primary School. It has been a privilege in my almost two years in the role and 2023 is shaping up to be a highly productive year for our team. Thank you for your ongoing support. In Term 1 and 2 this year, I will be taking Long Service Leave on Thursday each week. As many would be aware, public sector employees are required to clear their Long Service Leave within two years. In my absence on Thursdays, our highly respected and experienced Deputy Principal Mrs Milani Grace will be acting principal. Thank you to Mrs Grace for her leadership.
Student Leadership:
Our new student leaders for 2023 were presented with their badges at a special assembly this afternoon. We have no doubt they have all the leadership qualities needed to succeed and lead their peers in their final year of primary school.
This week, I also spoke with our Year 5 students as they head into their second last year of primary school. I spoke with them about the importance of being positive role models as they are now become senior school students. I encouraged them to embrace every opportunity and do so with courage, always considering the decisions they make and showing respect for themselves and others. We discussed being collaborative, humble and taking the initiative in the classroom and playground. I look forward to a great year ahead with such positive and responsible students leading the way for our school.
Community Engagement
On Country Cultural Professional Learning:
On the day before school started, our staff were privileged to take part in cultural learning with emerging indigenous leader Greg Nannup, son of indigenous Elder Dr Noel Nannup. On the banks of the culturally significant Galup (Lake Monger), we listened and learned about local First Nations culture and history from Greg who shared with us so passionately. We have so much to learn from the world’s oldest civilisation and strengthening our connection to Country will ensure we embed First Nations perspectives to our teaching and learning programs authentically. We hope to have Greg visit the school and share with our students later in the year. This year we will be working to finalise our Reconciliation Action Plan in partnership with the community as we strive to be a culturally responsive school.
School Board Parent Representatives:
At the end of March, the terms of three (3) current School Board parent representatives are expiring; Scott Crawley, Paul Wallman and Evita Soldo.
These parent representatives have the option to re-nominate for their positions. However, all vacancies are advertised to give the parent community the opportunity to consider nominating. You can see our current School Board Members on the school website here.
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 ‘Building on Strength’ and the WPS Business Plan 2023-25 to achieve year-on-year school 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 about the functions of the Board.
The Board will be seeking parents with diverse skill sets. We are about to launch our next School Business Plan and will continue to work on policy reviews and two improvement strategies; communication, and a buildings and grounds master plan. In two weeks time, we will call for nominations. In the meantime, please consider this opportunity to be involved in your child’s education and gain a deeper insight into the operations of our school.
Connect, Collaborate, Communicate, Care
Yours in learning
Tamara, Milani, Scott, Stacey and Natalie
Dogs on School Grounds
We all love your cute furry friends and it is wonderful to see families walking to school, often with their dogs.
A gentle reminder that dogs are not permitted within the school gates or on the oval.
We have many students who have a fear of dogs and others who have allergies, by allowing dogs on the school grounds it is also difficult to monitor the inevitable interaction between dogs and people which may not always be positive.
Please utilise the dog parking lot which is adjacent to the oval along side the path to Pre-primary (near the Community Centre).
Tamara Doig
Principal
NAPLAN
NAPLAN in 2023 for all students in Year 3 and 5 will commence in Week 7 and 8 of Term 1. This decision for NAPLAN to be moved forward from Term 2 to Term 1 will allow schools to access results earlier in the year to inform class and whole school planning. Students will complete four tests- Writing, Reading, Language Conventions (Spelling and Grammar) and Numeracy.
The test window will be conducted from Wednesday 15 March to Friday 24 March. Students who miss a test may catch up during a catch-up test session within the test period. Please refer to Compass for individual class testing times.
If you are wanting to discuss withdrawing of your child, could you please discuss this with your teacher at earliest convenience.
For more information, please read the relevant PDF here
Scott Sullivan
Deputy Principal
P&C Annual General Meeting and Elections – Held in Library and on Zoom
The P&C AGM is being held on Tuesday 28 February at 7:30pm. We are hosting a hybrid meeting so you can join online in the comfort of your home or come down to the library and meet with us face to face. We know getting away from home at night can be difficult, so we’d like to make the meeting as easy to join as possible. Everyone is welcome to attend, especially if you are new to the school or have never attended a P&C meeting before.
To join the P&C and be eligible to nominate for a position or vote on items, please complete the membership form on Qkr and pay the $1 membership fee before the meeting.
ZOOM details will be sent out to all members and also posted in the next newsletter for those who will be joining online.
The AGM is our most important meeting of the year and it is where we vote on the office bearers, sub-committee convenors and members and executive committee members.
We have several subcommittees of the P&C, and we are looking for people to fill roles in leadership and as members. We’d love to see some new ideas and energy this year, so please consider putting your hand up.
The subcommittees include – Kindy/PP, Fundraising, Uniforms, Canteen, Community Engagement and DoGS (Dads of Grantham St)… so you can take your pick! Keep an eye on emails from your class reps and the P&C Facebook page over the next few weeks for important information about how to join the P&C and log into the meeting, as well as information on the various roles and responsibilities. If you’re keen to get more involved please email Lauren Barendrecht at secretarywpspandc@gmail.com and she will send you everything you need to know.
You don’t need experience to join, all you need is enthusiasm! There will be plenty of support and it’s a great way to meet other parents, as attested to by our outgoing Kindy/PP convener. “The best part about being the Kindy/PP Convener last year was getting to meet the wonderful parents on our P&C and the subcommittee that truly made me feel a part of the community.” Lauren Riley
I look forward to seeing you at the meeting!
Kind regards
Danielle Clyne
P&C President
On behalf of the Wembley Primary School P&C
Please click on code for information on QKR
Uniforms
The polycotton polos are FINALLY in stock! They are ready to be ordered online through Permapleat.
Please go to the school website or click on the following link.
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Please remember that school bathers and other items are for sale through Qkr. At this time of year, with so much chlorine, the bathers are a great purchase at just $10! The girls sizes run extremely small, so please take that into consideration when purchasing.
We would like to remind the community about the Sustainable School Shop where you can find free or discounted uniform items. This can be accessed through the school website or the link below.
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Any questions, please feel free to contact me via email at wembleyuniformshop@gmail.com
Price Increase
As you may have noted, Permapleat have increased their prices by 5%. We tried our very best to bring this down, however Permapleat issued the following statement:
“The increase is modest in comparison to the actual increased costs incurred not only in manufacturing but also in fabric, components, shipping, and the cost of finance”.
Warm regards
Nat Ramsay
Uniform Subcommittee Convenor
Netball
Calling all Netballers!
Netball is a fabulous way to keep fit and learn to be part of a team. A very important life skill.
I am the Coordinator for Wembley Districts netball Club. Purely a volunteer role.
I am currently taking expressions of interest for our Winter season. If there is enough interest to fill teams then you will required to register.
- Years 2,3,4 will play on Friday afternoons.
- Years 5 and 6 will play Saturdays.
- The season commences on 6 and 7 May.
However, the administration of teams needs to happen over the next few weeks.
It is expected that players will attend a weekly training session at WPS after school once teams and volunteer coaches have been organised.
Please email me at wembleydistricts.netball@gmail.com, with any questions and add your child’s name and school year by 17 February.
Please note this is only open to WPS students, but it is not organised through the school.
Thank you
Mel Waldon