Newsletter Week 4 Term 4 – Message from Administration, Music Events Term 4, French Recess, Chaplain Corner, Uniform Shop – Bathers, Canteen, Wembley Family Fun Day, Carols by Candlelight, Celebrating Success

Message from Administration

Dear parents and caregivers

It is already the fourth week of Term 4 and we are well and truly into all the exciting events and celebrations that the final term of the school year brings. Humphreys Dance is underway, we enjoyed the amazing French recess last week and we have lots of music events to come in the next few weeks, including the talent quests and All Stars Concert. We are still using the calendar on the school website, so please check regularly to stay informed about what is coming up. Next year, we will move all calendar events to Compass.

Compass:

Thank you to all staff and families for the relatively smooth transition to using Compass so far this term. If you have not logged in or have any trouble logging in, please contact the school office and we can re-send your invite by email. The class blogs have now been disabled on the school website so all class news will now be sent via Compass. We are still using Seesaw this term for students and teachers to share examples of learning, including photos and videos of school work.

Year 6 Camp:

At the end of Week 2, our Year 6 students spent 3 days and 2 nights away at Forest Edge Recreation Camp in Waroona. I was lucky enough to spend half the camp with the group and got to experience some of the many adventurous activities and share in the memories. All 112 students who attended, really stretched themselves and conquered some amazing feats in their time away, including flying on the Big Fox through a huge valley, abseiling down 9m and 20m towers, building and racing billy carts, navigating through the Pamper Pole on the ropes course and bush walking.

It was so special to see how supportive the group were of one another and how courageous they were in attempting these activities. While not much sleep was had the first night (by all), by the second night they were ready for some rest after an evening of ‘entertaining’ everyone in the ‘talent’ quest. Special mention to the ‘Six Direction’ group who took out top spot with their rendition of ‘What Makes You Beautiful’.

Our staff were so proud of the way the group approached camp and the success was a credit to all involved. I would like to acknowledge the staff who attended camp, going above and beyond their duties by giving up time with their families to take our students away. Thank you to Mr Porteous, Mrs McCarthy, Mrs Hunter, Mrs Thuang, Miss O’Malley, Mr Bowman and Miss Smith. We just couldn’t run the camp without the dedication of our staff.

Teaching and Learning

Artist Spotlight:

The Year 1s in Room 11 have produced some outstanding clay work based on their exploration of texture, form and all things medieval in their specialist art class with Mrs Barratt. The Year 1s investigated castles and knights, starting with 2D artwork and then creating their own clay work. I am sure you will agree that the standard of artwork is absolutely incredible!

Community Engagement

World Teacher’s Day:

Thank you to the whole community for showing your support for our wonderful teachers last week. In particular, a big thank you to the P&C and Georgina Versteegen for coordinating the amazing morning tea on Friday. Our teachers were so appreciative of the thank you messages, flowers and goodies they received. There is a huge amount of work that goes into the education of our students and our teachers work so hard to create engaging and responsive programs to help your child make progress. Thank you for acknowledging their hard work. I also thanked each teacher with a hand written note and small token of appreciation. I am so thankful to work in a school with such dedicated and committed teachers.

WPS Business Plan 2023-2025:

After several months of reflection with staff and the School Board, we are now nearing the final stages of a draft strategic plan to guide the school for the next 3 years. The new Business Plan will be launched early in 2023 and will include school improvement strategies focused on the priority areas of the school; excellence in teaching and learning, a positive school culture, effective relationships and partnerships with the community and opportunities for all students to experience success.

I am inviting members of the school community to form a focus group of approx. 8-10 parents or caregivers to provide feedback and input on our draft business plan. Please complete the expression of interest form  here   if you wish to be considered.  The focus group will likely take place during the week beginning 14 November.

‘Collaborate, Connect, Communicate and Care’.

Yours in learning

The Senior Leadership Team

Tamara, Milani, Stacey and Natalie