Newsletter Week 6 Term 4 – Message from Administration, Celebrating Success – ICAS and AMC, Old School Uniform Donations, Canteen, Cake Stall, Family Fun Day, Carols by Candlelight, Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, Herdsman Lake – 2022 Wildlife Show

Message from Administration

Dear WPS families,

We are edging closer to end of year celebrations and events, with our Senior Talent Quest on this Friday afternoon. Our senior students will perform after lunch from 1:40pm and we welcome spectators. It is a very popular event and will likely be standing room only as we try to fit in as many students as possible. Thank you to Mrs Humphreys for supporting our students with yet another opportunity for creative expression through The Arts.

2023 Book Lists: Yesterday parents and caregivers will have received an email with the 2023 book lists. The book list orders are currently paused. We will communicate with the community when these will re-open. We anticipate orders will be open again by the beginning of next week. If you have already ordered, your order will be processed as no changes are likely to be made to classroom items. Thank you for your understanding.

Year 1 Transition: Our Pre-primary students have commenced their transition activities as they prepare to move up to the ‘big school’ for Year 1 next year. Yesterday they spent some time with our Year 1 teachers in classrooms and they will do so again next Monday. We also invite our current Pre-primary parents and caregivers to join us on Monday 28 November at 9am for an information session and short tour of the learning environment. There is no need to RSVP, please meet in the School Library that morning.

Year 5 Astronomy Night: Last Thursday night saw our Year 5 students pitch their tents, ready for their first overnight school experience. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side for telescopes on the oval but our speaker from the Gravity Discovery Centre had an excellent, interactive presentation for our Year 5s.

They were also treated to brownies and ice cream by Genna for Ruben’s birthday for the movie at the end of the night – lucky kids! Genna and her team also catered breakfast which went down a treat! We appreciate the support of the P&C and canteen. A massive thanks to the Year 5 team for all the pre-organisation which meant the night was so successful. An extra special thank you must go to Mr Harrod, Ms Stacey, Mrs Turner, Mrs Small, Mrs Hunter and Mrs Mueller for staying overnight and then working all day the following day – a huge effort and commitment which is highly appreciated! Thanks also to Mrs Thaung and Mrs Harper for being there for the evening to help supervise and be part of the fun. The Year 5s had a great time and what special memories they made.

Outdoor Classroom Day: Classes across the school took learning outside for the official Outdoor Classroom Day on Thursday 3 November. There are so many benefits to learning in nature and it was wonderful to see our teachers and students embrace the opportunity. Below are some photos of our PP students outside on the oval collecting data for maths and our Kindy students engaging in a range of activities outdoors throughout the day.

 

Learning Environment

 

Student Arrival Times: Increasingly there are students being dropped off or arriving at school far earlier than when the school gates officially open at 8:20am. Staff and the leadership team are planning and preparing for the school day before this time and are often in meetings.

To ensure duty of care and adequate supervision, students should be dropped at school or arrive independently no earlier than 8:20am, preferably from 8:30am. At 8:30am, students are free to move to their classrooms to get ready for the school day or utilise the play area opposite the admin block. Playgrounds are not open as there are no teachers on duty at this time. Between 8:20am and 8:30am, students must wait outside the undercover area until they are dismissed by a staff member.

Of course, if your child has before school reading, choir, soccer or tennis then they can arrive at the relevant time as these are supervised activities. Before school care is available through YMCA for parents who have early work commitments. Student safety is our utmost concern and I thank you for your support with this.

Disability Awareness Week: Last term, a group of Year 6 boys approached me with an idea to raise awareness of all the different disabilities students and staff in our school may have to face in their lives. As Xavier, Thomas and Aryan explained; they could be physical disabilities but often they are hidden and others might not understand what it feels like to live with different conditions.

Their proposal is to hold a Disability Awareness Week close to the date of International Day of People with Disability on 3 December. So stay tuned for a week of awareness raising for conditions such as Autism, ADHD, Hypermobility and others that affect the way people have to live their life. We will be having a ‘Wear it Purple’ Day (no fundraising), posters raising awareness, a feature on picture books in the Library and PA announcements from Xavier, Thomas, Aryan and others about different conditions. I am so proud of these boys for their empathy and service to their community, showing the CARES values in this positive action.

Yours in learning

Tamara, Milani, Stacey and Natalie