Message from Administration
Dear parents and caregivers
We had a fantastic week of community events last week with our faction swimming carnival and P&C Welcome Picnic. It has been so incredible to see our community coming together again at events such as these. I thank the P&C for reinstating this community event on the calendar and to all our Year 6 parents and students for supporting the first fundraiser of the year – the cake stall and sausage sizzle! Friday was a great start in helping families to reduce the cost of Year 6 camp. Thank you for supporting our school and your children.
NAPLAN:
This week our Year 3 & 5 students will begin to participate in NAPLAN testing. Keeping normal routines in place, being on time to school, packing healthy food and snacks, and avoiding undue attention on the tests is suggested. These assessments are a snapshot in time and the move to earlier in the year will hopefully see the school receive these results sooner so teaching and learning can continue to be targeted to student needs.
Wednesday 15 March – Year 3 & 5 Writing
Thursday 16 March – Year 3 Reading
Friday 17 March – Year 5 Reading
Monday 20 March – Year 3 Language Conventions
Tuesday 21 March – Year 5 Language Conventions
Wednesday 22 March – Catch-up Testing
Thursday 23 March – Year 3 Numeracy
Friday 24 March – Year 5 Numeracy
Each day, NAPLAN Coordinator Mr Sullivan will also conduct any catch-up testing as needed. All testing must be completed by Friday 24 March so if your child is away towards the end of the testing period, this may impact their ability to participate in all assessments. Importantly, NAPLAN results do not define a student, your children have an amazing array of talents which NAPLAN can’t measure.
Year 4-6 Faction Swimming Carnival:
It was wonderful to see so many parents, carers and grandparents supporting our students at the carnival. It was a great day and we were so impressed with how our students participated throughout the day, particularly our Year 4 students at their first swimming carnival. Sportsmanship, courage and resilience were on full display. A huge thank you to Mr Bowman and Mrs Watson for all their organisation prior to the day and on the day, ensuring a successful well-timed event.
It was a team effort and our staff and parent volunteers did an amazing job in very sticky and hot conditions. An extra special thanks to Jayne Malone for all her help and continued support with swimming training and on the day. Anna Teh, Susan Havlin and Sara Tuohy did an excellent job with the recording which is so fast paced. Thank you. Our new Deputy Principal Mr Sullivan also revealed a secret talent – commentating! The energy levels of the spectators were certainly high and it was such an enjoyable day. Well done to the students who were outstanding on an individual level and were recognised in the Champion Girl/Boy and Runner-up presentations. Farmer were the overall winner for the 4th year in a row. Congratulations to our Farmer students and all Year 4-6 students for their efforts.
Mrs Lisa Thompson’s Retirement:
Our beloved Year 1 teacher Mrs Thompson will be retiring at the end of this term after an amazing 41 years as a teacher in public schools and 15 years at Wembley PS. Mrs Thompson has taught thousands of children since 1982 and while we will be sad to say goodbye, we know that Mrs Thompson now deserves some time to relax and enjoy her retirement after giving so much to the education system throughout her life. With a career which has taken her from the Wheatbelt to various schools in the metropolitan area, we will be celebrating her contribution to public service with a special assembly on Friday 31 March at 2:40pm. We hope the community will join us to farewell Lisa alongside her family, staff and friends.
School Grounds:
A huge thank you to parent Julia Foulsham and her husband Luke Dwyer for installing an additional 3 stepping stones into our Junior Playground. Julia worked with our students on the first 3 last year and they all brighten up the area and add to the individualisation of our school grounds. Thank you!
Kiss and Drive:
We have a huge student population at Wembley and this can cause some traffic congestion around the school at drop off and pick up. I encourage families to consider walking, riding or scooting wherever possible to promote active, healthy travel for our students, particularly while the weather is good. It can be necessary to travel by car to school and we have Kiss and Drive bays on both Simper St and a small area on Alexander St. We have a Kiss and Drive brochure on the school website here for those who need a refresher or are unfamiliar with how to navigate the Kiss and Drive. These handy hints help the Kiss and Drive flow and ensure student safety. Our main aim is to keep our students safe and prevent any accidents occurring;
- Move as near to the front of the Kiss & Drive bays as possible
- Always be courteous to other road users
- Parents and carers should stay in the car
- Children will wait in the area adjacent to the
Kiss & Drive bays - Bays to be used only for set down and pick
up of students - If your child is not ready, don’t stop – drive
up to the roundabout on Alexander or south
down Simper Street, drive around the block
and back to the Kiss & Drive, re-joining the
queue - There is no parking permitted in
the Kiss & Drive bays - Always indicate to enter and leave the Kiss &
Drive bays - Ensure children entering the vehicle put on
their seat restraint quickly before moving off - Always move forward to the top bay to prevent queues forming
Neurodiversity Celebration Week:
This week we are shining a spotlight on the amazing students in our community who process the world in a different way. Neurodiversity is an umbrella term used to describe alternative thinking and processing styles such as Dyslexia, DCD (Dyspraxia), Dyscalculia, Autism and ADHD.
Regardless of labels, neurodiversity is about recognising those who think differently. And no matter which environment you are in – school, work, community activities or on the sporting field, we can all benefit from different thinkers! Approximately 15-20% of population has a neurological difference.
Instead of labelling people with deficits or disorders, when we use the term neurodiversity, we take a balanced view of an individual’s unique strengths and challenges. Many ‘challenges’ neurodivergent people face are more to do with the environment and systems they are placed in, often designed by a majority population.
There are a number of fantastic resources you can access as a parent on the Neurodiversity Week website here. There are also some great resources you can share with your child here for our older students and in the library we have many fantastic picture books which support awareness and understanding.
As an inclusive and supportive school community, we can all do our part to help our students understand and celebrate these differences.
School Board Parent Representatives:
As advised, at the end of March, the terms of three (3) current School Board parent representatives are expiring; Scott Crawley, Paul Wallman and Evita Soldo.
Paul Wallman and Evita Soldo are stepping down from the Board at the end of their terms. Paul has been an exceptional contributor to our community on the Board over several years, working closely with a Board sub-committee to develop the suite of policies for our Community Engagement Plan and offering his expertise and knowledge from the perspective of being a paediatrician has also been invaluable. On behalf of the Board, I thank Paul for his time and contributing to our school through his appointment.
Evita has also been an outstanding member of our School Board for the past three years. With her expertise in the psychology field, we have greatly benefited as a school and Board from Evita’s perspective and experience. Evita has contributed to a raft of policy reviews and positively represented our Board in the community. We also thank Evita for her time and contribution. We are grateful to Evita for continuing to contribute to the school through volunteering as the Kindy/Pre-primary P&C Convenor this year. Your active involvement in the community is so appreciated.
After calling for nominations in the last newsletter, we had five (5) nominations for the three (3) vacant positions. An election will be now held as more than 3 nominations were received. Thank you to the nominees for their willingness to contribute to school governance.
The election will be held online and each nominee has provided a short bio for consideration. You can read the bios of all 5 nominees here. A unique link to vote will be emailed today and the election will close at 8am on Monday 20 March.
Important Dates
Year 3 & 5 NAPLAN Testing: Wednesday 15 March – Friday March 24
Harmony Day: Wednesday 22 March. Students can wear orange clothing and enjoy a special multicultural recess at the canteen.
Mrs Lisa Thompson’s Retirement Assembly: Friday 31 March at 2:40pm
Interschool Swimming Carnival: Tuesday 4 April (HBF Stadium – Outdoor Pool)
Edu Dance Concerts: Tuesday 4 April 2:30pm (PP2, PP3, Room 9, Room 10, Room 5, Room 6, Room 1, Room 3)
Wednesday 5 April 2:30pm (PP1, PP4, Room 8, Room 11, Room 7, Room 4, Room 2, Room 26, Room 27)
ANZAC Day Service (Year 1-6): Thursday 6 April at 9am
Parent-Teacher Interviews ½ day school closure: Wednesday 3 May 12pm
Connect, Collaborate, Communicate, Care
Yours in learning
Tamara, Milani, Scott, Stacey and Natalie
Canteen News
Harmony Day Recess and Lunch
Will be celebrated next Wednesday 22 March. Recess will be in the undercover area from 10.40am and many tastes from around the world, both sweet and savoury, will be available with prices ranging from $1 to $3.
We will have a section for Year 1-3 students and another for Year 4-6 students.
Our students love these fun events!
Our featured lunch this year will be a traditional Bhutanese Chicken Curry with an authentic spice paste made by WPS teacher Avanthi Fernando, incorporating the gentle flavours of garlic, ginger and tomatoes. A deliciously fragrant child friendly curry.
Orders for lunch are open on Quickcliq and at the canteen counter.
Many helpers are needed to assist with Harmony Day so if you can lend a hand on the day, on Tuesday to prepare or any day of the week to assist in our daily menu, please sign up here if you are able to help.
Genna
Canteen Manager
Library News
Lunchtime Sessions
We love that the Library is popular during the lunch break, but at times it is overcrowded and not the ‘calm’ space we would like it to be, so we are once again restricting when year groups can come in. This is also to encourage those who come every day, to play outside on the other days and enjoy the fresh air and socialise! Parents of Juniors, could you please remind your child of this as it can be a little confusing at the start. The Library is closed on Friday at lunchtime for Chess Club. We are open before school and after school every day for students and parents.
Monday and Tuesday lunchtime – we are open for Years 1, 2, 3
Wednesday and Thursday lunchtime – we are open for Years 4, 5, 6
Friday lunchtime – closed for Chess Club
Book Club
Catalogues for Issue 2 have gone home. LOOP closes next Monday, so please get your orders in before then.
Stage Play
Looking for something to do with your children next term?
This popular book by Alison Lester comes to life in a Stage Play at the Octagon Theatre 24 -27 May.
“The year I turned eight, Mum and Dad took us on a trip around Australia. Luke, Billy and I missed school for the whole winter term.” A warm, heartfelt story based on an actual journey undertaken by the much-loved, award-winning author and illustrator, Alison Lester.
- Winner – Picture Book of the Year 2005 CBC AWARDS.
- Flagship Book for Australia’s National Year of Reading 2012
- First book given to an Australian child from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Reading Library 2014
https://www.ticketswa.com/event/are-we-there-yet
Jill Jordan
Library Officer
Wembley DOGS – Dads of Grantham Street
You can find out how to use the Qkr app on the P&C page here.