A Word from the Principal 

A Warm Welcome to our Weeden Heights Community

A warm welcome to our community

Welcome back for Term Four!  It is most definitely hard to believe that the year has gone so quickly.  I trust that you all had a lovely break with your family and took the opportunity to enjoy some time together. 

We have come back to some interesting weather and already experienced some flooding in the senior girl’s toilets. We’ve had the blowers in to assist in the drying of the carpet in the corridor.  I’m really hoping that we can withstand the rain that is heading our way on Thursday. It will be perfect when the capital works begin as there will be a new roof in the junior school and patching to the B block roof.

Term Four is always an extremely busy term so please stay tuned to the School Stream app, newsletter, Facebook/Instagram and the school calendar.  I hope you all take a moment to check our social media as we try to capture what is happening at school especially for our working families.  You are welcome to leave comments or ‘like’ our posts!  It’s also a wonderful way to keep up with your children’s learning.

Capital Works Update

Well, we have arrived back to school with only a few changes to our school.  My office is now up in the library if you are looking for me.  The builders are about to be officially appointed and will be starting in the next week or so depending on the speed of the approval hierarchy.  The capital works have started and there are many changes that you don’t see that have occurred.  Apart from moving all of the furniture and filling skips with unwanted materials, we now have a new digital telephone system.  All the students are very settled in their new spaces so learning can continue. The builders have met on site and are ready to meet the timelines with the various stages of work. 

We are awaiting the arrival of two sheds but the ground is so wet, trucks have not been able to go up on the oval to lay the foundations and slab.  It’s not looking good this week either, in terms of drying out the oval.  The sheds will provide necessary storage space for the items in the hall and  another for the PE storeroom that is yet to be moved. 

Next year, I plan to keep the grades in the same rooms up in the senior corridor.  Fingers crossed, years prep, one and two will move back down into their newly refreshed learning spaces at the end of term 1.  Works will still continue in the office space and removing the leaky rooms (the portable and the general purpose room) and hopefully all works will be completed by September. 

The staffroom is now located up in the hall if you are looking for teachers!  Thanks for your patience and I will provide more updates when the scaffolding is set up. 

COVID-19 isolation requirements have changed

The Victorian Government has announced the end of the Pandemic Declaration and associated Pandemic Orders.  The following settings, based on advice from the Department of Health, will apply from 11.59pm Wednesday 12 October 2022.

It is strongly recommended that students:

• who test positive to COVID-19 stay home and isolate for 5 days
• should not attend school after 5 days if still symptomatic
• who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school
• advise the school of the COVID-19 positive test result

Where students become symptomatic at school they should:

• be collected by their parents/carers
• undergo testing for COVID-19

It feels like the start of a new beginning. I really hope in the interest of keeping everyone safe at Weeden Heights PS, that we embrace the recommendations. 

UV (Sun Smart) Policy

Just a reminder that all students are required to wear their Weeden Heights PS broad brim hats as per school policy.  The students have been reminded that they need to pack their hats and bring them to school. Students not wearing a hat are required to stay under the sails during recess and lunch times.

We do not have a specific time for students to move from their Winter uniform to their Summer uniform

It is also a great idea to apply sunscreen at home before school.  Your child is responsible for applying and supplying their own sunscreen if you require them to wear it at school. 

We are fortunate to have lovely school grounds with shady trees but we still need to maintain excellent practices to ensure that we stay safe at all times. 

Arriving Late to School

We can all run late occasionally but unfortunately we have noticed a few students arriving late to school each day.  This has an effect on all students and their learning.  Teaching in each room begins at 9am and that is why the classroom doors at Weeden Heights PS open at 8.50am.  Students need time to settle and be ready for learning.  If you arrive after 9am, the instructions for the literacy block will have already been given to the class. Your child will feel lost and then disrupt all the other learners in the classroom while trying to catch up with instructions, work and administrative tasks such as take-home books, notices etc.  It is also difficult for the classroom teacher to continue on with teaching. 

If a child is 10 minutes late each day, they lose 50 minutes a week of instructional time. Over a term that correlates to 9 hours and over a year 36 hours (6 whole school days).  The effects on student lateness are evident in research. 

Teaching our students productive work habits and routines is critical.  Please try and get to school on time because it does make a difference in your child’s learning. 

Transition for prep has started

This week we officially welcomed our pre-schoolers on site to work in the prep classroom and begin transitioning to their new school.  The session went very smoothly and over the next three sessions, they will meet most of the staff and be introduced to the different learning spaces.  We hope to set the tone for their future learning at Weeden Heights while they get use to their new school.  When you see new parents around the school, please make sure they feel welcome as they join our community. 

Classes for 2023 

Planning for next year has started and the grade structure will be based around student enrolments.   All enrolment changes have been accommodated for in our planning and teachers will be allocated to 2023 classes soon. You will be notified the school structure and classroom allocations for 2023 and teachers in December this year. 

The formation of classes for 2023 is progressing. Many factors are taken into account when placing students in class groups when we have the opportunity to do so.  We devote an enormous number of hours considering the educational, social, emotional and physical wellbeing of each child at Weeden Heights before their final placement with students and teachers. 

Please remember that all communication from parents regarding their child’s placement in 2023 (based on educational, social, emotional or physical considerations only) should be forwarded in writing addressed ‘To the Principal’ by Friday 28 October 2022. 

Thank-you for your co-operation in this process. 

Until next time……

Kylie Campbell

Principal

Futures are Bright at Weeden Heights!