A Message from Vassie 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land, the the Wurundjeri, Woi Wurrung and Boonwurrung  Peoples of the Kulin Nation and pay our respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging. Aboriginal people have a deep and continuous connection to the place now called Victoria. Aboriginal people have lived in the Maribyrnong River valley for over 40,000 years.

WELCOME TO TERM TWO

Welcome back to school for our second term. I hope that all Wembley community members managed to enjoy a restful break, and are feeling ready for a great term of learning. 

I would like to thank Katie McClue for stepping into the Acting Principal role during week one as I was on long service leave celebrating a family event overseas. Renee Johnson also stepped into Katie's role as Acting Assistant Principal for the week. I sincerely thank Katie, Renee, the executive leadership team and the extended staff body for supporting all students, staff members and parents in their transition back to school. 

This term we have launched a School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) focus on our School Values which has taken the school by storm, in the most wonderful way, with stamps acknowledging respect, inclusion, empathy and resilience! Please visit the wellbeing tab of the newsletter to learn more about this wonderful initiative which is motivating, inspiring and acknowledgding our wonderful students as people and as learners.

ANZAC DAY ASSEMBLY 

I would like to acknowledge the school captains who facilitated the Anzac Day assembly on Monday 24 April. We thank the families that were able to attend to commemorate and honour our fallen soldiers, the ANZACS.

The Year 6 School Captains took part in lowering and raising the flag, laying a ceremonial wreath, as well as reading a collection poems that they wrote themselves. 

We are very proud of the way our students conducted themselves during this assembly; they all demonstrated our values of Respect and Empathy by listening with their whole bodies, taking time to think about and celebrate our service men and women and by singing the National Anthem with pride. 

Our Year 6 Captains spoke clearly and with confidence; we are very impressed with the way they held the attention of our student body as well as the way they led by example. Please visit the events newsletter tab here https://newsletters.naavi.com/i/2JlpQ7J/term-2-week-2-2023/page/10 to read the remarkable poems written by our school captains commemorating the ANZACS. 

SMILE! SCHOOL PHOTOS - WEDNESDAY 3RD & THURSDAY 4TH MAY

On Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 May, we will have photographers in at Wembley Primary School taking school photos. Most class photos and individual portraits will be taken on Wednesday 3rd, with sibling photos and any additional photos being taken on Thursday 4th May. Information was sent home in term one regarding ordering procedures, and further information has been shared in sentral notifications this week. 

Class photos can still be ordered by going to the Creative Exposures website: https://creativexp.com.au/ and using the individual student code that is located on your child's envelope that was sent home last term.

Sibling photos can still be ordered up until midnight tonight Wednesday 3 May, as the photographers will need the list before taking the photos.

WPA MOVIE NIGHT

On Friday 28 April, the Wembley Parents Association (WPA) hosted 'Movie Night' at Wembley - showing on screen was DC League of Superpets!

Whilst wind and rain meant that the screening was moved into the Sports Hall, it was a successful event with everyone having lots of fun. 

The Movie Night raised funds for Social and Emotional Wellbeing resources within the school. We will update the community in our next newsletter about the final amounts raised - We're still busy counting coins at the moment! 

An enormous THANK YOU to Russell Hunt, and the huge team of WPA volunteers for organising and running this event. We know that events such as this take an enormous amount of time, coordination, planning, communication and effort, and is very much appreciated. On behalf of the Wembley students, we thank you! 

THANK YOU AND FAREWELL TO MR FITZ

We would like to farewell Michael Fitzclarence, teacher of 5/6A, as Friday 5 May will be his last day at Wembley PS. He and his partner are moving to the Bellarine Peninsula and he has secured a teaching position at Mirripoa PS. 

We thank Michael for his contribution to Wembley PS over the past 4+ years. His passion, integrity, kindness and impact will be sorely missed by students, staff members and parents! We will be farewelling Michael on Friday at assembly.

Laura Gardiner and Chris Kane will be the new teachers of 5/6A. They are known to the school and the students of 5/6A as they have worked in classrooms and specialist roles at Wembley PS for a number of years. This week both Chris and Laura have spent time in the classroom getting to know students as people and as learners, teaching lessons and engaging in a handover with Michael, to ensure a smooth transition to the students and the staff members. 

EDUCATION WEEK

This year, Education Week runs from Sunday May 14 to Saturday May 20. To celebrate at Wembley, we will be focusing on the theme 'Active Learners: Move, Make, Motivate' throughout the week in classes.

As part of Education Week, we wish to invite families into our classrooms on Friday May 19, between 9:00am and 10:00am (session 1) for an open morning to celebrate the learning that our students have been doing. You will be able to gain insight into how a regular morning in your child's classroom runs, and see the ways in which we engage our students in their learning.

We hope that you can make it.

BREATHE MELBOURNE - AIR QUALITY SCIENTISTS 

We are pleased to be taking part in a study regarding air quality in the inner west. 

This week was very exciting for 4D and 6B, who were the lucky classes chosen to participate in the Breathe Melbourne Research Project. On Monday, project coordinators from the Faculty of Health - Deakin University ran an induction session for all students. The purpose of this session was to further their understanding of the importance of clean air and to thank them for their help in participating in the project as an air quality scientist. That afternoon, each student was fitted with their very own Dyson Backpack which they are wearing over the course of the week in order to collect data about the air quality they are exposed to in their travel to and from school. This data will be shared with the school and wider community in coming weeks. I'd like to thank Adriana Jankulovski for coordinating this project with Deakin scientists and Wembley PS staff and students!

JUNIOR SCHOOL COUNCIL

Congratulations and thank you for our 2023 Junior School Councillors. On Tuesday 2 May they held their very first JSC meeting and discussed goals for the year and how they will inspire, support and lead improvements across the school, on behalf of all students at Wembley Primary School. I heard students using their voice and having agency in decision making. 

Thank you to Adriana Jankulovski and Anna Kikidis for facilitating the first meeting and support Junior School Councillors this year. 

MOTHERS DAY STALL - FRIDAY 12TH MAY

Sunday 14 May is Mother's day. Wishing our mothers, grandmothers and special people a wonderful mothers day. We hope tyou wnjoy the breakfast in bed, hand written cards and cuddles. 

We are sending love to our Wembley community members who may find Mother's day challenging either in longing for a family member or experiencing difficulty in any way. 

We thank our WPA volunteers for planning our Mothers day stall which will be held on Friday 12 May. Students will be taken in class groups to attend the Mother's Day stall and gifts will vary in price from $1 to $8. If your child is purchasing items from the Mother's Day stall, please ensure that they bring an appropriate amount of money to school, carried in a safe and secure way.

See the events tab for more information: https://newsletters.naavi.com/i/2JlpQ7J/term-2-week-2-2023/page/10 

EASTER RAFFLE

Once again thank you to the generous Wembley families who donated to the Easter Raffle. We sincerely thank Linh Krygger and the wonderful WPA volunteers, for coordinating such a special and delicious fundraiser. We raised $4737.30 which will go towards social and emotional wellbeing resources for the school!

CAPITAL BUILDING WORKS  

We are making progress in our Capital Works Building Project journey, with rock being excavated throughout the holidays and into this week, gas relocation works occurring, horizontal boring on the holidays on the oval and into the eating area entrance, which has been reinstated with asphalt and soil. We thank the Johnstaff Construction Services Team for prioritising and utilising the holidays to do high impact works, with the grounds being reinstated, and the prep playground returned to us for the start of term. We're told the tiger turf near the prep playground will be reinstated soon, covering the crushed rock which has been laid as a temporary solution. 

As a result of the gas relocation, gas has been cut off temporarily. As most of the school is powered by electricity this has only impacted the gas heaters in the prep classrooms. As a result, in the interim we have ordered free-standing, economical heating units which will arrive by the end of this week and installed in each prep classroom. 

In the next month we will see the slab being laid and structural steel being brought onsite. Full steam ahead!

SCHOOL COUNCIL

Our next School Council meeting is schedule for Monday 15 May at 6:00pm in the staffroom. Visitors are welcome. If you would like to attend as a visitor, please contact email Mandy, Business Manager, by COB 4:00pm, Thursday 11 March on wembley.ps@education.vic.gov.au 

SECONDARY SCHOOL TRANSITION - PARENT INFORMATION SESSION

On Thursday 4 May Renee Johnson is facilitating our parent information session for Year 6 families regarding the secondary school transition process. 

Our session will be held via webex at 5:30pm and will cover topics such as:

1. The overall process and responsibilities
2. Difference between government secondary school applications and applications to private/independent/Catholic schools
3. Select entry programs
4. What things to consider when making an application
   1. DET's priority system and associated policies
   2. Your own preferences and priorities
5. General appeals information

The session will also be recorded and shared for community convenience.

Key information:

Date: Thursday 4th May

Time: 5:30pm

Location: https://eduvic.webex.com/meet/johnson.renee.e

The Webex room will open five minutes prior to the commencement of the session

I would like to sincerely thank Renee Johson, Kristen Kosowski and the year 6 teaching team for overseeing this process. 

Many thanks to Renee for planning and delivering this session. I encourage parents to attend to ensure you're informed and empowered in this important process. 

YEAR 3-6 PARENT INFORMATION SESSION: RAISING KIDS IN A DIGITAL WORLD

On Thursday 23 March, Wembley Primary School hosted a webinar for years 3-6 parents, through digital health and safety organisation, Inform and Empower, on the topic of Raising Kids in a Digital World. Thank you to everyone that was able to sign up for the webinar to watch at a later date, or tune in on the night. For those that were not able to sign up in time to access the webinar or the shared resources through Inform and Empower, the presenters, Marty and Carley have provided us with links to their webinar, a parent and carers toolkit, and relevant Facebook parent group. We encourage all parents to take the time to watch the 90 minute webinar about how we can work together to keep all students safe online. 

We thank Marty and Carley from Inform and Empower for the highly engaging and informative webinar last week.

For those that missed the live webinar, or in case anyone would like to watch it again, here is the link to replay the video:

Replay:

https://event.webinarjam.com/t/click/z3w5xu46akgiv9cgvkkf4vwtx1ao

Parent & Carers Toolkit (all the information, links and resources from the webinar):

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE TOOLKIT

Inform and Empower Facebook group for parents & carers:

CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR FACEBOOK GROUP

Marty and Carley have also asked if anyone who attended the session was willing, if they could please write them a short Google Review.