Across Oliver's Desk 

Dear Parents,

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back to another exciting year at WYPS!  I hope you were able to get a break with family and friends. It really felt to me like a normal summer again.

It has been a great start to the school year with everything running smoothly so far.

As a community we need to extend a big welcome to our new and returning staff. We welcome Katia Koskarti (3/4E) and our teachers returning from maternity leave Mel Erickson (Tutoring) and Rachel Ward (Teacher Coach). We also welcome back Lisa Syme (5/6B) after her stint working for the region at a number of schools, also as a teacher coach. 

Our 63 new Preps have made a fantastic start to life at primary school. They look so wonderful in their beautiful new uniforms. They have already impressed their new teachers and have certainly made me laugh with their honest appraisal of everything.  

As well as our new Preps we have some new students starting across the rest of the school. A big welcome to Liam, Zac and Ella Brandenberger, Mia Petersen, Hayden Burton and Ruby Ramadge. Welcome to our beautiful school, we know you will love it. 

CURRICULUM DAYS THIS TERM

At the start of the year we normally have two curriculum days because we know that it’s easier for parents. Unfortunately we could not book our consultants for the start of the year. Therefore we have had to go with Monday the 20th of February. Our school continues to get great academic results because we invest heavily in our teachers’ professional learning so that they are up to date with the best teaching strategies and knowledge. So although this is an inconvenience for parents, it is vital for our school to continually improve. The second curriculum day this term is a network curriculum day for all schools in the Valley. The dates are:

• Monday the 20th of February
• Friday the 31st of March

BUILDING WORKS

It is great to see that the builders have finally been able to make some progress with the framework slowly going up.

The finish date for the building has been moved back to September this year but I still think they are being very optimistic. We have built a small bike track for the students at the back of the school. The bike track will be used throughout the year for some P/E sessions and for some supervised lunch time activities. We have around ten school bikes at the school. We are also hoping that the community can get some use out of it on the weekends and holidays. The plans are to make it much bigger once our building works are complete. 

 We have also had some paving done over the holidays. 

SPEEDRACER

Clay Paull from 1/2B had a brilliant summer when he won a speedway competition race in Kinaroy,  Queensland.  Clay went on to be crowned the overall champion of race meet. Congratulations Clay! 

2023

The focuses for our school in 2023 are the following:

• Writing
• Spelling
• Tutoring program for students
• Our school values
• Winning the Parents Vs Teachers relay race
• Student Leadership

We are going to reach for the stars this year.  As I wrote last year, we aspire to be the best school in Australia. 

UNIFORM

A real push at the start of the year is to make sure we get our uniform right and that our students wear their uniform with pride.  On the first day of school we had a number of students who didn’t have black shoes as a part of their uniform. Our uniform includes predominately black shoes (see photo), with white or black laces. 

Our staff and our school council will be pushing our motto, “take pride at all times”, which includes wearing your uniform correctly and with pride.

Thank you again for your support of the school’s uniform policy, we really look smart as a school when everyone is on board.

GRADE 5/6 CAMP

Excitingly it is not long now until our grade 5/6 students head to their city camp experience. Every year we timetable our 5/6 camps to be in first term to give our students the opportunity to bond as a group and to start off the year really positively. 

BUSHFIRE AT RISK REGISTER

We have been identified as a school that closes on days that are deemed to have a fire danger rating of code red. 

Luckily there haven’t been any significant fires in our immediate vicinity this year considering the extreme heat we have experienced this summer. 

See below for more information regarding our school being on the Bushfire-At Risk Register.

School procedures for the bushfire season

The way schools in Victoria respond to bushfires is being constantly revised. 

Fire danger ratings and warnings are used in Victoria to provide clear direction on the safest options for preserving life.

Schools – and children’s services – identified as being at highest bushfire risk have been included on the Bushfire At Risk Register (BARR) and will be closed on days determined by fire authorities to be Code Red. Our school has been identified as a school at highest bushfire risk and is listed on the BARR.

Where possible, we will provide parents with up to three days notice of a planned closure following the issue of a Code Red warning by the CFA.  We will contact you directly by email, SMS or letter sent home with your child with advice on planned closures and will confirm the decision to close by 12 noon the day before the planned closure. 

Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, regardless of improvements in the weather forecast.  This is to avoid confusion and help your family plan alternative care arrangements for your child.

• No staff will be on site on days when the school is closed by the risk of fire. 
• Out-of-school care will be cancelled on these days. 
• School camps will be cancelled if the area where the camp is taking place is at risk.  
• There may also be changes to school bus routes. Depending on routes, this may also occur on days when the school is not closed. 

On these Code Red days families are encouraged to enact their Bushfire Survival Plan – on such days, children should never be left at home unattended or in the care of older children. 

For those of us living in a bushfire-prone area, the safest option when a Code Red day is declared may be to leave the night before, or early in the morning of the Code Red day.

As part of preparing our school for the threat of fire we have updated our emergency management plan; re-prioritised any maintenance works that may assist in preparing for the threat of fire and cleared our school grounds and gutters.

What can parents do?

• Make sure your family’s Bushfire Survival Plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements for your children in the event that our school is closed. 
• Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers.  Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters, by checking our website, and by talking to your child’s teacher or any other member of the teaching staff about our emergency plans. 
• Most importantly at this time of year, if you’re planning a holiday or short stay in the bush or in a coastal area, you should check warnings in advance of travel and remain vigilant during your stay.
• If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s Bushfire Survival Plan. 
• You can access more information about school closures on the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development website – see http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/pages/emergencies.aspx

For up-to-date information on this year’s fire season and Bushfire Survival Planning, visit the CFA website at www.cfa.vic.gov.au or call the 24-hour Victorian Bushfires Information Line on 1800 240 667.

WEATHER – HATS

In term 1 and term 4 our school policy is that all staff and students need to wear hats when outside at recess and lunchtime.

With the extreme heat we can been subjected to, we will be ensuring all of our students are drinking enough water and that they are in the shade on some days.

SCHOOL SPEED ZONES AND NO RIGHT TURN SIGN

A reminder to everyone now that we are back at school that the speed limit in the school speed zone during specified times from 8.00 - 9.30 am and 2.30 - 4.00 pm is 40 km/h. Also please remember the No Right Turn sign into the middle of the kiss and drop. This means you can only gain access to the kiss and drop zone from the top of the parent car park. Each year we consistently have marked and unmarked police patrolling the stretch of road outside the school.

Over the holidays I had time to read three books. The boy from Boomerang Crescent – Eddie Betts. The Lost Boys – Paul Byrnes. Showtime – Judy Nunn.

I was proud of myself for varying my reading diet, which is what we ask the students to do.

See you around the school soon!

Child safety and wellbeing at Woori Yallock Primary School: information for families and the school community

The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing. 

Woori Yallock Primary School has reviewed and updated our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. These are available to view on your school’s website, via Compass and at the school’s front office].  

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.

Child safety and wellbeing at Woori Yallock Primary School information for families and the school community

Woori Yallock Primary School is committed to providing a child safe and child friendly environment, where students are safe and feel safe.  

Our child safety and wellbeing policies outline the measures and strategies we have in place to support, promote and maintain the safety and wellbeing of our students: 

• Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy 
• Child Safety Code of Conduct 
• Child safety Responding and Reporting Obligations Policy and Procedure 
• Complaints Policy 
• Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy
• Bullying Prevention Policy 
• Volunteers Policy 
• Visitors Policy 
• Digital Learning Policy 

**please note- these can all be found on the school's website

www.woorips.vic.edu.au

As valuable partners in promoting and maintaining child safety and wellbeing at Woori Yallock Primary School we welcome and encourage your feedback.  

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions in relation to our child safe policies and practices, please contact Flick or Oliver. 

Oliver Thockloth

Principal