Wembley Primary School Newsletter

A Message from Vassie 

Vassie Vatsilas-D'Arcangelo - Principal

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land, 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.

This past fortnight at our wonderful Wembley Primary School we have seen students continue to build relationships with students and staff members as they settle into their new classrooms, meet and greet parent teacher meetings, year 5 & 6 beach program commencement, a dutch principals visit, swim trials, (Department of Education mandated) year 1 english online assessments, concrete and structural steel works, and our preps reach 13 days of school today!

 

In my Principal's Message today, you’ll find information regarding:

  • Pupil Free Day-Wednesday 28 February
  • Capital Works Building Update
  • Road Safety
  • Wellbeing at Wembley - Values Video
  • Dutch School Principals Visit
  • NAPLAN - Years 3 and 5
  • School Council Update 
  • Annual Privacy Reminder
  • Office News: Voluntary Parent Payments, and Permission notes reminder, Wembley Junior Basketball Club-Fundraiser
  • Student Acknowledgement

*please note that we have consolidated our newsletter and have included all updates in my Principal's Message, reducing the newsletter tabs. 

2024 Student Free Day (Curriculum Day) - Wednesday 28 February

A reminder about our student free day next Wednesday 28 February.A reminder that students are not to attend school on this day. 

All staff members will be at school engaging in professional learning about the High Impact Teaching Strategies, and High Impact Wellbeing Strategies. 

TheirCare will be operating on this day should you require childcare. The contact number for bookings for Jacqueline at Theircare is 0460 315 055, and email contact is  wembley@theircare.com.au

We also thank Sam Pistun for her initiative in organising a parent-run event at Gumbuya World on Wednesday 28 February for Wembley PS students and families. It was a great success last year when the WPA planned this day, and it's sure to be a fun day for all involved. 

School Council has approved the following remaining student free day for 2024, on Wednesday 24 July. 

Capital Building Works

We are making great progress in our Capital Building Works Project. 

Last week, on Wednesday 14 February the level one concrete pour occurred. 

This week structural steel is being erected onsite via a crane which has been quite a site with many students, staff members and families enjoying watching the historic works. 

Next we will see our roof taking shape. 

The projected stage 1 handover date is 29 July, and we are tracking well towards this date. Following this date, we will move into the new building and then the demolition of the existing building will take place, making way for a landscape design and more play space for our students. The estimated project completion is October 4. 

Watch this space for some community fundraising to assist with furnishing the new building!

Road Safety

This is another reminder to all Wembley Primary School community members about the importance of road safety at all times.

I continue to have contact with the Department of Education, Maribyrnong City Council, West Gate Tunnel Team, Vicroads, Department of Transport, and our local member Hon. Melissa Horne MP, to discuss road safety and work through solutions, to enable safer travel to and from school, and ease traffic flow, for all community members.

We thank you for your understanding during this time regarding Capital Building Works, Bradmill Estate Construction, Westgate Tunnel Works, and subsequent road closures, which affect our immediate community, and I ask for your cooperation in the following matters regarding road safety, in this interim period, and at all times.

PARKING

We have been informed by a number of parents and local residents that some Wembley PS community members are parking on nature strips, footpaths, no parking zones, and close to pedestrians. We have also been informed that community members are parking in driveways, or across driveways and leaving the vehicle, restricting residents from entering and exiting their properties.

We ask that people are mindful of safety at all times, and we ask that all community members park legally, and/or in neighbouring streets and walk around to the Wembley PS, to drop off/collect your child/ren safely.

We understand that schools are congested during pick up and drop off times, and that the mornings can be busy, however the safety of all community members is paramount.

If you are able to commute by walking, or parking, and then walking to school, this may alleviate some of the traffic congestion.

IDLING

We have been informed that some parents park and wait for their children to enter the car, and leave the car ignition is left on, and the car is running idle for a period of time. We have 493 families at Wembley, and 648 students, and if for example 300 cars on average are running idle at drop off and pick up, this provides an indication of the significant air quality risk. The pollution associated is a health risk and we encourage parents to turn the ignition off as they wait. 

See some references to car idling here, kindly shared from a parent within our community:

Sources: 

DOUBLE PARKING

It has also been reported that a number of parents are double parking and allowing students to enter and/or exit the car whilst being double parked, particluarly on Hawkhurst Street ad St Leonards Avenue. This is not safe, and we are told that parking inspectors are monitoring this. 

BICYCLES AND SCOOTERS

We ask all parents to have a conversation with their child/ren about the importance of road safety.

We have seen a number of students cross the road beyond crossings, and not following the safe crossing procedures of, 'Stop, Look, Listen, Think'. We have reminded them of the importance of exercising road safety procedures at all times, and have made contact with their parents.

We also ask that community members that ride their bikes or scooters to school, to wear a helmet at all times, and to 'walk' their bikes around the perimeter of the school to ensure that all children and adults are safe and that no one is hurt by people riding at high speeds. We also note that electric scooters have an age restriction of 16+.

CROSSING SUPERVISORS

We are aware that Francis Street is the busiest road in Victoria, and again remind all community members to exercise safe crossing procedures at all times.

Road crossing supervisors are on duty from 8:15-9:00am, and 3:15-4:00pm on both Francis Street, and Wembley Avenue.

Crossing supervisors have reported to us that some community members can be distracted when driving, or crossing the road, by being on their phones. Again this is a timely reminder to take good care whilst travelling to and from school.

AIR QUALITY

We are also aware of the air quality impact, and we partnered with Breathe Melbourne and Deakin University to assess the local air quality. More information regarding the findings will be shared with our community in due course, regarding safer routes to take with lower levels of pollution, vehicle settings to cycle air, etc.

We thank you in anticipation of all community members working together to ensure our collective safety and wellbeing.

Please contact me if you have any further information to share to assist us in keeping all community members safe in travelling to and from school.

Wellbeing at Wembley

Last week we began our term's focus on our value of empathy. Each fortnight we will focus on a different behaviour. This fortnight's behaviour focus is 'be considerate'. A number of students at Wembley have helped to make a video showing how to be considerate and show empathy. 

 

Dutch Principals Visit

On Monday 19 February, we had four Dutch educators from the Netherlands visit Wembley PS. They visited Wembley in 2017, and 2019, and we are one of a handful of schools that they requested to visit in Australia. 

The focus of the two week study visit to Melbourne and Sydney is to see and experience best practices around the 'Visible Learning' surrounding research from Prof. John Hattie, and visiting high performing schools across Australia.

Our visitors  were very interested in the implementation of Visible Learning, from classroom experiences to leadership perspectives. They also enjoyed a school tour visiting classrooms, and spoke with 3 of our school captains, Zoe, Tess and Lucas. They were most impressed by the students that they spoke with, who articulated what they enjoy about school and learning, sharing their learning goals, collaborative learning practices, and reflections on teaching, learning and wellbeing at Wembley Primary School. 

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2024 for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will run in March. The test window commences on Wednesday 13 March (Week 7) and will conclude on Monday 25 March. NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. 

Our Wembley PS intended test schedule is as follows: 

 Wednesday 13/3/24Thursday 14/3/24Friday 15/3/24
Year 3Writing - Paper Test Reading and Conventions of Language Numeracy 
Year 5Writing - Online Test Reading and Conventions of Language Numeracy 

*Catch up test sessions will run in the week following, however it is important to note that catch up tests in writing are only allowed for Year 3 students. 

 

For more information about the tests, please visit the VCAA website or the NAP website athttps://www.nap.edu.au/naplan, furthermore, we encourage you to engage with the informative PDF attached to this communication. Please do not hesitate to contact either your classroom teacher or Katie McClue (Assistant Principal & Naplan Coordinator) if you have any questions or would like further information. 

School Council Election

We wish to thank the people that nominated for the School Council Vacancies. 

We had four vacancies and four nominations in the parent category. Therefore we declare the four nominees listed below, as elected.  

  • Helen Harris
  • Lachlan McCallum
  • Alice Taylor
  • Beck Thomas 

We had one vacancy in the employee category. Adriana Jankulovski chose to step down as School Councillor for the second year of her tenure. As such we had two employee vacancies, and received two nominations. We declare the two nominated employees listed below, as elected. 

  • Melanie Irons
  • Vanessa Hancock

Our 2024 School Council also consists of the following members whose tenure continues into the 2024 school year. 

  • Lisa Filippin
  • Russell Hunt
  • Katie McClue
  • Paul Meissner
  • Vassie Vatsilas-D'Arcangelo

Thank you Bec Holder

We would like to thank Rebecca Holder for serving on School Council for 5 years. In her time, Bec has worked on education and policy subcommittee, and buildings and grounds subcommittee, and spent countless hours volunteering and arranging fundraising events for over seven years together with Beck Thomas and grandparent volunteer, Eileen. 

Bec has volunteered at Wembley PS throughout the duration of both of her daughters', Holly (now in secondary school), and Lainie's (year 6) educational journey at Wembley PS and we're most grateful for Bec's contribution to the Wembley PS community. 

Annual Privacy Reminder For Our School Community

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy, describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. 

Office News

Voluntary Parent Payments, Permission Notes Reminder &  WJBC Fundraiser

 

Voluntary Parent Payments

Information has been distributed to all families in relation to Voluntary Parent Payments, which are now live on the Sentral Parent Portal.

Payments can also still be made via the Sentral parent portal (preferred), at the Office for EFT, and/or via Bank Transfer.

When activities or charges are created you will receive a notification from Sentral to action. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the office on 

03 9314 7054.

 

Permission Notes Reminder

We ask that parents return permission notes at their earliest convenience as this assists teachers with beginning processes and programs within and beyond their classrooms. 

  • Code of Conduct
  • Digital Acceptable Use Agreement
  • Local Walks, and 
  • Photo Permission

Wembley Parents Basketball Club - Fundraiser

Our gym has also been resurfaced, and is polished to perfection, with thanks to the Wembley Junior Basketball Club.

 

This month the Grill’d Yarraville Local Matters program has a jar for the Wembley Junior Basketball Club!

The club has the opportunity to raise some funds to help cover the cost of the recent hall floor resurfacing and upgrade.

We’d love for our WPS community to support the cause and help the club whilst eating burgers!

2024 Term Dates 

In order to assist parents with planning for holidays the following are the school term dates for this year. Parents are asked to be mindful of the term dates when booking family holidays.

 

Term 1: 29 January to 28 March

Term 2: 15 April to 28 June 

Term 3: 15 July to 20 September 

Term 4: 7 October to 20 December

Student Newsletter acknowledgements

 

We LOVE to hear about student achievements outside of school. If there are any acknowledgements that parents/students wish to share with us and can be celebrated with our wider community, we ask that you email us at wembley.ps@education.vic.gov.au with the student/s name/s, a summary of the acknowledgement and any photos that you would be comfortable sharing and we will aim to include it in our fortnightly WPS newsletter.