Principal's Message

2026 Theme for Wollert Primary School: Empowerment

Dear Wollert Primary School Families,

School NAPLAN Results Have Been Released!

I am pleased to announce that our NAPLAN results have arrived for this year. Students in Year 3 and Year 5 participated in the testing in late Term 1 across various areas, including Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation, and Numeracy. The results demonstrate that our school, with its strong focus on academic excellence and established routines and expectations in the classroom, has achieved outstanding outcomes. We have shown significant growth in our results when compared to the past couple of years, which is something we can all be very proud of.

Our school has performed at or above the level of similar schools in several categories, matching some of the state averages. We have seen a significant number of students achieving strong and excellent proficiency levels. I would like to thank all families for their continued support and for fostering a partnership that values education and lifelong learning. We have implemented a range of literacy and numeracy programs, including a comprehensive phonics program for our junior year levels and intervention groups across the school. These initiatives are designed to support our learners and address any gaps in their knowledge, which is positively impacting students' learning.

2026 Book WeekTheme: Symphony of Stories

We were fortunate to celebrate Book Week during Week 7, with the theme ‘Symphony of Stories.’ Wollert Primary School embraced this occasion with a colourful display of costumes in our school gymnasium on Thursday morning. I want to thank all families for their efforts in dressing up and for supporting our students' love of reading. We appreciate the out-of-the-box ideas and the engagement from students during this event each year.

Special thanks to the curriculum team for organising the event, and I would also like to acknowledge the Book Fair that took place during Week 6 of this term. It was a wonderful success, with families supporting our students’ passion for reading both before and after school. Thank you all for your continued support.

Camp Program

Early in Week 7, our Year 5/6 students attended camp at the Alexandra Campsite. With a high number of students participating, the students had a great opportunity to challenge themselves and step out of their comfort zones with activities like the giant swing and high rope course. These experiences aimed to foster growth, resilience, and interdependence in a different environment than school. I was fortunate to attend on Day One and see the students in a different light outside the classroom.  

By all accounts, the students were amazing over the three days, and we received excellent feedback for all staff at the campsite. We should be very proud of the comments regarding how well they demonstrated our school values. Well done to our Year 5/6 students for leading the way! Thank you to the staff who supported this experience, especially Tim Hemsworth for leading the camp and organising the camp, along with all the staff who supported the students during the three days. There were many tired faces upon our arrival on Wednesday afternoon after three days of fun!

We have also had great success with a high number of Year 3 students attending our day camp at Upper Plenty over the past two Fridays. This is an initiative we plan to continue building on next year to support the students and families participating in camp experiences. Well done to the staff involved, and special thanks to Amber Bradford, our Year 3 Leader, for organising the event. We received excellent reports about the day and the fun that was had!

2026 Parent/Carer Opinion Survey: We Want Your Feedback!

Our school is conducting the annual Parent/Carer Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education to gather your feedback. This survey is designed to help schools understand families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement within our school. While participation is optional, we highly encourage and appreciate your involvement.  

The survey results will assist us in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs, as well as help us target our school planning and improvement strategies.  

The Parent/Carer Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday, August 17, to Friday, September 18, 2026. All families are invited to participate. The survey will be conducted online, takes only 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed conveniently on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones.  

The online survey will be available in English and ten other languages, including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Additional resources are also available in various languages to assist parents/carers who speak languages other than English at home.  

To complete the survey, simply:

1. Click on the link or copy and paste the text into your browser: https://research.orima.com/parent

2. Select the School and Campus name below:  

- School Name: Wollert Primary School  - Campus Name: Wollert Primary School

3. Enter the School PIN: 306122

Last year, we used the survey results to plan our transition program for students, identify areas for growth related to our positive classroom approach that we have, and highlight key learning areas to enhance academic emphasis at the school. If you would like more information, please contact the main office by calling 9002 0500 or emailing wollert.ps@education.vic.gov.au.

Print A Car Challenge- State Competion

As part of their Year 5 and 6 subject, Entrepreneurship and Invention, our students designed and 3D-printed their own cars to compete in a school competition a couple of weeks ago, and the students thoroughly enjoyed the experience!

This week, selected Year 5 and 6 students from our school competition participated in the State Heats at Quantum, La Trobe University. The students representing our school are Samarveer S., Samar S., Leo D., Oli M., Ashneer K., Sehaj K., Isabella D., Harlow S., and Melissa M.

These students have been working with Lisa Willmore, one of our STEM teachers, to refine their designs, optimise their performance, and apply principles of physics and engineering to achieve the best results in the state competition.

Both teams performed exceptionally well, winning all but one of their races. We also achieved the fastest time in the compettition, with one car completing a race in just 1.5980 seconds—truly impressive!

Congratulations to these students! Next week, they will find out how they performed in the heats in all categories, performance and design, leading up to the state final race, which will take place in November.

Father's Day Events at Wollert Primary School

As mentioned on Compass, we have the Men of Wollert Breakfast coming up on Wednesday, September 2nd, from 8:00am to 8:45am at the Possum Café. We warmly invite fathers, grandfathers, and special individuals in your child's life to enjoy a relaxed breakfast together.

Please note: There will be no Breakfast Club on this day.

We will also have the Father's Day stall taking place next week on the following dates: 

-Wednesday, September 2nd

- Thursday, September 3rd

- Friday, September 4th (for any children who were absent or would like to make an extra purchase)

More information can be found on Compass and in the Parent and Friends Association section in this newsletter. We have gifts available ranging from $1 to $10.

We also have the Father's Day Raffle, and your child/ren should have brought home raffle tickets. Don't miss out! There are some amazing prizes, including a night’s stay at the Epping Mantra, gym packs, car detailing, restaurant vouchers, and a mini-golf voucher.

On another note, I hope everyone has a wonderful time with their families next Sunday!

Reminders

Dress Up Days in Term 3:

• R U OK? Day: Thursday, 10th of September – Wear a splash of yellow
• Italian Day: Tuesday, 15th of September – Dress in Italian colours or an Italian-themed outfit

• Sports Day: Friday, 18th of September – Dress in your favourite sporting team's colours or sports outfit

   

To conclude this newsletter, I would like to thank all the students who participated in the ICAS testing over the past three weeks in Reading and Mathematics, which is an international assessment in these areas. Families had the opportunity to participate at a cost, with many taking advantage of this chance. We cannot wait to receive the results and share them with the students. A special thank you to Jayden Jukes and Callum Mackenzie for supporting this process and contributing to the Brilliance, Excellence, and Enrichment Program.

Our primary school has seen incredible growth in several academic areas this year, and I want to thank our families for their support in making our school community a great place to learn this year. 

Justin Lania

Principal

Wollert Primary School 

The Victorian Government acknowledges Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria and pays respect to their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging.