A Message from Vassie 

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.

I would like to thank all community members for another great couple of weeks at Wembley PS, with year 5 school captain appointments, year 1 & 2 swimming program, school review final day, staff professional practice days (PPD's), report writing, 2024 class building, 2024 prep transition, a School Council Meeting and our AGM.

Parent Helper Afternoon Tea

We would like to thank and celebrate the parents at Wembley Primary School who volunteer and contribute significantly to our school community whether it be by classroom help, camps, excursions, book making, WPA, School Council, sports training, uniform sorting, and the list goes on. 

On Thursday 7 December we will be hosting a parent helper afternoon tea from 2:00-3:00pm in the hall. All parents are welcome. Please rsvp by emailing Loredana at Wembley.ps@education.vic.gov.au by Tuesday 5 December. 

2024 School Captains

I'd like to sincerely congratulate the students that applied for captaincy roles. It was a great honour and privilege to read the applications, shortlist and interview students. A great testament to these young people, their families and also Wembley Primary School. See the student leaders tab for information regarding the 2024 School Captain appointments. I would like to thank Renee Johnson and Tom Szanyi for assisting me in this process. 

2024 Staffing List

We are enthusiastically planning for 2024, and have finalised our 2024 staffing list. 

We thank the parents that shared requests with us. Whilst we have read and taken all preferences into consideration when we built classes, we remind parents that not all requests can be met. We thank you for your understanding and remind you that as classes have now been developed, we wont be taking any further requests. 

We would like to congratulate our current staff members who have sought positions and promotions in other schools, and/or are taking leave for 2023. We have shared the news about each staff member in our weekly Monday morning briefings and all of whom we will acknowledge in our final PLC meeting where we will bid them a fond farewell…It’s so long, farewell, but not goodbye!

Farewell, and congratulations to:

• Joel Magnabosco - who was successful in picking up a role as Leader of Data and Learning at Queen of Peace PS. 
• Tom Penberthy - who was successful in picking up the mental health and wellbeing leader role at Dinjerra PS.
• Michelle Metcalf - who was successful in picking up a teaching role at Footscray West PS. 
• Bec Grieve - who was successful in picking up a teaching role at Footscray West PS. 
• Jenna Thompson - who was successful in picking up a position at Altona Meadows Primary School.
• Eugenie Edillo - who will be studying in 2024. 
• Jonathon Gill and Matthew Ross who will be doing CRT work in 2024. 
• Margaret Webb, who will be taking leave in term one, and then transitioning into retirement.

Welcome back to:

• Kim Cleghorn and Nathan Welsh who are returning from a year of long service leave, as they’ve travelled and supported us in doing CRT work throughout the 2023 school year.

We would like to welcome the staff members new to the Wembley PS family, whom have been at school today for a staff induction day. You will see their names in the workforce plan. 

Welcome and congratulations to:

• Phoebe Moore to Wembley PS who will fill the role of as a Prep-Year 2 Learning Specialist. Phoebe comes to us from Footscray North PS, where she has worked for 10 years in teaching and senior leadership roles. Phoebe will be supporting all staff across prep to year 2, with instructional coaching. 
• Alexander Wignall, who comes to us from Balwyn PS, as a classroom teacher. 
• Dennis Mazzella who comes to us from Truganina P-9 college, and who has filled Spanish and Italian Language roles in the past. 
• Gus Carty-Cowling who comes to us from Melton PS where he has filled the role of PE teacher and Specialist team leader (facilitator).

F=Facilitator (team leader)

School Review

FINAL REVIEW DAY

This Monday, Wembley Primary School participated in the final stage of our School Review. The core review panel, met with the entire Executive Leadership team and shared feedback and findings from their observation days and work with various student, teacher and parent focus groups. 

The school has now reached the initial draft stage of our next School Strategic Plan (SSP), which outlines our core goals for the next 4 years, along with our Key Improvement Strategies. 

This SSP will be finalised and shared with the school community, along with the first Annual Implementation Plan, at the start of the new school year.  

Capital Building Works 

The lower slab has been poured. This is a significant milestone in the capital works project. Structural steel will be erected in early December. 

The handover date is 17 July 2024. It is promising to see great progress. 

See key dates:

• Saturday 2 December-sewer and stormwater site set-up 
• Monday 4 December-sewer and stormwater drilling
• Friday 8 December-upper slab pour
• Monday 11 December-mechanical steel brought onsite

SCHOOL DEVICES - SMART WATCHES

We remind students and parents that students are not to contact one another during school hours via their smart watches. If students wear smart watches to school, they are to be set tp school mode which disables calls and messaging. We remind parents to contact the office if they have messages to pass on to their child during school hours and it'll be passed on via the office and classroom teacher/s. If your child contacts you, we ask that you don't respond, and contact the office or your child's teacher to check in. 

NO HAT, NO PLAY - Sun Smart - Hats for Term One and Term Four. 

A reminder that all students are required to wear their broad brimmed hats for outdoor activities, this includes recess, lunch and physical education lessons. Students without hats will be required to refrain from play, and stay in the shaded areas of the school-No Hat, No Play. Sun screen is also available for our students, however they are welcome to BYO and apply sunscreen at school. Students will be required to wear their hats for the whole of term four, when involved in outdoor activities or outdoor recess, in line with our Sun Smart policy. Students were offered a grace period for week one of term whilst they dust their hats off, however all students are now required to wear a broad brimmed school hat. School hats can be purchased from the school office for $15.50. 

UNIFORM REMINDER

We have noticed that a number of students have not been wearing full school uniform. Teachers have been reminding students to ensure that they wear uniform every day, with the exception of if/when they are attending a school sports day or a Halloween Spook-a-Thon, of course! Please ensure that your child is wearing full school uniform, at all times. We also remind parents about the pre-loved clothing rack, and lost property, which can be found in the main school building near the office, and is open before and after school. See our uniform policy here. Teachers will be reminding students about uniform, and parents may receive a call or email with a reminder, if students continue to attend school out of uniform. Uniforms can be ordered from RHS and can either be delivered to your home, or to the school. 

2024 STUDENT NUMBERS

It's that time of year when the leadership team begin working through 2024 planning, class structures and recruitment processes. As we begin the planning process for 2024, we would appreciate parents notifying the school if your child/ren will not be returning to Wembley Primary School in 2024, as soon as possible.

Please contact the school office on 9314 7054, or alternatively on wembley.ps@education.vic.gov.au to inform us if your child/ren will not be returning to Wembley PS.

SPORTING EVENTS

Well done to our students, staff members and parents who have attended and supported the various sporting events. We are very proud of our students for their teamwork, resilience and effort! Please visit the student celebration tab of our newsletter, and our social media pages for photo highlights. 

Please find us on Instagram at: @wembleyps4788

And via our official Facebook Page: Wembley Primary School (link here)