Principal Report

Another fortnight has been and gone with lots of highlights at Whitehorse Primary School including Freezer Angels, Sushi Day, Tennis Clinics, Winter Interschool Sports, Responsible Pet Incursion and Fire Education for Foundation student, Buddies and our Familiarisation Session (Music) for 2027 Enrolments. I hope you enjoy reading about all the wonderful learning opportunities and experiences your children have had this term in this edition of our newsletter.

National Reconciliation Week

Just one of the things I love so much about our school is the way our team gets together to support community events and Reconciliation Week was a perfect example of this!

On Friday June 5 students were welcomed to school with a hot chocolate and a piece of saltbush soda bread. This was a lovely way to start the day, especially for those students who had just burnt some energy in the morning Run Club! Yarning sticks were also made by our students to be used in Yarning Circles in the classroom.

In Reconciliation Week we recognised and celebrated the histories, cultures, and contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and learnt about how we can build respectful relationships and a more inclusive Australia. I was so proud to hear students from Foundation to Year 6 sharing their work and learning in Reconciliation Week and loved the Sea of Hands Display that greeted us as we entered the gym. Check it out if you haven’t already!

Coming up..

The term is coming to an end but not before lots of learning and excitement for our students and school community!

Winter Solstice Community Event

A reminder that our Winter Solstice Celebration will be held this Saturday, 20 June, from 4:30pm - 7:30pm on our school oval. Families, friends and community members are warmly invited to enjoy an evening of food trucks, live folk music and festive activities. Please bring your own camping-style chairs so you can relax and enjoy the fun!

At 6:00pm, we will hold our Parade of Lights, with families encouraged to bring battery or solar-powered lights. As a family-supervised event outside school hours, parents and carers are responsible for the supervision of their children throughout the evening. We look forward to celebrating with you!

Planning Week

Next week is our Planning Week, where each team of teachers will have a dedicated day for collaboration and forward planning. Teams will work together to complete ‘big picture planning’ for next term including overviews and outlines for Literacy, Numeracy and Specialist Areas. Key dates will also be confirmed within teams and our Whitehorse Community Calendar for Term 3 will be shared with families on Compass by the end of next week. On year level Planning Days, students will be taught by specialist teachers either in their specialist subject or in their usual classroom. Our Planning Week will also be supported by some regular Casual Relief Teachers.

Foundation and 1/2 Planning Day - Monday

3/4 Planning Day - Tuesday

5/6 Planning Day - Wednesday

Specialist Planning Days - Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

Welcome Bruna

Welcome to Bruna from Monash University who will begin at Whitehorse Primary School on Monday 13 July. Bruna will support students through counseling sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays and is very excited to join our school community for the semester.

Feedback for Foundation Families

A reminder to our Foundation families to join our Leadership Team on Friday 19 June at 9:00am in the school Kitchen for a coffee and biscuit as we celebrate and reflect on your child’s first semester of primary school. This informal feedback session provides an opportunity to share your experiences of the transition to school, including communication, wellbeing, learning and community connections. Your feedback will help us continue to strengthen our approach at Whitehorse Primary School and inform the development of our 2027 Transition Program.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Reports

Semester reports will be released on Compass on Wednesday 24 June.

A reminder that following this semester’s Industrial Action, the Department has agreed that members will not be required to complete written comments on student reports for parents in Term 2, 2026

This means that families will not receive a written comment on their report for their children this semester. You will still be able to see their progression point (which relates to at, below or above the expected standard), skill statements and subject overviews. Families will not receive skill statements for Specialist areas but will receive the subject overview and progression points for each area - Performing Arts, Visual Arts, STEM, Physical Education and Chinese. This was first communicated to families via Compass in May.

Although there will not be written comments on this semesters’ reports, as a school we believe that the reports that families will receive provide detailed information on student progress and learning. Teachers will be available to provide any additional information or answer any questions you may have about student learning as needed.

A reminder if you have any feedback about how we can continually improve to please email us at: whitehorse.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Have a fantastic end to the term everyone and a relaxing and safe break once the holidays arrive! I have loved being Acting Principal over the past 13 school weeks and look forward to welcoming Andrew back from Long Service Leave next term. Thank you for all your ongoing kindness and support.

Megan Goldenberg

Acting Principal

Whitehorse Family Network