A Warm Welcome to our Weeden Heights Community

Well, it continues to be a very busy time of the year.

School Review

Next Wednesday I will be involved in a pre-review meeting to plan out the school review process. There will be three more days when the core review team will be working in our school; 21 & 29 November with the final date on 6 December. The purpose of a review is to evaluate the four-year Strategic Plan (available on our website) and set direction for the following Strategic Plan with clear goals based on the needs of the school. The team will also be observing students and teachers in the classroom to ensure that what has been stated is happening in practice.

At the end of the review, the reviewer will write a report on the school that will be available to you all via our website. The reviewer will request to speak with parent groups so I am hoping that you will make yourself available to share your thoughts on our amazing school. Students and student leaders are also questioned by sharing their involvement in the school (and celebrating their incredible results ….very proud principal here!).

I am so very proud of our school and its community so I look forward to being a part of the review to showcase our talented students and staff. The future truly is bright at Weeden Heights!

Capital Works Update

It is getting exciting now as we are working towards the deadline of a handover of the administration building at the end of November. I am currently ordering furniture for the new spaces and extra for the classrooms which is fantastic.

As a part of the capital works, there is a technology component to the funding. We have combined this with our annual school budget and some savings to purchase a TV for every classroom. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to share their work that has been created on their BYOD Chromebooks.

I also plan to purchase Virtual Reality Headsets which will bring learning alive! Can you imagine learning about rainforests then walking through one? Incredible! The set is worth $17, 000 and it is a great opportunity to purchase something special and something that not many other primary schools actually have. We have also had an incredible Weeden Heights PS family donate $800 to the school and we will use this for the VR equipment as well. Thank you!

I also plan on establishing a multimedia/TV studio in a space in the library. We already own a greenscreen, camera stands and lighting along with Apple Macs which are fabulous for editing with i-Movie or making a podcast using Garage Band. Our students will also have the capacity to produce more of their learning visually. Along with the IT budget, I hope to add a camera, boom mic and microphones. There might be some money for a sound mixer …. if not, we will save for one. Student will also be able to video and edit with their Chromebooks for their projects, vlogs, podcasts, presentations etc.

As we ‘take back’ the school, extensive work needs to be done on the gardens as they look dishevelled after being ‘unloved’ for over a year. Many thanks to the families who were taking out the spiky plants at the front of the school. We will be replanting with lovely soft plants that are much safer around students. Over the building works, we have revamped the Erol Linke Memorial Garden and the working bee on Sunday assisted in the establishment of a new garden up on the oval near the senior playground equipment (you should have seen the photos on Facebook/Instagram). That will be a previously ‘dead space’ transformed and add to the natural environment of the school. Thanks to all the families that assisted with this on Sunday at the working bee.

Once the administration building opens, the office will move back to their new dedicated space along with the relocation of the staffroom. This will then allow the library to be set back up on the top level (where the office currently is). We are hoping there might be some funds for some new shelves. Cross your fingers as we would love to set the library up with our books. The students have been waiting to borrow!!!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Parents, Helpers and Volunteers in School

Please remember that parents are very welcome in our school. Since lockdown/remote learning, we have noticed that many of our regular supporters have not returned to assist in classrooms. However, I’m confident that parent involvement will change once our capital works project is completed. Parents are amazing supports in classrooms and enhance the learning opportunities for our students. We love having you in the classrooms from prep all the way to year 6!

We also rely on our families to assist in the PFA and on school council. I really hope the Parent Reps are organising some great play dates or dinners for the parents in their class as it does create a ‘great’ community. The staff would love our parents to have greater involvement in events, working bees, excursions, kitchen garden programs etc. Please consider popping in and being a part of your child’s learning program. You can make a huge difference to the student’s learning.

2024 Parent Contributions

The school fees for the upcoming year are currently being finalised and will be available for early next year. We will provide you with notice of the anticipated costs and we are very happy for our families to pay these next year as we usually do. Many parents also take the opportunity to pay before Christmas and get it out of the way. There will be a change to the booklist process this year and more information will follow but we hope this will streamline the process and support our families further.

As you consider the fees for next year, please remember that your contributions allow us to provide the broad range of activities in the curriculum for all students. The students access the materials in the art room, use the PE equipment and uniforms, create experiments, build in STEAM, access the online programs via the licences etc so the curriculum fees really are essential for everyone to pay. We are really fortunate to have our school and staff provided for everyone but schools do need parent fees to be paid to conduct all activities.

Hay fever and Asthma

Just a reminder that grass pollen season is between October and December. During this time there is an increased risk of seasonal asthma, hay fever and epidemic thunderstorm asthma. It’s more important than ever for families to manage any hay fever or asthma symptoms of their children, as these conditions can produce symptoms that are similar to coronavirus (COVID-19) such as runny nose, cough or shortness of breath.

The best way to reduce and prevent symptoms of asthma or hay fever and reduce unnecessary absences from school is to follow an up-to-date asthma action plan or hay fever treatment plan. If your child has a new Asthma Plan then make sure that school has a copy.

Our School Newsletter….Nokuna

We often ask the students if they saw their work in the newsletter and they generally say no which really surprises us. I-Newsletter has allowed us to include a lot more of the visuals which the students love. I place the newsletter in the Google Classroom each fortnight so I encourage you to read the newsletter with your children and celebrate the work from the grades together. It is always important that they know upcoming events as well. Enjoy!

School Magazine

We are currently working on the annual magazine and it is being proofread as we speak. This year the magazine features many visuals which will make an incredible keep sake. I would like to thank Delphine for all of her wonderful work in bringing this together. Thanks to the teachers also who have co-ordinated their classroom page. You will, once again, not be disappointed as the quality is impressive so please make sure that you fill out an order form for your copy. We have printed limited copies so please don’t miss out!

Final reminder

Parent requests for classes in 2024 are due Friday 27 October (tomorrow). Please remember that requests are based on physical, social or emotional considerations for your child only. All students are asked to identify five students that they work best with and this is considered as we construct classes. Each student is guaranteed one person on their list.

Curriculum Day – 6 November and Cup Day - 7 November

Just a reminder about the upcoming pupil free days. The curriculum day on Monday 6 November and there is a public holiday on the following day, Tuesday for the Cup Day public holiday. Students are not required to attend school on either of those days so please make sure you have care for your child on the Monday. Hopefully you might be able to have a long weekend with your family!

That is not possible for government schools so on Monday staff will be involved in professional learning in the area of Assessment and Reporting. Teachers will be busy moderating learning tasks across teams and analysing assessment and data. This day will be invaluable to develop future teaching directions and assessing the needs of individuals.

If you require care for your child on our Curriculum Day then please make a booking with Maria and they can participate in an OSHC program at school for the day. Please book in early as the program will only be offered if there are enough interested parents.

We hope that you and your family are able to get ‘out and about’ to enjoy a long weekend! You all deserve it.

Until next time……

Kylie Campbell

Principal

Futures are Bright at Weeden Heights!

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