From the Principal
Elissa Campbell
Dear Families
We are racing towards the end of Term 4, but have not slowed down the pace yet, which has been evident from events like our Foundation and Year 1-3 performances over the last two weeks. Mr Bromley has worked hard to prepare all our students for their performances and we have had a fantastic turn out from our families, who witnessed the musical talents of their children. Last Monday it was great to see our Foundation students and their families share in an interactive musical and dance session. Last night we were fortunate to be able to welcome our Year 1-3 families to our outdoor performance. The weather was kind (if not a little sunny) and the students entertained us with their percussive performance. These experiences would not be possible for our students without the talents and energy of Mr Joseph Bromley who has been supported by our fantastic staff to ensure the performances ran as smoothly as possible. We are looking forward to the final performance from our Year 4-6 students next Wednesday afternoon.
Year 5 Leadership
Last Wednesday I was very proud of the large group of Year 5 students who have bravely applied for the role of School Captain for 2026, they delivered speeches to a cohort of their peers in Year 3-5. These students have been working closely with their teachers to prepare for this process over the last few months. The speeches included personal touches and were designed to persuade their teachers and peers to vote for them. This process will continue over the remainder of the term with the new leaders being announced at our final assembly for the year. We wish them all the best throughout this process and remind them that while not all of them will be the successful candidate this time, they should be proud of the way they presented themselves and we hope they continue to utilise the leadership skills they have developed over their time at Woodend Primary School.
Foundation 2026 Transition
On Tuesday morning it was lovely to welcome nearly all of our Foundation 2026 students for their first transition session. Next year we have several existing families who have younger children starting at Woodend PS but we also have several new families joining our community. We look forward to helping them to become part of our Woodend PS family.
School preparations for the bushfire season
Each year, we undertake a range of activities to ensure the safety of our school and to prepare for bushfires and grassfires.
An important part of this process is communicating to parents what will happen when certain fire danger ratings are issued to help ensure the safety of students and staff.
Our school has been identified as being at risk of bushfire or grassfire and is a Category 3 school.
Our school will close on a day forecasted as Catastrophic fire danger rating in Central fire district.
Closure of the school due to a Catastrophic fire danger rating will be enacted when the Bureau of Meteorology forecast and related public safety messaging are confirmed. Due to uncertainties in the forecast, the timing of this confirmation may vary. Information regarding potential or confirmed Catastrophic fire danger days will be communicated to you by email and Compass.
It is also important to be aware that:
No one will be on-site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Catastrophic day.
Out-of-school-hours care will also be cancelled on these days.
All bus routes that travel through the Catastrophic area will be cancelled.
School camps will be cancelled if a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast for fire weather district in which the camp is located, or if the travel involves passing through areas that have Catastrophic fire danger.
As part of preparing our school for the fire season, we have updated and completed our Emergency Management Plan and reprioritised any maintenance works that may assist in preparing for the threat of fire and cleared our facility’s grounds and gutters.
What can families and the school community do to help us prepare?
Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers.
Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters, checking our website (www.woodend.vic.edu.au), by talking to your child’s teacher or any other member of the teaching staff about our emergency management plan.
Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements if our school is closed due to Catastrophic fire danger. Further information can be found on the CFA’s website.
Action your family’s bushfire survival plan if your own triggers are met. Our school community may be spread out across many areas and some families may be at higher risk than others. Your family’s safety is critical, so please let us know if you are actioning your bushfire survival plan and if your children will be absent on these days.
If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan.
Families are encouraged to action their Bushfire Survival Plan on Catastrophic fire danger rating days in their district. The safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Catastrophic day. On such days, children should never be left at home alone or in the care of older children.
You can find more information on emergencies, warnings and preparedness actions here:
VicEmergency app – that can be downloaded on your android and iOS mobile devices
VicEmergency Hotline (1800 226 226)
Website https://emergency.vic.gov.au
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vicemergency)
Twitter (https://twitter.com/vicemergency)
ABC local radio, Sky News and other emergency broadcasters
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the department’s policy?
The Department of Education annually assesses the fire risk of all schools and early childhood services with the support of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). They are allocated a category of risk (categories 0 to 6). Schools and services that are Categories 0-3 are published on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR). Schools at some risk of bushfire and grassfire are published on the Category 4 List.
The department’s Bushfire and Grassfire Preparedness Policy requires all schools and early childhood services on the BARR and the Category 4 List to close when a Catastrophic fire danger rating day is forecast in their fire weather district. All school bus routes which travel in or through a district with Catastrophic fire danger must also be cancelled.
The policy also requires that schools at the highest risk of bushfire (those in Categories 0, 1 and 2 of the Bushfire At-Risk Register) enact pre-emptive action plans based on the fire danger forecast for their Local Government Area (LGA).
Who issues fire danger forecasts?
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) provides public fire danger rating forecasts each day of the fire danger period using fire weather district areas. In Victoria, there are 9 fire weather districts, which are based on Local Government Area boundaries.
The department uses these forecasts when supporting schools to enact their pre-emptive bushfire actions plans.
We continue to run various evacuation drills through the year, generally one each term to ensure that our students are familiar with emergency procedures in the event of a required evacuation.
Principal
Elissa Campbell