Principal's Message 

Julie Crawford 

And just like that our year has come to an end and it is our last newsletter! The end of the school year is always such a bittersweet time. It’s a moment to reflect on everything we’ve accomplished together, and there’s so much to be proud of.  But it’s also a time for goodbyes.

Last week, our students had the chance to meet their new class and teacher for 2025, which is always an exciting moment. But for many of our WPPS families, it also marks the end of the primary school journey. For some, it’s the end of an era.

We had the privilege last week of celebrating our Year Six students with a wonderful Graduation ceremony at Discovery Church in Mt Evelyn. It was with immense pride that we celebrated the growth, connections and uniqueness of our Class of 2024.  We wish them all the very best as they begin their secondary school adventure, confident that they have the skills and dispositions to make a difference and achieve great things. 

This week we will bid farewell to families who have been part of our school community for many years—some more recent, others who’ve been with us for quite some time. We’re saying goodbye to students and families moving on to new places and new adventures, and we want to thank each and every one of you for your contributions to WPPS. Our school community is richer because of you.

Sadly, we are also farewelling much-loved staff who are heading to a variety of new adventures.  Our beloved Mrs Barnden is retiring after 16 years at WPPS, nurturing and inspiring our prep students and setting them up for a successful journey through primary school and life. Mrs. Barnden, you leave a wonderful legacy after a career dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our youngest students. You will be fondly remembered and greatly missed. With our best wishes for this next exciting phase of your life.  

We also farewell our much-loved Cindy Norman, Sharmini Philp and Rachel Barnes who are all taking a year’s leave. We are so grateful for the passion, dedication, commitment and leadership Cindy, Sharmini and Rachel have shown in their years at WPPS.  We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for everything they have contributed to Wonga Park. They have nurtured and inspired the students in their care, partnered with and supported families and worked closely with colleagues on our school improvement journey. We wish them well on their year's leave. We will miss you!

We also farewell Anthea Sampson as one of our teaching staff but will hopefully stil see  her in a CRT role next year while she begins further studies and we also farewell ES staff member Jess Crea who is taking up a canteen manager position. Wishing you all the best in your new roles.  

Staff Structure 2025 

We are pleased to announce the staff structure for 2025. We welcome new and returning teachers who are all very excited to be joining our amazing Wonga Park team. We welcome, Holly O’Brien (Grade 2), Keely Brindley (Grade 6), Liz Penny (Grade 3), Allison McLaren-Brilli (Mon-Wed, Grade 4), Michael O’Dwyer (PE) and we welcome back Mel Lambden from family leave (Grade 4). We also welcome new ES staff  Dinesh Warnakulasuriya and Liz Lilburn.

We look forward to a great year of teaching and learning in our 130th year at WPPS!

Leadership Team

Principal – Julie Crawford

Assistant Principal – Adele Brice

Learning Specialist – Terri Gioia

Administration

Business Manager – Kerry Davenport

Office Administration – Lesley Grimley

PA (2 days) – Lauren Goodwin

Classroom Teachers

Prep Grade

Prep A – Elle Powell (Team Leader)

Prep B – Jocelyn Hollyman

Prep C – Anita Beever

Grade 1/2 

Grade 1A – Emma Broadhurst (Mon - Wed) / Bek Reynolds (Wed - Fri)

Grade 1B - Natasha Tymensen (Team Leader)

Grade 1C – Emily Leydin

Grade 2A – Holly O’Brien

Grade 2B – Natalia Dimitriou

Grade 2C – Clare Collins

Grade 3/4 

Grade 3A – Liz Penny

Grade 3B – Jenny Barr

Grade 3/4C – Kylie Sledge (Team Leader) 

Grade 4A – Allison McLaren-Brilli (Mon – Wed) / Mel Lambden (Wed – Fri)

Grade 4B – Sean Holland

Grade 5/6 

Grade 5A – Jade Lethbridge (0.4) / Lauren Goodwin (0.6) 

Grade 5B – Miranda Radtke 

Grade 5C – Ben White

Grade 6A – Nina Gridchin (Team Leader)

Grade 6B –Keely Bindley

Grade 6C – Jonah Read

Specialist Programs

Intervention/TLI -  Bridie Archer (0.6)

Art – Kristy Salsibury 

Performing Arts / Marrung Leader  - Tim Phillips 

STEM – Katherine McGreevy, Nathan Percy

PE – Michael O’Dwyer 

Sensory Gym (Prep) - Katherine McGreevy

AUSLAN – Nathan Percy

Education Support Staff

Julie Evans

Wendy Alison

Georgette Hosking

Elli Grasso

Dani Collins

Julie Castieau

Elizabeth Lilburn

Dinesh Warnakulasuriya

Wellbeing Support

Student Counsellor –Clare McInerney-Harris (3 days)

Student Wellbeing Support - Laura Kennedy (2 days)

School Psychologist  (2 days) – Louis Alipasinopoulos

2024 Student Leaders - Thank You

Thank you to our outgoing 2024 school leaders for the outstanding job they have done this year.  

School Captains – Will M, Indi L, Isaiah P and Mischa G

Prep Ambassadors – Charli R, Jacob C-L

Grade 1/2 Ambassadors – Mitch D, Ellen S

Grade 3/4 Ambassadors – Isla W, Caleb K

Grade 5/6 Ambassadors – Abby T, Georgia C

You have been great role models and have run our school assemblies so capably throughout the year.  You have also been a great support to levels across the school and shared highlights of school events in the newsletter.  Thank you for inspiring our newly elected student leaders to follow in your footsteps!

New Daily Structure for 2025

After reviewing our current daily structure, we have made some small changes to our daily structure for 2025. These include a change to -

• drop-off time in the morning will be 8:40 - 8:50.  Before school supervision will begin at 8:40am.  The TheirCare program offers a before school care program for students before this time.
• the 'Golden Ten' (8:50am to 9:00am) will now now be our 'Classroom Connection' time.  It is important that all students arrive by 8:50am so that they can be part of setting themselves up for the day and connecting with their teacher and peers.  As it is an important time for teachers to be able to focus on greeting and checking in with students, parents are asked to send an email to the school if they wish to pass on a message or communicate with the teacher
• the brain break time at 10:00am has been shortened to enable lunch eating time at 12:40pm to be extended to a 15 minute break
• Dismissal at the end of the day for all students will be 3:30pm. After school supervision for pick-up of all students is 3:30pm - 3:40pm.  

School Session Times – 2025

8:40 – Student Drop Off – (Before school supervision 8:40am - 8:50am)

8:50 – Classroom Connection time

9:00 – Session 1

10:00 – Brain Break 

10:05 – Session 2

11:05 – Recess

11:40 – Session 3

12:40 – Lunch Eating Time 

12:55 – Session 4

1:55 – Lunch Play

2:30 – Session 5

3:30 – 3:40 Student Pick-Up – (After-school supervision 3:30pm - 3:40pm)

2025 Leadership Position

Congratulations to our 2025 Student Leaders. We look forward to seeing you shine as our leaders next year! 

2025 Start of School Year and Curriculum Days

The Department of Education (DET) mandates that all schools use the first day of the school year as a Curriculum Day for teacher planning and preparation. The first Curriculum Day for 2025 is therefore on Tuesday 28th January. School Council has also endorsed a second Curriculum Day on Wednesday 29th January when staff will be planning in their level teams.

All Grade One to Six students will have their first day of school on Thursday 30th January. Our Prep students will attend a book drop off session on Thursday 30th January at a selected time.  Preps will begin school on Friday, 31st January for a half day with a sausage sizzle lunch for preps, buddies and prep parents starting at 12:30pm. Full days for preps begin on Monday, February 3rd. Prep students will have the first 6 Wednesdays in Term 1  off school as a rest day and for their scheduled 1:1 assessments. 

Thank You

As the year comes to an end I would like to thank all of the people who help make WPPS such a wonderful learning community.  

A special heartfelt thank you goes to the members of our leadership team who work tirelessly to make Wonga Park such a special place to learn and grow. Adele Brice, Terri Gioia and Rachel Barnes are truly exceptional leaders supporting our teachers, ES staff, students and parents every day.  From daily organisation, communication, inclusion, curriculum and wellbeing, the scope is enormous and sometimes complex and no day is ever the same! Their commitment, dedication, compassion, vision and care is highly valued and greatly appreciated.

To our exceptional WPPS staff- you are truly amazing, always going the extra mile to put students at the centre of everything we do and ensuring that they have so many wonderful opportunities for our young people to grow and shine.  Every day is busy at WPPS but these last few weeks of the year have been so jam packed with events.  Without the exceptional teachers, ES staff and parent support, all of these things would not have been possible.  The Grade 5/6 camp to Kangaroobie saw our senior students enjoy 5 days of surfing, beach and challenge activities, farm experiences and  a cultural walk. The next week saw our huge community Carols event followed by the Grade 2 students enjoy their first 'day camp' experience at Mt Evelyn YMCA Camp and then the three day camp for our Grade 4s at the same venue.  Bush walking, archery, the crate climb were just some of their favourite activities. And then there was a Christmas Buddy Picnic, a whole school Silent Disco and the Grade 6 Big Day Out at Gumbya Park to top off the list of exciting end-of-year events.  We are so fortunate to have staff and parents willingly give their time to ensure these amazing opportunities for our students can happen!

Thank you to Lesley and Kerry for all their wonderful work in the office, keeping our school operations running so smoothly and looking after our students, families and visitors. To Julie E we thank you for looking after our students needing first aid and for running our pop-up canteen days. To our Their Care staff we thank you for providing such a great service for students and families and a special thank you to Briar and Cathy for keeping our students safe on the school crossings. We are also so so grateful to our technician Izzy who looks after our ICT so capably and thank Russ and Peter for keeping our school grounds and buildings safe and attractive.

As we reflect on the year, there is so much to feel proud of at WPPS. We often talk about how our school community feels like one big family, and that’s something we should all take pride in. The sense of connection and belonging is strong, and it will only continue to grow in 2025.

As Principal, I feel incredibly fortunate to lead such a dedicated, compassionate staff, and to be part of a community where support, kindness, and collaboration are valued. Thank you to our wonderful families - your active involvement makes our school a better place and helps our amazing WPPS community to thrive. I am also incredibly proud of our 443 exceptional students who bring enthusiasm, kindness, curiosity, and joy to school each day. Thank you for constantly inspiring us with your willingness to step outside your comfort zone and use your initiative, creativity, and determination to learn and grow.  

Here’s to a bright year ahead as we continue to grow, connect, and thrive as a community in our 130th year!

Wishing everyone a safe and joyful Christmas and holiday break with your family and friends. I look forward to seeing you in 2025.

Julie