A Word from the Principal 

A Warm Welcome to our Weeden Heights Community

A warm welcome to our community this week……

I hope that everyone is staying warm and have taken the opportunity to celebrate your child’s successes through the individual student reports and the student led conferences.   

Capital Works Update

The building works continue to move forward and it is wonderful to see that we now have a frame and roof over the administration area.  Last week I was able to walk through and take a look at my future office and the layout of the rest of the administration block.  The outdoor classroom is also taking shape and should look amazing ready for the school year in 2024. 

We are looking forward to seeing some more finished spaces soon as there have been hold ups with trades due to the extensive removal of asbestos.  The builders have reported that it is all back on track now and moving forward towards the contractual timeline.  We are also at the stage of beginning to think about furniture to fit into the new spaces which is exciting. 

Hopefully you have been keeping up with the photo updates on Facebook and Instagram. 

Assessment and Reporting

This year term 3  is a busy time for student assessment.  NAPLAN results were released to families in week 2, reports went out in week 3 and student led conferences have been in week 4. 

NAPLAN

Individual NAPLAN results were sent home with students in Years 3 and 5.  As usual the NAPLAN results for Weeden Heights has continued to be very high and this is directly linked to the high-quality teaching and learning programs that operate across the school.  Our rich experiences and opportunities all add to the growth and development of the ‘whole child’.  The writing results for our year 3 and 5 students were definitely impressive with 100% of the students achieving strong or exceeding (at or above the expected level).  This is an area that we have been focussing on as a school so our efforts are paying off! Please click below for our school results:

We are always proud of our students and their achievements because they give the best that they can do.  Congratulations to our year 3 and 5 students.  Well done to our students for their terrific scores and to all the teachers and staff at WHPS.  We should all be very proud of our students, our staff and school for these exceptional results. 

Individual Student Reports & Student Led Conferences

Everyone should have received their child(ren)’s reports last week via email.  Hopefully you have taken the time to read them thoroughly and use them as a point of discussion in the student led conferences.  I always have the privilege of reading the whole school’s reports before they go home and it is a positive experience to read about all of the progress.  Well done to all of our students who continue to set goals and stretch their learning. I love it!

The student led conferences is an excellent vehicle for students to demonstrate their ‘voice’ in their learning. This is also another opportunity to speak formally and  publicly with regard to what they have learnt and the evidence they have to demonstrate their new understandings. 

100 Days at School!

This week our foundation year level achieved a significant milestone.  Congratulations to our Prep students who have now been attending school for 100 days! That is a big achievement. The feature of the day was the preps and Mrs Michalski dressing up as if they were 100 years old.  They celebrated with many special literacy and numeracy activities so well-done Preps!  Parents should be very proud of these wonderful young people for what they have achieved so far in their schooling.  Please make sure you take a look at the photos on Facebook.

Book Week

Book Week is coming soon so it is time to start thinking of some great costumes for your children to wear in the parade.   They will also have some definite ideas! I love how nearly everyone gets dressed up at Weeden Heights.  We certainly enjoy our dress up days!

Reminder about Personal Items bought to School

The Department of Education (DE) does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools. Anything that students or staff choose to bring to school is at their own risk.  Principals have been requested to remind students and parents/guardians of this and to discourage parents/students from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school. Please try and avoid bringing these items as it can be most upsetting for all concerned if items go missing or are damaged.

Workforce Planning

Preparations for 2024 have already started.  It is that time of the year when I begin to work out staffing and budgeting for the next year.  I do need your support so that the leadership team and myself can make the best decisions for the school.

If you intend leaving Weeden Heights and your children will be starting at another school next year, can you please let me know, in writing, so that we can make the necessary adjustments to our calculations.  If you also have a pre schooler starting school and you have not enrolled, then please do so asap so that they are considered in the plan.   Please do not leave it to the last minute as it does have a profound effect on the proposed budget.   Having accurate student enrolments is critical in establishing a sound budget.

Thank you to all of the parents who have returned the parent survey as a part of the school reveiw.  I really value your feedback and it does assist me greatly to set the direction for the next four years.  I will include some of the amazing comments in future newsletter.  Take a look at the school review tab for what parents love about our school!

Until next time……

Kylie Campbell

Principal

Futures are Bright at Weeden Heights!