Principal's Report

Week 5  - Halfway through the Term already ! This week, I attended the first day of the Thomastown West Primary School Review. It is a privilege to be invited as a Challenge Partner to this school review by Principal Ms Sandi Young. Just like when we have our school review in Term 2, part of the review panel was to have two Principals from other schools come along as Challenge Partners. Over the next few weeks, I will attend another two days of 'fieldwork', which is essentially a range of observations at the school, as well as a final panel day, where the panel will support the Principal in setting their next 4 year School Strategic Plan (SSP). While this is a significant time commitment, and I do not like being out of our school, I consider this experience an excellent learning opportunity. I know there will be many things about the review process, especially 'digging' into the school data sets, that will benefit us when we begin our review early in Term 2. 

Clean Up - WPS  Day! 

Today, we conducted our own WPS Clean-Up Day. Showing our commitment to our school expectation of RESPECT OUR SCHOOL, all classes participated in this activity by 'adopting' an area of the school to ensure it was rubbish-free. This Sunday, 2nd March, is the official Clean Up Australia Day. This commenced 35 years ago and focuses on improving and conserving our environment, one piece of rubbish at a time! This was started thirty-five years ago by Ian Kiernan, AO, who had a simple idea to make a difference. This has become the nation's largest community-based environmental event. This day is held annually on the first Sunday in March. Since starting, over 22 million Aussies have stepped up over the years, pulled on their gloves and donated their time to improve the environment. WPS is very proud to be part of this. 

Area Principal Forum 

On Thursday, Mr Kirkright and my left attended the Area Principal Forum. At the start of the day, international data was shared, showing that trend data was for Australia, particularly Victoria, which is trending upward. This is very pleasing as it shows that all the efforts are starting to make a positive impact. Most of the day was spent looking at the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model  2.0, which has recently been updated.   The Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 (VTLM 2.0) is an updated framework developed by the Victorian Department of Education to enhance teaching and learning practices across government schools. This revision emphasizes explicit teaching methods and integrates contemporary research on effective education strategies. The VTLM 2.0 also aligns with existing frameworks like the Positive Classroom Management Strategies (PCMS) to promote student well-being and effective classroom management. All Victorian government schools are expected to integrate VTLM 2.0 into their teaching and learning programs, with full implementation aiming to start the 2028 school year. This model represents a significant shift towards evidence-based practices, with explicit instruction at its core, to enhance student learning outcomes across Victoria. Thank you to Mr Pain, who stepped into the Acting Principal role when we attended this day.

Staffing Update

On behalf of the WPS school community, I congratulate Ms Rebecca Cameron  (Ms Bec) for being appointed to an Education Support role at Whittlesea Secondary College.  Having Ms Bec down at the Secondary College will be a welcoming, familiar face when many of our students commence Year 7.

Enjoy your weekends.