Welcome to Term 4! I hope you all had a wonderful break. It was lovely to hear about many different adventures students had over the break, some enjoyed time at home and I also understand for some families school holidays mean juggling work and care for children. It is important to take some time out to recharge and slow down, I know our wonderful team here at WEPS are feeling recharged and energised for the term ahead.

I am pleased to report we had the inside of the stadium walls (half wall) repainted over the break, as well as external window cleaning (stadium windows). We take great pride in the indoor and outdoor aesthetics of our school and this hasn’t gone unnoticed after receiving some community feedback earlier this week.

"I am writing to express my admiration for the outstanding presentation of your school grounds. As a former student of WEPS from 30 years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Warrnambool over the weekend and took the opportunity to walk around the school. I was deeply impressed by the beauty and care evident in the grounds and facilities.

I was a student back in the day who used to play in the bushes at the back of the school that ran along the railway line, and it sure did bring back some memories. The development and maintenance that have taken place over the past three decades are truly commendable. As a teacher myself, I found it heartening to see such a well-maintained and inspiring environment for the students of WEPS. It brought a genuine smile to my face knowing that today’s students are fortunate enough to learn in such an attractive and welcoming setting.

Please extend my sincere appreciation to your grounds and maintenance team for their hard work and dedication in keeping the school in such impeccable condition".

We are extremely fortunate and grateful to have Jimmy Boxer take care of our school grounds each day for everyone to enjoy. It is always lovely to see families enjoy our school grounds on weekends and school holidays for picnics and play dates.

This term we welcome 2 new teachers to our team. Ms Melody McKelvie will be teaching grade 1H and Mrs Maddi Rivett teaching grade 5A – both teachers have had a warm welcome from both students and parents. Thank you.

To strengthen connection across the school and with our families, we are trialling weekly assemblies this term. We would love as many parents to come along each Thursday for a 2.50pm start. If your child’s class is presenting or your child is receiving a merit award, you will be contacted by your classroom teacher.

On Monday we are looking forward to having a ‘learning celebration’ with parents/carers from 3.30-4.30pm. Please come into the classroom with your child/children so they can take you on a journey about their learning so far and what they are working on for the rest of the year. If you have more than one child at WEPS, please move to each classroom during this time.

Parent Opinion Survey

I would like to thank the 155 families (out of 342) for completing the parent opinion survey. We didn’t quite make our 50% goal but were not too far off at 45% (we will get better next year). This is a record completion rate providing us with reliable feedback which we will share with you at our annual parent forum on Monday 18th November (6.30-8pm). Thank you again for taking the time to provide your feedback, it is important we understand parent perspective so that we can continue to improve our work with you and your children who are very important to us.

Colour Run – Friday 29th November 12-3pm

We are excited to share plans for our biggest fundraiser for the year and end of year celebration – The Colour Run on Friday 29th November (12-3pm).

We are respectful of all cultures at WEPS and understand the concept of throwing coloured powder is a part of the Hindu festival known as Holi. Our goal is to educate our students on respecting and understanding all cultures (age appropriate) by integrating learning into Humanities lessons – foundation to year 6. By doing so, we will ensure Holi is appropriately acknowledged and known as the central inspiration for the Colour Run. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need further clarify.

Class requests for 2025

A reminder we are beginning class planning for 2025. If you know that you are moving and your children will no longer be attending WEPS, please let our office know as soon as possible. We run a rigorous class allocation process, if you have any requests for classes in 2025 please email them to marina.milich@education.vic.gov.au from Monday 7th October and no later than Friday 18th October. We will consider your request in our planning, however not all requests may be honoured. If you need to make a time to speak with myself or Ann Dwyer to provide more detail, please make a time through the office for early Term 4.

Flying Start program

Our annual Flying Start program begins next week. We are looking forward to having Foundation 2025 join us and begin their journey at WEPS.

Safety

Please remember to follow parking and road safety rules at all times. We have had reports of students running down the driveway to the school opposite the fish and chip shop, off Nicholson Street. Please keep yourself safe by using the footpath. We have seen cars drive in there to drop off/pickup their child/ren. This is a no standing area with one assigned disability park. Please remember safety at all times.

I will be taking a couple of weeks long service leave from Monday 21st October until Friday 8th November. Mrs Ann Dwyer – Assistant Principal, will be stepping into the principal role during my absence.

Thank you for such a positive start to the term, please remember to always reach out if you have any questions or want to raise a concern. We are always here to listen and work with you to make the best plan going forward.

Celebration of Learning