Principal's Post
TERM 4: 2025 Week 3-4: reminders and critical messages
Vale Jamie Spinks
We start this fortnight's post with an acknowledgement of the passing of Jamie Spinks, father of Matias in Year 5. Our heartfelt thoughts are with Matias and his family during this very difficult time. On behalf of the Wembley community, we extend our deepest sympathy and support to them all, and I would like to personally thank all that have contributed to the various supports that have been set up.
Principal's Message
Thank you to all families who have communicated any important information in relation to their child and classroom formations for 2026 - we appreciate you adhering to the due date of 10/10/25. The leadership team has now begun the process of reviewing classroom considerations - any critical information relating to your child and this process will be communicated by a member of the leadership team across the coming weeks.
At this time, we also ask that families let us know if you are transferring to another school for 2026- we often have people relocating or transitioning into the Catholic Sector, in readiness for secondary school placements.
We had been about to commence the next stages of our consultation process, in relation to the 1:1 Device Program in preparation for 2026, however the media have today published information relating to some mandatory changes in this space, led by the Victorian Government. We will now pause our own inquiry into this domain, and instead turn to unpacking the changes to Department Policy and how this will influence our practises and structures. Once we have had the opportunity to consider the impact on our current and intended future practises, we will reach out to our Wembley Community on this topic. In connection to this broader topic, the following image displays the Inform and Empower E-Safety learning that your child will engage with this term.
As part of our ongoing commitment to improving student safety and wellbeing, the Year 5 students participated in the StandUp Projectthis week - an exciting project that will see them take on the role of teacher and use their voice to share what they learn about concepts such as: the Bystander Effect, understanding the drivers behind poor behaviours and how to target and improve them.
Katie McClue - Acting Principal
Critical Messages
Workforce Planning and 2026 Classroom Structures: we are well and truly in the throws of determining our staffing structures for next year. These will be discussed at the next School Council, and shared subsequently with our wider community. This communication will also indicate our projected enrolments, and thus overall number of classes and structures.
In preparation for End of Semester Reports, teachers will engage in an extensive data analysis and moderation process that extends throughout the term. Part of this will see our Teaching Teams collaborate via a Professional Practise Day - meaning that their class will be run by a CRT on this day. We have listed all PPDs below, so that you can liaise with your child's classroom teacher ahead of time, should your child need additional support on this day.
| Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 |
|---|---|---|
Monday - Year 2 Wednesday - Year 1 Thursday - Year 3 | Wednesday - Prep Thursday - Year 4 | Monday - Year 5 Thursday - Year 6 |
Anyone is welcome to attend School Council as a visitor, as long as you have indicated your intention before the start of the meeting. Visitors may be asked to step out whilst confidential matters are being discussed, and of course visitors do not hold voting rights.
Thank you to parent, Cesar Salmeron, who assisted the school by taking a suite of updated images, in preparation for our intended works on the school website - these will complement the images taken by our volunteer parent, Joanne Manariti earlier this year. We are aiming to have redeveloped our website by the end of this school year.
Fete Update: The WPA are asking all parents to engage with any communication that might come from their class' Parent Rep! In particular, they are seeking parent volunteers for their class' stall - these are done in shifts and of course the more people available, the shorter the shifts can become!
An ongoing thanks to our WPA for their efforts towards our Fete in Week 7 - in partnership with our music teachers, Alison Briskey and Gina Tan!
2026 Prep Transition: This Friday marks the start of our Prep Transition processes - if you see small groups of young visitors on our school grounds, then they are likely our new students!
World Teacher's Day: Friday 31st October. Please share a word of appreciation for your child's classroom teacher - I know that your kind feedback goes a very (very) long way. A card! An email! A note in person! Anything goes!
Sentral Communication: We have started to trial uploading signficant pieces of communication to your Sentral Parental Portal. We have commenced doing this with new pieces of communication - an example of this would be:
- Prep -2 Mini Athletics
- Year 5 StandUp Project
Where you see events listed in the fortnightly summary (below), please start to get into the habit of navigating to your parent portal > select your child's name > select 'School Resources' > Open relevant folder
This is a new process, aiming to improve your access to information - hoping to minimise the need for you to 'scroll back' through Sentral emails. We do ask for your patience, whilst this process becomes second nature to our staff.
Key Events (Week 3-4)
| WEEK 3: |
|---|
Multiple Days: Prep Transition - Small Group Sessions W - Th - Fr (9:15 - 11:00)
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Tuesday: Regional Athletics
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Tuesday: P-2 Responsible Pet Program Incursion Prep- Session 2 (10:00-10:40am) Year 1- Session 3 (12:10-12:50pm) Year 2- Session 4 (1:00-1:40pm)
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Wednesday: Prep-2 Mini Aths
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Thursday - Friday: Year 4 Ferngully Camp
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| Thursday: Stand Up Project Teacher Info Session (Year 5) |
| WEEK 4: |
|---|
Multiple Days: Prep Transition - Small Group Sessions W - Th - Fr (9:15 - 11:00)
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Monday: Year 6 and Captaincy Photos
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Tuesday: Year 3/4 Zoo Excursion
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Tuesday: Hoop Time comp
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Wednesday - Friday: Year 5 Camp Kangaroobie
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