A Warm Welcome to our Weeden Heights Community

Well, it is not long now until the end of the term and there is still so much to do! I’m sure that you are all feeling it at home as well. The capital works has nearly finished and we are well into organising ‘everything’ for next year.

School Review

We have now completed the first official day of the school review and about to head into the second day next Wednesday. I would really appreciate if you could spend a moment to come and speak with the reviewer in Cooinda (our kitchen) and share your thoughts about your school. The review in the next day will speak further to students, observe teachers teaching, observe teams planning as PLC’s and speak with staff and parents.

It is an absolute honour to lead this school and I feel extremely validated in our vision and core work by the panel. A huge thank you to Aisha, Tiasha, Stephanie and Alicia who welcomed the review team and well done to the school captains and ambassadors who presented on their experiences at Weeden Heights over the past seven years. The student groups spoke articulately to the panel and provided great insight into the learning and wellbeing that is evident at Weeden Heights PS. A special thanks to Scarlett, Aisha, Leo M, Olivia P, Alex Z, Tiasha, Stephanie, Oliver, Leela, Seb and Chaw who participated in the student groups. You are incredible!

The students have had the opportunity to have their say and I was able to capture this in a video that I presented to the panel. I would love to have included everyone but the video sent the key messages to the panel. Please take a look at some honest and impromptu perspectives on why our students love their school.

Capital Works

The capital works project is beginning to come to a close. I really hope eveyone has been following the progress on Facebook/Instagram as I have been posting photos. We are looking forward to moving down from the library to the new space. As the office leaves the library, the corridors and library will be repainted. The corridors will also get new carpet as well. It is looking incredible and the outdoor learning classroom is an impressive space. If it is possible we might use the new space for the Christmas Concert.

Goodbye Maria!

As I am planning for next year, we will be saying a sad farewell to Maria who works in our OSHC program and in our classrooms as an aide. Maria has co-ordinated the program for the last 5 years and has also worked in the classrooms for the past 2 years. Maria is choosing to take a break and will eventually move onto a different type of job. She has loved working at our school and will especially miss the strong connections that she has clearly established with our families here at Weeden Heights PS.

I would like to thank Maria very much for all of her hard work, commitment and dedication to our valued programs. Maria did exceptionally well last year to take the OSHC program through accreditation and achieve an improved service rating. Amazing! I know I will miss Maria and thank her sincerely for her support and particular over the lockdown periods where we were at school every day. Thanks Maria and we wish you all the very best in the future with your new career.

On another note, I do welcome as the new co-ordinator to the OSHC program, Vireak Chhoeung. Vireak comes with extensive experience in co-ordinating OSHC programs. He stood out as an innovative and enthusiastic educator/co-ordinator who is passionate about delivering a quality program for our students. He has a kind and caring nature so I believe we will absolutely welcome him to his new role and our school.

Vireak will be working in our program along side Maria over the next few weeks. This will give him the opportunity to learn about the process and environment in the hall while of course, getting to know our amazing students. Welcome Vireak!

Staying safe from mosquitoes

After floods and heavy rainfall, mosquitoes can grow and spread in the pools of water left behind.

While the overall risk is low, some mosquitoes carry diseases that are spread through mosquito bites. Mosquitoes are more active at dusk and dawn, but some will also bite during the day.

The best way to prevent mosquito-borne diseases is to avoid mosquito bites.

Families can protect against mosquito bites by:

covering up as much as possible with long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing
applying insect repellent that contains picaridin or DET on exposed skin when leaving home
limiting outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are active.

Further information

Better Health Channel information about preventing mosquito-borne diseases
A handy checklist for at home to help reduce mosquito breeding sites
Department of Health safety advice for flood-affected areas in a range of languages.

Prep Information Night

Thank you to those community members who attended our Prep

information night. It was terrific to welcome fresh faces to our wonderful community. Tiasha and Scarlett, our school captains, shared their school experiences and spoke amazingly about our school. Thank you, captains! Our School Council President, Gavin Hodgins, encouraged involvement in our school and highlighted the role of council in supporting the school. It really does help to make a difference to welcome the new preps to our school and their families.

The orientation day for our future preps was held on Wednesday. They met their year 4 buddies and spent time with their teacher, Mrs Michalski. It looks like we have a fantastic group starting with us next year.

You will see many new faces around next year and I am confident that you will be most welcoming. Our PFA will run their regular welcome morning tea on the very first day for the preps and be there to support our new families.

2024 Fees and Parent Contributions

The fee and parent contribution documents will be distributed to all of our families early next year. Booklists will be distributed to families next week. The option to independently source your own materials and supplies is still available and for your convenience, the PFA will now be purchasing materials/the booklist for the school so it will be like a return to ordering through the school. The option is yours but the students need all of the items from the book list and they need to be bought into school on the very first day.

We did have quite a few issues with parents sourcing their own material and books this year. It is absolutely critical that you purchase the correct size lines (which are actually dotted thirds) for the grade levels. The maths grid books must also correlate to the size given on the maths books. We will need to return the supplies to you if they are incorrect. These exercise books are not available at shops like Kmart and you will need to search for them. The booklist can be easier in that respect as they supply exactly the correct size lines. I will ask teachers to return book to parents that are not right and you will need to purchase the correct style/brand materials

Thanks to our PFA who are trying to support our families and make the process much more convenient while saving money.

Whole School Transition Sessions

The school year is ending soon and one of the wonderful things that Weeden does is allow students to work in their class, classroom and potentially with their new teacher for a couple of sessions. This allows for the teacher to begin some of the work for next year and establishing the new learning environment and connecting with new peers is the goal. The number one priority is to create a productive and positive learning community!

These transition sessions days are critical for students to be involved in. Our sessions are being held during the last 2 weeks of school on December 7 and 12 from 11.30 to 1.00pm. These sessions provide students an opportunity to further strengthen their relationships with other students.

Curriculum Day

Just a reminder that next Friday 1 December is a pupil free day while we are having a curriculum day.

Until next time……

Kylie Campbell

Principal

Futures are Bright at Weeden Heights!

Caring Casserole