A warm welcome to our community

Welcome back for Term Four! It is most definitely hard to believe that the year has gone so quickly. I trust that you all had a lovely break with your family and took the opportunity to enjoy some time together.

Term Four is always an extremely busy term so please stay tuned to COMPASS announcements, newsletter (school calendar) and Facebook/Instagram. I hope you all take a moment to check our social media as we try to capture what is happening at school especially for our working families. You are welcome to leave comments or ‘like’ our posts! It’s also a wonderful way to keep up with your children’s learning.

Buildings and Grounds

Over the holidays there has been a considerable amount of work completed. I hope that you have noticed the lovely path up to the school front door as we have added a coating to try to hide the horrid, patched concrete we were left with. It looks like it has always been there so it must be right. I love that it highlights the beautiful pavers left from students of the past.

You can’t miss this one but we are getting a new front fence. It is also a wonderful opportunity to fix up the garden at the front of the school as it does get quite ‘woody’ as it gets older.

Thank you to the wonderful families of past and present who make school contributions. The Buildings and Grounds contribution made by parents is critical to keep our beautiful school looking attractive and is a creative place for learning. It is through these generous contributions that we have been able to make these additions possible. Thank you !

UV (Sun Smart) Policy and School Uniform

Just a reminder that all students are required to wear their Weeden Heights PS broad brim hats as per school policy. The students have been reminded that they need to pack their hats and bring them to school. Students not wearing a hat are required to stay under the sails during recess and lunch times.

We do not have a specific time for students to move from their Winter uniform to their summer uniform but term four is a great measure. It is best for all students to be in their full summer uniform now. It would also be essential to apply sunscreen at home before school. Your child is responsible for applying and supplying their own sunscreen if you require them to wear it at school.

Please remember that our summer uniform does not include leggings being worn with summer dresses. I have noticed some students wearing decorative socks. School uniform as per policy outlines plain white or grey socks.

We are fortunate to have lovely school grounds with shady trees but we still need to maintain excellent practices to ensure that we stay safe at all times.

New Sports Uniform

Next year we introduce new house tee shirts. All of our prep students will not be able to purchase the old red, blue, yellow and green tee shirts as the are no longer available to purchase at the uniform shop. We have designed a new modern style that accommodates the heat but looks incredible, especially when representing the school at inter school sport. It is perfect for our whole school activities and will be able to used at district level and interschool sport.

The uniform has been passed by School Council and while it is essentially a school sports top, the colour panels identify the house that the student belongs to. It really looks smart! So if it is time to update your sports top, the style below is the one you will purchase for your child. They are available this year at the uniform shop in Ringwood (not available from school) to purchase and you are welcome to wear them this year if you update early.

PFA Mini Olympics

I would like to thank our PFA for all of their work on organising and running the Mini Olympics that was held on the weekend. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend but I can see from the photos that it was highly successful and everyone had a fun time. There were also some great comments back at school from our students during the week. The event attracted current and past students along with family friends which was terrific.

It is really important to hold these larger events to support fundraising. Hopefully, this one might become an annual type of event and it will be further supported in the future.

Thank you PFA!

Arriving Late to School

We can all run late occasionally but unfortunately, we have noticed a few students arriving late to school each day. This has an effect on all students and their learning. Teaching in each room begins at 9am and that is why the classroom doors at Weeden Heights PS open at 8.50am. Students need time to settle and be ready for learning. If you arrive after 9am, the instructions for the literacy block will have already been given to the class. Your child will feel lost and then disrupt all the other learners in the classroom while trying to catch up with instructions, work and administrative tasks such as take-home books, notices etc. It is also difficult for the classroom teacher to continue on with teaching.

If a child is 10 minutes late each day, they lose 50 minutes a week of instructional time. Over a term that correlates to 9 hours and over a year 36 hours (6 whole school days). The effects on student lateness are evident in research.

Teaching our students productive work habits and routines is critical. Please try and get to school on time because it does make a difference in your child’s learning.

Classes for 2025

Planning for next year has started and the grade structure will be based around student enrolments. All enrolment changes have been accommodated for in our planning and teachers will be allocated to 2025 classes soon. You will be notified the school structure and classroom allocations for 2025 and teachers in December this year.

The formation of classes for 2025 is progressing. Many factors are considered when placing students in class groups and next year there will be several options for many cohorts of students. We devote an enormous number of hours considering the educational, social, emotional and physical wellbeing of each child at Weeden Heights before their final placement with students and teachers.

Please remember that all communication from parents regarding their child’s placement in 2025 (based on educational, social, emotional or physical considerations only) should be forwarded in writing addressed ‘To the Principal’ by Wednesday 30 October 2024.

Thank-you for your co-operation in this process.

Until next time……

Kylie Campbell

Super Proud Principal

Senior School