From the Principal

Dear Families,

Lantern Walk

This year’s Lantern walk will take place on Saturday 22nd June from 5:30pm-8pm.

We are very excited for this great community event, which we have sold almost 650 tickets for. What an amazing result for a much loved and anticipated event. I know that I have my lantern and headlamp ready to go. Just a reminder that this is a parent/carer supervised event and all children in attendance must be supervised by parent/carer/guardian.

The prediction is no rain, wind and a mild 10 degrees. Very exciting!!

Camp Costings and Deposits

Each year the school operates a range of external camp programs for years 3-6.

One of the biggest challenges with camps is the calculating of costs, in particular the bus costs.

Unlike the camp cost itself, bus costs are evenly distributed amongst all attendees. When an attendee withdrawals at late notice, or if students choose not to attend after the  event and costs have been communicated, the cost is then taken on by the school as it is impractical to reissue a new cost to participants. This has led to the school often carrying costs into the thousands.

After this matter was brought to school council the school will now implement a non-refundable deposit for all camps. This deposit will be required before the finalised costing is communicated to families with the aim for this to occur well in advance of the camp. An estimated price range will be communicated prior as well.

This new process will help ensure all costs are fully accurate and that camps can be accurately planned for without the school having to take on additional costs.

If you have any questions about this new school process please feel free to contact me directly.

Digital Learning - eSafety

This week Steven Puhar and I commenced our eSafety/cybersafety workshops with our Year 5/6 students. These workshops look to build the capacity of our Willy Kids to have a strong understanding of their digital footprint as well as their own personal responsibilities online.

Access to digital tools can be a powerful learning experience, but as a school we understand the understanding that needs to go with this tool. Please check out the school’s digital learning page where Steven outlines the workshop in more details, while providing a range of resources.

The school is also in the process of organising a cybersafety session for our parents and carers through the eSafety commission. We look forward to providing more details once finalised.

Mobile Phone Policy

Attached is the school’s mobile phone policy. This policy outlines the school and Departments policy around the use of student mobile phones. This policy and its requirements are Department mandated and require students to hand in all mobile phones and smart watches to their teacher at the beginning each day. These devices are then stored away in a lockable cupboard and returned to students at the end of the day. We would encourage parents/carers of all students who bring a mobile phone to school, or wear a smartwatch to familiarise themselves with this policy. If you have any questions regarding the policy and associated procedures please feel free to contact me directly.

End of Term Assembly (Week 11)

We are very excited to invite all families to the last assembly for term 2. This assembly will be held on Friday 28th June, 9:15 in the school hall. The assembly will be hosted by our grade 5 JSC, and will see the grade 5/6 team present the outcome of their inquiry election. We will also get to see the assembly conclude with our bands and choir performance.

Commemorative Tiles

As part of last year's 150 celebration we had scheduled to offer the school community a piece of school history with the installment of our 150 commemorative wall. Due to the number of events and activities, the decision was made to carry this project over to this year. In term 3 information will be communicated to families about how they can purchase a tile to commemorate their time at Willy Primary. The tiles will be installed on the Electra Street side of the wall for our community to see for many years. More details will be communicated next term.

5/6 Interschool Sport

Our Grade 5/6 Interschool sports program concludes today with many teams playing in finals. Throughout the term the students have represented the school with pride and enthusiasm. We wish all teams the best of luck.

Holiday Works Project

We are so excited for the redevelopment of our junior quad area located next to the 5/6 deck. This project which will see the whole space redeveloped into a meaningful meeting place for our students, was the main inspiration for the money raised from last year’s Seaside fair. This project will take place during the upcoming school holidays and will be ready for our Willy Kids to enjoy on their return in term 3.

NAIDOC Week

Like most years NAIDOC week will take place during the upcoming school holidays from Sunday 7 July- Sunday 14th July, however the school picks up when students return to school on Tuesday 16th July. National NAIDOC Week celebrates and recognises the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. This year's theme is, ‘Keep the fire burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’. The first week back for our Willy Kids will be an immersion of culture, as we will also look to celebrate Bastille Day on the first Thursday of Term 3.

Please find a link to further information about this year's NAIDOC Week’s theme.

https://www.naidoc.org.au/about/naidoc-theme

Grade 4 Camp

A big congratulations to our Grade 4 campers who last week attended camp ADANAC. It was great seeing many moments from the camp on the school’s social media platforms. A highlight was the morning run that saw many students jump out of bed and start the day with a morning jog. Well done to all and a big thank you to the parent helpers who attended and to the staff who gave their time to ensure an event like this was a success.

2025 Prep Enrolments

On Tuesday we ran our final school enrolment tour.  A reminder that enrolment applications for families are due by the 26th July. If you have a child enrolling for foundation in 2025 please ensure your application forms are in by the designated date. 

If you know of families looking to enrol at the school for 2025, please encourage them to contact the school or submit their forms as soon as possible.

Student learning Conferences

Student Learning Conferences will take place on Tuesday 25th June. All students will be dismissed at 12:30pm on this day.

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, the format for these conferences will see parents in years Prep-2 undertake conferences without students, giving parents/guardians the opportunity to have in depth discussions about their child’s learning with teachers. In years 3-6, conferences will be student-led, as we build our students' capacity to lead their learning. 

The conference booking system which is currently open, will close on Sunday 23rd June, at 7pm. Families can log into Compass to make these bookings.

Warm regards,

Mat