Principals Report
Dear parents, carers and friends of WSPS,
Welcome Back to Term Three. We are excited to welcome everyone back for what promises to be an action-packed Term 3! With a range of engaging learning experiences and school events ahead, there’s plenty for our students to look forward to.
Student Led Conferences
Our Student Led Conferences were on Tuesday this week after school. These conferences provide students with a valuable opportunity to take ownership of their learning by sharing work samples from Semester One and reflecting on their progress. They will also set meaningful goals to guide their learning journey throughout Semester Two. It was wonderful to walk around and see student agency at its best. Our students are confident and can clearly articulate their learning and their goals.
2026 Foundation Enrolments
Important Notice: 2026 Foundation (Prep) Enrolments
The Department of Education’s Enrolment Policy guarantees every eligible child a place at their designated neighbourhood school (school zone). To ensure priority placement is maintained, schools may be required to verify a child's permanent residential address for both in-zone and out-of-zone applications.
We are currently planning our Foundation (Prep) classes for 2026. While all in-zone families are guaranteed a place and may enrol beyond the Department’s advertised dates, we strongly encourage you to submit your enrolment as early as possible. Late enrolments may affect our ability to maintain reasonable class sizes.
Shortly, we will begin reviewing enrolment requests from families living just outside our school zone. These applications will be considered based on available space after in-zone enrolments are confirmed.
If you have not yet enrolled your child for 2026, I kindly ask that you do so as soon as possible.
I appreciate your support in helping us plan effectively for the upcoming school year.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
Key Dates:
- Enrolment Applications Open: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 (Start of Term 2, 2025).
- Application Deadline: Friday, July 25th, 2025.
- Outcome Notification Period: Monday, July 28th to Friday, August 8th, 2025.
- Acceptance of Offer Deadline: Friday, August 22nd, 2025.
Our Playground is open!
Our playground was officially opened on Thursday. We gave each year level designated playing time and have staggered the playing times initially, but will ease these off when students disperse to other playing areas in the school.
I will also have a chat with all students about using our school values while playing.
100 Days of School for Our Foundation Students – How Much Have You Grown?
Today, Friday August 1st, our Foundation students celebrated the milestone of 100 days at school. I have been amazed by the growth of each Foundation student since the start of the year, not only academically but also socially and emotionally. It is always a pleasure to see the flexibility and curiosity of our Foundation students as they learn and take risks.
Getting to school on time!
This is a reminder that we need our students at school by 8.55am each day.
As we walk around our school each morning, we continue to notice the very settled and structured processes we have implemented to ensure our students are “set up for success” each day. This includes our 8.55am music time, which is designed to provide students the opportunity to enter their classroom, say hello to their teachers and get organised for the day of learning which starts at 9am sharp.
However, we also still see some students arriving after 8.55am., or continuing to play, especially on the oval. You would be amazed at the effect even a few minutes late each day can have over a longer time frame. So, with this in mind we are encouraging everyone to be at school by 8.55am ready to go! Thank you for your support in this matter.
Weeding Wednesdays
Our grade 5's spent a session outside weeding our garden beds. Many thanks to Marian, Penny Forbes' grandmother who also helped out.
Our Grade 2's are organising their weeding session and will invite their families to come along to hope as well.
Mobile Phone and Child Safe Standards Policies
I take this opportunity to remind our families of the Department of Education Mobile Phone Policy, put in place to ensure mobile phones and smartwatches are not used by students when they arrive at school and during the school day, in support of social and emotional wellbeing and academic learning. We encourage all of our students to speak to a trusted adult in the first instance at school, and thank parents and carers for your ongoing support. The link below will also take you to our Child Safe Standards Policies as a mid-year prompt, should you wish to familiarise yourself with these documents, ask any questions, or give any feedback:
https://www.walesstps.vic.edu.au/about-us/policy-library/
Celebrating a Junior Triple Zero Hero at Wales Street!
On 2nd July, one of our courageous Wales Street students received a Junior Triple Zero Hero Award. These special awards are given to young people who demonstrate bravery and calm thinking during an emergency, and are nominated by Triple Zero Victoria (TZV) call takers.
We are incredibly proud to share that Manu from 1A received a medal for his bravery and composure during a very stressful situation. What an outstanding achievement! 🌟
This is also a valuable reminder for us all to continue talking to our children about what to do in an emergency — and that they can always dial 000 for help when they need it.
Well done, Manu — you're a true hero! 🏅
