Principal's Report

2nd February 2024

Welcome Back

Welcome back to school for 2024! I hope you and your families have had a safe and restful break. A special welcome to our new prep students and their families and to any new families and students starting at the school this year. It has been lovely seeing all of our students and families back at school.

The start of the year has been very smooth and students have settled back into their classrooms well. Our students have been very excited to see their friends again, have settled back into routines and have started their learning programs. We are all looking forward to another successful year at WHPS.

A big thanks to the Parents' Association for organising a welcome morning tea for our new prep parents earlier in the week. This was a lovely opportunity for our new parents to meet each other and have a chat.

Another big thanks to all the parents who came to the open classrooms on Wednesday afternoon. I'm sure the experience of visiting your child's classroom and meeting their new teacher was positive. 

Please check Compass which will inform you of classroom information sessions which are occurring over the next few weeks. These sessions will give you more information about your child's classroom, routines, learning programs and home learning expectations. 

Term 1 Assemblies

There will be a number of assemblies in Term 1. Please note assembly will start at 2pm (not 3pm) in 2024. Parents are always welcome to attend assembly at school which will be held on the oval, or on Webex at my address below.

https://eduvic.webex.com/meet/ramsey.michael.j

In Term 1 our school and vice captains will present assemblies as part of their leadership duties. 

Friday 9th February- Lion Dance Assembly on the oval to celebrate the Lunar New Year

Friday 16th February - Student leadership badge presentation on the oval. John Mullahy our state MP for the seat of Glen Waverley will be a special guest.

Friday 23rd February - SRC, peer mediators, monitor badge presentations on the oval.

Friday 1st March - Friday 22nd - Webex Assemblies

Thursday 28 March (last day of term) - Harmony Day assembly on the oval at 9am. 

Little Angler Fishing Rods

The state government has given the school 120 fishing rods to promote angling in the community. If you would like a rod to go fishing with your child or children, parents can collect one from the office. 

More information about the program is below:

https://vfa.vic.gov.au/recreational-fishing/featured/old/little-angler-kit-project

Insurance at School

Private property brought to school by students, visitors or parents is not insured and the Department does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage. This can include mobile phones, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises. 

As the Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property, students, visitors and parents are discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school. 

Department insurance policies also do not cover personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students.

School Hats and Uniform

Just a reminder, as outlined in our Sunsmart policy, students are required to wear a school hat between the start of September to end of April. Please ensure your child  has a school hat to wear while playing outside. If  your child does not have a hat. they will be directed to play under the covered area. The link below illustrates the school hat. They can be purchased from our school uniform supplier, PSW if required. 

https://www.psw.com.au/schools/wheelers-hill-primary-school.html?p=2

Parent Payments

Thank you to all our families who have made parent payments to the school over the last few months. Your generous contributions will ensure we can continue to run the high quality teaching and learning programs, and specialist subjects we have at Wheelers Hill Primary School this year. Thank you for ongoing support. 

If you have not made a contribution yet, you can do so through compass.

School Hours and Supervision

Parents are reminded that staff are not on yard duty prior to 8.40am.  Therefore there is NO supervision for students at school before this time. Students at school prior to 8.40am must be with a parent or booked into the OSHC program.  

School starts at 8:50am.  Our students are required in class by 8:50am so they can prepare for their learning and lessons which start promptly at 9am. 

After school, students must be picked up by 3.45pm or booked into OSHC. If you are going to be late to pick up your child, please inform the office ASAP. 

School hours for 2024 are as follows:

8:40am - 8:50am - Students supervised in the school yard

8:50am - 9:00am - Music plays, students go to their classrooms, set up for the school day

9:00am - 10:40am - Learning sessions 1 and 2 in classrooms

10:40am - 11:10am - Recess 

11:10am - 12:50pm - Learning sessions 3 and 4 in classrooms

12:50pm - 1:00pm - Lunch eating time in classrooms

1:00pm - 1:50pm - Lunch 

1:50pm - 3:30pm - Learning sessions 5 and 6 in classrooms

3:30pm - 3:45pm - Final bell, student pick up, students supervised in the yard until 3:45pm 

Curriculum Days 2024

The school has a number of curriculum / professional practice days planned throughout the year. On these days the teachers and staff are involved in a number of tasks such as student report writing and curriculum and lesson planning for the following terms. The dates below are the curriculum / PPD this year :

Term 1

Friday 22nd March

Tuesday 26th March (half day from 12:50am for Parent / Teacher Interviews)

Term 2

Friday 14th June

Friday 21st June

Term 3

Friday 13th September

Tuesday 17th September (half day from 12:50pm for Parent/Teacher Interviews)

Term 4

Friday 29th November

Friday 6th December

The OSHC service will run a program on these days. 

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher interviews will be held towards the end of Term 1 on Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th March. These interviews will be held ONSITE at school. School will finish early on Tuesday 26th March at 12:50pm to allow teachers to run these interviews. 

Working with Children Checks (WWC) 

We encourage and value parental and community support at WHPS. There are many ways that parents, grandparents and friends can assist at our school. We encourage all parents to obtain a Working with Children’s Check that will allow you to be very involved in your child’s education. Without one you cannot be a classroom helper or attend an excursion. These checks are free for volunteers. Please ensure you nominate WHPS as a place you volunteer. Once you have your WWCC please come to the office so we can photocopy this and we will add your name to our list of parents who have a current WWC check.

Volunteers are also required to complete a Child Safety induction which is on the school website:

https://www.wheelershillps.vic.edu.au/volunteer-or-work

Mobile Phones

All students are required to turn off and hand in mobile phones to prevent usage during school hours. Students are not to use smart watches where the call and messaging function can connect to the student’s phone. Devices will be placed in a locked cabinet/cupboard at the start of the day and handed back at the end of the day

Michael Ramsey

Principal