Principal's Message
Julie Crawford
What a big four weeks we have had at WPPS! Term 4 always seems to go by so quickly and there are so many exciting things happening. It’s hard to believe there are only just over seven weeks to go until our school year is over. It is such a busy term, in particular for our Grade 6s, with all the things that go with preparing for graduation and their transition to secondary school. It is always a bitter sweet time of reflecting about all the special memories they have of primary school and the anticipation of the next big step in their education journey.
But it is not just a busy time for our Grade 6s. Across the school we have our ‘Big Idea’ of Discovery, the Prep to Grade 4 swimming program, Grade 6 Set For Secondary Cybersafety Project, a Grade 5 visit to Warrandyte High School, the Prep Concert, Grade 2 day camp experience, the Grade 1 stepping up to camp experience, Expressions Week, Grade 1/2 Grandparents Day, Friendship Day, Carols and more. It was such a highlight for our preps who spent the morning with their grandparents today! Such a special time sharing their work, going on a walk around the school using their maps, singing and signing some prep songs and sharing their morning tea under our beautiful oak tree!
These wonderful experiences wouldn’t be possible without the amazing teachers and support staff we have at Wonga Park. Celebrating World Teacher’s Day last Friday was a small way to acknowledge the exceptional care and dedication our teachers show and thank them for the difference they make in the lives of young people every day!
Welcoming our 2024 Preps
It has been wonderful to host our first two transition sessions and start to get to know our 2024 Preps and their families. Our Grade 5s are busily creating their very special buddy bags and can’t wait to find out who their prep buddy will be. Being a buddy for one of our new preps is a highlight of their Grade 6 year and an important leadership role that they look forward to with great excitement!
Book Fair – Monday 30th October – Friday 3rd November
Don’t forget Book Fair is currently the resource room near the office. It i open each day before and after school (8:30am - 9:00am; 2:45pm - 3:45pm). Come along and look for some favourite books to add to your home library. All profits from sales will go towards the purchase of more new books for our school library. If there are any parents who could spare some time to help, please let the Lesley or Kerry know in the office.
Performing Arts Room
We are very excited that our Performing Arts room is now operational and students are loving learning in this new space. We are looking forward to using the deck and steps for our first performance - the Prep concert on November 15th and have our fingers crossed for a balmy evening!
Maker Space gets a new name!
Our much-loved Maker Space program has got a new name. It’s now called STEM which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. All the Maker Space fun will still happen, but in addition there will be an increased focus on science and technology. It is an important area of the curriculum that students find very engaging, so it is great that they will have opportunities both in their STEM class and in their classroom to build skills and knowledge in this area.
Emergency Management Update
Each year all schools are required to update their Emergency Management Plan. With our school being on the Bushfire At Risk Register (BARR) we have additional safety requirements and a nominated Shelter In Place (the BER building). As part of the EM plan we are required to regularly practice moving safely to the evacuation points and lockdown situations. We have recently been practising these procedures to ensure that they could be readily implemented in the unlikely event that they were required. As part of our regular review of processes, we have made a change to the early pick-up procedure. Could parents please come to the office, sign your child out and Lesley or Kerry will call your child to the office with their school bag. Parents will no longer need to take the blue card to the classroom to collect their child. We also ask that all parents who are coming to help in the school, please ensure that you sign in and out at the office and collect a visitor’s sticker. Also, if parents are dropping off a forgotten lunch or anything for their child during the day, could these please be dropped off at the office rather than taken directly to the classroom. It is important that as the fire season approaches, we have an accurate record of the students and adults who are on the school grounds.
Planning for 2024
We are now well into our planning for the 2024 school year and hope to have our staff recruitment process finalised shortly. Later in the term students across all levels will be involved in transition sessions where they will have the chance to visit the classrooms they will be in next year and experience what their new learning spaces look and feel like.
A reminder that we ask that if you and your family are planning on leaving WPPS at the end of 2023, please let the school office know as soon as you are in a position to do so. (This excludes Grade 6 students.)
Attendance on Cup Eve: Monday, November 6th
Historically, Cup Eve is a day where student attendance numbers are low. In anticipation of reduced student numbers, an alternative program will operate on that day. To support our planning, families are asked to record their child's anticipated absence in advance on Sentral if you are intending for your child to be away on Cup Eve.
Thank You To Our Community
We are so lucky at Wonga Park to have such a close knit and caring community. Thank you to everyone who supported our Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser. Dimi worked with our Grade 3/4s to make over 800 ribbon biscuits in SAKG to raise money for research. A special thank you also to Oddie, who was a guest speaker for our students, explaining about the importance of medical research and to everyone who supported the event wearing a touch of pink. Over $1000 was raised. What a great effort!
Our recent Spring Graze event, hosted by Dean and Rennae Rackley at their beautiful Vue On Halcyon winery, was another example of the generosity of our community. Thank you to Dean and Renae and our partnerships team - Narelle, Jodie, Jane and Sharmini for organising such a fun event for our parents. Many thanks also to the community for your support with raffle prizes, raffle tickets and coming along to the night. Over $6500 was raised which will go towards our Creative Play Space Project!
A big thank you also to Life Ministry Church who provided a working bee crew last Saturday to complete some external painting for us around the school. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
We are grateful for the special learning community we have at WPPS and appreciate the great partnerships we have with our families and community. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Julie