Principal's Post

Principal’s Message 

Principal's Post – Welcome to Term 4!

Welcome back to Term 4! It is hard to believe that two weeks have already flown by, and what a busy start to the term it has been! 

Celebrating Our Wonderful Art Show

One of the highlights of the term has certainly been our Wembley Primary School Art Show. What a wonderful opportunity to showcase the creativity, imagination and talents of our students. An incredible amount of time, thought and effort went into bringing this event together, and it was lovely to see our school community come together to celebrate our students' work.

You may have noticed the theme of "Be Kind" woven throughout the exhibition. It is such a simple but powerful message. We know that when we show kindness, and when we experience kindness from others, it makes our school, our community and the world around us a better place. It is a lovely reminder that even the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference.

A very big shout-out to Ruth and Chris for their creativity, dedication and leadership in bringing the Art Show to life. To our incredibly talented students, congratulations on the wonderful work you created! Thank you also to our staff, who supported our Art team and students in preparing for this special event.

I would also like to acknowledge Linh and the Wembley Parents Association (WPA) for their wonderful support in organising the BBQ, bake sale and ice cream truck. Thanks to a generous grant received from Bendigo Bank, we were able to provide a free sausage to our students, which was a lovely way to celebrate the occasion together. A further thank you to TheirCare for providing free coffees to our school community. These thoughtful contributions help make events like this even more enjoyable for everyone.

What stood out to me most was the collective effort behind the event. From our students and staff to our families, volunteers and community partners, everyone played a part.

It is these shared experiences, the generosity of people's time and the sense of community that make Wembley Primary School such a special place to be.

Teaching and Learning – Strengthening Classroom Practice

At Wembley Primary School, we are strengthening our teaching practices through the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM 2.0) and the Science of Learning, guided by research on how children learn best.

Feedback from our Student Attitudes to School Survey has highlighted opportunities to further strengthen student engagement by ensuring learning is interesting, purposeful and appropriately challenging. This feedback, alongside recommendations from our earlier school review, supports our ongoing focus on embedding VTLM 2.0 and Positive Classroom Management Strategies (PCMS) to create consistent, high-quality teaching and positive learning environments across the school.

We know that students learn best when teaching is clear, distractions are minimised, new learning is introduced in manageable steps, and students have regular opportunities to practise and review what they have learnt.

This term, we have commenced implementing the Victorian Lesson Plans in Mathematics, supporting greater consistency in teaching across classrooms. Teachers are focusing on clear explanations, modelling, checking for understanding and responding to students' learning needs.

Looking ahead to 2027, we are preparing to introduce the Victorian Lesson Plans in English. Little Learners Love Literacy will continue as our F-2 phonics program next year.

Our goal is simple: to ensure every student experiences high-quality teaching, appropriate scaffolded challenge, and the support they need to succeed.

Student Wellbeing and Behaviour – The Wembley Way

Last term, we introduced The Wembley Way – Know It. Show It. Lead It., reflecting our school values of Empathy, Inclusion, Resilience and Respect.

We are strengthening our School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) approach, with clear expectations, consistent classroom routines and agreed processes for responding to student behaviour. We are also working closely with the Department of Education's Inclusive Outreach Coach to ensure our practices support the diverse learning and wellbeing needs of our students.Our focus is on creating safe, calm, predictable and inclusive classrooms where every student feels connected, supported and ready to learn.

Parent Opinion Survey – Listening to Our Community

Thank you to the 125 families (29%) who completed the 2026 Parent Opinion Survey. The results show a decline in parent satisfaction and confidence compared with 2025, particularly around school improvement, teaching and learning, and student agency. Positively, school connectedness has improved.

It is not uncommon for community confidence to fluctuate during a change in school leadership as new directions and expectations are established. We value this feedback and recognise the importance of building trust and confidence through clear communication and visible improvements.

These findings reinforce the improvement priorities we are already working towards, particularly strengthening teaching practices, student wellbeing, communication and community engagement.

School Communication Survey – What You Told Us

Thank you to the 102 families who took the time to provide feedback on how we communicate at Wembley Primary School. Your responses have been valuable in helping us understand what is working well and where we can improve.

A few key messages came through:

• Sentral: Strong support for using Sentral as our central place for school news, reminders, recording student absences, events and important information, making it easier for families to find what they need.
• Notifications: Families have different preferences for email and app notifications, highlighting the importance of making information accessible.
• Newsletters: Families value regular updates, with a preference for information about upcoming events, important dates, student learning and school improvement. There were mixed preferences around the format and frequency of newsletters.
• Social Media: Families expressed mixed views about the use of Facebook and Instagram, with many raising concerns about sharing student photographs publicly. Student privacy and safety were clear priorities.

• Keeping it Simple: A common message was the need to reduce repeated communication, avoid information overload and make important information easier to access.

   

Where to Next?

We are reviewing how we use Sentral to make it a more effective and reliable communication platform for our families. We will also consider how we can simplify our regular updates and ensure important information is communicated clearly and in a timely manner.

Sentral is Wembley Primary School’s endorsed communication platform for parents and carers. WhatsApp is not an endorsed or official school communication platform.

As we move further into Term 4, I look forward to sharing more of the wonderful things happening across Wembley and celebrating the achievements of our students and staff.

Student Leadership Program

We are excited to have 32 Year 5 students express interest in our six-week Student Leadership Program. Students will meet with me twice a week during lunchtime to develop their confidence, communication, teamwork and leadership skills, while exploring how they can make a positive contribution to our school community.

It is wonderful to see so many students keen to develop their leadership potential as they prepare for Year 6 and beyond.

Upcoming – Preparing Your Child for High School

On Wednesday 18 November 2026, we will be hosting a free parent information evening for families of students in Years 5 and 6, presented by Cathy Harrison from Rookery Road.

Two sessions will be offered on the evening:

• Session 1: Preparing your child for high school and supporting a positive transition.
• Session 2: Supporting neurodivergent children through the transition, including practical strategies to navigate potential challenges.

Families are warmly welcome to attend one or both sessions, at no cost. Further details, including session times, will be shared soon.

Have a great weekend 🙂

Sharon