Term 1 Week 3

Term 1 - Week 3

Principal's Report

I would like to warmly welcome back all our returning students/families, new prep students/families, staff, and the 30 new students and their families who commenced at WNPS across various other year levels for 2025. I sincerely hope you all had a restful and enjoyable summer break, and that you are recharged for the year to come. I know that I, for one, am thrilled to be back at work, and that I am well-rested after spending the summer holidays enjoying time with family and pets, and working away in my garden. There is nothing more rewarding than harvesting an abundance of fresh produce, and being surrounded by loved ones.

Overall, our students have settled into the term well, and I have been impressed by the positive tone of the entire school - it is going to be a fantastic year! In week 5, we will be having year-level information evenings, where families are invited and encouraged to attend a BBQ, information session, and activities evening. There will also be a Parent/Teacher interview evening towards the end of the term, as well as our term 3 Parent/Teacher interviews in term 3. In the meantime, as well as at any stage throughout the year, parents/carers are encouraged to contact your child’s teacher to introduce yourselves, touch base, and/or seek any support you or your child/ren may require.

2025 Curriculum Days

Our student-free days at Williamstown North Primary School consist of 4 curriculum days and 1 School Council-approved professional practice day, and are as follows. Please note that the first day of each term is a student-free curriculum day/professional practice day, as is the Monday before Melbourne Cup. On these days. students are not required at school, and OSH Club operates for any families requiring this service.

Tuesday 28th January: Student-free day (State-wide Staff First Day)

Tuesday 22nd April: Student-free day (please note that Easter Monday 21st April, and ANZAC Day Friday 25th April are both Public Holidays)

Monday 21st July: Student-free day

Monday 6th October: Student-free day

Monday 3rd November: Student-free day (report writing day)

Newsletters, Assemblies and School Communications

Whole school assemblies will be held each fortnight in the school gym (unless otherwise advised). Assemblies will commence at 2:45pm, and all families are welcome to attend. Mr Peters will be leading our Junior School Council, and School Captains, to plan and present engaging assemblies, promoting student voice and leadership experiences, insights into the learning that has taken place, and recognising the efforts, special talents and successes of our students. Mr Peters will be assisted by Mr Feeley and Mr Pearce, who will be showcasing our specialist subjects at this time. Our student awards will continue to be presented at assemblies, as well as our new P-2 and 3-6 whole class attendance trophies. Newsletters will be published on the alternate fortnight.

The preferred method of communication is through the COMPASS school management tool. Instructions for how to contact staff via COMPASS are included in this Newsletter. When parents/guardians need to contact the school, regarding any issues, we remind families to firstly contact your child’s classroom teacher, followed by the year level team leader. For issues that remain unresolved, both the Assistant Principal and Principal can be contacted at williamstown.north.ps@education.vic.gov.au, or by calling the general office.

School Council Elections

We seek nominations for our 2025 School Council. We have 5 parent positions and 1 staff position that are available for nomination and election. I would like to sincerely thank our 2024 School Council members who volunteered their personal time to assist our school community, and acknowledge the hard work of the returning school council members. If you would like to be a School Council member in 2025, please ensure that you are comfortable with the duties and functions outlined below, and the commitment of attending and actively participating in the school council meetings for the entirety of the year. These occur on school grounds outside of work hours, as we’ve found that the hybrid model isn’t conducive for the purpose of the meetings. Miss Nobbs will be sending out a COMPASS to all students and staff this afternoon.

The indicative timeline and stages of election processes are outlined below:

• Thursday 13th February: Stage 1: Setting the election framework and calling for nominations
• Thursday 27th February: Stage 2: Closing and assessing nominations and deciding if ballot is required
• Thursday 6th March: Stage 3: Preparing the ballot (sending out ballot papers and close of ballot should election be required)
• Thursday 13th March: Poll closing date
• Friday 14th March: Stage 4: Counting ballot papers and declaring poll
• TBA March: Stage 5: Special and first school council meeting after the poll

School councils play a vital role in Victorian government schools and are established and operate under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic), the Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 (Vic) and a constituting Order. School councils are also required to comply with state and federal laws, relevant Ministerial Orders and certain department policies when exercising their powers and functions. A well-informed and effective school council strengthens community confidence in the school and helps to build and secure the school’s reputation.

The objectives of a school council are set out in the school council’s constituting Order and section 2.3.4 of the Education and Training Reform Act and are to:

• assist in the efficient governance of the school
• ensure that its decisions affecting students of the school are made having regard, as a primary consideration, to the best interest of the students
• enhance the educational opportunities of students at the school
• ensure the school and the council complies with any requirements of the Education and Training Reform Act, the Education and Training Reform Regulations, a Ministerial Order or a direction, guideline or policy issued under the Education and Training Reform Act.

These school council objectives must be taken into account by school council members when exercising any of their powers, duties or functions, as outlined below.

Voluntary Financial Contributions for 2025

For our school to provide high quality, engaging and inclusive programs, we invite families to make a voluntary contribution to the school. Voluntary financial contributions to our school will be based on curriculum contributions and other non-curriculum contributions. We invite families to make their voluntary financial contribution to our school as soon as practicable to assist us in purchasing resources and planning for learning programs for the 2025 school year. Payment can be made via credit/debit on Compass or at the school. Payments for excursions, events and camps will be outlined on Compass throughout the year as the events and excursions arise. Thank you for your support and valued contributions to our school.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)

If you hold a Health Care Card number (CRN) or have a Centrelink pensioner concession card, you may have CSEF funds available to use against your child’s Camps, Sporting activities, Excursions etc. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. A special consideration category also exists. Schools can receive applications from families by June 2025. Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school. Please ask for a form at the office and provide your CRN card.

State School Relief

State Schools' Relief (SSR) is an autonomous, charitable organisation that assists Victorian government school students who are experiencing financial disadvantage because of short-term crisis or long-term chronic need. SSR is supported by the department to provide assistance with uniforms and other essential items for students who need assistance to continue their education. Short-term crisis and long-term chronic need are the primary qualifying criteria for support from SSR, including refugee status, homelessness, family violence, house fire, natural disaster, financial hardship, illness and emergency. SSR assistance will be provided by either direct supply of uniform items or uniform vouchers for redemption from school uniform suppliers. Please contact the school office if you would like to apply for any school uniform.

Child Safe

Williamstown North Primary School is committed to a zero tolerance of child abuse and creates an inclusive school culture that promotes child safety for people of all cultures, abilities and diverse backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. For further information, please go to http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au

Privacy Notice

Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy. Please take time to remind yourself of our school’s collection notice, found on our website willynthps.vic.edu.au in the Policies section. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

* Amharic * Arabic * Dari * Gujarati * Mandarin, *Somali * Sudanese * Turkish * Urdu * Vietnamese.

Curriculum Information

All year levels have now completed their Start Up Programs, which is curriculum that is developed to support the co-creation of learning spaces, classroom routines, and expectations. Student voice and agency is sought so that everyone feels welcome in the shared classrooms and a consistent approach to wellbeing is used to support strong student outcomes. As students move into content specific curriculum, we are running Parent Information Evenings during week 5. These are a wonderful opportunity for you to immerse yourself in the teaching and learning that happens at Williamstown North Primary school.

Class Weekly Updates

Last year we implemented weekly class COMPASS updates which were sent out each Monday afternoon. This year, these weekly notifications will be sent to families between Monday and Wednesday from your child’s classroom teacher outlining the weekly goings on from their class. This will include reminders, important dates and may include examples of student work and class celebrations. We have adopted this means of communication so that families have regular, up to date information relating to your child’s week at school. We encourage families to engage in this update, contact teachers for any clarification or guidance and use this as a provocation when discussing school with your children. Next week, your child's will send a COMPASS notification outlining their class timetable, including specialist subjects as well as when the class will be engaged in Reading, Writing, Numeracy and Inquiry. Please use this timetable as a guide for your child's goings on at school, as a point of discussion between parents and children and way of keeping informed in conjunction with the weekly updates.

2026 Prep Enrolments

Whilst the 2025 school year has only just commenced, we are already taking school tours for 2026 Prep enrolments. We encourage anyone who knows of a family with a student entering Prep in 2026 to arrange a school tour at their earliest convenience. Prep enrolment forms can be accepted from the start of term 2. We will also be having a 2026 Prep Information Evening on Monday 6th may. Further details will be communicated early Term 2.

Classroom Parent Representatives

We would like to have our Classroom Parent Representative Program up and running as soon as possible but we still have several grades waiting for keen parents to volunteer. If you would like to be a part of this initiative, please reach out to shevani.moodley@education.vic.gov.au asap so that we can get started!

Parents and Friends Association PFA

Another initiative we’re getting started in 2025 is a Parents & Friends Association (PFA) to support the extraordinary learning opportunities and enhance the school experience for our students. 

The aims and objectives of a parents’ club is to work in cooperation with the principal and school council to:

• contribute to the wellbeing of the school community
• encourage the participation of all parents in the life of the school and the education of their children
• provide opportunities for parents to get to know each other and to be informed about their child’s school
• provide opportunities for parents to extend their understanding of school operations, and general education policy
• raise funds for the benefit of the school (optional).

Attendance

Students are expected to attend the school in which they are enrolled, during normal school hours every day of each term, unless:

• there is an approved exemption from school attendance or attendance and enrolment for the student, or
• the student is registered for home schooling and has only a partial enrolment in a school for particular activities.

At Williamstown North Primary School, Mr. Feeley is our Attendance Officer, who will be following up any unexplained absences. He’s collated information regarding reasons for absences and our processes, which is attached for your perusal. Please have a read and familiarise yourself with these documents.

Congratulations 

It is with great joy and excitement that we announce the safe arrivals of a baby girl for Kate Richards and her husband, and a baby boy for Steven Gray and his wife.

Richard Buckingham

Principal

Welcome back to 2025. I hope the start to the year has been a smooth one for you all. 

You would have seen the Compass Feed last week in regards to 2025 Curriculum and Other Contributions. We have had a great response already, which is greatly appreciated. The school website has information regarding Contributions.

The School Saving Bonus is up and running. Please ensure you log into the portal (https://www.schoolsavingbonus.vic.gov.au/s/) to allocate your $400 and the school will do the rest. There is still an issue with Compass Events and the ability to select this for events. Compass are working on this. At the moment, please select the CSEF option if you want to use your School Saving Bonus for the allocation. We will update this once Compass have offered the option. A reminder that the School Saving Bonus can only be used for school activities, including camps and uniforms. 

CSEF is the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund/guidance/submitting-application). This option is available to parents/guardians with a Concession and/or Health Care card. An application form will need to be submitted to the school, along with a copy of your card. These funds can be used for all school activities/events.

If you require information or assistance with anything financial, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Regards,

Sarah Nobbs

Assistant Principal – Finance Manager