Dear Parents/Carers,

WORKING BEE - SATURDAY 21ST OCTOBER 9AM to 12PM

The hard working Buildings and Grounds Committee led by Clinton Brown have scheduled our next Working Bee for tomorrow Saturday 21st October from 9am to 12pm.

If you are able to assist even for a short while we would love to see you there.

GOVEMBER

November is fast approaching and we at Warrnambool Primary School are setting ourselves up for the inaugural Govember fitness challenge.

The main aim is to get everyone running/walking/moving and to record their efforts for the month of November.

Students and staff will be involved and we encourage parents to do likewise.

The Fundraising Committee are organising a super Monster Raffle which will be drawn at the Christmas Extravaganza on Thursday 7th December 2023. So please stay tuned for more information about the exciting month ahead.

WALK TO SCHOOL - FRIDAY 27TH OCTOBER

Next Friday 27th October is Walk to School Day. Here at Warrnambool Primary School we have been encouraging students to walk to school as often as they can in the lead up to next Friday. Each classroom has a chart and students check in the morning and record how they arrived to school. There will be some great prizes to be won at the end.

Beyond Bank staff members will be at the gate next Friday to hand out some goodies. They will be identified by their Beyond Bank uniform, so make sure you walk to school next Friday and say hello to them!

REFERENDUM SAUSAGE SIZZLE

Thank you to our wonderful helpers, Skye Nichols, Adele Smith, Edwina Medro, Danielle Buzaglo, Ryan Bigg, Greg Gent and Danielle Toone for assisting with the Sausage Sizzle at the weekend.

All money raised goes into the funds of our hard-working Warrnambool Primary Parents Association (WPPA) and this money is being channeled into resourcing for our great school. At present the top priority is the basketball/netball court.

DENNINGTON KINDER VISIT

We were very happy to host staff and children from the Dennington Kinder on Wednesday. It was great to meet the children and their support staff, they had a wonderful time singing songs, reading books and playing on the Foundation playground.

Thank you to Skye Nichols, Leona Billington, Jacqui Matters, Ebony Van Der Starre, Tonya Ferguson and our JSC leaders for hosting such a pleasant morning.

THANK YOU SHERRY JOHNSTONE

This week we had the pleasure of welcoming Sherry Johnstone who is a Contemporary Local Aboriginal Artist to our school. Sherry has been conducting one-hour sessions with each class to assist them in producing a piece of artwork.

This is a continuation on from her wonderful mural which was installed on the back of the Art building over the holidays.

Thank you Sherry for your time, our students have had a wonderful week.

CHILD SAFE STANDARDS

This week we reference Child Safe Standards 10 and 11. There are 11 in total and this will be the last reference.

In complying with Child Safe Standard 10 at Warrnambool Primary School we ensure:

10.1 The organisation regularly reviews, evaluates and improves child safe practices.

10.2 Complaints, concerns and safety incidents are analysed to identify causes and systemic failures to inform continuous improvement.

10.3 The organisation reports on the findings of relevant reviews to staff and volunteers, community and families, and children and young people.

In complying with Child Safe Standard 11 at Warrnambool Primary School we ensure:

11.1 Policies and procedures address all Child Safe Standards.

11.2 Policies and procedures are documented and easy to understand.

11.3 Best practice models and stakeholder consultation informs the development of policies and procedures.

11.4 Leaders champion and model compliance with policies and procedures.

11.5 Staff and volunteers understand and implement policies and procedures.

REF: https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/the-11-child-safe-standards

MOBILE PHONES AT SCHOOL

Students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and left at the school office for duration of the school day.

For the purpose of this policy, a mobile phone is a telephone with access to a cellular (telecommunication) system, with or without a physical connection to a network.

Exceptions to the policy may be applied if certain conditions are met. Exceptions can be granted by the principal, or by a teacher. Exceptions must be documented.

Where students bring a mobile phone to school, the school must provide secure storage which is in the school office.

Schools are required to develop a local policy on students using mobile phones, which must include how this ministerial policy will be implemented and may include other personal devices in addition to mobile phones.

Schools will manage non-compliance with their local mobile phone policy in accordance with their existing student engagement polices.

Schools should review their local policy as part of their regular cycle of review for school policies.

REF: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/students-using-mobile-phones/policy

YEAR 6 GRADUATION AND FINAL ASSEMBLY - THURSDAY 14TH DECEMBER

We are coming to the end of a very busy year which means there are some significant celebrations coming up. On Thursday 14th December we will hold the following:

9:30am - Year 6 Graduation (Year 6 Families, School Council and Staff only)

12:30pm - Whole School Final Assembly

Please put these in your diaries as we would love to see as many parents and family attend.

Have a great weekend!

Peter Lee

Principal

Student Birthdays