Julie Crawford - Principal

Growing, exploring, shining — our 2026 Wonga Park adventure begins!

What a delight to welcome everyone back to the start of a new school year! It was a joy to see so many happy smiles as children, parents and teachers came together to begin another exciting year of learning. The day ran smoothly, and we were so impressed with how confidently our students settled into their new classes. There’s a real buzz of excitement around the school as students reconnected with friends, met their new teachers and started building those important connections that will shape a wonderful year ahead.

A special welcome to our new staff, students and families. We hope you enjoy being part of our wonderful WPPS community. A warm welcome also to our new teachers Rozie Paterson(Grade 2 and Grade 1), Sasha Guy (Grade 3), Sam Walsh (Grade 5), Christie Laurie (Grade 1), Annie Leszcynski (Grade 6), Liz Hayes (Grade 4), Natasha Robb (Grade 4) and Olivia Snow (Auslan). We also welcome back from family leave, Carly Pike (Grade 4).

Our passionate and dedicated Wonga Park Primary School staff are very excited for the year ahead! We can’t wait to support your children as they explore, learn and grow - celebrating their achievements and fostering kindness, curiosity, and a strong sense of belonging in our Wonga Park community.

Welcome to our 2026 Preps

We would like to extend a very special welcome to our new Prep students as they begin their school journey at Wonga Park Primary School! Today, our Preps enjoyed dropping off their books, meeting their teacher and spending some time exploring their new classroom.

Tomorrow marks their first big day, complete with family photos, time in their classrooms and a lunchtime BBQ with their buddies and families - such an exciting way to start! We are confident our Prep students will quickly settle into school life, forming friendships, learning school routines and showing plenty of enthusiasm for all the new things they will discover along the way. A big shout-out also goes to our wonderful Grade 6 students, who are eager to begin their important role as Prep buddies, helping our youngest learners feel safe, supported and happy as they start this exciting new chapter.

Building a Connected Community

The focus in every classroom during the first weeks of the school year is building a connected and respectful community of learners. By investing time to establish routines, create class agreements, and get to know each other on a deeper level, we are fostering a community that is orderly, respectful, inclusive, and connected. In an environment built on trust, kindness, and care, everyone is empowered to learn and thrive.

In Term 1, our first Big Idea in Challenge-Based Learning is ‘Community’ which aligns perfectly with our school-wide focus on fostering strong, supportive relationships among all students and staff.

The School Wide Positive Behaviour Support program (SWPBS) that is being embedded across our school also focusses creating a positive environment and strong relationships.

Communication

Communication is important as we build strong partnerships with our families. Sentral is the platform that we use to communicate with our families. Please contact the school for assistance if you are having any trouble receiving communications via Sentral.

The Getting -To-Know-You Conversations are a great opportunity for parents to share information about their child with the classroom teacher and to begin building the home-school partnership. Please book an interview time via the Sentral Parent Portal. The 10-minute interviews will be held next Wednesday 4th February and Thursday 5th February from 3:50pm – 6:00pm. Please contact the office if you are having any difficulty booking an interview time.

We hope that parents take the opportunity to attend the online Parent Information Sessions by the Grade 1/2, 3/4, 5/6 and Specialist Teams on Wednesday, 11th February. The Prep Parent Information Session will be held onsite at 5:30pm on Tuesday 10th February. These sessions will provide parents with an overview of the wellbeing and curriculum focuses, class and school expectations, classroom routines, special events. Sessions will be recorded for parents who are unable to watch the presentation on the night. More information will be sent home closer to the date.

The Wonga Weekly, emailed each Monday, is one of the key ways we stay connected with our families. This weekly update shares an overview of the learning taking place in every classroom and specialist space, along with important reminders and details about upcoming events. A valued feature of the Wonga Weekly is the inclusion of conversation prompts to support families in talking with their child about what they are learning at school.

You will also find contributions from our student leaders, Leadership Team, Learning Specialist, Wellbeing Coordinator and School Council, as well as community news and upcoming events. We warmly encourage all families to take a few moments each week to read the Wonga Weekly and stay up to date with the learning, activities and celebrations happening across grade levels, specialist programs and our wider school community.

We are looking forward to a wonderful year ahead, filled with learning, connection and many shared moments as a school community.

Warm regards

Julie

julie.crawford@education.vic.gov.au

Adele Brice - Assistant Principal

Welcome to the 2026 school year.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to our Prep students & their families and other families new to our Wonga Park PS community. I'm sure you'll love belonging to the Wonga Park PS community, it is truly a special community to be a member of.

CHILDSAFE STANDARDS

Child Safety Code of Conduct

Wonga Park Primary School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Our school community recognises the importance of, and a responsibility for, ensuring our school is a safe, supportive and enriching environment which respects and fosters the dignity and self-esteem of children and young people, and enables them to thrive in their learning and development.

We require any staff, contractors or members of the school community involved in child related work to read and sign a copy of the Child Safety Code of Conduct annually. The office has copies of this form or you may wish to download it from our website. The 2025 Code of Conduct will remain on our website until the 2026 School Council is elected.

eSafety – Office of the eSafety Commissioner

The eSafety Commissioner is a wonderful resource to make yourself familiar with. This space was established in 2015, it's Australia's national and independent regulator of online safety. It is dedicated to keeping people safe online.

The eSafety Commissioner has shared information regarding: Cyberbullying and the back-to-school surge: How can we protect our kids. We encourage you to read of this important information.

Sign up for the eSafety Newsletter to receive the latest online safety news, resources, and advice.

eSafety Commission online workshops for 2026

The eSafety's provide free webinars provide parents and carers with the knowledge, skills and tools to support their children to have safe, positive online experiences.

The schedule for 2026 can be accessed via this link .

Volunteering at WPPS

We are mandated (without exemption) to provide training for school staff and all volunteers working within our school to ensure they are equipped with knowledge, skills and awareness to keep our young people safe through ongoing education and training. To volunteer in our school you must:

provide the school with a copy of your WWCC
Read and sign the Code of Conduct

CCTV at WPPS

We have had a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system at our school.

Our school has an obligation to ensure the school environment is safe and secure, and fulfil our duty of care to students, staff and visitors. The CCTV system will assist our school to fulfil these obligations and to prevent and manage other inappropriate behaviour on school grounds. CCTV will also provide enhanced capability to protect our school’s assets against vandalism and theft.

We will follow Department of Education and Training policy requirements for the design, installation, management and use of the CCTV systems. This policy is available at: CCTV in Schools – Installation and Management.

We will also place a CCTV Privacy Notice on our school website with more information about our school’s use of CCTV.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the office on 97221325.

Dogs on school site

Whilst we understand that many families in our school community keep dogs as pets, to ensure that our school remains a safe and inclusive place for everyone, pet dogs are not permitted on school grounds during school hours unless a prior arrangement has been made with the principal.

Our school community is diverse and may include people who are allergic or uncomfortable around dogs. We are also conscious of the health hazards that may be posed by dogs. We ask that families please leave their pet dogs at home or safely tethered outside school grounds (they should be not be tethered on school property - including, but not limited to, school fences and gates) when attending our school or school events. Please refer to our Dogs on School Premisespolicy for further information.

Supervision before and after school

Student safety at Wonga Park Primary School is our highest priority and the safe and appropriate supervision of students is an important element of our duty of care to students. Part of this duty is ensuring parents and students are aware of our student supervision arrangements before and after school.

Before school: Parents are reminded that students should not be in the school grounds unsupervised before 8.40am. School grounds are supervised from 8.40am. Should students arrive prior to 8.40am they will be asked to wait in the office, parents will be contacted. Staff are on duty in the carpark, the gates at Dudley Road and Lantana Road. There is also a teacher on duty who will rove around the top/middle area of the school. Students should not play on the reserve or oval before school.

After school: School grounds are supervised until 3.40pm. Staff are on duty in the carpark, the gates at Dudley Road and Lantana Road. There is also a teacher on duty who will rove around the top/middle area of the school. Students should not play on the reserve or oval before school.

Students on school grounds outside these times will not be supervised (unless they are attending a before or after school care program or supervised extracurricular activity).

Parents/carers are requested to ensure that students do not attend school outside of these supervised times unless they are attending before or after school care, or a pre-arranged supervised activity (i.e. sports practice).

Families are encouraged to contact Their Care on 1300 072 410 or refer to their website for more information about the before and after school care facilities available to our school community or if you would like any further information about our student supervision arrangements.

For a copy of our school’s Yard Duty and Supervision Policy is accessible on our website. This policy includes Wonga Park Primary School’s student supervision arrangements across the school day, including before and after school.

Student mobile phones and smart watches/Space Watches

The Department of Education has in place a mobile phone ban that requires students who bring mobiles phones/smart watches to school to have them switched off and securely put away during school hours.

The Department requires all schools to ensure this ban is in place and enforced, it applies to all government schools across the state.

This helps ensure that school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions. We understand that students may bring a personal mobile phone to school, particularly if they are travelling independently to and from school. Students who choose to bring mobile phones to school must have them switched off and securely stored at the school office during school hours. Staff will be actively reminding students of this protocol, as there are Ministerial Orders in place which must be observed. Please read our Mobile Phone Student Use policy. When emergencies occur, parents or carers should reach their child by calling the office.

2026 Lines of Communication

To streamline communication between home and school, a Lines of Communication procedure has been created (please refer to the relevant tab in the newsletter).

This procedure helps to ensure parents know how to access the relevant staff member to attend to an enquiry or concern.

Disability and Inclusion

Our region (therefore school) has now transitioned from supporting students with disabilities through the PSD model of support (Programs for Students with Disabilities) to Disability Inclusion. Term 1 SSGs (Student Support Group meetings). Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or require support. Alternatively you might like to read the Department's information for parents page.

State Schools Relief

State Schools’ Relief is a not-for-profit organisation who works closely with all government schools across Victoria to improve the lives of Victorian students and their families, each year. Their simple and practical service ensures that all students can attend school in warmth and comfort with a greater sense of belonging and improved self-esteem, which in turn enhances educational engagement. Support provided includes items such as school clothing, shoes and other essential items.

Please do not hestiate to contact me should you require support from State School's Relief.

WPPS Preloved Uniform - Facebook Page

Some members of our community have set up a WPPS preloved Uniform page on Facebook. Please check the page if you are hoping to source 2nd hand uniforms.

I’m looking forward to working with you all this year.

Warm regards,

Adele Brice

Assistant Principal

adele.brice@education.vic.gov.au

School Community News