Welcome to Term 2

Message From Mr Buckingham

Welcome Back for Term 2:

Dear families,

Welcome back to term 2 after a slightly longer term break due to the Good Friday public holiday. I hope everyone is well rested and had the opportunity to enjoy the last of the good weather, spend some time with family and friends and recharge ready for one of our longer school terms and the beginning of winter. 

We encourage all families to initiate communication as needed with your child/rens’ classroom teacher should you have any questions about or information about your child/rens’ social, emotional or learning journey. Please also remember that each learning team has a learning leader who can be contacted to as well to support the home/school partnership. 

Our learning leaders are; Prep: Mrs Kate Richards, Year 1/2: Ms. Bronwyn Murray, Year 3/4: Ms Melanie Kennie (replacing Carolyn Watts), Year 5/6: Mr Patrick Kelly, Specialist Team: Mr Jack Rhodes. We also have Ms Kaitlyn Hayes leading Prep-6 Literacy, Ms Crissy Samaras leading P-6 Numeracy and Mrs Giorgia Moss leading Wellbeing, Inclusion and Mental Health.

Weather Change:

With term 2 comes the end of Autumn and the beginning of winter. We remind families that students are permitted to wear warm coats, gloves scarves etc. when outside at recess, lunch, before and after school. Whilst these are not compulsory uniform items, they are available through our PSW uniform supplier. With the weather change also comes the cold and flu season. Should your child/ren be unwell, please notify the school through our preferred method COMPASS so that the absence can be deemed an ‘approved school absence’. Whilst we encourage our students to be at school every single day, we do understand that if a child is sick, the best place for them is at home to rest and recuperate.

ANZAC Day:

Yesterday was Anzac Day which was a public holiday for all staff and students. Anzac Day is a day to remember all Australians and New Zealanders who gave their lives in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping missions around the world. It is also a time to remember and thank all those who have served and continue to serve in the Australian and New Zealand armies. Mr Dean Pearce along with 6 of our School Captains attended the ANZAC service at the Williamstown Cenotaph on Ferguson Street and laid a wreath on behalf of the school. 

Curriculum Day:

Friday 26th April is our whole school curriculum day which is a student free day. Staff will be onsite undertaking professional learning including; pulse checking our Annual Implementation Plan, streamlining our planning processes, developing ongoing teacher learning plans and undertaking OH&S as well as anaphylaxis and asthma training. OSHClub is available for any families requiring student care on the day and should be contacted directly to make a booking.

Schoolyard Supervision:

I would like to remind families that our schoolyard is supervised between the hours of 8.50am – 9.00am (before school), 11.00am-11.20am (recess break), 1.30pm-2.30pm (lunch break) and 3.30pm – 3.40pm (afterschool). These times are within the teachers’ working hours in line with the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022, which I have attached a link below.

Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022 (education.vic.gov.au)

Have a wonderful (unofficial) long weekend, and we look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday.

Kind regards, Richard Buckingham

Principal

School Council President Report

Welcome back to Term 2!

Here’s a quick update from the WNPS School Council (SC) and some of the matters arising from our most recent meeting which was held on Tuesday, 16 April 2024.  

By way of background, the SC meets eight times a year and is the legally formed body that, within Department of Education (DE) guidelines, decides the future directions for the school and oversees the school’s operations working closely with the Principal and the school’s leadership team. 

The SC comprises both parent and teacher representatives.  This year’s SC parent representatives are Amanda Morrison, Elissa Gale, Laura Mahoney, Lara Papadopolous, Mark Smith, Martin Gill, Michael Tracey and Philippa Askham.  Teacher representatives on the SC are Shevani Moodley, Sarah Nobbs and Kaitlyn Hayes alongside Richard Buckingham who as principal is the SC Executive Officer.

Voting was held for key SC positions in 2024 with Martin Gill elected for a further year as President, Laura Mahoney as Vice President, Michael Tracey as Treasurer and Sarah Nobbs as Secretary.

School finances were discussed in detail at our most recent meeting, particularly in light of reduced enrolments, teacher shortages and an upcoming periodic financial audit by the DE  A new Finance Committee was formed comprising Michael Tracey (Treasurer and Committee Leader), Martin Gill, Lara Papadopolous, Elissa Gale, Richard Buckingham and Sarah Nobbs which meets separately and will report in to the full SC at each council meeting.   

Richard provided his Principal’s Report to the SC discussing enrolments, staff changes, various maintenance required around the school premises and the new student swimming program at BayFit.  Also discussed was the rejuvenated 2024 parent representative program which is due to be launched in Term 2.  Previously, these groups focussed primarily on social activities – going forward, the role will be extended to encapsulate the coordination of parent helpers for excursions and classroom helper tasks.  Once parent representatives have been appointed for each class, a training program and regular group catch-ups will be set up.  Training will include etiquette and policies around social media, privacy and information sharing. The main point of contact in respect of the education needs of your child will continue to be your child’s classroom teacher.     

The SC was also provided with copy of WNPS’s 2024 Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) which sets the school’s education and knowledge focus and key improvement strategies for the year and how these will be tracked and monitored in order to achieve improved student outcomes.  The AIP will be discussed in detail at the next SC meeting on 7 May 2024.  

Representatives of OSH attended to present to the SC on some of the changes that have been implemented at the school’s OSH Club including rebranding and exciting new programs being offered.  OSH is currently looking to recruit a Club Coordinator for WNPS and is very keen to recruit a suitably qualified and experienced person from the local community.  Further details of this job opportunity will be shared shortly by the school.

The SC has an ongoing commitment to maintain and grow community engagement with the school’s parents and carers and the wider Williamstown community.  Planning for the annual Mother’s Day stall, a Mother’s Day celebratory breakfast on site, the school’s 150 Year Celebrations and a mid-year parents’ cocktail function are all underway.  A detailed schedule of events for the 2024 celebrations and community events is in the process of being prepared and will be released to the WNPS community shortly.  In the meantime, we are finalising the cost and design for our student designed 150th anniversary t-shirt and these will shortly become available to be purchased.  

We look forward to continuing to update the WNPS parents on SC and other school initiatives. 

Martin Gill (President) and Laura Mahoney (Vice President)