Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week marks the first week of summer and the beginning of a number of end of year activities that unite us as a community. We look forward to our Christmas Carols this Thursday as well as our Grade 6 Graduation the following Thursday. 

Hooptime Basketball

On Tuesday and Thursday two of our Hooptime Teams participiated in State Finals (Grade 3/4 Future Stars and Grade 5/6 All Stars). Thank you to the staff and families who have supported in ensuring our students are able to participate in these events. Both teams performed admirably with our All Stars finishing in the Top 8 in Victoria and our Future Stars in the Top 16.

Foundation Orientation

On Tuesday we also held another Foundation Orientation session for our 2025 students thank you to the families who attended and our Whitehorse Family Network for presenting to families and sharing the importance of families being involved in our school community.

Out of School Hours Care 2025 - New Provider

This term we have gone through the process of appointing a new Out of School Hours Care provider for 2025. School council made this decision based on feedback from the community about the option for Kindergarten students to access OHSC to support our wider community. Through this process we received several tenders and shortlisted applicants. We are pleased to announce that Camp Australia will be our School and Holiday program provider starting January 29th 2025. This will provide a strong program for our students and extended hours in the morning for our families 7:00 - 8:45 (9:15am finish for kinder students) and 3:30pm - 6:00pm after school  (3:15pm start for kinder students)

Meet the Teacher 2025

Next Tuesday the 10th of December our 2025 Foundation students and current students will meet their teacher for 2025 following on from a number of transition sessions we have held this term. The staff at Whitehorse have placed considerable time and effort into the transition process to support the learning and wellbeing of our students. We look forward to students meeting their 2025 teacher next week!

Classes 2025

Over the last month, the leadership team have looked at various structures for next year, with this mainly determined by the Student Resource Package (SRP) staffing budget we receive. 

The Workforce Planning at this stage (based on 290 students starting in January) is for a 13 class structure as mentioned in the previous newsletter. We can also confirm the teachers that will be working in those levels for 2025.

We have 4 new staff joining our teaching team for 2025 (Alex, Beth, Catherine and Jennifer) as Deb Strike and Dianne Keats have taken extended leave to spend time with their family. We also have two staff members who will be retiring at the end of this year, Richard Fly and Hea Lim.

Richard has given many decades of service to Whitehorse and previously Nunawading Primary School and has been an instrumental part of our school since its opening. He has taken on a variety of roles across all year levels, the specialist program, Acting Assistant Principal and more recently EAL and Physical Education in Term 4. Richard has also had a significant impact on his students, I can even recall speaking to a previous parent of Nunawading PS who has children that graduated over 20 years ago who remember Mr Fly as being the teacher who had the biggest impact on their learning in Primary School. We wish Richard the best as he embarks on the next stage of his life.

I would also like to acknowledge Hea Lim who has also dedicated decades of service to Whitehorse and Nunawading Primary School. Hea has worked as Education Support  working with children with additional needs and organising First Aid for the school. Many families may recognise Hea’s voice on the phone as her care compassion for students is commendable. Hea has also provided additional support to our EAL families assisting them in navigating the school system and beyond in many cases. We wish Hea all the best for her next chapter and thank her for the support she has given all families at our school.

School Council

On Wednesday we had our final school council meeting of 2025. I would like to acknowledge Jo Majdan, Joy Terrenzani, Lisa Hume, Cheryl Woodford, Ben Dunstall, Louisa Liyange, Vikram Singh, Misty Viera, Kristy Sanbrook, Simon Beardall, Coral O’Malley and Tim Price for their effort throughout 2025.

Mathletics

This term we have been reviewing our use of online resources and digital tools in terms of student learning and assessment. The Maths Professional Learning Team has conducted a comprehensive review of Mathletics and based on this we have made a school decision to remove Mathletics from our list of online apps for 2025. Students will continue to have access to online tools for mathematics including Essential Assessment which provided significant overlap with Mathletics. Our Maths PLT will provide further information at the start of 2025 in relation to the range of activities students can access to support their learning at home.

Born to Soar

In Term 4 we had our first term of partnership with Born to Soar with approximately 10 F-2 students taking part in the program. The feedback so far has been very positive and this partnership will continue in 2025. Please see the flyer below for more information.

Auskick 5 week program

Recently our school was approached by AFL Auskick to host a before school 5 week program in Term 1 following on from our successful footy day in Term 3. This paid program will give all students an opportunity to develop their footy skills with trained coaches. Please see the information below if you are interested in your child participating.

Hope to see you at the Carols!

Andrew Den Elzen

Principal