Term 3, Week 5

Dear Families,

It’s been a busy and productive first half of term with lots of learning taking place. We hope you’ve all had the chance to meet your child’s classroom teacher to discuss their learning and their semester 1 Achievement Report. If not, please reach out to schedule an appointment with the relevant staff members. It’s definitely a very exciting time to be at Williamstown North Primary School over the second half of this term.

Parliament Prize Announcement

The Parliament Prize is an annual competition for Victorian school students, inviting them to consider what they would say in Parliament if they were an MP and submit a 90-second video presenting their own Member Statement.

This year, the competition attracted an impressive 1,180 entries from more than 180 schools across Victoria. Students awarded a Finalist certificate ranked in the top 12, while those receiving a Highly Commended certificate ranked in the top 6% of entries in their category.

We are incredibly proud of all our Year 5 and 6 students who took the opportunity to enter this year’s Parliament Prize. Their willingness to share their ideas, speak with confidence and put forward their own Member Statements is a fantastic achievement in itself. We are especially thrilled to announce that two of our students were awarded Highly Commended certificates in the Grade 5 and 6 category.

Congratulations to Noori Willoughby from 6D and Ruby Kneebone from 5C on this outstanding achievement.

Seussical the Musical

With Seussical the musical fast approaching, ticket sales will commence this week, for cast members, and in the coming weeks for the remainder of the school community. Look out for further communication from Chelsea via Compass.

Symphony of Stories and Numbers

Book Week and Numeracy Week will be combined into one massive week of celebrating all things Literacy and Numeracy. Our big week of celebrations will align with CBCA Book Week from Monday 24th August to Friday 28th August. The theme for the week is ‘Symphony of Stories and Numbers’.

All of the favourite events from Book Week and Numeracy Week will take place, such as our Masked Reader competition, buddy reads and buddy maths sessions, book clubs, recess maths missions, daily competitions, quizzes and class activities.

We also have a number of whole-school events taking place throughout the week, which we’ve provided further information about below.

Costume Parade: On Friday, 28th August at 9:20am, there will be a costume parade where students are encouraged to dress up as one of their favourite book characters. The parade will be held at 9:20am on Tasmania (athletics track), and families are more than welcome to come along and watch the celebration.

Last year, our Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony that was due to take place during the Little Long Walk needed to be rescheduled. We are excited to share that our parade will begin with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony, delivered by Aunty Fay Muir (Author).

Reading and Writing Together is Magic: Wednesday, 26th of August, 5.45pm-6.30pm

This evening event celebrates students’ literacy, as they present a short piece of their own original poetry to a small group of students and families. During class in the lead-up to the night, students will draft, revise, edit and publish their writing and rehearse their presentation in preparation for reading it aloud in front of you and the rest of their audience.

On the night, students and families are allocated to small multi-aged groups, in classrooms across the school. As well as sharing their own writing, students will hear from peers in their year level, and from those in year levels above and below them. Our senior students host the event in each classroom, as part of their leadership development.

We encourage all students and families to participate. It is essential that students are booked in so that we can ensure poetry is in the correct room on the night.

Book your family’s attendance at this community event using the Google Form below:

RWTIM Bookings Link: Click Here

Bookings Close: Thursday 20th August, 4:00pm

Book Fair: Throughout Book and Numbers Week, our annual Book Fair will take place in our school library. Our Book Fair is supplied by Lamont, and a portion of the proceeds goes towards the purchase of new books for our school library. In the lead-up to the Book Fair, all classes will have an opportunity to visit and explore the books during a preview session.

Should you like to participate, the Book Fair will also be open for sales on:

Wednesday 26th August: 8.30-9.30am and 3.30-5.30pm

Thursday 27th August: 8.30-9.30am and 3.30- 4.30pm

Friday 28th August: 8.30- 9.30am

Books can also be purchased online through a portal. We will provide further communication about this closer to the date.

Parent Numeracy Open Afternoon: On Thursday, 27th August, from 2:20 pm to 3:10 pm, we invite parents and carers to our Numeracy Open Afternoon. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents and carers to come into the classroom, see maths in action, and experience firsthand some of the games and activities your child has been enjoying.

Premiers’ Reading Challenge: The time is ticking, but it’s not too late! There are under 50 days left to complete this year's Premier's Reading Challenge, which closes on September 4th. In Prep-2, students need to read 30 books in total, 20 challenge and 10 choice. These books can be read by the students, or you can read them together. In Years 3-6, your child only needs to read 10 challenge books and 5 choice books! We look forward to a fun week celebrating the love of Literacy and Numeracy and can’t wait to share it with our community.

Bully No Way Week

Bullying No Way Week is Australia’s leading initiative for bullying prevention in schools. It’s an opportunity for schools to foster a shared understanding of bullying behaviours and highlight strategies for their prevention. The theme this year is “Small Acts, Big impact.”

Bullying is everyone’s responsibility, and small acts can make a real difference.

This year’s theme reminds us that actions don’t need to be big to change someone’s world. Small actions – like including someone, speaking up or showing kindness – can create meaningful change.

In our schools and communities, our goal is to build environments where everyone belongs, diversity is celebrated and bullying is never accepted.

During Bullying No Way Week, we encourage students, schools, families and communities to engage in small acts that can have a big impact against bullying.

Staffing Update

Commencing Monday the 24th of August, I will be on Long-Service Leave returning on Monday 5th October. Coinciding with this leave, Richard Buckingham will be returning to work on Monday 24th of August. Please see message from Richard below.

Dear WNPS Community,

Firstly, I would like to thank Ms moodley and our school leadership team and staff for all their hard work and support while I have been on leave. Ms Moodley has done a fantastic job as Acting Principal.

Secondly, I would like to thank our community for your concern and well wishes whilst I have been on personal leave as well as your understanding and respect for my privacy during my absence.

I am looking forward to returning on the 24th of August, just as Ms Moodley commences her own Long Service Leave. I am very much looking forward to our Reading and Writing Together is Magic evening on Wednesday 26th of August and getting stuck into business as usual upon my return.

Kind regards,

Richard

It is with great excitement that we welcome David Gardner to our School as our Acting Assistant Principal for the remainder of the school year. He commences with us on Monday 17th August and brings a wealth of wellbeing and inclusion information and expertise. Please see below an introductory blurb written by Dave.

Hello everyone,

My name is Dave Gardner, and I am delighted to be joining the Williamstown North Primary School community as Acting Assistant Principal. I have worked across a number of schools in Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs over the past 25 years, and I am very excited to begin this new chapter with the Williamstown North Primary School community.

As a new member of the school community, I look forward to meeting students, staff, families and members of our broader community over the coming weeks and developing strong, positive relationships.

In my role, I will have responsibility for Wellbeing and Inclusion. I strongly believe that every student should feel safe, supported and valued, and be provided with opportunities to experience success through a positive growth mindset. I look forward to working collaboratively with staff, students, families and the wider community to build on the great work already underway and further strengthen our commitment to the school’s values of Belonging, Responsibility, Respect and Persistence.

I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside such dedicated staff and to contribute to a school with a strong reputation for its sense of community and its commitment to supporting positive academic, social and emotional outcomes for every student.

I look forward to meeting you all and becoming an active member of the Williamstown North Primary School community.Kind Regards,David Gardner

Our 2027 Prep enrolments are now closed, and letters of offer will be going out this week, however we will still continue to accept enrolments until January 2027. Our prep teaching team for 2027 is Hannah Wilkinson, Danielle Mayer, Fyfe Berry, and Jacob Lloyd. The depth of knowledge and expertise in this team will set our students up for a wonderful first year of school.

Kind regards,

Shevani Moodley

Attendance / Wellbeing