Principal's Report

18 October 2024

Welcome Back

Welcome back to school for all our families. We are all looking forward to a busy and productive Term 4. 

Term 4 has many events and activities planned such as the Year 6 Camp, Year 6 Graduation, school leadership elections, prep transition, book fair and whole school transition day.

BBQ Fundraisers - Thank You 

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of sausage sizzles held for the school with the aim to raise money for the water tank to toilets connection in the A-block. Thank you to our Parents Association who ran a Bunnings sausage sizzle in the last week of the holidays. They raised approximately $2000, well done! 

Also thank you to the Lions Club of Wheelers Hill, and parent Sam Koutsampasis who have ran some sausage sizzles as well. We also had a number of staff involved. Thank you as well to the Lions Club, the staff who attended and to Erin Bartleton, our sustainibility leader. 

In total approximately $12,000 has been raised for the connection of the water tanks to the toilets project, which when happens, will continue to make our school a more sustainable place. Thank you everyone!!

LIONS CLUB BBQ

PARENTS ASSOCIATION BUNNINGS BBQ

Class Placement Requests

Later this term, our teachers will begin creating classes for 2025. During this process the teachers consider friendship groups, student personalities, academic levels and other factors when putting these classes together. Our teachers put a lot of time and effort into ensuring the classes are created in the best possible manner. If you have a request regarding the placement of your child into a class for 2025, please email me by Monday 28th October. 

michael.ramsey@education.vic.gov.au

Requests must only be for significant issues (for example student wellbeing) that must be detailed in the email. Requests for specific teachers will not be considered. If you have made a request before and you think it is still relevant for the following year, please do so again.Please do not send an email with a list of friends your child would like to be with. Students will be given an opportunity to list friends they would like to be in a class with for next year. Teachers will ensure students are placed with at least one friend from the list they have provided. 

In cases where parent requests may contradict each other, teachers will use their judgement and knowledge of the student to make a decision regarding class placement. We will do our best to accommodate these requests, but as putting classes together can be complex process, they cannot always be followed. 

Students and parents will be informed of their new class and teacher for 2025 on the whole school transition day later in Term 4. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. 

Walk to School Day

Now that the weather is getting a bit warmer, it’s a perfect time to leave the car at home (or a little further from the school gates) and walk to school. Wheelers Hill Primary students are encouraged to walk, ride or scoot to school to build healthy habits for life. It’s a great opportunity to spend some time as a family and notice some of the beautiful areas in our community.  On this morning we encourage you and your children to walk to school from a number of designated checkpoints around the school at 8:30am. A number of staff will also be walking to school from these checkpoints as well (see the attached map). 

HOW IT WORKS  

1. Instead of dropping your children off at school, walk to or park around a designated checkpoint near the school (as shown on the map below). 

2. From the checkpoint start walking with your child or children to school from 8:30am. A number of staff will also be at the checkpoints to walk to school with our families from this time. 

3. Students who walk to school will be checked in via QR Code to go into a draw for a voucher to be drawn at assembly that Friday. 

When: 

Friday 25th October 

Where: 

Bowden Court Playground – 250m (4 mins) 

Hertford Crescent Dog Park – 650m (9 mins) 

View Mount Road Playground – 700m (10 mins) 

Brentwood Reserve – 800m (13 mins) 

We understand that some of our families come from further away, so we encourage you to park your car at one of the chosen play areas and walk your child/ren to school from there. It will then give you a chance to have some peace and quiet on the walk back! 

Please be reminded students are still under the supervision of parents until they arrive at school from 8:45am onwards so we strongly encourage you to walk with your children to school. If the weather is unsuitable on the morning, we will postpone the date.  We hope as many families as possible can participate in the Walk to School morning. We look forward to seeing you there!

https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/programs-and-projects/walk-to-school

House Name Change

Our current house names were established sometimes in the 1980s and are now longer relevant to our school in the 2020s. Our school, as have many in the area, have changed or are in the process of changing their house names to reflect the local indigenous names or words. Using indigenous names can raise awareness of the local indigenous language within our school community and of indigenous culture. This in line with the a reconciliation plan each school is required to have, the new curriculum and Department of Education expectations of schools. 

Next week our staff and students will have a chance to vote on the new house names. A list of them potential options is below. These are Bunurong words that were shortlisted by our house and school captains. After the voting process is complete the new names will be revealed at assembly on Friday 15th November. 

Red/Laver – Dantum (rosella), Marram (kangaroo)

Dantum (dan-tum) a local red parrot as the house colour. 

Marram (ma-rum) red coloured like the house and can jump high which you might need in some sports. 

Yellow/ Bradman – Yanggai (yellow tailed black cockatoo), Murnalong (honey bee)

Yangaii (yang-guy) has a yellow tail and face.

Murnalong (murn-ar-long) has some yellow bands and makes yellow honey like the house colour. 

Green/Norman – Djirri-djirri (willy wagtail), Bundabun (turtle)

Djirri-djirri (jiri-jiri) habitat is green grass.

Bundabun (bun-dar-bun) is coloured green like the house and lives in green wetlands. 

Blue/Fraser – Bunjil (eagle), Dulaiwarrung (platypus)

Bunjil (bun-jill) flies high in the blue sky.

Dulaiwarrung (do-lie-war-rung) lives in the water of streams and rivers.

Planning for 2025

We are at that time of the year where we are in the process of planning for 2025. We know that some families unfortunately won’t be with us next year, due to moving to a new house or area etc. If that includes your family, we are sorry to see you leave our community. Please ensure that you call the school or email to inform us of your plans at your earliest convenience. This supports us with our planning for next year. We thank you for your support and understanding.

Assemblies in Term 4

Assemblies in Term 4 will be via Webex at 2:00pm each Friday afternoon. Parents are more than welcome to join via my Webex link :

https://eduvic.webex.com/meet/ramsey.michael.j

Some assemblies will still be run on the oval. If this is the case, a post will be put on Compass well before the date. 

Michael Ramsey

Principal