A warm welcome to our community

Welcome back to Term Four! It is most definitely hard to believe that the year has gone so quickly. I trust that you all had a lovely break with your family and took the opportunity to enjoy some time together.

Term Four is always an extremely busy term so please stay tuned to COMPASS announcements, newsletter (school calendar) and Facebook/Instagram. I hope you all take a moment to check our social media as we try to capture what is happening at school especially for our working families. You are welcome to leave comments or ‘like’ our posts! It’s also a wonderful way to keep up with your children’s learning.

Buildings and Grounds

Over the holidays there has been considerable work completed around the school grounds. We had a lot of concreting completed and this included a path around the gaga pit, a new path to the sports shed, the path around the hall completed and an access point to the oval. We now have full access around the hall without getting our feet wet. It’s been a long time to save up for this but well worth it.

Thank you to the wonderful families of past and present who make school contributions. The Buildings and Grounds contribution made by parents is critical to keep our beautiful school looking attractive and is a creative place for learning. It is through these generous contributions that we have been able to make these additions possible. Thank you !

UV (Sun Smart) Policy and School Uniform

Just a reminder that all students are required to wear their Weeden Heights PS broad brim hats as per school policy. The students have been reminded that they need to pack their hats and bring them to school. Students not wearing a hat are required to stay under the sails during recess and lunch times.

We do not have a specific time for students to move from their Winter uniform to their summer uniform but term four is a great measure. It is best for all students to be in their full summer uniform now. It would also be essential to apply sunscreen at home before school. Your child is responsible for applying and supplying their own sunscreen if you require them to wear it at school.

Please remember that our summer uniform does not include leggings being worn with summer dresses. I have noticed some students wearing decorative socks. School uniform as per policy outlines plain white or grey socks.

We are fortunate to have lovely school grounds with shady trees but we still need to maintain excellent practices to ensure that we stay safe at all times.

Arriving Late to School

We can all run late occasionally but unfortunately, we have noticed a few students arriving late to school each day. This has an effect on all students and their learning. Teaching in each room begins at 9am and that is why the classroom doors at Weeden Heights PS open at 8.50am. Students need time to settle and be ready for learning. If you arrive after 9am, the instructions for the literacy block will have already been given to the class. Your child will feel lost and then disrupt all the other learners in the classroom while trying to catch up with instructions, work and administrative tasks such as take-home books, notices etc. It is also difficult for the classroom teacher to continue on with teaching.

If a child is 10 minutes late each day, they lose 50 minutes a week of instructional time. Over a term that correlates to 9 hours and over a year 36 hours (6 whole school days). The effects on student lateness are evident in research.

Teaching our students productive work habits and routines is critical. Please try and get to school on time because it does make a difference in your child’s learning.

Diary of Two Weeden Kids

Your child is now an author and illustrator!!! The whole school book, Diary of Two Weeden Kids, is about to be published. You will have the opportunity to purchase our school’s very first novel. The school, including some parents, heard students reading some of their pages at assembly. We are super excited and will be taking orders soon so please look out for the order forms.

The school will only be printing the number of books that are ordered by the community and we are hoping that families get behind the publication of the book. Diary of Two Weeden Kids, will be replacing the magazine this year. I would like to especially thank Delphine who is leading the publication of the book and has put the book together in the format of the book it is based on, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Please think about our book, Diary of Two Weeden Kids, as a great Christmas gift for everyone. It’s going to be incredible!

Classes for 2026

Planning for next year has started and the grade structure will be based around student enrolments. All enrolment changes have been accommodated for in our planning and teachers will be allocated to 2026 classes soon. You will be notified of the school structure and classroom allocations for 2026 and teachers in December this year.

The formation of classes for 2026 is progressing. Many factors are considered when placing students in class groups and next year there will be several options for many cohorts of students. We devote an enormous number of hours considering the educational, social, emotional and physical wellbeing of each child at Weeden Heights before their final placement with students and teachers.

Please remember that all communication from parents regarding their child’s placement in 2026 (based on educational, social, emotional or physical considerations only) should be forwarded in writing addressed ‘To the Principal’ by Friday 31 October 2025. You can email using Weeden.Heights.PS@education.vic.gov.au Please remember you can not request teachers. All students identify five students that they work best with and they will be guaranteed to be in a class with one of the five students. (Students do not rank friends from 1 – 5).

Thank-you for your co-operation and support with this process.

Until next time……

Kylie Campbell

Proud Principal

Community

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