Term 4 Week 6

Term 4 - Week 6

Dear families,

The term is flying! Next week we find ourselves with just five weeks of school remaining for the year. Several school events have taken place including Jump Rope for Heart as well as Loud Shirt Day (both hosted by our JSC) as well as World Teachers’ Day where our staff enjoyed a Baked Potato lunch and special coffee orders. 

Our 2025 Prep transition program has thus far been very successful and our future preps have already settled in very well. Our grade 5/6s are currently undertaking the Beach Safety Program and next week Preps commence their swimming program at BayFit. 

Matilda the production is in the final preparation stage ready for our 3 performances on December 4th and 5th. We remind families to get your tickets on https://www.trybooking.com/1197393 and https://www.trybooking.com/CQDHP

We have had some buildings and grounds works undertaken including installation of the Gaga pit, gutters replaced, 2 small pool fences/gates installed in the P/1 area as well as a new front gate. A second Gaga pit is being installed in the P/1 area in the coming weeks. Child safety is our priority and we seek your cooperation and patience as we await an automated button system for the internal front doors which will be in operation between 9.10am and 3.20pm. Whilst all of this has been happening teachers have been busy delivering their normal programs as well as busily undertaking report writing, proof reading and assessment.

We are now in the final stages of our workforce planning for 2025 and we envision having this wrapped up in the next week or two. We will announce teachers’ class allocations within the next fortnight once this process is complete. Last week, students chose 5 learning buddies of whom they would potentially like to be in the same class as in 2025 and we will ensure that everyone has at least one of their nominated buddies. Learning buddies will not only be a great friend but also encourage and be supportive of classroom learning. 

Parents/carers are also encouraged to please put in writing any requests for student placements based on social and academic relationships as well as previous experiences and we will endeavour to take these into consideration. These requests must be sent to Richard via richard.buckingham@education.vic.gov.au no later than 22nd of November. Last year we accommodated more than 200 requests and we ask for your patience and understanding once again as we navigate this process. Please await receipt of your request. Once students are allocated to a class, should there be any human error in our placements or additional concerns, please reach out to me directly so that we can amend. 

Teachers will commence placing students into 2025 classes in the coming weeks. We expect student placements to be communicated to students and parents by Friday 6th of December. This will allow time for any adjustments and for us to prepare children for the statewide transition day on the 10th of December.

We are looking forward to the weekend when we will be hosting our150th Year Open Day on Sunday 17 November, from 11:30am to 2:30pm, as part of our year-long celebrations. We would love to see as many past and present students and families attend. I would like to sincerely thank Sharon Cave and Kirtsen Freisler for their hard work and dedication in leading the preparation for this event as well as Miss Nobbs, Mrs Papazisis, Mrs Gill and Mrs Symons.

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind families that we are always here to help should any problems, questions or issues arise. The learning journey is indeed a partnership where we all have the same common goal for our children to thrive academically, socially and emotionally. Classroom teachers can be contacted via COMPASS should any concerns arise around the day-to-day learning programs or class relations. In addition, our assistant principals or myself can be contacted to discuss any significant concerns and take on board productive feedback. Your communication to us is important, as any issue that isn’t raised can become an issue that cannot be resolved. I have included a link to our school Complaints Policy Complaints-Policy-March-2023-WNPS.pdf for your reference, but as always, we are committed to working alongside our students and parents to reach mutually agreed resolutions.

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Richard Buckingham

Principal