Principals Report

While our weather plays games with us, Term 4 sees the return of sun smart hats, which will need to be worn by all students when outside, as part of the school’s sun smart policy. Currently we are ensuring that every child that is outside is wearing a hat. We have been sending families sunsmart infringement messages through COMPASS so you can support us in ensuring all students are playing safely at school.

We also ask for the continued support of the wearing of appropriate school uniform. School culture and identity is a very important part of Wales Street Primary. Having students actively wearing the correct uniform goes a long way to support a positive school environment. We thank all parents/carers for their support.

World Teachers’ Day

World Teachers' Day honours teachers, whose passion and hard work make a real difference to student's lives every day. In Victoria, we celebrate World Teachers' Day on Friday 31st October. We are very lucky to have a team of dedicated, knowledgeable, compassionate and skilled teachers at Wales Street. As a staff we will have a special lunch and teachers will be receiving a small gift as a token of our appreciation.

Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) Program

We are pleased to share that our school, as part of the Northeast Metropolitan Region, will be funded for a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader in 2026 through the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative. The program aims to build the capacity of schools to better support the mental health and wellbeing of all students by providing early intervention, promoting positive mental health, and connecting families with additional support when needed. We are excited about this opportunity and the positive impact it will have on our students, staff, and school community.

 Changes to Digital Devise Use

There was an unexpected policy announcement from the Department of Education regarding the use of digital devices in Primary Schools on 16th October. https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/digital-learning/policy.

The policy states that:

Commencing in 2027, schools with primary students:

• must not invite or allow families to purchase or bring their own student digital devices for primary students to use at school in Years F-6

Accordingly, this matter was discussed at School Council this week and we will be making changes to our program to align with the new policy. Grade 3,4 & 5 parents will receive relevant information for the child/children's year level for 2026.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Our end of year Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on:

Monday 17th November for Grades 3-6. 

Tuesday, 18th November for Foundation to 2. 

This will be a normal school day for students. Students will be involved in activities with Specialist teachers in the afternoon, and the school day will finish at 3:30

The meetings will be held over Webex. Webex links will be posted on your news feed on Compass. Time slots will be available from 1 pm until 6.35 pm, with a dinner and afternoon tea break for teachers.

The purpose of these interviews is to celebrate the learning that has occurred this year and to discuss any key areas in the Semester Two report. Each time slot is 10 minutes, allowing for 8 minutes to talk and a 2-minute tech changeover. Due to class numbers and available time slots, one-time slot has been allocated per child. 

Please be mindful of your allocated time so we can remain on schedule. 

Please book online through the Conferences tab on Compass. If you have any difficulties, please get in touch with the office

ATTENDANCE 

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begins with students coming to school each day. There are always times when students need to miss school, such as when they’re ill. It is vital that they’re only away when they need to be. Missing school can have a major impact on a child’s future – a student missing one day a fortnight will miss four full weeks by the end of the year. By Year 10 they’ll have missed more than a year of school. There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind and can affect their educational outcomes. Remember, everyday counts, including being at school on time and ready to learn. If you need support with your child’s attendance please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher or myself.

Reminders

Our swimming program payments through COMPASS close tonight so please remember to add this to your to do list so your child/children do not miss out. We need to confirm numbers early as there is a lot of organisation that goes into the swimming program with numbers of students being the most important.

Lastly, please remember that next Monday 3rd November is a Curriculum Day and Tuesday 4th November is Melbourne Cup Day, Public Holiday. I hope that families can have a short recharge over the long weekend in preparation for the run up to the busy Christmas period.