Dear Parents/Carers,

THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL SEMESTER

As Term 2 concludes, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our students, staff, parents, and friends of Warrnambool Primary School for contributing to a fantastic first semester of 2025.

Your support, enthusiasm, and commitment to our school community have helped create a positive and enriching environment for all.

Whether in the classroom, on the playground, or at school events, it’s been heartening to see the way everyone works together to make our school such a great place to learn and grow.

Enjoy a well-earned break, and we look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for Term 3.

FAREWELL AND THANK YOU - MR KUJ WILLIAMS

As Term 2 concludes, we say a fond farewell to one of Warrnambool Primary School’s most dedicated and passionate teachers — Mr Kuj Williams.

Mr Williams has made a lasting impact on our school community, especially in his work with Year 6A. His energy, creativity, and commitment to bringing out the best in every student has made him a beloved member of staff and a true role model. Whether it was in the classroom, on excursions, or during school events, Mr Williams has brought a warmth and enthusiasm that helped shape a positive learning environment.

While we are sad to see him go, we’re also excited for the next chapter in the Williams family's adventure. Kuj, along with Georgia, Carmelo, and Gaia, will soon be heading to Vietnam to begin a new journey together. We know they’ll embrace this opportunity with the same passion and open-hearted spirit they’ve shown here.

From everyone at Warrnambool Primary School — students, staff, and families — thank you, Mr Williams. You’ll be deeply missed, but your legacy will remain in the smiles and confidence of the students you’ve inspired.

We hope to see you back at Warrnambool Primary School.

WELCOME - MR TIM BOURKE

We are delighted to welcome Mr Tim Bourke to Warrnambool Primary School.

Mr Bourke brings with him a wealth of experience as both a teacher and school principal, having worked in education for many years. His knowledge, leadership, and passion for student learning will be a fantastic asset to our school community.

Mr Bourke will be taking over the reins of Year 6A, and we are confident that his calm approach, deep understanding of teaching, and commitment to student wellbeing will make for a smooth and exciting transition for the class.

WELCOME - MR RYAN MCELGUNN

We are very fortunate to have Ryan McElgunn commencing in Term 3 as Education support in the Year 4 area. We wish Ryan all the very best.

CONGRATULATIONS CHARLOTTE WARWICK - TRIPLE ZERO HERO

We are so proud to celebrate Charlotte, a student in Year 5 who has received a Triple Zero Hero Award for her extraordinary bravery and quick thinking during not one, but two medical emergencies at home last year.

Charlotte’s mum, Rebecca, suffered two seizures in separate incidents, and each time, Charlotte was the only one home. Despite the frightening situation, Charlotte stayed calm, called 000, and provided clear, vital information to emergency services — helping ensure her mum received the urgent care she needed.

What makes this recognition even more remarkable is that both emergency call takers, from different call centres and unaware of each other’s nominations both recommended Charlotte for the award. Her courage, clarity, and composure under pressure left such an impact that they felt she truly deserved to be recognised as a Triple Zero Hero.

Charlotte was recognised this week at a special evening held in Melbourne.

Charlotte, your bravery and strength are inspiring, and your school community couldn’t be prouder of you.

YEAR 1 FLAGSTAFF HILL EXCURSION

Our excited Year 1 students headed off on the bus to attend their long-awaited Flagstaff Hill excursion on Thursday. They looked resplendent, dressed up in their olden day costumes, ready to learn all about life in the 1860’s. After a viewing of the amazing Loch Ard peacock, they made their way down into the village to have a look around. The sun was out, and the village was gleaming as they completed their “Spot It!” discovery game and toured the shops and displays. Each class had a turn in the olden day Common School, where “Sir” taught them about “Readin’, Writin’ & Artithmetic”. They got to see the blacksmiths melting down the metal and making tools in the roaring fire. The excursion was extremely enjoyable and the students found it interesting and fun. It was a great conclusion to ther studies in history.

YEAR 2 JAPANASE

Students in Year 2 have been learning to read and retell the story of the 3 Little Pigs in Japanese. Through reading the Japanese version of this well-known fairy tale, they have built up their range of vocabulary and developed their literacy skills learning to recognise Kanji characters for words like tree/wood, house, and build/make. They also practiced decoding key vocabulary written in the phonetic script of Hiragana. These tasks have build students' awareness that languages can be written in different ways and that individual letters or characters may represent sounds or concepts.

SOCCER CLUB

Year 6 students Matilda and Amelia have been offering soccer coaching at lunch times to students in Foundation to Year 4. This has been a great opportunity for older students to mentor their younger peers and for younger students to practice or learn soccer and mix with students from a range of year levels.

ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS

The past two days students have had the exciting opportunity to host a visit from Engineers Without Borders.

Year 5 students concluded their literacy unit based on Blueback by Tim Winton, a novel that has captured the hearts and imaginations of our young readers.

The visit from Engineers Without Borders added an inspiring, real-world perspective. The engineers shared stories of their work in sustainability and environmental protection, connecting beautifully with the themes of the novel.

ART-icle OF THE WEEK

This week in the art room, creativity took many forms. We had fun sketching eyes, looking closely at shape, detail and expression. It’s amazing how much personality one eye can hold!

Inspired by the theme of upcycling, students transformed popcorn boxes into vibrant canvases for a collaborative mural. We explored texture using corks, sticks, paint splatters and even finger painting to create layered effects and colour gradients. A special challenge saw us working with just lines and dots, pushing our creativity in surprising ways.

HOT DOG DAY

Thankyou to everyone for supporting our Hotdog Day on the last day of term.

The students certainly enjoyed the opportunity to eat a warm lunch on a cool winter’s day as a celebration of a great first semester.

Again, thankyou to the Fundraising sub-committee.

TERM 3 RETURN- MONDAY 21ST JULY 2025

A reminder that we return on Monday 21st July 2025.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS - WEEK 3 TERM 3

Parent Teacher Interviews will take place from Monday 4th - Wednesday 6th August. The time allotments will go live on Compass in Week 1 - Term 3.

CAMP DATES Term 3 - 2025

Year 5 Ballarat - Monday 28th - Wednesday 30th July 2025

Year 3 Kangaroobie - Wednesday 20th - Friday 22nd August 2025

Please ensure all medical forms, parent consent and payment is made for both camps. These are fantastic camps with huge historical and cultural significance for our part of Australia.

Have a fantastic school holidays.

Peter Lee

Principal

Student Birthdays