As we fast approach the end of another school year, I would like to thank our school community for a highly positive year and a successful year of school improvements and improved student outcomes.

We have worked hard this year to try to re-engage parents into the school as we know that research tells us that parent engagement can have a direct influence on student engagement. We were so appreciative of the number of parents who attended our open classroom opportunities, our literacy/writing session, our Mental Health sessions and of course, our Australian Made Concert.

We have worked hard to continue to build staff curriculum understanding and capacity around the best contemporary teaching practices and the use of data to identify students at risk and to plan for targeted teaching and learning.

To ensure that we are catering for the diverse needs of students and their needs, we have ensured that all students requiring adjustments to support their learning have been catered for. This has meant up skilling staff but also a lot of time liaising with specialist staff such as speech pathologists, psychologists, paediatricians, and tutors. Through our intervention and tutoring programs, we have been able to provide a number of extra sessions each week in literacy and numeracy for students who are performing below and above expected level.

When a school has the best interests of the students at the centre of everything they do, this means building strong partnerships with parents and community to provide the best possible resources. Without the help of our parents for activities such as: camps, excursions, class programs, canteen, sporting events, School Council, Parents and Friends, maintenance, Carlsruhe Fair, the Uniform Shop, covering library books and many other behind the scenes jobs, we simply wouldn’t have been able to achieve what we have.

As we farewell our Year 6 students and other families that are moving out of the area, I would like not only to say goodbye but also take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of the people that have contributed to our school over the years. Your contribution is valued.

This year there are 3 people who I would like to particularly knowledge for their contribution. They are all people who go about things without fuss and without seeking recognition, but they have been valued and valuable members of our school community.

Shayne Summers

Shayne has been on School Council for the last 6 to 7 years during the time his boys attended W.P.S. He has contributed in so many ways, most notable his role as Treasurer of School Council over the last few years. This is one of the most significant roles in the school. Ensuring vigilance of our school finances is imperative so that we can make sure our finances are spent effectively on priority areas including staffing, resources and facilities and maintenance. Shayne has always been a calm voice of reason and has been part of our important events such as school reviews and endorsement of policies and the principal appointment process.

Monique Ho

Monique and her family have only been part of our school community for a few years but during that time Monique has had a significant impact. She was instrumental in setting up our class reps and ensuring that parents had greater access to communication about school events. Monique has also been a driver behind many of our informal and planned family events and has helped members of our school community to build new friendships.

Nicole Middleton

Nicole has spent countless hours re-establishing our school “community garden” and establishing into the beautiful place that it is now. Nicole has successfully applied for a number of grants that helped with improvements such as watering systems. She has taken Monday lunch time clubs and taught our children about efficient gardening and sustainable gardening practices. She has taught children about vegetables that they previously didn’t know about, and she has even encouraged them to try some of those vegetables. Quite often over holiday breaks Nicole is the one that spends countless hours watering the garden when there are limited people willing to volunteer. To hear so many of our junior students talking about our chocolate broad beans last week and filling their mouths full of them, was evidence of the impact she has had in building a passion for gardening with our students.

At this time each year we are filled with excitement and anticipation about the next year however with that also comes some sadness as we farewell students, parents, and some of our very valued staff.

At this end of this year, we will be saying goodbye to:

Mrs. Dani Dawes

Mrs. Zoe Hall

Mr. Jonathan Swain

Mrs. Caitlin Hanks

We wish them all well with their travel and/or changes to other schools or other parts of the state.

Each of these staff members has made a valuable contribution to our school and students.

School Term Dates 2024

2024	Start date	Finish date
Term 1	29 January (students start 30 January in government schools)	28 March
Term 2	15 April	28 June
Term 3	15 July	20 September
Term 4	7 October	20 December

2024 Curriculum Days

Our Curriculum Days for 2024 are as follows:

Term 1- Monday January 29

Term 2 – Monday April 15

Term 3 -Monday July 15

Term 4 -Monday November 4

2024 WPS School Staff

Facilities and Maintenance

Over the last few weeks, we have had a number of projects happening throughout the school including:

Our new shade sails being installed at the Carlsruhe Campus
Two of our old pine playgrounds have been removed as they no longer met safety compliance regulations.
We have had soft fall mulch delivered and spread underneath all our playgrounds.
We have had old bifold divider doors removed in classrooms and new ones installed.
Over the holiday period carpet will be installed in a number of our classrooms that currently have floorboards.

As we complete the 2023 school year, we wish all members of our school community a safe and happy holiday period. We look forward to warmly welcoming you back in the new year.

Principal

Diana Ellis

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