School Update

Book and Numbers Week

What a big week we have in store for us, celebrating the CBCA Book Week and our School’s Numeracy Week. The theme is ‘Symphony of Stories and Numbers’, and we have definitely jumped headfirst into the theme this week. 

Yesterday students enjoyed a Buddy Maths session, with classes across the school pairing up to play a new maths game together. It was great to see students working collaboratively and learning from one another. 

Classes also undertook the ‘design your door challenge’. Come and have a look at your child’s classroom door display!

To celebrate this week, there are many amazing events across the school, with lots of fun, action-packed activities to enjoy!

Reading and Writing Together is Magic: 

Reading and Writing Together is Magic will take place on Wednesday evening for the 37th year of this special Willy North event! Our Year 6 students will host the night, and we’re sure we can all agree they will do an absolutely fantastic job! The quality of poetry that will be presented on the night is a credit to all students and reflects the hard work and effort they have put in this term. 

We wish all of our budding young poets the best of luck, especially those sharing their poems for the very first time. We are sure they will blow us away!

Parent Maths Open Afternoon

We warmly invite parents and carers to join us for a Parent Open Afternoon on Thursday 27th of August from 2:20 to 3:10pm. This will be a great opportunity to come into the classrooms, see maths in action. 

Book Fair:

Our annual Book Fair is taking place in our school library. Lamont supplies our Book Fair, and a portion of the proceeds goes toward purchasing new books for our school library. In the first half of the week, all classes will have an opportunity to visit the Book Fair and explore the books during a preview session. 

Should you like to participate, the Book Fair will also be open for sales on:

Wednesday 26 August: 8.30-9.30am 

Wednesday 26 August: 3.15-5.30pm

Thursday 27 August: 8.30-9.30am

Thursday 27 August: 3.15- 4.30pm

Friday 28 August: 8.30- 9.30am

Books can also be purchased online through a portal. The portal opens today and will close at 8.00am on Friday, August 28th. The library will be automatically notified of any purchases through the portal, and books will be delivered to students’ classrooms as soon as we can.

Lamont Book Fair Portal: https://payments.lamontauthors.com.au/

Welcome to Country, Smoking Ceremony & Costume Parade: One event we are really looking forward to this week is the Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony delivered by Aunty Fay Muir, which will take place before our Costume Parade on Friday. 

We are honoured to welcome Aunty Fay Muir to our school. Aunty Fay has written many wonderful books, one of which she will share with our Year 2 students at the conclusion of the parade. 

A huge thank you to our parent community for helping to bring students’ costumes to life. Your support makes this event so special. 

Book and Numbers Week Activities: Across the school this week, there are many fun activities for students to participate in and engage with. 

• Story of the Day, where different teachers read one of their favourite stories to the whole school. 

• Our famous ‘Masked Reader’ competition, where classes need to identify the teacher and famous book quote. The answers are always revealed on the Friday morning of book week, right after our costume parade. We’re sure the celebrations will be heard all the way up Melbourne Road. If you’d like to play along at home, here is a link to the competition: https://youtu.be/zJj3ZBNhkhA 

• Prep-2 Silhouette Hunt, where they will race around the junior playground searching for the silhouette of famous characters. 

• Year 3-6 Numeracy Escape Room Challenges, where students work collaboratively to solve a series of puzzles to unlock the final code. 

• Virtual author talks 

• Recess Maths Mission Activities

• Problem Solving Challenge of the Day. 

   

Students will also engage in daily lessons focused on celebrating the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) shortlisted books, and participate in maths games, problem-solving challenges, and hands-on tasks.

We hope your child has a wonderful week celebrating and comes home with lots of tales about the fun they had at school. 

Parent Opinion Survey – Now Open 

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Carer Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. 

The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation. Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies. 

Please refer to the Compass newsfeed sent by Darcie Brown on behalf of our Acting Principal, Olivia Atanasovska on Friday 28 August.

Reminder - Gate Times

To help ensure the safety and cleanliness of our school facilities, we would like to remind families of our new gate times.

We kindly ask that all families and visitors have departed the school grounds prior to gate closure times.

Thank you for your ongoing support in helping us maintain a safe and welcoming school environment. 

Visual Arts Notice 

Hello Mums, Dads, family and friends,

In preparation for our wonderful fete, I am in the process of collecting washed and dried bottle top lids for a make and take craft activity for the fete.

Please send them along to the art room as I will be over the moon with any tops you can share. I'm looking for about 300 in total so every bottle cap will be appreciated.

Thanking you very much in advance,

Sincerely,

Julie Papazisis (Visual Arts)

Important dates for Foundation (Prep) 2027 Enrolments

We look forward to welcoming new families and a new cohort of Preps into our community!

Prep 2027 Enrolment Timeline

Enrolment applications for students starting Prep in 2027 are still open. 

Letters of acceptance were sent out on Tuesday 11th August. Please use the link provided in the email to accept or decline your offer. 

School zones can be found via www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au. In Victoria, every child has the right to attend their designated neighbourhood government school (local school). The Victorian government supports school choice. This means that you can apply to schools other than your local school. Schools will consider your application in line with the department’s Placement Policy, and offer enrolment if there are available places.

If you wish to tour our school (optional), please contact the office on (03) 9397 5722.

Useful links:

•              Find my School – findmyschool.vic.gov.au

•              Information on school zones – vic.gov.au/school-zones

•              Enrolling in Foundation (Prep) – vic.gov.au/enrolling-foundation-prep

•              Enrolling in school – vic.gov.au/how-choose-school-and-enrol

•              Disability and inclusive education – vic.gov.au/disability-and-inclusive-education

•   Department of Education contact – Call 1800 338 663 or email: enquiries@education.vic.gov.au

Dogs on school grounds 

We would like to remind all members of our school community that dogs are not permitted on school premises at any time.

This policy is in place for several important reasons:

• Student safety: Even well-behaved dogs can act unpredictably, particularly in busy and noisy environments with young children.

• Allergies and health concerns: Some students and staff have allergies to animal fur or dander, which can be triggered by the presence of dogs.

• Fear and anxiety: Not all children are comfortable around dogs, and their presence may cause distress or fear.

• Hygiene considerations: Maintaining a clean and safe environment is essential, and animals can introduce hygiene risks.

• Duty of care and liability: The school has a responsibility to ensure a safe environment, and the presence of animals can create avoidable risks.

   

We kindly ask that you do not bring dogs onto school grounds, including during drop-off and pick-up times. If you need to bring a dog with you, please ensure it remains outside the school gates at all times.

We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain a safe, inclusive, and focused learning environment for all students.

Recess & Lunch - What is Nude Food? 

Nude Food is food without excess packaging. This reduces the amount of 'stuff' that needs to go in bins to be sent to landfill. Durable, reusable containers are a great way to bring food, as they may last from primary school through to high school and beyond, providing long term cost savings and environmental benefits. Up to 50% of items in school bins comes from food and drink packaging. You can help the environment and help our school reduce waste disposal costs.

Financial Support 

As the year progresses, we are aware that there are numerous excursions and camps that need to be paid for. If you would like to have a confidential discussion regarding alternative payment plans and available supports, please reach out to darcie.brown@education.vic.gov.au and we can schedule these at a mutually convenient time.

WNPS Sunnyside Fete (Save the Date) – Sunday 22 November 2026

After a 7-year hiatus, the biannual WNPS Fete is back and better than ever!

We have a fresh new look, a new name - The WNPS Sunnyside Fete - and new event coordinators who are determined to make this the best fete the community has ever hosted. 

The fete will be held on Sunday 22 November 2026 and will be jam packed with rides, delicious food, activities and fun for the whole family.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (@williamstownnorthps and @wnps.sunnysidefete) and Facebook for updates, announcements, sneak peeks and all things fete-related as we count down to the big day.

Please get in touch with Lauralee & Sharon at willynorthfete@gmail.com if you can contribute to making this a not-to-be-missed event!

Follow us on Socials 

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with the latest news, updates, and highlights from our community. 

Instagram – @williamstownnorthps

Facebook – Williamstown North Primary School