Dear Families

A big welcome to the school year for 2024. We have lots of exciting things planned and look forward to a fun year of learning for all students. It was lovely to see all of our pupils back, and ready to start yesterday. There were lots of new shoes, shirts and haircuts, and many big smiles. May I take this opportunity to officially welcome those families who are new to the school – inclusive of students and staff. We trust that your time with us is happy and productive.

This is just a short, information sharing newsletter. We anticipate have a more comprehensive one to you with the next edition. Newsletters are issued fortnightly, and we encourage you to take the time to read it on each occasion, as it does share with you lots of information about school processes which it is important to keep up to date with.

Parent voluntary contributions

Each year our school council sets the cost of the parent voluntary contribution. In 2024 this is $180. There is also the opportunity to make a tax-deductible donation to the building and library funds. This request, which is authorised by the department, invites parents to contribute to the cost of the consumable supplies used by students in the classroom every day, throughout the year. Whilst this payment is voluntary, it does assist us with redirecting other monies towards additional resources for student use. Thank you to the many families who have already paid this amount. (Note: payment plans are available for those who wish to utilise this facility). Payment can be made online, via your Compass App, or through the front office. On Compass, the notification for payment sits in a green banner at the top of your page when you log in via your phone or computer. Click on this to proceed.

Diaries

All students will receive a student diary which is used daily for communication between home and school, and as a space where children can record their home reading. Unfortunately, our diaries, which were ordered in mid-term four last year have been impacted by the stop work action at the wharf. They are sitting on a dock somewhere and we will get them out to students as soon as they arrive. This is the same for students who need a new reading satchel. We have a small stock of these, but these are mostly, awaiting delivery.

Assemblies

Whole of school assemblies are held every Monday morning at 8.50am, at which time we share announcements with the school, hand out student awards, and celebrate significant achievements. At times there will also be class or year level performances. The majority of these are held internally, via an online platform, however, on the first Monday of the month we will hold this gathering in the courtyard, and parents are welcome to attend if they wish. The first of these outside assemblies will be next Monday morning,

February 5.

School Uniform

A reminder that school uniform is compulsory for all students – and further detail about what this includes is later in the newsletter. However, uniform is inclusive of shoes that are ALL BLACK – no other stripes, coloured laces or logo is permitted. Thankyou to the vast majority of families who support us with this request. We will be in touch with families who are still working towards this. Please be aware that we are able to assist you with getting some uniform, inclusive of the correct shoes, should your family be experiencing financial hardship. To organise this please make a confidential appointment to meet with the relevant assistant principal.

Parent-Teacher interviews

Parent-Teacher interviews are scheduled for the last week of February in relation to children in years one – six. The purpose of these interviews is for parents to share with the teacher information about their child which they believe will assist in making this a successful year for their son or daughter. The opportunity to book an appointment for these will be released late next week, via Compass. Be aware that times right at the end of the evening , or close to school pick up tend to fill very quickly.

School Hours

I provide for you below a copy of our school hours so that you are aware of the break times for your child. Please note that ALL classes have their doors open for an 8.35am start. Children are expected to be in their classroom and to commence reading at this time. Children who arrive after this miss valuable messages at the start of the school day. The gates will open at 8.20am as there are staff on yard duty from then and are locked promptly at 8.45am. The teachers have been instructed not to hold the gate for a moment if you are late leaving the yard as they have a class to get to, so we ask that you ensure you have left the school grounds by that deadline. Yard duty finishes and the gates are also locked at the end of the day at 3.10pm. You will need to ensure any plays on the playground are wound up a few minutes before this so that you can get out the gate in time.

Foundation – Wednesdays off

Our youngest students had a fabulous first day yesterday, and there were minimal tears. They went home excited, happy, and tired! To help support the transition to school for these little people they will have Wednesdays as a rest day for the month of February only. The first of these rest days is next Wednesday, February 7.

Curriculum Day

A reminder to our returning families – and some notice for our new ones, that we have scheduled Wednesday, February 14 as a curriculum day and NO STUDENTS will be required at school. Our staff will be involved in some mandatory training, as well as updating their first aid qualifications. To assist you with your planning I have also provided you below with the dates of our other pupil free days for the rest of the year:

Friday, April 26 (The day AFTER the ANZAC day public holiday)
Monday, November 4 (The day BEFORE the Melbourne Cup Day public holiday)

Parent Consent Book

Next week you will receive, via Compass, our parent consent book for 2024. This seeks your direction around items such as headlice checks, photo permission for the school newsletter and beyond, local excursion permission along with many others. We ask that you return this promptly as children will not be able participate in many school activities if we don’t have an indication of your preferences. You will need to complete a separate one for each of your children. If you prefer not to complete this online, paper copies will be available at the front office.

School Term Dates for 2024

To assist you with your planning, below we have listed the school term dates for 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

In closing, thank you for entrusting your children to us. We look forward to working with you so that they can be the best version of themselves, academically, socially and emotionally. As always, should you ever have any question or concern do not hesitate to make an appointment to speak with a staff member. If we know about an issue or concern, we can work together to reach a resolution. Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

Kind regards

Sue Seneviratne

Principal

Wyndham Vale Primary School

Important Dates