From the Principal

Dear Families,

It has been a hot few days, which has seen students spend some time indoors during lunch away from the heat. Melbourne’s weather can be extremely unpredictable with extreme heat quickly being replaced by mild weather conditions. 

As part of the school’s sun smart policy students are required to wear a broad brimmed hat outside. If students do not have one of these hats, they will be required to play underneath one of the designated shade spaces. 

Due to the school’s heritage listing increasing shaded areas is challenging, but the school is currently working on a long-term plan that would potentially increase active shaded areas. This will be part of the school council’s buildings and grounds teams work over the next couple of years. 

While on the topic of buildings and grounds, if you are passionate in this space and would like to join the team, please contact me directly. Members do not need to be a member of school council, so if you are passionate and/or have knowledge about building and construction, please contact me directly via email.

Student Leadership Programs

This week I had the pleasure of catching up with our senior student leaders from our Senior Junior School Council and our Student Inclusion Leadership Committee. These catch ups were fantastic, as we discussed the school, its facilities, and recommendations for improvements. An important part of this program is to discuss ideas that can’t be achieved and the reasoning behind them. Pools and waterslides always come up, but they create great conversations around budgets, safety regulations and site spacing. All ideas will now be collated and categorised as the student group looks to make positive change. I look forward to providing further updates throughout the year.

School Council Election

School councils play a key role in Victorian government schools. Participating as a school council member is a rewarding and challenging experience. The School Council supports the principal to provide the ​​best possible educational outcomes for students.

Who is on the school council?

There are three possible categories of membership:

1. A mandated elected parent category.
   More than one third of the elected members must be from this category.
2. A mandated elected Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DET)
   Members of this category may make up no more than one third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.
3. An optional community member category.
   These members are co-opted by the decision of the council because of their special skills, interests, or experiences.  DET employees are not eligible to be community members. 

The term of office for members is two years. Normally half the members retire each year, and this creates vacancies for the annual school council elections.  Retiring members are eligible for further terms and it is common for them to renominate. Our School Council is comprised of 7 parents, 5 staff (including the principal) and 3 community members, a total of fifteen.  Typically, school council members complete their two-year term on school council and an annual election process commences to determine new membership if required.

This year the council has 4 parent vacancies available under the parent category and 1 community vacancy which will be appointed after the parent categories are filled. 

Why is parent membership so important?

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging. 

How can you become involved?

The most obvious way is to vote in the elections, which will be held in March this year if required. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant. In view of this, you might seriously consider:

• standing for election as a member of school council
• encouraging another person to stand for election.

Do I need special experience to be on a school council?

No. What you need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.

How can I nominate?

Please see the information about the nomination schedule and election process on the separate Compass post. 

Nomination forms are available from the school office.

Nominations close at 4pm Friday 1st March 2024.

For more information please visit:https://www.williamstownps.vic.edu.au/page/31/School-Council 

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact myself directly via email or call the school 9397 1248.

Building Curriculum Knowledge and Understanding in Mathematics

This week teachers from all year levels worked closely with Maths Consultant, Michael Minas. Key to this working is enhancing student agency and engagement in mathematics through the launch and explore teaching model. This is not new work for the school but is continued work that commence several years ago. As educators ongoing professional development is extremely important. Ensuring that teachers and support staff are equipment with the most up to date knowledge and approaches is essential for continued success. The work undertaken with Michael has been an essential part of developing a whole school’s approach to mathematics, that engages students, caters for the broad range of learning needs, and provides teachers with a consistent approach. We look forward to continuing this partnership as we know it is having a strong positive impact on our Willy Kids.

Reporting Student Progress and Success

For several years now the school has provided families with a range of reporting methods. One of those methods has been the term 1 and 3 interim reports. These reports have supported the mandated detailed semester reports, providing a very small snapshot of each student’s progress. 

Another feedback platform has been the end of term open afternoons. These afternoons see parents/carers invited into the classroom to view work undertaken at school has been highly valued by our community. Recently we have been reviewing both, and the value they provide families. 

Following on from parent feedback through last year’s school review we have made the decision to replace the interim reports with more in-depth open afternoons. Each open afternoon will take place on the second last Thursday of each term and will look to provide families with deeper understandings of their child’s progress, through worked undertaken at school. Timing for the afternoon’s will be increased, therefore providing greater access for families to attend. We look forward to providing more details in the coming weeks.

Willy Kids Achieving Big Things

Recently we found out about the amazing achievements of Ellie in Grade 6. Over the school holidays Ellie and her friend raised over $50,000 for the KIDS foundation. A foundation that looks to provide support for children and families of injuries and trauma. Part of Ellie’s efforts saw her ride 200km on horse back to Tamworth, the host city of the country music festival. Ellie also had the opportunity to appear on the Sunrise TV show, where she spoke about her passion for the cause.

What an amazing achievement and inspiration Ellie is, not just for her family but for all Willy Kids.

If you would like to know more about the KIDS foundation a link to their website is below.

https://www.kidsfoundation.org.au/page/65/who-we-are

Warm regards,

Mat