Principal's Report

Welcome Back 

Welcome back to school. I hope you and your families enjoyed a safe and relaxing break.

A warm welcome to our new Prep students and their families, as well as any other families joining our school this year. It has been lovely to see everyone back and settled in.

The year has started well, with students settling into their classrooms and routines quickly. They have enjoyed reconnecting with friends and beginning their learning programs. 

I would also like to thank the families who attended the open classrooms on Wednesday afternoon last week, as well as the classroom information sessions held earlier this week. I trust these were valuable opportunities to spend time in your child’s classroom, meet their teacher, and learn more about how your child’s classroom will operate this year.

 We are look forward to another positive and successful year at WHPS.

Badge Presentation /Captains for 2026

At assembly this afternoon, John Mullahy, the local State MP for Glen Waverley, presented our Year 6 leadership team with their badges. We thank John for visiting and speaking about his role, and for explaining how a local Member of Parliament supports and serves the community.

Our school captains will attend a leadership day next week, where they will develop their leadership skills and learn how to use them to support the school and wider community.

SRC and monitor badges will be presented at the next assembly on Friday 20 February.

Specialist Captains/Monitors 

Lunar New Year and Lion Dance 

Thank you to our Mandarin / EAL teacher, Miss Zhang, for organising this year’s lion dance to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The performance was filled with colour, movement, and energy. Celebrations like this provide valuable opportunities for our students to learn about and appreciate cultural diversity while strengthening our sense of community and inclusion across the school. We also had a special visitor from Caishen the money god !

Parent Contributions for 2026

Thank you to all the families who have already made parent payments over the past few months. Your support helps us continue to offer high-quality teaching and learning programs, including our specialist subjects, at Wheelers Hill Primary School. We really appreciate your support.

If you haven’t contributed yet, you can make payments through Compass. We encourage families to do so when they’re able.

Term 1 Assemblies

From 2026, assemblies will no longer be streamed via Webex. All assemblies will be held on the oval or in the gym, every fortnight on Fridays at 2:00pm. The dates of assemblies Term 1 are below:

*Friday 6th February - Student Leadership Badge Presentation and Lion Dance

*Friday 20th February  - SRC and Student Monitors Badge Presentation

*Friday 13th March 

*Friday 27th March 

*Thursday 2nd April at 9am (Harmony Day) 

Absences

If you child is going to be absent for the first few days or weeks of Term 1, please enter the absence on compass and inform the school office, wheelers.hill.ps@education.vic.gov.au and your child's teacher.

We understand that from time to time, families may choose to take extended periods of leave for a variety of reasons, including family holidays.

As in 2025, Principal approval will be required for any long-term absences (two weeks or longer). As part of this process, teachers will provide families with a Student Absence Learning Plan, which outlines suggested activities and learning, students can complete while they are away from school.

Thank you for your support with this process.

Pick Up Arrangements

To help ensure that students are picked up on time and don't have trouble finding their parents, please take note of the following:

If you haven’t already, please talk with your child/ren about the pick-up arrangements. This includes discussing:

• Where they should they wait at the end of the day
• Who will be picking them up (parent or relative)
• Any afternoons they may be attending OSHC

• Whether they will be walking home or picked up on certain days

   

Our prep students will be picked up in front of their classrooms and dismissed when their teacher sees a parent or relative.

Students are dismissed at 3:30 pm and are supervised in the yard until 3:45 pm. If any students are still waiting after this time, they will be taken to the office, and parents will be contacted. If you know you will be running late (we understand that sometimes things come up), please call the office to let us know in advance.

A big thank you to all the families who already have clear pick-up arrangements in place. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Parking Reminders

As we start off the school year, I’d like to remind everyone of a few important parking and traffic guidelines to ensure the safety of all students.

Safety First

• Please drive carefully and observe the 40 km/h speed limit around the school.
• Do not make U-turns in busy areas, including near the crossing, along Whites Lane and Threadbow Crescent.

• Stay alert for children and families crossing roads and using nearby paths.

   

Parking and Kiss & Go Zones

• Please follow all parking signs and park only in designated areas.
• Kiss & Go zones are for quick drop-offs and pick-ups only and are located on Whites Lane and Threadbow Crescent.
• If you need to stay longer than 2 minutes, please park further away and walk your child to or from school.

• These zones are designed to keep traffic moving and must not be used for waiting.

   

Kiss & Go Rules

• You may stop for up to 2 minutes only.
• The driver must remain with the vehicle at all times and stay within 3 metres of it.
• Kiss & Go zones operate only during the times shown on the signs.
• If your child is not ready within 2 minutes, please exit the zone and re-enter when ready.
• Park as far forward as possible to allow space for other vehicles.

• Children must enter and exit the car on the kerb side only and be securely fastened before driving away.

   

Additional Safety Reminders

• Always use your indicator when entering or leaving the zone.
• No U-turns in school zones.

• The back seat is the safest place for children to travel.

   

School Car Park

• Please do not wait for your child or walk through the car park.

• The car park is a high-traffic area and is not a safe place for pedestrians.

   

Parking Enforcement

• Parking around the school is managed by Monash Council, not the school.

• Council regularly patrols before and after school and may issue fines for parking infringements.

   

Thank you to all our families for helping keep our school community safe. Parents, thank you for your cooperation in keeping our school community safe!

The YouTube clip below offers some good tips on road safety around schools. 

School Hats

Just a reminder, as outlined in our Sunsmart policy, students are required to wear a school hat between the start of September to end of April. Please ensure your child  has a school hat to wear while playing outside. If  your child does not have a hat. they will be directed to play under the covered area. The link below illustrates the school hat. They can be purchased from our school uniform supplier, PSW if required. 

https://www.psw.com.au/schools/wheelers-hill-primary-school.html?p=2

School Hours and Supervision

Parents are reminded that staff are not on yard duty prior to 8.40am.  Therefore, there is NO supervision for students at school before this time. Students at school prior to 8.40am must be with a parent or booked into the OSHC program.  

Additionally, the playgrounds and oval are off-limits before school. After school school students MUST be supervised on the playground or oval by a parent /guardian. 

School starts at 8:50am.  Our students are required to be in class by 8:50 am so they can prepare for their learning and lessons, which start promptly at 9am. 

After school, students must be picked up by 3.45 pm or booked into OSHC. If you are going to be late to pick up your child, please inform the office prior to 3:15pm. Students who are still in the yard after 3:45pm will be collected and taken to the office, and their parents will be called to collect them before the Office closes at 4 pm. 

School hours for 2025 are as follows:

8:40am - 8:50am 

Students supervised in the school yard

8:50am - 9:00am 

Music plays, students go to their classrooms, set up for the school day

9:00am - 10:40am 

Learning sessions 1 and 2 in classrooms

10:40am - 11:10am 

Recess Play

11:10am - 12:50pm 

Learning sessions 3 and 4 in classrooms

12:50pm - 1:00pm

 Lunch eating time in classrooms

1:00pm - 1:50pm

Lunch Play

1:50pm - 3:30pm 

Learning sessions 5 and 6 in classrooms

3:30pm - 3:45pm 

Final bell, student pick up, students supervised in the yard until 3:45pm 

Curriculum Days Term 1 and 2 

The school has a number of curriculum / professional practice days planned throughout the year. On these days, teachers and staff are involved in tasks such as student report writing and lesson/curriculum planning for the following terms. The dates below are for Term 1 and 2. Dates for Term 3 and 4 will be confirmed later in the year. 

Term 1

Friday 20th March

Term 2

Friday 5th June

Friday 19th June

The OSHC service will run a program on these days. 

Working with Children Checks (WWC) 

We encourage and value parental and community support at WHPS. There are many ways that parents, grandparents and friends can assist at our school. We encourage all parents to obtain a Working with Children’s Check that will allow you to be very involved in your child’s education. Without one you cannot be a classroom helper or attend an excursion. These checks are free for volunteers. Please ensure you nominate WHPS as a place you volunteer. Once you have your WWCC please come to the office so we can photocopy this and we will add your name to our list of parents who have a current WWC check.

Volunteers are also required to complete a Child Safety induction which is on the school website:

https://www.wheelershillps.vic.edu.au/volunteer-or-work

Mobile Phones

All students are required to turn off and hand in mobile phones to prevent usage during school hours. Students are not to use smart watches where the call and messaging function can connect to the student’s phone. Devices will be placed in a locked cabinet/cupboard at the start of the day and handed back at the end of the day.

Michael Ramsey

Principal