Principal's Message

2025 School Theme - Why Team, Why Team Westbreen 

Dear Westbreen PS Families, 

I hope you all had a wonderful break and that our students enjoyed some outdoor activities that sparked their curiosity and brought happiness to their learning. If you preferred to stay indoors and keep warm, I completely understand. I hope everyone is well rested and ready for a big Term 3, especially with our upcoming school concert.

2025 School Concert 

Our school concert theme is "Music Takes You Places," and the staff are excited about this bi-annual event at Team Westbreen. Ticket sales will begin shortly, and families will receive more information this week on how to purchase them.

The school concert will feature two shows: 

- Show One: 3:30 PM 

- Show Two: 6:30 PM 

I know the students have been practicing and will be ready to put on a fantastic performance for the Westbreen community.

Curriculum Day 

On Friday, August 8th, we will have a curriculum day for staff development. This day will focus on key improvement strategies for 2025. Our staff will engage with the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0, concentrating on how students learn through cognitive science, neuroscience, and educational psychology. 

Teachers will explore concepts such as knowledge retention, focus, mastery, and how application looks in our classrooms. We will also focus on goal setting and student assessments, continuing our work in School Wide Positive Behaviour Support and action plans to support our learners positively.

Since this is a student-free day, please note that TheirCare will be available all day for families who need this service.

100 Days of School for Our Foundation Students – How Much Have You Grown? 

On Wednesday, August 6th, our Foundation students will celebrate the milestone of 100 days at school with our community. All families are invited to join us for the school assembly at 9:10am to celebrate this achievement. Last year, our students wore crowns to mark the occasion, and they took great care of the school for the day!

I have been amazed by the growth of each Foundation student since the start of the year, not only academically but also socially and emotionally. It is always a pleasure to see the flexibility and curiosity of our Foundation students as they learn and take risks. I believe they all deserve to be recognised on the Blue Star for the week in their classrooms!

Workforce Update

As previously mentioned to Year 5/6J, Ms. Jo Boyce will be going on maternity leave after Week 4 of the term to welcome her first baby. We wish her all the best and look forward to seeing pictures of the new arrival! Ms. Jo, your class will truly miss your caring nature towards each child. Mr. Nolan will be stepping in to take over the Year 5/6J class for the rest of the year, and he is excited to return to the classroom. We will work on finding a replacement for Mr. Nolan in the Physical Education space for the remainder of the year.

As shared with families, I have been appointed as the principal of another school and will be leaving Westbreen PS this Thursday. The announcement of the new acting principal at Westbreen PS for the remainder of the year will be made shortly. 

I would like to thank all the families at Westbreen PS for welcoming me into this community from my first day. I have learned a great deal about community engagement and involvement, and what effective learning partnerships look like in schools with dedicated parents. I will miss the students at Westbreen PS, as it has been a joy to be part of their learning experiences. It has been an incredible journey with students who embody the school values and demonstrate them daily, not just written on paper. I am also grateful for the immense support from the staff, from whom I have learned so much. I wish everyone the very best moving forward and thank you for showing what it means to learn together.

Thank you Team Westbreen, 

Justin Lania

Acting Principal

The Victorian Government acknowledges Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria and pays respect to their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging.