A great start to TERM 3

I would like to welcome everyone back to Term 3.

We have quite a bit of 'action' over the school holiday break, in particular, the demolition and removal of the old toilet block. Whilst this building and the associated 'cardy' cartoon have been a Whittlesea PS 'icon' throughout the past 20 years (at least), the building itself has seen better days. I want to acknowledge the swift and professional work of Chippa Constructions, the contractor responsible for completing this project. We are now awaiting the next steps, which will involve the installation of new artificial turf in this area, allowing our family brick pavers to be displayed. We are also in the process of investigating some lighting options for this wall, so it will be a feature of the front of our school as you drive past at night.

Likewise, we have seen significant progress on our Accessible Buildings Program grant, which is making our school site far more accessible. Working with the Victorian Schools Building Program (VSBA) and the contractors 'Power Partners', we have seen most of the anticipated work around the lower Year 3/4 classrooms, the Senior Library and the upper Year 5C & 6C classrooms. Thank you to the students, Teachers and families impacted by this work for your flexibility with adjusting to the new entry and exit points that have been provided to ensure we are keeping everyone safe, as well as meeting our compliance requirements.

Staffing Update

I want to welcome some new staff members to the school. We welcome Ms Shannan Harris, who is our 2C classroom teacher. Ms Harris is a very experienced teacher who I know has made a very positive impact on our students in the first week at the school.

We also have Mr Owen Stoneham, who is the newest member of our Education Support Team. Owen is working predominantly in our Year 5 & 6 classes. Owen is replacing Miss Jordyn O'donohue, who is taking a personal leave for Term 3.

I would also like to welcome back Ms Bianca Avolino, who is returning from family leave. Ms Avolino will be working on Thursdays and Fridays across the school.

Focus on WWCC

At our school, the safety and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority.

One of the key safeguards we use to ensure a child-safe environment is the Working With Children Check (WWCC). This check is a legal requirement for anyone undertaking child-related work in schools, including staff, volunteers, contractors, and some visitors.

There have been some very concerning incidents recently in the early childhood sector, which have been reported on in the media. I want to reassure all families that, as a school, we establish and implement school-level policies and procedures to assess and verify the suitability of volunteers and visitors who wish to engage in child-related and child-connected work at our school.

This ensures that we:

comply with the Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic) requirements to ensure that all adults engaging in child-related work, whether paid or unpaid, have a current Working with Children clearance issued as the successful outcome of a WWCC
comply with the requirements of the Ministerial Order 1359 to sight, verify and record the person’s Working with Children clearance; and
verify the status of their Working with Children clearance at least once every 12 months

New WPS ' Bucket' Hats

We are pleased to share an exciting addition to our school uniform. With the support of tos school council, we have introduced a sunsmart school bucket hat. These are now available via the Academy website @ https://academyuniforms.com.au/ ($16)

NAPLAN

This week, we sent home our 2025 school NAPLAN results to the families of our Year 3 & 5 students. The results are presented in four proficiency levels: Exceeding, Strong, Developing, and Needs Additional Support. The NAPLAN reports also show how students compare against their peers, indicate their skill levels relative to national averages, and identify areas where they are expected to achieve the most from schooling. This provides valuable information to our teachers about how they can continue to support your child.

It is essential to remember that NAPLAN is a snapshot of how your child (ren) are performing in Literacy and Numeracy at that particular point in time. While NAPLAN results are significant, it’s also essential that we understand that one result does not define them. NAPLAN is not about passing or failing, but more about assessing learning progress. At the whole-school, cohort, and classroom levels, NAPLAN is just one of several important data sets used by our teachers. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Enjoy the weekend,

Kaylene

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