Principal's Report
We have had a couple of busy weeks celebrating different curriculum areas. We loved celebrating Science week last week and how wonderful it was to see so many families join us for our Science night. Congratulations to all who contributed to the event and taking time out of your busy schedules to create a project to share… as leaders and teachers, we get so much joy out of seeing parents engaging in learning with their children. We had a wonderful array of projects, giving our students and families an opportunity to celebrate and learn from each other. I would like to thank Nadine Frankel and Nicole Dance (Science teachers) for their organisation and igniting interest and curiosity across the school on a weekly basis.
I would also like to thank Kerry McCarthy for co-ordinating the BBQ and, all our staff for jumping into any area assistance was needed (cooking, selling, cleaning and so on).
And, to all our wonderful parents who contributed something sweet to our bake sale and our school council members Elisia Nichol, Emma Charlton and Michelle Lyons for gathering a group of parents to assist with the selling of baked goods and raffle tickets. We are really feeling the community spirit and love having everyone come together.
Last week we also took action against Bullying by acknowledging Bullying No Way week.
The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence has a new name—Bullying No Way: National week of action.
Bullying No Way Week, 12 to 16 August 2024, is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative and connects schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying.
The theme for 2024 is 'Everyone belongs'.
When we all feel like we belong, bullying struggles to find a place. It's about embracing who we are, respecting everyone's differences and standing up together against unkindness.
Belonging means we all have a role in preventing bullying. We're encouraged to speak up and create a safe place where everyone feels supported and respected, and our voices are heard and valued.
At WEPS our Student Voice Team lunched their project on ‘what to do when something goes wrong’. They have conducted some impressive work in this area and have created a plan that will support every student at WEPS to choose the best options when something goes wrong. They will be launching this to the community through Seesaw in the coming week. Please take time to view their wonderful work.
We also relaunched WEPS says Yes to KINDNESS and No to VIOLENCE. As school leaders and teachers, our role is to work with our students in learning how to make better choices through explicitly teaching expected behaviours, self regulation strategies and how to express ourselves respectfully that is age appropriate. We do this by implementing a whole school approach for everyone, then have structures in place for students who need some extra teaching (just as we would in literacy and numeracy intervention). We also develop different learning plans for learning or behaviour support. Our learning plans are strengths based, focusing on what the student does well, and how we can work best with them to teach or reteach expected behaviours. We bring parents in to contribute to and understand plans we put in place. We achieve our greatest outcomes when parents work with us to support and understand their child’s plan. It is important to remember, we are working with children who are growing, developing and learning.
At WEPS we pride ourselves on being inclusive, cultivating a sense of belonging for adults and children and create the best plan to support individual students, class groups, year levels and the whole school.
This week we are celebrating Book Week. The students have loved having a guest reader each recess (I had the pleasure of reading to students on Wednesday) and of course ‘character dress up day’. Unfortunately Mrs Dwyer and I are in Melbourne at Principals Conference on Thursday and Friday this week, so we are looking forward to hearing all about character dress up day when we return. Book Week is a week that I hold very close to my heart, as it is one of my fondest memoires of primary school (especially the year I won first prize for my Rapunzel costume). Thank you for all your effort to create and organise costumes, this is a very special time for your children.
Parent opinion survey
We have 342 families at WEPS. Each family has received an invitation to complete the survey followed by reminders each Monday (x2). So far we have had 19 responses, last year we had 85 respond. We have 1 week to go - lets work together to exceed last years response rate.
The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will remain open online until Friday 30 August 2024.
Your opinions are important to us and will contribute to identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies. The department will use the results from the survey for research purposes and to improve outcomes for students.
The survey is being conducted online and only takes 20 minutes to complete. It can be completed on any internet enabled device (desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and is compatible with most browsers.
New Schol Hats and School Uniform
We are excited to launch our new school hats (reverse side is your child’s house colour). Hat season is fast approaching, now is a good time to check where your school hats are. Please see the office if you would like to purchase one in preparation for the 1st September (hats compulsory).
Please take time to review our school uniform poster. We have noticed an increase in different coloured jumpers, black shorts or leggings, please see below what is expected each day.
School Council - Fundraising update
Bunnings BBQ
Our sincere thanks to the following parents who took time out of their busy day to support our Bunnings BBQ. We raised a grand total of $ 2040 which will go towards our playground upgrades plan.
Science night
- Kitchen Garden $193.10
50% of profits go back into the Kitchen Garden program and 50% contribute to the Zookeepers Program
- Cake Stall $796.70
- All profits go towards the Zookeepers Program.
- BBQ $518.50
All profits go towards the Zookeepers Program.
- Tuesday Toastie Day $323.50
50% of profits go back into the Kitchen Garden program and 50% contribute to the Zookeepers Program
Thank you to all our Bunnings BBQ parent helpers
Elisia Nichol and Aleesha Gardner - co-ordinators
Phil Dennis
Rebecca Keane
Natashar Wills
Rebecca Keane
Suzi Maxwell-Wright
Jodie Taylor
Sarah Calvert
Rosina Dalton
Narelle Kavanagh
Sonia Stewart,
Lucy Arnott
Katrina Carey
Leanne O’Connor
Brendan Creek
Anna Drylie
Cassie holland
Aaron Murphy
Sarah Calvert
Clinton Hill
Shannon Raymond
Bibha Pradhan
George Wythe
A reminder our school movie fundraiser is coming up. See the ad for more details. It would be great to see lots of our students, families and friends enjoying a movie together.
School Lunch orders are coming to WEPS. Thanks to Wilba and co for all their hard work to get this up and running for our school community. Watch out for more information.