From the Principal, Diana Ellis
Welcome
I would like to warmly welcome everyone to the 2020 school year. After 30 years in education I still get great joy in seeing the level of excitement as students meet their friends and teachers and share their holiday stories. The other joy is the pride teachers take in the preparation of their classrooms as they put up new displays, name tags, birthday charts and our school values and behaviour flowchart.
It is has been a really settled start to a the year, with our Foundation (prep) students settling in very quickly, one of the bonuses of having Year 1 students modelling the routines and expected behaviours.
Staffing
We would like to welcome Miss Courtney Lawrence. Miss Lawrence brings a wealth of experience to our school. She is teaching in the Year 3 Unit and is the Leader of the Year 3 team.
Coming back from Family leave we are pleased to have Mrs. Beaumont as part of our Carslruhe Team and Mrs. Minchew back in the Year 5/6 team. Mrs. Minchew will continue to lead our Wellbeing team and the implementation of our School Wide Positive Behaviour expectations.
Canteen manager
We would like to congratulate Jenni Rossi, our Canteen Manager, on her substantive appointment. Jenni has managed our canteen for the last 5 years with absolute passion and commitment, often having the arduous task of preparing large numbers of orders by herself when we have not had volunteers. Jenni is loved by our students and she is always engaged in all school activities, loving dress up days more than our students.
Parking
Whilst not right at the front door, there is sufficient parking in the streets around the school, including the non congested court at the bottom of our school near the basketball court.
The staff car park is out of bounds to parents from 8.00 - 9.00 a.m. and 3.00 - 4.00 pm. If you choose to park in the car park we will remind you of the expectations around parking for parents.
Bikes
In the interests of safety for all, we expect all people to dismount from bikes, scooters etc once they enter the school yard and walk their wheels to the compound.
Hats
All students and staff are expected to wear hats during Term 1 so therefore all students must have a wide brimmed protective hat. We will not be providing spare hats therefore students without a hat will be required to play under the shade sails or the covered areas in the courtyard area.
Our SunSmart Policy can be accessed from our school website.
Food Policy
Although students eat their lunch inside under the supervision of teachers, students often take their snacks outside. Whilst we do not have a nut free policy, we promote nut/allergy awareness and also regularly remind students not to share food with others. To support sustainable practices we encourage parents to send food in reusable containers with as little glad wrap and packaging as possible. Students will be encouraged to put rubbish back in their lunch boxes and dispose of it at home. This year if students take unfinished food outside they will be expected to sit and eat their food under the big tree on the deck or in the courtyard in front of the canteen.
Birthday Celebrations
It is expected that we all attend school on our birthdays if they fall on a school day. Whilst we will of course acknowledge students on their birthday, the real celebrations are with family and friends out of school. Therefore we ask that if you bring anything for the class to share it is in line with our polices around inclusion and also nut/allergy awareness. We ask that people do not send home made cakes, lollies or sweets and instead we recommend a fruit platter.
Dogs in the school yard
Just a reminder that whilst we know and love our dogs, bringing dogs into in a school environment can cause stress for the dog and anxiety for some students. Our Dog Policy requires dog to be kept outside of the school grounds and within a few metres of the boundary, unless the dogs are legally approved as disability support dogs.
From time to time, children get a new puppy that they like to show to their class mates. In this instance please make a request with the Principal.
Our policy can be accessed on our web site – www.woodend.vic.edu.au
Prep testing
During the month of February our Foundation students are absent on Wednesday each week. Rostered appointment times have been organised so that each student can attend, to complete Prep Testing. Each child will spend around an hour completing the testing that is required by the Education Department so that we can ensure we know each child’s entry point for Numeracy and Literacy. Class and individual programs can then be tailored to meet those needs.
Curriculum Days
Each year a school has four curriculum days.
Our school has already used two curriculum days prior to the start of the year. All of our staff participated in a very effective day of learning about High Impact Teaching Strategies and analysing our NAPLAN Data so we could identify the level of growth each student had made in reading and their achievement level.
Our next curriculum days are planned for Thursday June 25th and Monday November 2nd.
- Please check the Calendar page for important dates (and any updates).
Garden
At the moment our vegetable garden is in full bloom with our corn, spinach and tomatoes getting close to harvest.
We would not have all of this delicious food to harvest, without the ongoing weekly time that our parents Nicole and Melissa volunteer to work with our students at gardening club and with classes.
We are hopeful that this year we will get an increase in parents willing to volunteer some time during Monday lunch times and Monday afternoon.
Shire drainage works
For the last few weeks the Shire have been doing a lot of work behind the Multipurpose Hall to improve the drainage from the top of the school down to the garden area that regularly gets flooded. We appreciate them completing the work and covering the costs for this project.
School Council
In March we will be having our Annual General Meeting for School Council. We need a minimum of 5 new parent representatives. If you are interested please come and have a chat to the Principal. It is a great opportunity to be part of our School Community and be a representative voice for our students. We meet between 8 and 10 times a year for a meeting that goes for about an hour and a half. More information will be in the next newsletter.