Principal's Message 

Well, what a term it has been!  And who would have thought that much of it would have been in remote learning. Despite that, we are all so proud of the way that our teachers, support staff, students and families have worked so hard together to stay connected and make it a great term of learning.  

To our dedicated teachers, a huge thank you for all your hard work to find creative ways to make learning fun and interesting and to keep students engaged, motivated and connected with their friends. You have once again been truly outstanding in the way you have worked together in your teams to plan, film, upload and deliver engaging live and pre-recorded learning experiences as well as nurture the wellbeing of students with fun daily catch-ups over the past six weeks. There have been lots of highlights throughout the term, but the ‘virtual camp’ for the Grade 3/4s warrants a special mention.  What an amazing virtual experience, complete with night walk, scavenger hunt, cooking, a virtual visit to the penguin parade and a talk with the ranger, a very cool camp t-shirt and mug to keep and much more!  What a wonderful way to finish the term and something truly special to remember always. Thank you for the many messages of thanks from families, grateful that instead of disappointment at not being able to attend ‘real’ camp, their child (and whole family) had been given the opportunity to have such a joyful experience at their ‘virtual’ camp.  We even had recognition from the Regional Office who were notified about the amazing WP Virtual Camp! 

To our wonderful support staff, we thank you for the many ways you help to support our students, staff and families. Thank you for your willingness to learn new skills and change your roles to meet the changing needs in remote learning. You are amazing.

To our students, you are superstars!  You have shown that you are resilient, brave and resourceful.  We are very proud of all of you.  A big thank you to our Grade 6’s for helping to keep us connected.  The weekly assembly has been a highlight and the preps have loved their weekly catch-ups with their buddies. 

And to our families, a huge thank you for your support with remote learning. Your child/children have benefited from your involvement and interest in their learning.  Also, a big thank you for the many phone calls, emails and messages of gratitude that we have received.  Your thoughtful messages filled our buckets and kept the leadership team and staff going as we too navigated through the challenges of lockdown.

Phased Return To Onsite Learning

The positive news over the weekend was the announcement of the planned staged return to school next term. The following is the proposed plan-

Metropolitan Melbourne

Remote and flexible learning will continue to be delivered to students on the days they are not attending onsite.  Under this plan, all students will be fully back onsite from Friday, November 5th.

Further information about how the transition back to onsite learning will look, will be communicated to families closer to the date of return.

Term Four Update

Although last weekend we have received information from the Department of Education regarding the phased return to school, there are many other arrangements that we are still unsure about at the moment.  These include:

• transitions – 2022 Preps and Year 7
• possible alternate reporting and assessment requirements
• school and community events

Please know that we will communicate any updates as information comes through from DET. It is important to us that we provide families with clear and transparent communication and hope that this correspondence helps keep you feeling informed. We will continue to try and find creative ways to still undertake important events such as transition, graduation and our upcoming Shrek concert (even if they look a little different to what we had originally planned!)

2022 Prep Transition Program

Our 2022 Prep Transition Program started last week for our 62 new Prep students who will be starting at Wonga Park next year! We are very excited to begin this transition with them and hope they enjoyed their first online storytime session and activity pack. 

School Review

It is very pleasing that we were able to complete the School Review process in the last week of term.  School Reviews are usually undertaken every four years, where progress against the goals and targets of the previous four years are reviewed and a new School Strategic Plan is developed.  It is a great chance to pause and celebrate all the wonderful growth and achievements that the school has made over that time. 

After our scheduled School Review was postponed in Term 3 of 2020 due to lockdown, we began the process in Term 2 this year with Validation Day being able to be held onsite, giving the review panel the opportunity to visit classrooms, meet staff and students and get to experience the ‘feel’ of our school.  Unfortunately, further lockdowns and restrictions in Terms 2 and 3 resulted in the need to complete the process virtually, rather than onsite. Despite this, the School Review panel of Kevin Enright (School Reviewer), Mark Flack (Senior Education Improvement Leader), Elizabeth Barr (Challenge Partner – Principal, Rangeview PS), Debbie Mierisch (Challenge Partner – Principal, Milgate Primary School) and Matt Kohler (WPPS School Council President) had further opportunities to observe remote learning classes and meet online with teams of teachers, students and parents. The Review Panel congratulated the school on the wonderful culture and sense of community we have at Wonga Park. They commended the school on the way everyone was supported to be part of a strong community of learners and how this contributed to our success at being innovative and open to emerging ideas in education.  As a community we should be extremely proud of what we have created at Wonga Park for our students, staff, families and wider community.  We look forward to sharing the final School Review report with you in the coming weeks and launching the next School Strategic Plan which will outline our goals and priorities for the next three years.

2021 Parent and Carer Opinion Survey

Each year, the Department of Education asks schools to randomly select families to complete the Parent and Carer Opinion Survey.  It is an important way to seek feedback from parents and carers about various facets of the school. This year 168 of our families received an invitation to complete the survey.  Many thanks to all of the families who responded to the survey. We value the voice of our families and your responses will help us to continuously improve our school. 

Thank You

Before signing off can I once again congratulate everyone on a remarkable term and on your capacity to navigate your way through complex and challenging times.  We have continued to achieve so much together and to demonstrate what makes Wonga Park such a special community – the willingness to stay strong, find the positives and support one another.

Hoping that you have the opportunity to share some special family time over the holiday break and enjoy one of the traditions at this time of the year - watching the AFL Grand Final!  

Take care and stay safe

Warm regards

Julie