Farewell to staff

This time of the year is always bittersweet. We welcome new staff but we also farewell valued members of our team as they head off on new journeys.

The following staff members are leaving us and we wish them well.

Jody Bretherton, Kerrin Fellini, Deb Shepherd, Gayle Sutton, Jordan Chamerski.

We thank both Kerrin and Deb for stepping in and filling positions in classrooms this year. They have taken everything in their stride and been wonderful additions to our school. We hope that we might still see them in some part-time capacity next year. Jody has only been with us for three years but during that time Jody has always brought so much warmth and vitality to our school.

Gayle joined our team in 2012 and has had a number of roles within the school. One of her most significant roles was being our Science Specialist and writing and implementing our Whole School Science program. This year Gayle has been at our Carlsruhe Campus. We will miss her calm, supportive nature.

Jordan joined our team in 2013. He was already known throughout the Macedon Ranges schools as being a guru in technology. His computer knowledge is second to none. Jordan has been a quiet achiever and a steady voice of reason as he has stepped into leadership roles. In recent years he worked extremely hard to build his leadership capacity and he has proven his ability when he has filled roles as Acting Assistant Principal and Acting Principal. Jordan’s skill set across many areas will be missed and we wish him all the best as he steps into his new position as Principal at Bolinda Primary School. We have no doubt he will build a wonderful school community and culture at Bolinda.

We currently have a position open on Recruitment On-line to fill Jordan’s position as a classroom teacher.

Zoe Bronchinetti will be taking leave for the year to travel and we hope she returns to us the following year.

Welcome to our new staff

This week our new staff have been on-site for transition and planning days. It was a pleasure to welcome Breanna Smith, Dani Dawes, Jonathan Swain and Caitlin Hanks and we look forward to them being part of our team in 2023.

School Captains

Over the last few weeks, myself, Kylie Minchew and the teachers from Years 4/5/6 had the privilege of listening to twenty one students as they delivered their speeches for the chance to become School Captain in 2023. The students delivered heart felt speeches that talked about care, compassion, supporting others, ideas to improve our school and their skills and qualities. The next step in the process was all of their peers and teachers voting for the applicants. Based on the voting and a consultation process, a short list of applicants was developed. Eight students were shortlisted for an interview. This interview was conducted by myself, Mrs. Minchew and our four current school Captains.

We again went through a voting process which involved the current School Captains and staff. Factors that were taken into consideration were: the speech and interview, the child’s attendance and their ability to be a good role model and live our school values.

The final decision was a particularly tough decision, and it took many hours of deliberation. We were extremely proud of all of the students who made the courageous decision to be an applicant and deliver their speeches in front of such a large crowd. Each and every one of the applicants had special qualities that could be applied to leadership roles.

Our final decision was based on the best applicants for the job.

I am pleased to announce that our 2023 School Captains are:

Madison Chamerski
Ava Higham
Tahli McGregor
Flynn McDonald

Class placements

Thank you to everyone for your understanding and appreciation of all of the logistical hard work that goes into student placement. On the whole, the process was highly successful and we look forward to the new year of learning for students and teachers.

Graduation

Last night we had the privilege and pleasure of attending the Graduation Ceremony for our 2022 Year 6 graduating students. It was delightful to be able to have a full on-site ceremony with family members in attendance. The night was a wonderful celebration, showcasing the individual skills and qualities of our students. A huge thankyou to all of our staff who were involved in making the night so special, with a special mention to Mr. Bromley for his role in leading the musical performances.

Leave your mark

As part our graduation ceremony last night, the 2022 'Leave your Mark’ project as unveiled. Every year our Year 6 students create a piece of art that we proudly display on a wall around the school. This year the project was facilitated by Mr. Condon and Miss Tobin and the finished project is such a wonderful representation of our students and their time at WPS. The finished product will become a treasured part of our school and hold beautiful memories of the class of 2022.

Sushi Day

This week another amazing feat was performed by Jen in the canteen and her team of helpers. We provided around 700 sushi to our staff and students. A big shout out goes to the Marks Family and their team at IGA by providing the sushi for us.

Misc.

As the 2022 year comes to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to communicate my sincere and heartfelt appreciation to the parents and staff of WPS.

We started the year on such a high knowing that our students would return to school from remote learning. The COVID impact has shadowed us all the way but there have been so many positives. I thank you all for the resilience you have shown and the way you have worked together as a community to provide support for others.

It has been my greatest pleasure and pride to lead such a supportive, hard working school community where our culture and community are the centre of everything that we do for our students.

I would also like to send my sincerest thanks and wishes to all of the families and staff that are moving on to other places and thank you for your contribution to WPS

I acknowledge that Christmas can be a time of emotion, challenges and sadness for some families but on behalf of us at WPS, we send our heartfelt wishes for a beautiful festive season with family and friends, and a new year filled with hope, laughter and good health.

End of term

We are aware that many students are having their last day of term tomorrow. Although our school is open on Monday and Tuesday our teachers will be using this time to clean their rooms and move to new rooms. If your children attend they will be put together in groups and supervised by a teacher to watch a movie or they will be helping with cleaning and moving. We hope you can appreciate the huge logistical task it is for our teachers to move classes and our decisions to allocate time for this process.

Carlsruhe Fair Photographs

At our recent Carlsruhe Fair we had two wonderful parents photographing our event. A huge shout out to Kim Selby and Tim Collins. Kim’s children previously attended our school and Tim has a child at our school currently. Our sincere thanks go to both parents for capturing the joy of the fair in treasured photos.

Tim has kindly provided the link and instructions to download the photos. A huge thanks to Tim for this generosity. - Please see the Carlsruhe Country Fair page for details.

Principal

Diana Ellis

WPS Community Children’s Garden

Volunteer Gardening Group Facilitator