Dear Parents/Carers,

WELCOME BACK

Welcome back to a very exciting school year at Warrnambool Primary School.

It was great to see all the students arriving at school on Wednesday eager to meet up with their friends and to settle into their new classrooms.

We extend this welcome to new and existing students and families.

Our priority is to ensure every child has a great day every day and we know that Covid had a major impact on wellbeing across the world and it is certainly felt in schools.

Student, staff and whole school wellbeing is a priority not just for Warrnambool Primary School but also at state level. Please contact the school if you need assistance for any reason and we will do our best to provide as much support as we can.

PUPIL FREE DAY FRIDAY 17TH FEBRUARY 2023

We will be having a Pupil Free Day on Friday 17th February 2023 for a staff professional development day with Dan Petro (Behaviour Analyst). Students are not required at school however, ‘Their Care’ will be operating for parents requiring that program.

WELCOME PICNIC AND CULTURAL GARDEN OPENING

We are holding a welcome back picnic next Thursday 9th February 2023 from 5.30pm on the school oval. You are invited to bring your own dinner to share with your family. Subway at Norfolk Plaza are kindly offering a 10% discount for families, just make sure you mention Jamo Picnic when ordering.

We are also opening our new Cultural Garden which will include a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony by Uncle Rob Lowe Snr. We look forward to seeing as many families as possible.

BUILDINGS/GROUNDS

There has been quite a lot of work take place in our grounds across the summer.

The shade sail area in the quadrangle has been completed and we are now considering options for furnishing the shaded space.

The Year 5/6 playground has been removed and replaced with a brand new playground. It looks fantastic and the students are certainly making the most of it. We anticipate that students will be able to use the playground next week.

Edumarking has completed some excellent learning designs on the asphalt in the junior playground and have renewed the lines on the basketball court.

Last year the school applied and received funding to create a cultural garden.

Gina Mills worked with last year’s Year 6 Koorie student leaders to design a meeting place. They went to Port Fairy and visited Bam Stone, where they were given an amazing guided tour and learnt all about the process of making pavers and products out of the local stone. After the visit, Bam stone generously donated the beautiful bluestone pavers for the area. MJ Walsh Landscapers came in to complete the project over the holidays.

Peter McLauchlan from Reel Steel Planters, made and gifted two beautiful big corten planter pots for the area, which we will be planting trees in. This term, students will help to plant out and maintain the garden.

Thank you very much to Michael Steel and Tony Rowe from Bam stone, Nugget and his team at MJ Walsh Landscaping and Peter McLauchlan from Reel Steel Planters. We will be holding an official opening at the Family Picnic Night on Thursday 9th February.

We have undertaken work in the garden at the front of the school by installing a watering system which will keep the area looking lush during the dry summer period.

We also have a new cubby house which is yet to be installed in the junior playground. We look forward to seeing that completed.

SCHOOL WEBSITE- NEW and IMPROVED

This week we launched a new and improved website. Please take a look when you have a chance. Well done to Skye Nichols, Pil Kim and Marcus Bell for liaising with Top Notch IT in presenting an excellent completed product. In particular, Skye put in a lot of work behind the scenes.

STAFFING

We are very fortunate to welcome several new staff to Warrnambool Primary School. Joanne Saffin is undertaking the role of Business Manager in 2023. Joanne is very experienced having undertaken the Business Manager role at Grasmere Primary School for several years.

Jane Martin is also working in the office on Thursday and Fridays. Jane has much experience having work in administration at Brauer College. Also in the office we have Lily Maglaras who is a Westvic trainee. Lily is working full time and hopes to work in office administration in the future.

Jarryd Lewis is teaching Year 2 and is a very welcome addition to our teaching/ earning team. Jarryd is an experienced teacher and is a leader in Mathematics delivery in particular. We welcome Maggie McMeel (Year 3), Michelle Rea (Year 5) and John Papadopoulos (LOTE) back to Warrnambool Primary School. It is great to have them back working with us.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Thom and Jess Fraser on the birth of Viera Estelle Locklyn Fraser. Thom will be on Paternity Leave from 2nd to18th February 2023 inclusive. Mitchell Bowman will be replacing Thom during this time. Mitchell is an experienced teacher and we are fortunate to have him.

Congratulations to April Sandri on her marriage during the holidays. We wish April and Luke all the very best. Jess White is also getting married this weekend to Connor and we extend our congratulations and best wishes.

Congratulations to Wei- Lin and her organising committee for the Australia Day recognition for their Multi-Cultural festival at the City Council awards.

SCHOOL COUNCIL 2023

The school council provides strong leadership and ensures good governance in government schools. We have a very strong School Council at Warrnambool Primary School who work together to ensure the best outcomes for our school.

There are two parent vacancies for the 2023-2024 school years. If you are interested in putting your name forward please contact me and I will arrange a nomination form. If we have more nominees than positions we will hold an election as per D.E.T policy.

It is a great opportunity for parents to be involved in the school.

ASSEMBLIES

Assemblies will now take place on Monday mornings in the school gym. If you are able to attend we would love to see you there. Assemblies will commence just after 9am and will be completed in approximately 30min.

JAMIESON STREET HANDICAPPED SPACE

Please note that the handicapped space in Jamieson Street must remain free during pick up and drop off. We do have families whose children with special needs require access to this parking space at these times. Warrnambool City Council contacted the school at the end of 2022 also requesting that we keep this space vacant. I appreciate your co-operation with this important matter.

DROP-OFF TIMES

A reminder that the school grounds are not supervised before 8.30am. TheirCare operate from 7am and can be contacted on 1300 072 410 to arrange bookings.

Have a great weekend!

Peter Lee

Principal

Student Birthdays