School Leadership Message

2021 Staffing update

There are a few changes across the school in regards to staff.

Staff leaving:

We are saying goodbye to Tracey Maile, our longtime Japanese teacher who has worked passionately in our school not only to promote language and cultural education but has contributed to the marketing and promoting of WPS in the community. She has been a regular contributor to The Warrandyte Diary, promoting our students work and events. Tracey has secured a language teacher role in a catholic primary school for 2021. She will be greatly missed and we wish her all the best in her new school.
Kiah will be leaving us and has an exciting opportunity to work at Chirnside Park PS. Kiah has worked at WPS for 3 years and she has become a very valued and professional member of the WPS staff. We wish Kiah all the very best for her future as a teacher and we are certain she will be a very positive addition to her new school.
Jayde is moving on to continue her career at Regency Park PS. Jayde has also become a very valued and professional member of the WPS staff and has contributed enormously to the senior section of WPS. We wish her all the very best for her future as a teacher and we are certain she will be a very positive addition to her new school.
Cathie Brooks will be taking 6 months long service leave and is due to return to WPS in Term 3 of 2021. We wish her all the best and hope she enjoys her well earned break.

New & Returning Staff members

Natasha Salter will be joining our teaching staff full time. Natasha has a great deal of experience in student wellbeing and a strong knowledge of the curriculum.
Nicole McInerney will also be joining us in 2021 as a classroom teacher and we welcome her to the school community.
Sharon Hayes will be joining the Education Support Staff, working 4 days a week as an integration aide. She comes with 17 years of experience as an aide and will be a valuable addition to a fantastic team of professionals we have at WPS supporting our students.
Lisa McDonald will be joining the Education Support Staff, working 1 day a week as an integration aide.
Jo Fecondo will be returning after working for 6 months at the Australian Education Union. We welcome her back to our school community.

2021 Class Structure

The following class structure has been put in place. Transition details for these classes are outlined below.

Prep

Prep/1

Grade 1/2

Grade 3/4

Grade 5

Grade 6

2021 Classroom locations

Prep - 2 will be located in the main office building, with breakouts rooms being set up between classes to optimise the space and encourage the natural flow of movement between the classes throughout the lessons.

Level 3/4 will move down to the lower classrooms and will be joining Grade 5 there.

The staff are excited to announce that the Grade 6's will be relocating to the Stone Building and Science will also take place there. Prep buddies will be given a chance to work with their Grade 6 buddies in the Stone Building each week. There will be moving day next week for teachers to relocate to their 2021 rooms. Date to be advised.

Transition

From Monday through to Wednesday students will take their lunch to meet with the teachers currently teaching the year level (e.g. if your child is going into Grade 5 next year they will have lunch with the current 5/6 teachers, Jayde and Rick). These sessions will give students a chance to ask questions or talk through any wonderings they may have and it is also an opportunity to meet as a cohort of students.

Thursday 17 December @ 11:30 am: Meet the Teacher session. Your child will spend time with their 2021 teacher in their 2021 classroom. New teachers to the school will also be here to meet their students. A whole school transition activity will be run and students will bring home a transition slip to confirm with you their 2021 teacher.

We understand that transition can be a difficult time for some students. It is very common for students to have concerns if they are not placed with particular friends or do not know their teacher. After meeting their 2021 teacher, their current classroom teacher will give students an opportunity to talk about how they are feeling. Should you have any questions regarding the class allocation, please do not hesitate to contact the school or email us at warrandyte.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Tutoring Learning Initiative 2020

You may have heard in the media about the Tutor Learning Initiative that the State government has announced as part of the Covid-19 recovery phase for 2021. The Tutor Learning Initiative is designed to support students whose learning has been disrupted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Warrandyte Primary will use the funding to engage tutors to provide targeted teaching to students identified as needing support.

The funding allocation for each school is based on a model of students receiving two or three 45-minute sessions each week in groups of no more than five students at a time. Each school is allocating this funding to meet their specific context and identified student needs across a range of 2021 time frames. In order to plan for the Tutor Learning Initiative, teachers are currently identifying potential students to be ready at the beginning of 2021. Further updates about this initiative will be provided early next year.

Student Leadership 2021

The final discussions are taking place around the 2021 Grade 6 leaders, after the students completed the process by presenting their speeches to their peers and a panel of teachers. This an exciting time for the Grade 5's and they really begin to consider what next will look like as the leaders in the school. The calibre of applicants and the quality of the speeches were outstanding and we congratulate the students for putting themselves out there and representing themselves and their peers so well. We know that this a time of uncertainty for these students and as soon as the decision is locked in we will begin the process of announcing the 2021 school leaders. The decisions are based on a very refined process and teachers take the responsibility and privilege of being a part of the leadership process very seriously. They know there will be disappointments, as part of the life experience, but will be supporting all students and communicating with parents throughout next week.

Year 6 Graduation

The Department have provided the following information relating to the celebration of Year 6 Graduation.

End of year assemblies, graduations and other gatherings (e.g. school sports events)

If an event is held with external guests (parents/carers/visitors) then the overall attendee limit (inclusive of guests, staff and students) must be based on available floor space of the venue; with the density limit of one person per two square metres applied.

If an event is held exclusively with students and staff from a single school, density limits do not apply to the venue or dancefloor, regardless of whether the event is held at school or at a hospitality venue, entertainment facility or community facilities.

Public events on school premises

A public event is defined as an organised public gathering for a common purpose, which is conducted on a one-off or periodic basis, open to members of the public, publicly announced or advertised, and may be subject to specific license, approvals or permits.

As we are inviting parents to be part of the Graduation ceremony, we will be conducting our event outdoors in accordance with the current guidelines.

See Compass communication to Grade 6 families sent on 1/12/20 for details.