Across Oliver's Desk 

Dear Parents,

WELCOME BACK

Welcome back everyone! I trust that everybody had some quality time with family and friends and kept warm! Term three is always wonderful for teachers as it is the term that has the least distractions, and it is the term that poetry takes centre stage. Teaching and learning is always our number one focus and I’m excited to again announce that our students did us proud through the NAPLAN testing in March. We received our results on Monday which demonstrated fantastic results in all areas. This further embeds the teaching and learning culture we have at our school. These results allow us to see that rigor and routine of the readers, writers and numeracy workshop are meaning our students are showing growth and wonderful performance.

OUR SCHOOL BEING RECOGNISED

Below is an email we received from The Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership. All the staff at Woori Yallock P.S. are pleased that we are being recognised by The Academy. It is an honour that they want to do a case study on our school.

Dear Oliver & Flick

We have been hearing incredible things about the remarkable transformation that has taken place at Woori Yallock. The sustained growth your school has achieved over the years has caught our attention. We are particularly impressed with how your school has made Academy professional learning an integral part of its strategy, demonstrating a long-term commitment to professional development. 

We believe that Woori Yallock is an exceptional example of a school that has truly embraced the power of leadership and continuous improvement. Your unwavering dedication to excellence has paved the way for remarkable transformations within your educational community.

Woori Yallock has achieved impressive growth in various areas and shows exemplary commitment to ongoing professional development through the Academy's literacy programs. By making Academy professional learning an integral part of your long-term strategy, your school has fostered a culture of innovation and continuous growth among educators and students.

Our research and conversations show that Woori Yallock's leadership team has been pivotal in driving positive change. Your visionary approach, collaborative decision-making, and emphasis on empowering teachers and staff have created an environment where everyone feels valued and inspired to excel.

Considering this, we would love to collaborate with you on developing a leadership excellence case study. This case study aims to showcase and promote your school's achievements to other schools and Academy participants. We believe that sharing your success story will inspire and motivate others on their journey.

If you are interested in helping us with this case study, please let me know, and we will coordinate a suitable time for a meeting. Our Literacy Master Trainers Stream Leader, Marcia Thomas, Wilcob Education Consulting Director, Keay Cobbin, and a Communications and Marketing team member will be present to discuss the details and gather valuable insights from you.

We greatly appreciate your consideration and look forward to the possibility of working together. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or require further information.

Thank you for your time and for considering our request.

Warm regards,

Christian Brown (he/him)

Senior Communications Officer  

Communications and Marketing

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership  

CURRICULUM DAY (Friday 4th August)

I know that curriculum days can be difficult for parents in terms of children being supervised at home. However, our school invests significantly in our teachers to make sure that our teachers have access to the best and most up to date teaching methods. We have employed consultants for this day that will help us update our curriculum documents, which directly relates to what students are taught on a day-to-day basis. 

TERM 3

Just for something different there is a lot happening at Woori Yallock PS in term 3.

See below for some of the things that are happening this term:

• Curriculum Day Friday 4th August
• Poetry Celebration Afternoon Thursday 10th August
• Book Week 21st – 25th August
• Dress as Favourite Book Character - Thursday 24th
• Holocaust Excursion
• 100 Days of Prep
• Mantra Incursions
• Sports - Round  Robin & Hooptime 

WANDIN ROTARY INTER-SCHOOL SPEECH COMPETITION

Last night Chelsea Van Eijk and Shayla Sykes competed in the inter-school Yarra Valley School’s Speaking Competition. Both girls performed powerful, passionate speeches on worldly topics. Shayla spoke about equity across the world in girls education and Chelsea spoke about gender equality. 

Both girls brought honour to our school in the way they presented themselves and the passion they demonstrated.

In a brilliant result, Chelsea finished overall second and Shayla overall third.

Congratulations to both of them, as Principal I could not have been prouder of them. 

MORE WOORI HISTORY

With our new building taking shape and a new chapter of the school starting next year, I think it is interesting to look at a bit of Woori Yallock history:

The first post office to open in the area was located at the Woori Yallock Hotel and opened on the 1st of July, 1886. Thomas and Charles Wildman managed the hotel and store in 1893, and Henry Glynn took over from them in 1913. The post office was moved to the store in 1912 under the management of A.J. Speers. In 1914 a post office was established at the school, and the teacher acted as postmaster until July, 1919, when the office was closed and replaced by a Free Bag Service. On 1st May 1930, the store and post office passed to Mr. W.E. Valentine, and in 1940 Mrs. G. Valentine took over the post office and ran the post office until the late 1970’s. 

Have a great week!

And remember when life gets a little difficult, escape to the wonderful world of a book!