Principal's Report

Australian Teacher's Day

t e a c h e r

[teach - er]  * noun

(n.) the profession that creates all other professions.

With gratitude and sincere appreciation we celebrated all of our wonderful Wollert teachers on Friday 28th October for Australian Teacher's Day. Teacher's all over the world do an amazing job each and every day. It is a multifaceted profession like no other - one that requires the most brilliant, kind, curious and joyful individuals to ensure every child feels loved, valued and able. 

Teaching is such a simple word that aims to sum up all that these professionals do, but if we really focused on the many roles and responsibilities they action in every day, the list would look something like this:

Ambassador; Counsellor; Surrogate Parent; Inspirer; Sales person; Innovator; Leader; Mentor; Social Worker; Mediator; Negotiator; Facilitator; Planner; Instructor; Supporter; Cheer Leader; Role Model...and the list goes on.

Fortunately our school is filled with fine humans just like this who come to school daily to deliver the best of themselves each and every day so that our students realise the best of themselves. 

I feel very privileged to have the teaching team that we have at Wollert and want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them for their dedication to our Wollert children and families.

Our Camp Program begins

We were beyond excited to be able to take our Year 3 to Year 6 students away to Angahook Holiday Camp at Airlie Beach. For some it was their first camp and their first time away from home, which was a big achievement. Camps present many opportunities to stretch and challenge students in ways that can't be experienced at school. Social connections are strengthened, fears and self-placed limitations are challenged and new skills and capabilities are discovered. I would like to thank the Gumnut Learning Community Team and the Admin Team for all of their preparation and organisation in making this a very successful first camp for all.

Diversity Dash

In keeping with our focus on inclusion and learning about our individual and collective uniqueness and difference, we have a great afternoon of colour, fun and joy prepared for this coming FRIDAY 4th NOVEMBER. The Diversity Dash (Colour Run) will begin from 2.30pm with our students running, skipping and dancing around an exciting set course that aims to compliment our Fitness Friday while at the same time acknowledge and celebrate the brilliance of difference we have at Wollert. We invite families to join us from 2.30pm to 3.30pm for this fun time, as a volunteer or cheerleader. The ability to embrace mess and colour mayhem is a must. Children will require a white t-shirt that can be splashed in coloured chalk dust and clothes that they can get messy in on the day. More details will be shared by our teachers about this. We look forward to sharing this fun, joyful occasion with those who can attend.

Happy Diwali - The Festival of Lights Celebration

Last week many families within our community observed Diwali - the Festival of Lights. The five-day festival Diwali, also known as Divali, gets its name from the Sanskrit word Deepavali which means "row of lights". The lights are symbolic in warding off evil spirits and overcoming darkness which is the overarching theme of the festival.

But it is also a time when faith, food, fireworks, family and charity are honoured as they each take centre stage on the different days of celebration. 

This is a perfect example of the diversity we have and celebrate at Wollert.  Our Be Brilliant, Be Curious, Be Kind, Be Joy values allow our families to share their cultures and beliefs with pride, knowing that the more we learn about each other, the more understanding and caring our community grows. 

We hope all of our families had a joyful Diwali and we thank you for sharing what you value with us.

Learning Story Conferences

Term Four is a time to reflect on growth and progress, as well as acknowledging and celebrating achievement with pride before setting new goals for learning. This is true for my staff, our teams and most importantly, our students. We have deliberately scheduled our Learning Story Conferences late in Term Four for this reason. We have had the privilege of sharing in your child's Learning Story for two semesters and are eager to share all that they have achieved in this time.

These conferences will be an opportunity for our teachers to provide details of your child's learning profile to date and share the next growth points that will become goals in 2023. These goals will be passed to your child's 2023 Home Room Teacher so that every Learning Story is able to continue seamlessly from the very beginning of the school year. 

Our Learning Story Conferences have been scheduled over two afternoons: TUESDAY 22nd and WEDNESDAY 23rd of NOVEMBER. Parents can expect time-slots to be opened on Compass in the coming week, with times available between 2.00pm and 5.30pm on both afternoons. Our students will end each day at 3.30pm as usual, with our Specialist Team supporting our Home Room Teachers in delivering a teaching program in the afternoon. I know our teachers are looking forward to sharing your child's strengths, growth and goals for the 2023 school year.