From the Vice Principal, 

Elissa Campbell

This week it has felt like Winter is not very far away, with the cold and wet start we had, thankfully the sun has returned today. As you will be aware from my Compass notification earlier this week there are many cold and flu-like illnesses beginning to circulate, including COVID. We are continuing to be vigilant here at school by encouraging everyone to hand sanitise and making masks available for those who choose to wear them. If you are unsure about the current guidelines for managing a COVID infection please visit the Victorian Department of Health’s Coronavirus website.

Since the last newsletter our students across Foundation - Year 6 have taken part in some exciting extracurricular activities. Last Wednesday Foundation students had a visit from the Wild Action Zoo where they were introduced to many native Australian animals. Today our Year 1 students are attending an excursion to the Melbourne Museum where they will participate in the Triceratops program and visit the many galleries.  Last week our Year 5/6 students spent four days in Canberra, they explored how government works and visited some of the sights of Canberra, including the home of the Governor General, Questacon Science and Discovery Centre and the National Gallery of Australia. We appreciate the support of our teachers in the organisation and time it takes to provide these learning opportunities for our students and thank our parent community for volunteering to attend these activities with our staff and students. We will continue to communicate with families about future volunteering opportunities for school activities, if you would like to volunteer please make sure you have a current Working With Children Check and that you have provided the office with a copy.

Congratulations to our 54 Year 3-6 students who participated in the CDSSA Cross Country championship a few weeks ago, we had one student who progressed through to the Division Cross Country last Friday. Tomorrow some of our Year 5/6 students will attend the CDSSA Soccer competition, they have been trained by Mr Spilsted and will be supported on the day by Mrs Minchew. We wish them the best of luck.

Last week we commenced our Foundation 2024 tours, and these will continue to be held over the next few weeks. Next Tuesday night we will be holding our Foundation Information evening from 6.30 pm for any 2024 Foundation parents. The evening is for parents who would like to learn more about how the school operates and how students learn. If you are aware of anyone who is intending to send their child to Woodend PS next year please share this information with them. If you are an existing parent and have a child who will be attending next year, please contact the office to collect enrolment information.

Tomorrow morning, we are inviting all our mothers and grandmothers to attend our Mother’s Day morning tea which will be held in the hall from 7.45 am. A coffee van will be set up on-site so please bring some money and your keep cup if preferred. Thanks to our fantastic PFA volunteers for organising this event for our school community.

Commencing next week we are moving our assemblies from Friday to Wednesday, we are doing this to support our Carlsruhe students, so they do not have to rush back to school each Friday to attend assembly, especially when they need to co-ordinate the animal roster for the weekend. Assembly times will remain the same with P-3 commencing at 2.40pm and 4-6 from 3pm, families are welcome to attend as usual. 

Carlsruhe students and parents please remember that on Monday students in CU2 will be moving out to Carlsruhe and CU3 students will return to the Woodend classroom.

We look forward to continuing the learning journey with your children as term 2 continues.

Vice Principal

Elissa Campbell