Principals Report
8th February
WELCOME BACK
Welcome to all of our new families and those returning to Wheelers Hill. I trust you have all had a relaxing holiday and have already settled into the new school year. Our new Preps have been spending some time with their Year 6 buddies over the last week and have also been participating in assessment days . They have made a great start to their time at Wheelers Hill. This year has started off incredibly smoothly and I'd like to thank all the staff for their organisation and preparation last year and over the holidays to ensure the best start possible for our students.
NEW STAFF FOR 2019
A special welcome to our new staff members Mrs Victoria Bruges-Cannon (Year 1), Emily Boydell (Year 1), Rachel Kelly (Year 2), Joe Doyle (Year 6) and Nicky McClean (Integration Aide). Over the holidays Mr Raf Fernandez was successful in obtaining a position at Chatham Primary School. We wish Mr Fernandez all the best for 2019 at his new school.
WELCOME PICNIC
All families are invited to our annual Twilight Picnic next Friday 15th February from 5pm onwards. A flyer has gone home today with all families. A large inflatable playground will be available for the students to play on and souvlaki will be available to purchase from our wonderful family who run the Kalimera and Mykonos restaurants is Oakleigh. Families are also welcome to bring their own food. Thanks to the Parents Association for their organisation for this event.
PREP TEARS and TISSUES MORNING
Thanks also to the Parents Association for running the Tears and Tissues morning for the new prep parents last week. All the prep students settled in very well and there hardly any tears shed or tissues required!
FIRST ASSEMBLY
Our first assembly for 2019 will be on Monday 11th February at 2:40pm. All families and friends of the school are welcome to attend.
SCHOOL HOURS
School hours in 2019 are listed below. Please do not drop children at the school before 8.45am in the morning as there are no staff on duty before this time.
The School day starts at 8.50am so students must be dropped of by this time. This will ensure that they have time to get to class before 9am when learning starts. If they are dropped of at, or very close to 9am, they are late and as such you need to accompany your child to the office to obtain a late pass.
If you are going to be late picking up your child at the end of the day please call the office prior to 3.30pm so we may have time to inform your child. Please note that supervision of students ceases at 3.45pm. Students must be picked up by 3.45 at the latest. If students are picked up consistently late we strongly encourage you to enrol in our excellent OSHC program. Students involved in after school clubs are expected to be picked up at 4:35pm.
Please note the office hours for 2019 are 8:30am-4:00pm.
8:50am - School starts - students are required to be in classrooms by this time
9:00am - Learning sessions 1 and 2
10:40-11:10am - RECESS BREAK
11-:10am-12:50pm - Learning sessions 3 and 4
12:50-1:00pm - Lunch eating time
1:00-1:50pm - LUNCH BREAK
1:50-3:30pm - Learning session 5 and 6
3:30pm - School ends for the day
SCHOOL COMMUNICATION
Please log onto the Compass regularly to check for news and information from the school. This is the main form of communication the school uses. Compass is also used to consent and pay for excursions and events as well as notifiying the school if your child is absent. If you have a concern regarding your student your first point of contact should be your child's teacher. Teachers may not be available all the time due to meetings or other commitments so please make an appointment to talk to them at a mutually convenient time.
A formal opportunity to discuss your child's progress will be at Parent / Teacher Interviews towards the end of Term 1. There will be in place of the Get to Know You Interviews we have had in the past.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON YARD DUTY
All teachers will be on yard duty on Wednesday afternoon this year. If you are picking up your child at this time it is a great chance to say hello and have a chat with your child's teacher. If your wish to talk to the teacher in more depth please make an appointment as outlined above. Our teachers look forward to seeing you on Wednesday afternoon. Prep teachers will continue to be out the front of the prep building every day to ensure our new students settle into school well.
STUDENT ACCIDENT AND PRIVATE PROPERTY INSURANCE
The Department of Education and Training (DET), and government schools do not provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents and guardians are generally responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. Reasonable low cost accident insurance policies are available from the commercial insurance sector. The Department of Education and Training also does not hold insurance nor does it accept responsibility for private property brought to school by students, staff and visitors. Students are advised not to bring any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school and are not allowed to bring any electronic toys and games to school, unless it is a special reward day.
SEVEN TIPS TO START OFF THE SCHOOL YEAR WELL
I would like to share the following article as it supports the general wellbeing of all student at Wheelers Hill - I hope you find the article helpful too.
A new school year means a fresh start for students. Regardless of your child’s performance last year, they start school with a clean slate. A break offers students the chance to begin new habits and adopt new behaviours. Here are seven ideas to help you make the most of the fresh start and make this year your child’s best year ever year at school:
1. Commit to your child going to school every day on time.
One of the most important things you can do to ensure your child has a bright future is to make sure he or she goes to school every day – and gets there on time. Kids spend more time asleep than at school, so we need to maximise every day to get full value.
2. Help kids start each day well.
A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast and some words of encouragement from you will help set a positive tone for a day of learning. This may mean that you adjust your morning routine so that kids have plenty of time to get up, eat and get ready for the day.
3. Establish work & study habits.
The most successful students are those that develop regular study habits that suit their lifestyle, their study style and their school’s expectations. Find out the work expectations from your child’s school and help them establish a work routine that matches their personality, lifestyle and family style. Be flexible here as one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to study routines.
4. Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
Make this a big focus as this year as many children and young people are sleep-deprived, which impacts on their well-being and their learning. A good night’s sleep consolidates learning, as well as assisting future learning. Children need between 10-12 hours of sleep each day. Help kids get sufficient sleep by having a regular bed-time and get-up time each day. Have 45 minute wind-down time each night, and remove screens and mobile phones from bedrooms.
5. Get your kids outside more for good physical and mental health.
Kids today get less exercise than those of past generations, which is an impediment to learning and mental health. Health professionals recommend a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise per day for kids of all ages. Encourage kids to play sport; promote free and active play and look for ways to make moving part of their daily lives. Consider increasing your child’s green time and decreasing screen time for good physical and mental health.
6. Focus on being friendly.
Schools are very social places requiring kids to negotiate many different social situations each day. Encourage kids to be open and tolerant; to be friendly; to be involved in plenty of activities and to be social risk-takers.
7. Develop self-help skills.
Successful students are often well-organised, self-directed and self-motivated. You can foster organisational skills and self-direction by developing simple, age-appropriate self-help skills related to their everyday lives. Such skills as making lunches, packing school bags, and organising after school schedules can be great lessons that impact on how kids perform at school.