WHEELERS HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL

Principal's Report

8th November 2019 

Learning Update

As we fly towards the start of Week 6 it is worth considering that there are only 30 more school days remaining for the 2019 school year.  As our students are working hard in their various classes we will continue to be engaged in a range of curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to support their learning and celebrate their 2019 achievements.

 

Over the next few weeks we can look forward to a number of incursions and excursions  such as the Botanic Gardens and Legoland excursions for Preps, the Year 6 water safety and Bounce excursion, Year 3 Rush HQ excursion and the Year 4 and 5 Coach Approach and Proactivity incursions. We are also looking forward to the Year 6 leadership selection process involving the Year 5 students and the Languages Day. Finally towards the end of the school year we have the Christmas Concert and the Year 6 Graduation where we celebrate our Year 6 students and farewell them from the school. 

 

We are currently assessing our students to measure their learning growth from this time last year and then we begin the work of writing student reports. Throughout all of our assessments, we have an eye on how far your child has progressed from 6 months ago, 12 months ago, 2 years ago. Student learning growth is the critical factor that underpins our work and our diagnostic assessments help us better understand not only student progress, but also if there are any gaps in their knowledge which helps inform how and what our teachers, teach. 

 

Class Placement for 2020 

Teachers are currently finalising class placements for 2020 using a program called Class Creator. To assist the teachers to create the classes this program uses information about the students such as their friend requests, academic levels, social and behavioural information, additional needs and gender.  

 

Students will participate in two transition sessions in the year level above their current level on Friday 22nd and Friday 29th November. This is a great opportunity to experience some time in the next level above and prepare for their 2020 year. On Tuesday 10th December students will participate in a whole school transition day where they will spend most of the day with their 2020 teacher and new classmates.

 

Class Structures 2020

As we finalise our enrolments for 2020 I am happy to share with you our grade structures for next year. I look forward to announcing the teaching placement for each class in December. 

 

Prep X 5 (average class size 22)

Year One X 5 (average class size 21.2)

Year Two x 5 (average class size 22.1)

Year Three x 4 (average class size 24.0)

Year Four x 3 (average class size 25.6)

Year 5 (average class size 26.0)

Year 6 (average class size of 26.6)

 

The Department of Education recommends class sizes of: 

21-22 for Years Prep, One and Two

25-26 for Years Three, Four, Five and Six

 

As you can see above most Wheelers Hill Primary School classes for 2020 are under or meet the Department of Education recommendations, with just two classes that barely exceed the recommendations in two year levels. We have very generous sized classrooms that will accommodate these classes very well. 

 

New Staff for 2020

I am very pleased to announce, following a comprehensive selection process, the following people have been provisionally appointed into graduate teaching positions for 2020. Congratulations to Karina Ison, Danielle Greco, Fiona Pham and Amelia Robison. We warmly welcome these staff to Wheelers Hill Primary in 2020 and wish them all the best. 

 

We still have some staffing matters to finalise before the end of the year, after which we will be able to announce the teaching placements for each class in December. 

 

Book Fair 

Don't forget to visit the Scholastic Book Fair which will be held in our library over the next week. There will be a terrific selection of books available to purchase (great for Christmas gifts) as well as a raffle for a number of hampers. A percentage of the book fair sales goes towards fundraising for the school so your support for the fair would be greatly appreciated.

 

Parking Reminders

I have been reminded by some parents and the crossing supervisor that some parents have been driving unsafely around drop off and pick times. Nothing is more important than the safety of our students and community members so please remember to:

 

  • Obey the speed limit of 40km/h in the streets around the school
  • Be aware of students and be considerate to other drivers
  • Follow the parking restrictions, especially the two minute pick up and drop off zones
  • Don't park in no standing areas or close to the school crossing
  • Be patient, not everyone is going to be able to park in front of the school

 

City of Monash parking inspectors regularly patrol the areas around the school and fine vehicles that are not following the locals laws. More information can be found on https://www.monash.vic.gov.au/About-Us/Parking-Transport/Parking-Safety-around-Schools

 

Enrolments and Exits 2020

 With the exception of Year 6 students, please notify the school office if your child/children will not be attending our school next year. This will help us in our planning for classrooms and teachers for 2020. Your prompt reply would be greatly appreciated.

 

Michael Ramsey

Principal