We have reached the end of a very busy year. Each year I try to find ways to make the last couple of weeks of school less frantic but seem to fail everytime. During the last few weeks there have been many events, activities and plans made as we wind down the year that has been and make decisions for the year ahead.

When we started 2022 the pandemic still hovered over us, none of us sure if it would ever end. Masks, RATs, Isolation rules, social distancing are all terms we had grown accustomed to. Changing plans on a dime and making the best of situations we faced, many started this year with fatigue, anxiety and frustration. But it has turned to be a largely ‘normal’ school year, except for the high absences of students and staff as Covid lingered in the classrooms, moving through grades silently and relentlessly.

The teachers are still grateful that they have been able to deliver the curriculum in the classroom and be with their students each day. There is no substitute for face to face in primary school that would ever be able to replace teachers and classmates engaging in spontaneous conversations about life, learning and problems. The human connection that was lost has been re-established and stronger than ever.

We were able to roll our camp program out this year and except for the Grade 6’s, none of our students had been on camp before. Mixed in with the excitement was anxiety and uncertainty for some of our students. Teachers and parents worked together to support these students and we have been able to reflect and say that the camp program this year was a huge success.

And as I reflect on the year, I have to say that the Production was my highlight, as I’m sure it is for many of our students. It wasn’t just the fantastic performance on the night (although I have never seen such a professional and entertaining show in primary school like it), it was the work and collaboration that went into it behind the scenes and throughout the rehearsals. The students and staff worked like clockwork in the dressing rooms so that every second on stage was perfect. Each person did their role and supported each other. It was a moment to be able to say we might be a small school and we might operate on an incredibly small budget, but we don’t let that stop us and we certainly don’t let our students miss out on opportunities to shine wherever they can. Dollars can never beat is dedication and hard work.

Yesterday we said our final goodbye to our 2022 Grade 6’s. There were plenty of tears at the final assembly as it began to dawn on them that this was it and whilst they are all very excited about secondary school, they are incredibly sad to be leaving each other and to be leaving WPS. I would like to thank our Grade 6 leaders for their tremendous efforts this year and their kind, honest and empathetic approach to leading our school and providing a shining example of what it is to be a part of a community and promote our school values.

I would like to personally thank Hunter and Sadie as our 2022 School Captains. They have been incredible and nothing we asked them to do was too much.

As we say goodbye to them, we welcome our 2023 Grade 6’s into their leadership roles.

Our future Captains and Leaders received their badges yesterday and we are so proud of the way they have conducted themselves throughout the selection process. We congratulate the following students for their new roles.

Trini – School Captain
Gabe – School Captain
Charlie K – House Captain
Nash & Dash – House Captain
Layla & Chloe – House Captain
Sonia & Dan – House Captain
Jaxon – ICT Captain
Summer – Wellbeing Captain
Miette – Wellbeing Captain
Kimi – Wellbeing Captain
Heike – Arts Captain
Darcy – Arts Captain
Zoe – Arts Captain

I congratulate them on their new roles and know that they will also be incredible and I look forward to seeing them grow and build their leadership skills over 2023.

We also Welcome Ersie Kakris to our school community. Ersie has been selected to teacher one of our 1/2 composites next year. She came in on Monday to meet the staff and meet with her 2023 class to spend a little time getting to know them. She is incredibly excited to be joining the WPS team. We are currently completing the final stages of our recruitment for the Grade 3 position that is still vacant and will update you when we have that information.

Finally, I want to thank the families this year for their continued support and encouragement of our school. Your patience and empathy when things have gone wrong and willingness to adapt makes the things we achieve even more significant. There is not a lot that can bring us down after the last few years. I hope you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and we look forward to seeing you all in 2023.

Take care

Nieta

Dates to Remember