A Word from the Principal

A Warm Welcome to our Weeden Heights Community

A warm welcome to our community

WINTER IS HERE!  Well, the cold weather has hit with a vengeance. We have been so blessed over the last few weeks with the most glorious weather for the end of autumn, but now as it is winter, we will be needing to remind the students to wear their winter uniform and layers.  Remember the classrooms are warm but currently have doors open to assist with ventilation during the Covid period. Warm clothes for when they go outside would be handy. 

Remote Learning

SCHOOL is BACK TOMORROW!  Well done everyone….another team effort from all of us!  I continue to be very proud of the work completed by our staff, students and parents at this challenging time.  I thank you once again for your incredible patience and the ongoing support for your child and their learning.  I would like to especially thank my staff who wisely used their curriculum day to ensure that learning did not stop at Weeden Heights PS. We slipped right back into the Google Classroom with Google Meets, assemblies, individualised learning, specialist programs and with ease.  Thank you! No fill in activity grids for our Weeden Heights students as we can’t afford to lose any learning time due to lockdown.  Unfortunately we must always be prepared for lockdowns as it is likely to happen again. However, we have plenty of experience in moving in and out of remote learning! 

Capital Building Works

Our school has received $5.833 million dollars in State Government funding to upgrade and modernise our school building which also includes Building A (front of the school).  We want to hear from our parents and guardians about what you’d like to see in your school. It’s so very exciting!

I recently contacted you through the email to let you know that a member from your School Council will be contacting most families to ask you directly through a telephone call about your ideas.  I really hope that you will take a moment to share your thoughts.  The key questions are: 

1. Is there anything in relation to the current facilities at Weeden Heights that you perceive as getting in the way of delivering the best educational outcomes for your child?
2. In order to best equip our students to be life-long learners do you have any ideas for what the school should do more of or start doing?
3. Think of places where you and others in your community come together: What are the features of these places which you think create a welcoming, inclusive and comfortable environment for everyone.

If we do not reach you by Sunday and you would like to contribute to these questions then please email your thoughts to the above questions to school and I will include your response

I am currently developing the vision for our school.  Your children will also be involved and have the opportunity to contribute to the vision of their new improved school.  Staff also completed a session at staff meeting last night to ‘drill down’ on their teaching and learning approaches and they discussed the requirements of the new building so that they can implement effective learning.  Once again, very exciting times ahead for all of us.

I will keep you up to date of where everything is at through the newsletter so you can be informed and be a part of the new development.  Go Weeden Heights PS!

Take a look at some of the interesting changes to other schools in the attached PDF.  some of these schools will be new builds from the VSBA.   I'm not sure if we will have enough funding for anything like this but our areas will be revamped and modernised.  The VSBA will first off ensure that our school is 'water tight'.  After all of our flooding over the past 7 years we need some work to our roof....then again depending on funds it may not be worth repairing and the focus will be on a  new building.  We will just have to wait and see what the architects will come up with based on the budget and the vision we are all currently working on.  

Working with Children Checks 

A friendly reminder that all parent helpers (in the classroom, kitchen/garden program and those who attend excursions/camps as a parent helper) are required to obtain a volunteer Working with Children Check Card.   Please bring into the school office your card as proof and you will be added to the Working with Children Register.  A huge thank-you to the parents who have already presented the school with their WWCC or updated WWCC. 

It is very easy to apply so please apply via the following link:

http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/home/applications/   

If you require any support to do this then please contact the office.

Reports and Student Led Conferences

Just a reminder that student reports will be emailed home on Friday in the last week of school.  Please ensure that you have your current and up to date email address with the office if it has changed recently.  The reports are sent to both email addresses that have been provided to the school but I know several of these email addresses, usually contact B, bounced back to the school.  Please phone Cindy or Kerryn in the office if your details have changed.

Teachers are currently writing reports with the information that they have. I have seen some great improvement in students as I have looked at the grade’s assessment grids that were submitted last week.  Student achievement results are becoming more accurate after the Covid year.  Teachers have implemented extensive testing and have been rigorously teaching to the learning needs of each child. 

Each year we have student led conferences that promotes a conversation around student learning backed up with evidence in the student learning portfolio.  Years 3 – 6 have their portfolios up in the online Google Classroom and the junior school still have folders that will be sent home.  The student led conference involves parents, students and the classroom teacher.  These are conducted early in term 3 after you have had the opportunity to go through your children’s reports. 

This year these meetings are possibly going ahead using video conferencing so you will be able to take 15 minutes while at home with your child to meet with the classroom teacher.   We will simply need to wait for DET visitors to schools guidelines but we have all learnt to be very flexible.  If online, we will use our regular booking process (Interviews on Line) to do this then send you an invite for a Google Meet through your child’s Google Classroom. We will send home a detailed instruction sheet next term so you can follow a step by step process to book in for the student led conference. 

Tours and enrolments for 2022

I continue to ask you to speak to parents at your preschools and child care centres to ‘spread the word’ that Weeden Heights PS is taking enrolments.  Please encourage your friends and neighbours to return their enrolment forms for the 2022 Foundation year students to our office asap.  I really need your help here as school tours are limited and at the moment I cannot tour perspective parents.  Hopefully this will change with the easing of restrictions however, I am asking for your assistance in supporting enrolments for our school. 

Don’t forget that it is a public holiday on Monday and we will see you all back at school on Tuesday. Stay safe everyone!

Until next time……

Kylie Campbell

Principal

Futures are Bright at Weeden Heights!