Foundation & One

Hatch day! We are hoping by the time you read this newsletter some of our duck eggs have hatched. Over the weekend, Evie's family set up the 'brooder' to prepare for this grand event; fingers crossed. Another grand event is rapidly approaching; the School Fete. Our grade will be working with the Year 12's to make some delicious Rainbow Balls to devour. Hope you can visit our stall. We also hope to see you for Learning Conversations on Thursday 30th March.

Mrs Chalmers, Classroom Teacher

Years 1 & 2

Much excitement in our room as our dinosaur eggs hatched to an array of different types of dinosaurs… so they are not extinct after all!

In maths we have been learning to round numbers to the nearest 10. The students have been involved in lots of different hands on activities to reinforce this.

Many thanks to Mrs Torney, and especially her mum, who has hand-made an assortment of small “Reading Rugs” that we have been enjoying reading on and reading under as the weather gets colder.

Plenty of spelling and writing happening every day.

Keep up your regular reading and practise those ‘tricky’ words so they are not so tricky after all!

Have a great week.

Mrs McKenzie and Ms Martin, Classroom Teachers

Year 3

Congratulations needs to go out to all of the class this week for completing their NAPLAN Testing-Writing, Reading and Conventions of Language. The students should be very proud of themselves. Congratulations also goes out to Elizabeth for being our MVP.

We have also made ourselves learning goals in Maths, Reading and Writing. We will be working hard together to achieve these goals before the end of term.

Our class participated in a Hockey Clinic. We had a great time learning new skills. Thanks to Ms Milne and the coaches who made this opportunity available to us.

Mrs Torney, Classroom Teacher

Year 4

We have been very busy in Year 4 the last couple of weeks!!

We have been enjoying our time in the Library on a Thursday afternoon. Getting a chance to borrow books for home (when we have our library bag) and for our classroom library!

In Mathematics we visited Miss A’s Ice Cream shop and explored how many different ways 10 ice cream flavours could be made using only two scoops of ice cream at a time! Our awesome students used their mathematical thinking and reasoning to explain why they had created the particular two scoop ice-creams.

Miss Anderson, Classroom Teacher

Years 5/6 A

This week we have been revisiting and exploring punctuation in our own writing and the texts that we read. We had to choose a big book from the pile and take it in turns to read with a partner. We monitored each other’s reading and practised using strategies such as looking and scanning ahead so we knew where the punctuation was in the sentence.

We have begun preparations for our Fete stall and are very excited for April 6th to come around! There are many different elements to our stall idea and it has been lovely to work with Grade 4 Anderson as many hands make light work! Last week we got together and designed some labels and promo posters to promote our idea. Keep an eye out for those around the school.

We are not far off the end of the term. Remember to assist your child to keep reading and filling in their diary each night and practising those spelling words. We hope to see you at the Fete!

Miss Douglas, Classroom Teacher

Year 9

As we near the end of NAPLAN period, we just want to say thank you and congratulations to all students on finishing their final NAPLAN ever.

Upcoming dates:

30th of March – Learning Conversations; remember this is a different look this year. It will not be a day off.
3rd of April – First Aid Training
26th of April – Year 9 Camp

School Fete Activity: This year, our activities for the fete are a Hair Salon and Chocolate Lob. Please remember to bring in some chocolates/lollipops for prizes.

MY9 – the students are well on the way to achieving their BRONZE DOE. On Monday 20th March the students did a practice session using the Trangia’s. The students researched what food they could prepare using a Trangia, in preparation for the next camp at the beginning of Term 2. The students are also working towards their SKILL and PHYSICAL component of their BRONZE Award. We encourage parents/guardians to ask them about what they are achieving in the MY9 classes.

Attendance: As mentioned in the previous Newsletter, Year 9 is one of the Homerooms that will be following up with parents/guardians re: student absence. Ms Herrington or Ms Milne will be the teachers making these calls. We look forward to working with our parents/guardians/carers to get the best out of our students.

Remember, Everyday Counts.

Miss Milne, Miss Van De Wetering and Ms Herrington, Year 9 Homeroom Teachers

Year 10

Over the past few weeks, Year 10 students have continued on with their excellent start to 2023. A range of potential pathways are being explored as they gear up for the upcoming work experience program. Along with preparing for this exciting opportunity, students are also engaging with their interests via their chosen VCE subjects and programs at TAFE.

A new potential pathway arose recently as a group of Year 10s discovered hidden talents as superhero costume designers, as shown by this photo-realistic reproduction of Captain America’s outfit.

Mr Iser, Mr Merritt and Mrs Barker Year 10 Homeroom Teachers

Year 11 & 12

Home Group Activities:

Every morning during home group, VCE students form a circle and greet each other with a friendly word or gesture. They also share positive news or activities they are involved in with the group. This is part of the whole school approach developed from the Berry Street training undertaken by staff at the end of 2022. Establishing predictable routines supports students to focus and prepare for learning in a positive way.

Staff mark the role, go through the Newsfeeds and then the session is finished with an activity designed to promote team building or brain stimulation. Students could be asked to consider a question such as: “Who is someone you admire and why?” These types of questions are designed to stimulate thinking about role models and their importance. Students are sometimes asked to do a physical challenge such as a group juggle which requires focus and team work. In the photo (left), Yindi has joined the session and is considering whether Bandit or Chilli from ‘Bluey’ are good role models for her.

VM Work placement Reports:

Ciara-Rose Sims is enjoying her work placement at the St Arnaud Veterinary Clinic on Thursdays each week. Ciara-Rose has a range of duties including cleaning out cages, holding the animals while they are having treatments, feeding the cats and playing with the kittens. She enjoys cleaning out the cages the least, but loves working with the animals. One day she held a cat while it was having its stomach stapled! Ciara-Rose is looking forward to being able to observe an operation in the near future. She would like to become a Vet Nurse when she finishes school.

Kyeishia McDonald-Chapman spends Wednesdays working at Foodworks in Wedderburn. Her duties include restacking shelves, checking use-by dates, helping in the fruit and vegie department cutting and preparing the products and working behind the check-out. Kyeishia enjoys learning new skills and, in particular, improving her communication skills. The least favorite part of her job is opening boxes which is hard on her hands; (she prefers not to use the box cutters).

Mrs Ritchie, Mrs Woodman and Mr Gretgrix, Year 11 & 12 Homerooms Teachers

PE News - Mr P and Miss Milne

Triathlon: On Thursday 9th March, Wedderburn College took 14 eager students to compete in the Triathlon at Boort Recreation Reserve.

Team events required 3 people to complete 1 leg of the triathlon each, 4km run, 16km ride and 300m swim. We had 4 teams in these events and they all did a tremendous job completing the event is some great times:

Aidan Wingfield (Swim), Eli Clarke (Bike) & Aihen Turner (Run) – Time: 1.07.49
Kayla Cramp (Bike), Chloe Looby (Swim) & Amelia Buschmann (Run) – Time: 1.12.10
Jorja Thomas (Bike), Lillie Luckman (Swim), Charlotte Carroll (Run) – Time: 1.19.47
Junior Whyman (Run), Dylan Caruana (Swim), Nathan Crowe-Williams – Time: 55.10 (5th place)

Individual events required 1 person to complete all 3 legs of the triathlon, 4km run, 12km ride and 300m swim. We had 2 competitors in these events and their effort was outstanding given the determination and resilience they had to show to get through this.

Tyson Blair – Time: 57.37 (7th place)
Neve Nisbet – Time 57.37 (3rd place)

Great job to all students for representing our school so proudly and showing our values at all times. A big thanks to Mr G and Mr P for assisting during the day as well as Mr Monaco and Trina Vaughn for allow students to use their road bikes.

Hot Shots: On Friday the 31st of March, Year 5/6 have their Calder Hot Shots Day. Please remember to consent for the day and check compass for any other details. Any questions, please contact Miss Milne or your Homeroom Teacher.

Mr P’s Secondary PE Student of the Week: Xander Wilson: Xander enters every PE class by saying “Hi Mr P”. Whenever I see him in the corridor he asks “what are we doing in PE this week?”. This highlights Xanders enthusiasm and engagement in every PE class. He is always willing to involve others and do his best. Well done Xander. See Mr P to collect your prize.

Miss M’s Primary PE Student of the Fortnight is: Mia Collins: Mia is a role model of our SWPBS expected behaviours. Mia always participates in lessons, tries her best and stops immediately when the whistle is blown. She always assists with the tidy up at the end of activities and encourages others during our lessons. Well done, Mia, on being such a role model to your peers. Please see Miss Milne, to collect your prize.

Everyday Counts

For the remainder of this term, Wedderburn College Wellbeing Professional Learning Communities - PLC, will have a main focus on attendance, particularly for our Year 8, 9 and VCE students.

Why it’s important

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day. Students develop good habits by going to school every day – habits that are necessary to succeed after school, whether in the workplace or in further study. Missing school can have a big impact on students academically and socially. It can affect their test results, including VCE and just as importantly, it can affect their relationships with other students and lead to social isolation. There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind and can affect their educational outcomes. Each missed day is associated with falling behind in subject topics and assessment tasks, and lead to fewer subject choices and may impact on achievement in years 11 and 12 and post-school pathways.

Parents, guardians and caregivers of these year levels should expect contact from Homeroom teachers if their student is absent from school on any particular day.

Wellbeing PLC Team

Compass

Don't wait for the end of semester to view your child's progress. Log in to Compass and view teacher feedback and feed forward at any time by checking out your child's Learning Tasks. Children also receive regular (every 5 weeks) progress reports on their Organisation, Behaviour, Attitude to Learning and Work Completion. Learning Tasks and Reports can be found on you child's profile page.

School Wide Positive Behaviour Supports - SWPBS

Links to Survey and Website: