A Warm Welcome to our Weeden Heights Community

The countdown is on until the end of the year! I am sure that everyone is ready for a well-earned rest and catch up with families and friends over the holiday period. We all deserve a bright and happy 2021 full of fun and ‘normality’.

2021 Whole School Structure and the Bright Beginnings Program

Today and next Monday, students are involved in our whole school transition sessions. They have had the opportunity today to meet with their new classroom teacher as a part of the Bright Beginnings Program. The whole school transition program at Weeden Heights is outstanding and by starting the year before, our students are well ahead and beginning to develop solid relationships in order to be ready for learning at the start of the year.

Students were also able to meet some of the new students whom are starting at Weeden Heights PS who will be a part of their class next year. As a result, I am now able to release the structure for 2021.

The 2021 structure for Weeden Heights is as follows:

Prep/1: Mrs Anne Lee – Room 1
Grade 1: Ms Sarah Crookes– Room 2
Grade 2: Mrs Melinda Michalski – Room 3
Grade 3: TBA– Room 6
Grade 3/4: Mrs Aarti Arya - Room 7
Grade 4/5 : Mr David Saville and Mrs Solange Nancarrow – Room 8
Grade 5/6 : Ms Allison McLaren– Room 9
Extension and Enrichment – Mrs Solange Nancarrow & Mrs Jennifer Watts
Physical Education: Mr David Saville
Performing Arts and Visual Arts: Mrs Jennifer Watts
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics): Miss Belinda Davis
Language (French): Mrs Delphine Todd
Garden Specialist: Miss Belinda Davis
Kitchen Specialist: TBA
Tutor: TBA

Warm Welcome:

At this point of time, we will welcome a few new staff members for 2021. I am currently in the process of recruiting a teacher for year 3, a tutor and a kitchen specialist. We are also awaiting news from the Commonwealth Government if our application for Chaplaincy funding has once again been successful. I will be able to tell you more in the new year however, I know that everyone will make them feel welcome next year.

So long for now:

While we welcoming some new staff members, we are also saying farewell to a few others. We wish them all the very best in their future, careers and family life.

Christopher Anagnostou – Christopher has taught at our school for one year in 5/6 and will continue on his teaching career at a school closer to his house
Sarah Polson – Sarah will still be staying in the kitchen but moving into a service which teaches people with disabilities how to cook. Sounds interesting

I would like to thank these staff members for all of the work that they have done with our wonderful students and for the work they have completed within our school, particularly in an interesting year. Farewell and good luck!

Class Structure and Considerations for 2021

Considerable planning has gone into creating a structure for 2021 after experiencing remote learning for 2020. I have spoken to you a little through other communications so you may have a good idea about my thinking behind the model.

My priorities for our school are:

To keep all class sizes as low as possible across the whole school (not just Prep to year 2) so that our students can have greater supervision of their individual learning goals
To reconnect cohorts of students who have been separated during the pandemic and other grade structures from previous years
For students to maintain close contact with the 2020 classroom teacher
To keep ‘new teachers’ in 2021 in the same year level so that they also have the opportunity to complete a full year in a grade level (with our Weeden Heights expectations)
Maintain the staff’s work teams to build on from the new learning in 2020 and strengthen their working capacity

Each year I also like to remind our families about multi-aged classrooms as we have always operated this way; not just due to our size but for the philosophical belief of the school

Weeden Heights operates with multi-aged classrooms. We do not have ‘composite’ classes. They are two completely different approaches and I explain this on school tours. Our approach at WHPS is ‘personalised learning’ so students are tested to find out what they already know and understand and then students have programs and approaches developed for them based around their next learning stage.

Composite grades teach to the level curriculum of the grade so only two curriculum levels are taught in that classroom. If we taught to a specific grade level, students would never be able to achieve results beyond their year level because we simply would not teach that curriculum.
Personal learning in a multi-aged classroom allows us to teach a child above or below the expected level of the curriculum. It is irrelevant what grade a child is in but it does group students who are roughly around the same age and stage in development. We have many year 6 students who are completing secondary school curriculum but this would not be possible if we simply taught to the year 6 curriculum. There are many prep students who will receive results well beyond their expected level. This is only possible with our personal approach to learning. We should never have to say to a child that they are ‘only in grade 2 so you only get grade 2 work’. In a composite grade the two year levels are only given work of the year level.

At Weeden Heights our programs are based on student’s achievement levels which is how our students achieve their results.

Grade construction takes hours. Students are asked about their choices for best learning partners and friends. Parent are consulted and requests considered as they are based on personal, social, physical or academic grounds. Grades are balanced between boys and girls and academic and social needs. Teachers also have requests and professional needs that need to be considered. We have to manage their roles in the school along with the grade they are allocated. There are so many considerations and this process involved the whole staff so it is not taken lightly. Every students is guaranteed at least one of their choices so it is difficult to hear from a parent that their child has no friends when they have received at least one person they named.

It is also extremely difficult to be asked to change a child from one class to another when transition sessions have taken place. Parents are really asking us to tell another child that they now have a different teacher, will be in a different room and no longer be with the students they just worked with. At all times we follow the school policy which is available on the school’s website.

Please always be reassured that extensive thought goes into school structures and placements. Our focus is our students at all times and it is paramount that we work with you at home to ensure that we all cater for the learning needs of each learner in our school and not a ‘grade’. I am guessing after the year we have just had, we will be continue our new working relationship.

Camping Program: Prep Breakfast and Year 1 Late Stay

A massive thank you to Mrs Michalski, Ms Crookes and Mrs Lee for making the prep and year 1 camping program happen this year. It would have been easier to let these events slide as all other camps for the rest of the school however, our staff were committed to ensuring they could do what they could for our students so at least they would not miss out. Covid restrictions, particularly around not being able to share food, guided the organisation of the events for this year Thank you staff!

I consistently heard from the students …..’this is the best night ever’ and ‘this is the best breakfast ever’. The students had a sensational time and enjoyed the beginning of our camping program.

Parent Helpers Morning Tea THANK -YOU!

How can we ever thank all of our amazing parents and families enough after 2020! You have played a critical role in your child’s learning this year. More than you have ever done before! We have always had parents help on all different levels in and out of school but this year the home learning partnership rose to a new level.

THANK-YOU!

You have all done an incredible job supporting learning from home and especially with assisting in the implementation of the teacher’s programs for your children. I really hope you can all reflect back and see the positives. You did get to spend time and share experiences with your children that you would never have ever gotten before.

Our annual Parent Helpers Morning Tea is not going ahead as it usually would due to restrictions of space and the sharing of food from a plate. We have however, sent home a little gift of appreciation to all of you! From all of us

We have a very wide range of volunteers at Weeden Heights Primary School including: parents who assist with classroom programs; volunteers in the kitchen/garden program, PFA, classroom representatives, School Council, committee members; social event organisers; working bee participants, and many, many more.

On behalf of the staff and myself, I would like to thank everyone who has participated in our programs and for the difference they have made to the learning of our students. We certainly could not do the wonderful things that we do without you! THANK-YOU!

Year 6 Graduation

Good luck to our year 6’s as they head towards their graduation next Monday. They have been extremely busy preparing for this very special night. I would also like to especially thank Ms McLaren and Mr Anagnostou for overseeing the ceremony and thank the team of parents/guardians who have worked behind the scenes to make this a worthy event with a twist in 2021. The students will have a very special event and we will replicate as much of the original ceremony a possible.

Graduating Class of 2020’s Parting Gift

I hope you are all enjoying the ‘Great Wall of Weeden’ as it is growing and changing. The old orange bricked rebound wall is turning into a work of art by our year 6 leaders, Kathryn, Delphine, Mrs Watts and Mrs McLaren. I have been placing photos up on our Facebook page so you can follow the progress. The weather is looking better now and our deadline is next Friday so hopefully all of the painting will all be finished by then. What an amazing gift from our year 6’s.

The wall represents all of our amazing houses and their origins and names are all based around Aboriginal words.

Waratah is our red house symbol and the large red flower
Mungarra is the special grass
Timbarra is represented by the reeds
Karrujong is symbolised by the body of water.

Christmas and Awards Night Celebration

Our Christmas Concert being held on Thursday 17 December (next week) from the Google Classroom! This event will be historic as for the very first time we are performing on line in pre-recorded grade presentations. The students will be leading us through some Christmas songs to get us all in the spirit of Christmas. Please feel welcome to sing along from the comfort of your home!

We would really love your family to sit around the computer or a smart TV and enjoy the concert together for the very first time. You might even consider a picnic dinner for all while you enjoy the night.

I would especially like to thank Mrs Watts for all of the work that she has put into the concert. Being online, her workload has tripled so a massive thank you from all of the community! Many teachers have supported her along the way so a big thank you to you as well.

I am looking forward to announcing the senior leadership team for 2021 and be ready for some twists!. There are also a few awards including our highly respected Eroll Linke Award. As usual, there will be surprises for our community!

Final Assembly

The school will hold a final assembly outside on the basketball court on Friday 18 December. We will say a final farewell to our exiting year 6 students and wish everyone a happy holiday break.

As of yesterday, you will be able to attend our final assembly however, you must socially distance at all times and it would be best to wear your mask. If it is raining, the assembly will not go ahead in the hall and parents definitely can not come into the hall if the school was inside. This will be different from what you hear me say in the Christmas Concert as I filmed that last weekend with the previous restrictions in place. I’m just giving you the ‘heads up’ as you will be listening to me on Thursday night and the assembly is on Friday afternoon. How things change with Covid restrictions….hang in there as this change is for the better!

Just a reminder that students will be dismissed at 1.30pm from assembly. . You will be welcome to come onto school grounds but I would wear your mask as it will be difficult to social distance.

If you are not available to pick up your child at that time then you will need to book them into the OSHC program for the afternoon.

The Christmas countdown is on! If I don’t catch up with you before the end of the year, I would like to wish you all a safe and happy holiday break. Enjoy spending time with your family and friends. Merry Christmas!

I look forward to seeing you all back again next year for another ‘action packed’, ‘covid normal’ year.

Ms Kylie Campbell

Principal

Futures are Bright at Weeden Heights!

Parents & Friends Association