From the Head of Campus

Every day at WCC is a blessing, the wonder of our children, the love and care we have for each other and our precious connection with our Lord. A day or moment does not pass where I do not see the community spirit, which grows and grows. We have a great deal occurring on our school site with buildings and learning, but what is the greatest, is how we are a family, a Christian family with endless capacity that every person is valued, respected and loved. May God always keep our WCC community safe and well during the coming Winter days.

Building 1B

Monday 23 May was a long awaited day as we entered our new building. Great excitement from students and staff.

Building 1CD

The rain stopped intime for our Sod Turning Event. The event signifies the beginning of our project Building 1CD. At the event we had Ps Dan Parker, Mr Higgins, Mr Rajaratnam, Ms Neophytou, Mr Ruff (Project Manager), Mr Leone (Architect) and our representatives from Magellan Projects in attendance. It is a very exciting time at our College, we are extremely blessed to have such wonderful projects and resources for our WCC community.

The Gift of Reading

I wanted to share one of my favourite pastimes - Reading. I have wonderful childhood memories of visiting the local library and borrowing books every week, and reading to my younger siblings and cousins. 

Reading is a wonderful gift; it permits us to gain information for leisure, education, business and day to day purposes. As adults, we model reading to children and the importance of this necessary skill. We encourage children to read for meaning and try to gain as much information as possible. At WCC, we develop skills and reading strategies for the children to use in a variety of situations. Children should actively participate in home reading, this directly encourages parents to engage in their learning. When children read to adults, it provides the opportunity to explore the text via questioning and discussion. Reading with your child every evening should be a very special time to share as a family. Children of all ages should read aloud, it develops fluency and sharing a story with a family are treasured moments.

When you listen to your young child read (Prep to year 2), these strategies are very useful:

• Before reading with your child, discuss the cover, title, the pictures and what the book may be about.
• While reading with your child, discuss the events that are occurring and what may happen next.
• After reading with your child, talk about the story and the pictures e.g. “What was your favourite page?”
• When your child encounters new words:

Pause to give your child the time to work out the word.

Prompt     - Go to the beginning of the sentence and read to the difficult word.

- Look or discuss the clues in the pictures or words.

- Look at the first letter and talk about the chosen word “Does this word make sense?” or “Can you see that word in the picture?”

- Try to sound out the word.

- If necessary tell your child the word.

- It is recommended that you choose one or two strategies, not all of them for working out one unknown word.

Praise your child for trying (even when errors are made).

Please ensure that home reading with young children occurs at the same time after school and in a quiet place. Establishing a routine is crucial for developing consistent home reading habit. When older children read to family members it can be a shared family novel, in which each family member can read a chapter. The discussion that follows, can be based on what each member can reflect and connect to the story and characters.

Enjoy this shared process, as many memories are made when reading as a family!

A parent flyer for helping young children read.

Extended Leave/ Student Absences

We have a large number of students travelling overseas. This leave of absence is not approved and impacts student academic learning and social engagement. It is crucial that parents meet with the Head of Campus, Ms Neophytou to discuss the proposed leave prior to departure.

Late Arrivals

There is a considerable number of late students arriving after 8.45am every day. It is crucial students arrive on time and do not miss the morning routine. We will be communicating to parents who have developed a pattern of late attendance. We understand maintaining a morning routine can be difficult, however support and strategies can be accessed via Ms Neophytou.