Connecting with our community

As Covid restrictions start to ease we look forward to more opportunities to connect with families on site. We have a couple of family welcome sessions this term which you are warmly invited to.

On Tuesday 5th July, at 9am we invite families from our Preschool as well as any new families enrolling in Reception to Year 6, for a Principal's tour and workshop around the vision for Woodville Gardens Children's Centre to Year 6 over the next three years. If you know of any families thinking about enrolling then please let them know about this information session. We will be providing information about the new mid year intake for Receptions from 2023 and what this means for their school journey. Currently enrolled families are also welcome to attend of course. We will have information available for preparing for High School in Year 7 and about the development of lifelong learning skills for students at Woodville Gardens School, Birth to 6. Please call the Front Office to register your attendance, see below.

As a Birth to Year 6 we are fortunate to have access to a wide range of community services to support families. On Wednesday 6th July, 3pm to 5pm, we are having an informal afternoon tea in the Language and Culture room, Purple building, for a meet and greet with Leadership and an opportunity to connect with a range of services, including Uniting Care Wesley Bowden, Family by Family and Anglicare now Believe (Housing in the local community). There will also be the opportunity to talk with Governing Council parent representatives and learn about the Governing Council aspects of school decision making by parents. It is not to late to get involved!

As a school community our students have also been able to participate in further curriculum outside of school. A team of senior students had their first debate at Grange School. The topic for the debate was ‘That swooping magpies should be culled’. Woodville Gardens School argued for the negative side, against the affirmative side, Forbes Primary School. Our three speakers for the night were Jessica, Mazin and Lac. Jennifer was the time keeper and Kelly was supporting from the audience. All speakers spoke very well for their first time, their arguments were well written and the rebuttals were strong. Ultimately this resulted in the win for the team. Students were given constructive feedback which will help them plan for the next debate. The debating team meets every Thursday after school for an hour and the debates take place every third week at Grange School, supported by teachers and leaders.

Our staff also coach four teams from school in a weekly community basketball competition every Friday night, supported by teachers and leaders. This is another example of the importance we place on being a strong school community inside and outside of the school grounds.

This week sees the second Pupil Free Day for the year as teachers dig deeper into the guaranteed and viable curriculum for Reception to Year 6. This term is also when written reports will go home for Semester 1.

Stay well, stay safe,

Sue

Canteen