Dear Parents/Carers,

Farewell Dean Clements

At the end of last week Dean Clements was provisionally appointed as Principal at Merri River School.

Dean’s dedication to Warrnambool Primary School over the past 17 years has resulted in improved outcomes for countless students and the teaching and learning capacity of his colleagues.

Dean will be missed at Jamo and of course we will see him in the future.

I wish Dean all the very best at Merri River school, they are now the beneficiaries of his skill, experience and commitment to education.

WELCOME BACK

It is a big welcome back to all students, staff and families in what will be another exciting and busy semester at Warrnambool Primary School.

We have many exciting programs in place including camps for all students in Years 3-6 during Term 4.

Some very fortunate Year 5/6 students balloted for Somers Camp are already enjoying themselves on the Mornington Peninsula with our dedicated staff, Steph Hann, Kuj Williams, April-Lee Stutchbury and Jane McMeel.

Cottage by the Sea Camp has been offered to 18 lucky Year 6 students and will take place from 1st-5th August 2022. Bebe Ryan and Angela Nutting will attend with the wonderful and dedicated Cottage by the Sea staff.

In Term 4 we have the Year 3/4 Camp to Roses Gap from Wednesday 12th to Friday 14th October 2022.

The Year 5/6 Camp to Sovereign Hill will be in two parts due to our large numbers. They will take place on Monday 17th to Wednesday 19th October- Mrs McLauchlan and Mr Hill’s classes. Wednesday 19th to Friday 21st October 2022- Ms Ryan, Mr Fraser and Mrs Allen’s classes. Permission and payment notices will be distributed very shortly. Please attend to those as soon as possible. For any questions or queries please contact the school.

SAMUEL JOHNSON- LOVE YOUR SISTER CHARITY

We we're very fortunate to have Samuel Johnson attend Jamo today as part of the Love Your Sister charity which raises awareness and money for cancer research.

It's an excellent cause and was a great opportunity for our students to learn more about the charitable work undertaken. Samuel even showed us his skills on his unicycle.

To mark the occasion students wore their silly/crazy socks for a gold coin donation. I'm pleased to say we managed to raise $714 which is going directly to the Love Your Sister chairty.

Love Your Sister is also holding two events over the weekend so be sure to check them out.

MEN’S SHED

Danielle Toone and myself were invited to the opening of the refurbished Men’s Shed facility in Hyland Street. The work by the volunteers involved has been outstanding and the facility provides connection for many of our men and women who have retired from work and miss that daily connection with others. They have kindly offered to work with several of our students on Thursday mornings to work collaboratively on hands on projects such as woodworking. Our students are very much looking forward to this and we owe many thanks to the volunteers at Men’s Shed. They are a fantastic group who offer much to our community.

PUPIL FREE DAY THURSDAY 28 JULY 2022

On Tuesday evening School Council approved a Pupil Free Day for Thursday 28 July 2022. The June School Council Meeting was postponed due to an inability to proceed due to staff and parent illness and so it was formally approved this week. We apologise for any inconvenience for the relatively short notice.

The school is undertaking a whole school Professional Learning day with Real Schools. Real Schools is a partnership with the school to develop consistency and commitment to whole school well-being. Well-being is the single most important factor in all lives, particularly our children. Staff at Warrnambool Primary School are incredibly excited to work with Real Schools. Real Schools exists to build partnerships and experiences to help your school achieve its potential in three key areas: Committed Teachers, Caring Students and Connected Communities. For further information please visit https://realschools.com.au/

MASKS

While not mandated at this stage the following advice around masks was published this week by the Department of Education and Training Victoria.

Face masks

Schools have been supplied with a stock of N95 masks suitable for adults and older children; surgical masks for staff and students in secondary schools; and child-size surgical masks for students in primary schools to ensure that all staff and students have access to a range of appropriate mask options.

Current advice from the Victorian government on the wearing of face masks is available at https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/face-masks

It states: Wearing a face mask can help protect you and those around you. Face masks stop droplets spreading when you talk, cough, sneeze and laugh, which lowers your chance of spreading or catching the virus. This information is especially important for those who are medically at risk.

The advice also strongly recommends the wearing of face masks in indoor settings (noting that exceptions to the recommendation apply to teaching circumstances when clear enunciation or visibility of the mouth is essential).

Household contacts attending school who are over 8 years of age are required to wear face masks indoors unless they have a valid exception.

Everyone including students aged 8 years and above must wear a face mask when travelling on public transport including buses, taxis or ride share vehicles.

WORKING BEE

Clinton Brown and his team on the Buildings and Grounds committee have organised a working bee for this Saturday at school from 9am to 12.30. If you are able to attend even for a short while that would be appreciated.

Main tasks will be raking and spreading bark and sand and a general tidy up of the yard area. We really appreciate the hard work and dedication of the Buildings and Grounds team.

STATE CROSS COUNTRY

Congratulations and good luck to Asher Dawe and Jack Griffiths who are representing our school at the state cross country championships in Melbourne tomorrow. This is a fantastic effort and we are very proud of their efforts.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Peter Lee

Principal

Student Birthdays