30th October 2019

OUR SCHOOL VISION: “Wandong Primary School … Making a difference by developing confident, independent

and resilient learners who strive for personal excellence.”

‘The Puggle Post’

“We make a

difference.”

www.wandongps.vic.edu.au

Reminders .

Friday 1st November - World Teacher’s Day Friday 1st November - Grade 6 Graduation consent and payment due today

Monday 4th November - Pupil Free Day (no students required at school) Tuesday 5th November - Melbourne Cup Day (no students required at school)

Tuesday 5th to Wednesday 13th November - Somers School Camp (selected students from Grade 5\6) Wednesday 6th November - 2020 Foundation Transition Session #4 (9:15-10:45am)

Fair dinkum fun - BUSHWAHZEE

Dear Families

MELBOURNE CUP PUBLIC HOLIDAY — TUESDAY 5th NOVEMBER

This Tuesday is Melbourne Cup Day, this is a PUBLIC HOLIDAY. The school will be closed on this day. The Monday prior is our Pupil Free day for report writing. Children are not required at school Monday or Tuesday next week.

Parent Payments 2020-2021

Wandong is a school of choice and parents enrol their children into our school because our curriculum far exceeds a standard program. Our parents choose our school because of the diversity and quality of our teaching and learning.

The Wandong Primary School council has made a considerable effort to ensure that this school policy is fair and provides a number of options to support parents to access the materials and services associated with their child's education. The Essential Education Items should be paid as priority, over all Optional Education Items e.g. camps, excursions, special events, etc.

Please ensure ALL invoices are paid in full ASAP for 2020, as we consider budgeting requirements for next year. We rely on these payments to ensure our programs are funded appropriately.

Further information will be going home this week, along with the recently ratified policy for 2020.

World Teacher’s Day – have you celebrated your child’s teacher?

Thank you to everyone who celebrated their child’s teacher and showed enormous support for the important role they play. Our teachers at Wandong go above and beyond in all that they do, from late nights to early mornings, our children are central to all we do. Show them how awesome they are this week.

Hugh from the Resilience Project shares how this is the most important job in the world and how grateful he is for all that our teachers do. Our https://www.facebook.com/resiliencep/videos/545482899233107/

PARENTS DUTY OF CARE

Please remember that we do not have staff on duty until 8.45am, so children should NOT be in the grounds unsupervised until that time. Any child in the school before this time SHOULD be in Before School Care. Furthermore, we have staff on duty until 3.45pm, so children should NOT be in the grounds after this time. Any children not collected by 3.45pm will be taken to the office and then onto After School Care. I urge you to please ensure that your children are properly supervised before and after school. Thank you in advance and I ask for your cooperation in this matter.

Intention to Leave

Each year, we have a number of families moving into the area and enrolling students at Grade levels other than Foundation, and this seems to increase significantly around this time of the year. Similarly, and often because of circumstances relating to job transfers, moving house and changed family situations, we have families leaving us with students attending other primary schools in the following year. PLEASE, if you are one of these families and you know for certain, or fairly sure, than you won’t be returning in 2020, could you let us know at your earliest convenience? Some fairly important decisions are made based on enrolment information, and the more reliable the information, the better the decisions! An email to wandong.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au,Thank you.

Grade Placement and Parent Requests

As outlined in our newsletter since the beginning of this term, parents had the opportunity to provide in email/writing grade placement requests for 2020 and these were due no later than the 25th of October. This year we will be using ‘Class Builder’ – software that generates classes for the following year which are balanced by class size, gender, behaviour, special needs, EAL and academic abilities, all the while taking into account recommended student separations, pairings, friendships, social dynamics and parent requests. This software will hopefully save many MANY hours and days of work for staff.

At this stage, we have not assigned teachers to grade levels for next year. There are no guarantees that teachers currently teaching at certain grade levels will be teaching there next year, as leadership needs to take into consideration a range of factors including the development of our teaching staff and teacher preferences before this allocation is completed.

There is no place to request a particular teacher by name, NOR to request your child does not have a particular teacher. Selecting a particular teacher does not fit within the realm of special circumstances.

WANDONG PRIMARY SCHOOL IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

Wallan & Kilmore Community Bank® branches

Please Note

At Wandong, during 2015 when our Division 5 Audit was carried out, the Department of Education and Training re labelled our school with the sign attached. Prior to this, in 2007 the DET labelled all location specific materials. The labels remind people to contact the school reception prior to undertaking any works at the school, to ensure they have up-to-date information from the school’s asbestos register. Asbestos – which was used extensively in building materials in the past but is now banned, is

considered safe unless damaged. Houses built up until 1977 also contained asbestos in paint, ceilings, fireplaces, walls, tiles, insulation and adhesives. The labels form part of a comprehensive program to ensure Victorian government schools remain safe. We have another audit due in October 2020. Children’s safety is our number one priority. That is why we will always take extra steps as a precaution.

Social Media and Your School

At Wandong we realise that contemporary life requires adapting to ever changing methods of communication. We live in the 21st century and online discussions are key to ensuring everyone feels connected. At Wandong we use a variety of platforms for communication and value the use of varying platforms and tools that are now available. As we move into a more digital world, we are reviewing these platforms, their purpose and how they are meeting the needs of our staff, students and community. The School has policies for appropriate use of Social Media by staff and students. As part of the Wandong community, parents of the School also have a responsibility to engage appropriately with Social Media that is linked to the School. As much as some sites, communication and online conversations aren’t ‘officially’ linked to Wandong, the connections are still made and comments and conversations are copied and forwarded to other parents, staff and community. This causes toxicity within our community and it is distinctly not in line with our ‘Community Code of Conduct’ policy. Please find attached. The school encourages parents to set and maintain high ethical standards in their use of social networking. Your posts and comments should help build and support the school community. Your online behaviour should reflect the same standards of honesty, respect, and consideration that you use in face-to-face interactions, and be in accordance with our school values. Under no circumstances should disrespectful or offensive comments be made about staff, students, parents or the school in general. Parents are requested not to comment upon nor forward unsupported information, e.g. rumours concerning the school or comment or post material that might otherwise cause damage to the school’s or a staff member’s reputation or bring it into disrepute. Be mindful that, by posting your comments and having online conversations etc. on social media sites you are broadcasting to the world. Even with the strictest privacy settings, be aware that comments expressed via social networking pages under the impression of a ‘private conversation’ may still end up being shared into a more public domain, even with privacy settings on maximum. Parents should never discuss sensitive school matters with other parents using Facebook, blogs and other social media outlets. As noted above, when posting, even on the strictest privacy settings, parents should act on the assumption that all postings are in the public domain. Conversations and comments on any social media platform can be ‘screen shot’ and shared widely. Information can be copied and pasted into emails etc and forwarded on to a wider audience than anticipated. The school’s anti-bullying and harassment policy/ies applies to activities which are both online and in the physical school setting. The Department of Education and Training also has very strict guidelines and policies in place to protect schools, staff, students and families. Please read the attached document on ‘Social Media and Your School’ from DET.

Kelly Morrow

Principal

WANDONG PRIMARY SCHOOL SUPER READER’S CLUB:

Congratulations on 150 nights reading: Olivia Langdon, Ava Crawford,

Jamie Halley, Jai McIlvain, Noah Mellado, Anika Mjolnir, Flynn Ross,

Jayda Williams, Hayley Williams and Ethan Miller.

Congratulations on 200 nights reading: Riley Bichard, Chloe Hall, Blake Irons,

Kaylee Bruning, Zavier Clark, Quinn Harrison and Flynn Ross

Can you help?

If you can recently updated

your phone or iPad, you might

have one of these cords that

you are not using anymore.

The school is in need of this

style of charger and would be

very grateful for the donation.

Please send any cords to

Ros. Thank you.

Wandong PS Working Bee - Save the Date! A Working Bee is planned for Friday 22nd November from 3.45pm- 6pm.

Please pop this into your diary so we can work together to improve our school. In the coming weeks, I’ll be listing the specific jobs that we’ll be working on - so please keep an eye out for this.

Hello Everyone

Cadbury Chocolates - Chocolate Treat Thursday - $1 for one chocolate until sold out. Parent orders are welcomed in lots of five, please remember with parent orders to send in a sandwich/ziplock bag that your purchased chocolates can go in. Orders received will be filled on a Thursday ONLY. Can you sell a box of chocolates over the long weekend? You'll be in the running to win a Donna Hay Hamper worth $156 which will be drawn at our PAFA Meeting on Tuesday 12th November.

Thanks for your Mango drive orders!

On Saturday 9th November PAFA will be having a stall at Wallan Market - pop by say hello & grab some Christmas gifts from our stall.

Next PAFA Meeting: 12th November 2019 (9:15am onwards in the staffroom)

Thanks for your continued support Fiona Scott - PAFA President

Walk to School Month

Wandong Primary School are currently in the middle of Walk to School Month. This is run by the Mitchell Shire. The Mitchell Shire have kindly donated a range of resources to support us

in encouraging our students to be healthy and active members of the school. These include fresh fruit, a trundle wheel to clock up kilometres at recess and lunch times,

and charts to log student walking data.

On Thursday the 21st of November, we will be holding a Walk to School event to celebrate our Walk to School achievements. Our ‘Kiss and Drop’ area will be relocated and staffed at the Wandong CFA, with staff positioned along the road to safely guide students to school.

When students arrive, there will be a healthy snack ready for them!

Grade 3 / 4 Camp – Parent Helpers Thank you to those families that have shown an interest in participating in our

camping program. Without parental support and participation – we would not be able to run such a positive program.

The parent helper selection process for the Grade 3 / 4 Camp has been completed - it’s unfortunate that we cannot take all the parents that offered up their time to participate on the camp – however we believe the chosen parent helpers will help our staff deliver a

memorable camping experience.

We would like to announce the following parent helpers for the Grade 3 / 4 Camp

Ryan Elliot, Chris Mazurek, Anthony Calleja and Sandra Harrison

We know these parents will help make your child/s camp a great experience.

Thank you once again to those families that offered up their time to participate in the program.

Curriculum and Wellbeing Update

Learning Walks: At WPS we value feedback in all forms and a key part of this feedback process is creating

opportunities for leadership staff to be present in classrooms and know how best to support teachers and students.

Learning walks are a weekly focus for our School Improvement Team, with senior leadership staff, Learning Specialists

and Unit Leaders visiting classrooms and engaging with students regularly. This process allows us to collect feedback,

reflect on the effectiveness of our teaching and learning programs and determine next steps for professional

development training. This week we welcomed Mrs Cole in to visit our 3/4 classrooms, with a focus on Writing. Also in

attendance was Mrs Morrow, Mr Warren and Mrs Scott. This strategic team met after their learning walks to share

their reflections. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and is a credit to the wonderful work that our teachers do

each and every day to make learning engaging and to tailor programs to the individual needs of students.

Mathematics Instructional Model: On Thursday, our UMNOS team- consisting of David Warren, Stephanie Pollock,

Amy Andrew and Kat Potts presented our new Mathematics Instructional Model at our School Improvement Team

meeting, to gain valuable feedback and to further refine this ongoing project. The time spent reflecting on this new

model was well spent and we began discussing our approach to rolling this out in 2020. As a SIT team we recognise

that sustainable change within schools is an ongoing process and we look forward to the start of this exciting journey

for us as a school next year! We would like to thank Amy Andrew and Kat Potts for the many, many hours that have

gone into trialling this model in a classroom setting, throughout term 3!

World Teachers’ Day: World Teachers’ Day is celebrated around Australia and in over 100 countries world-wide to

acknowledge and appreciate teachers and the important role they play in shaping the next generation. Every day

teachers are making a positive difference – creating opportunities for their students, empowering the minds of young

people and proudly teaching our communities future leaders, innovators and influencers. This Friday we celebrate all

of the hard work, passion and love that our WPS teachers contribute to our wonderful school. We will be holding a

special morning tea and whole school assembly for our teachers on Friday afternoon.

World Teachers’ Day is also a timely opportunity to shine a spotlight on teacher wellbeing. Teacher wellbeing is both

an individual and a collective responsibility. It is holistic – and focuses on the physical, mental and social wellness of

teachers as professionals. Teaching is no easy job and research shows that 80 per cent of teachers work unpaid

overtime every week- on average, 15 hours of it! Teaching is a labour of love and we can all support teachers,

principals and education support staff by showing how much we value their contribution and dedication to their

purpose. At Wandong Primary School we are committed to supporting our teachers to achieve a healthy work-life

balance and to be a model of wellness for the young people that they teach. Let’s all take a moment to thank a teacher

this week, who has brought something special to the lives of young people in our community!

Kind regards,

David Warren (Assistant Principal) & Stephanie Pollock

A Message from the School Captains. Welcome to week 4 everyone, how good was Bushwahzee! Thank you to

Mrs Beer and the Performing Arts Captains, Corey and Melody for a great night!

Congratulations to Kirra, Campbell and Cooper on their State Track and Field Top

10 results last week! Competing in the heat on Thursday would have been hard.

My class enjoyed watching Kirra compete on the live stream and bring home 3

Gold medals and break the national record in Long Jump. Well done guys.

Don’t forget that there is no school on Monday or Tuesday - Long Weekend!

And it gets better if you are a grade 3 / 4 going on camp. You head off on

Wednesday! What a wicked week that is! I hope you all have fun.

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone, don’t forget to drink lots of water on these hot days.

Xander Fearn

The Kapzikidz are on a mission!

Can you help?

We would like help from our school community

to collect 5000 plastic lids!

You might be asking why...?

We will be donating the lids to Envision Hands to be

recycled and then go on to be made into bespoke aids

(like prosthetic hands) with 3D printers.

One way to collect bottle caps is by utilizing the available beverage caps around you. Our families have already

started collecting lids, we have an old shoe box that we put the lids in. If you can wash the lids before donating

that would be a great help also.

Please drop your clean, plastic bottle tops in to the

Science room, Room 3, to the Office in the labelled

collection tubs.

Thanks for your help!

Together we can

make a difference!

The Kapzikidz

BAR FRIDGE FOR SALE The school has a

Kelvinator 140 litre bar fridge

in our sick bay which is

surplus to our needs.

We are asking $50 for the fridge

which will use to fund

extra sick bay supplies.

Please contact the office

if you require more details.

WOW! … WHAT’S ON & WHAT’S DUE @WANDONG NOVEMBER

Friday 1st World Teacher’s Day

Grade 6 Graduation consent and payment due today

Monday 4th Pupil Free Day (no students required at school)

Tuesday 5th Melbourne Cup Day (no students required at school)

Tuesday 5th to Wednesday 13th

Somers School Camp (selected students from Grade 5\6)

Wednesday 6th 2020 Foundation Transition Session #4 (9:15-10:45am)

Wednesday 6th to Friday 8th

Grade 3/4 Camp

Tuesday 12th PAFA Meeting (9:15am onwards in the staffroom)

Wednesday 13th 2020 Foundation Transition #5 (9:15-10:45am)

Foundation Bounce Camp forms and payments due today

Wednesday 13th to Friday 15th

Scholastic Book Fair

Friday 15th 2019 School Fete (2.30-7.00pm)

Monday 18th to Wednesday 20th

Grade 5/6 Camp

Thursday 21st Walk to School event

Friday 22nd WPS Working Bee (3:45-6:00pm)

Monday 25th School Council Meeting (6:00pm start in the staffroom)

Tuesday 26th PAFA Slushie Day (Foundation to Grade 2)

Wednesday 27th PAFA Slushie Day (Grades 3 to 6)

Friday 29th Foundation Bounce Camp

DECEMBER

Monday 2nd Anticipated PAFA Mango Drive delivery date

Monday 2nd to Friday 6th

Bike Ed Trail Rides (Grade 5/6 students only)

Wednesday 4th 2020 Foundation Information Evening (6:30-7.30pm)

Friday 6th Grade 5/6 Bike Ed Trail Ride (Unit Sport Session)

2020 Grade 6 uniform orders and payments due today

Monday 9th Parent Helpers Morning Tea

What’s gone home recently? The following notices were sent home between

Thursday 24th October to Wednesday 30th October:

Whole school: Nil

Selected Families: Nil

Selected Students: Nil

Individual grade levels:

Foundation: Nil

Grade 1/2: Nil

Grade 3/4: Nil

Grade 5/6: Nil

Spare copies of notices are in the school foyer in the grade level trays

PARENT

PAYMENTS

RECEIVED

282 families

at WPS.

205 Completed

payments

= 74 %

Have you

recently

asked your

child/ren..

“What

did you

learn

today?”

Edition 4, Term 4, 2019

Wellbeing @

Wandong PS