WPPS Newsletter 3rd February
#110
Principal's Report 3rd February 2023
Hello Everyone,
Welcome to everyone to term 1 2023! A special welcome to any families who are new to our school community or who are returning from an extended stay overseas.
2023 Staffing
As is the case with everything, nothing stays the same. Please note a slight change to our staffing since being announced in December last year:
2023 Parent Contributions
Great news! All parent contributions can be paid by ‘CompassPay’. This system has been rolled out previously as a way to pay for excursions and has had very positive feedback from our school community.
Be on the lookout for an alert via ‘CompassPay’ which will indicate fees are ready to be paid for 2023. We appreciate your efforts and thank you for your support.
An investment in education is an investment in your child’s future.
Our Students
It’s been a smooth start to 2023. Including a visit from Heath, a police officer who came to talk to Year 3, 4, 5 and 6’s about digital cyber safety as part of our 9 day Start Up Program. 
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program
Last year our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program gained such a high profile we had a request from Coles to be part of a tomato marketing campaign. HERE is where you can see the picture on the SAKGP site.
Thank you!
You may have noticed the bottomless pile of mulch so generously donated by Paul Summerbell, has been cleared from the disabled carpark - this was a mighty effort completed by Michael and Sally Hunt and Brad Cahill. Thank you to each of you.
For those of you interested in assisting in creating the horticultural masterpiece WPPS is becoming, please be aware we will be having a Working Bee later this term.
Notices
Parent Teacher Interviews
Tuesday 21st February
3.50 - 7.30 Parent Teacher Meetings
Wednesday 22 February
3.50 - 5.00 Parent Teacher Meeting
Details regarding how you can book in for a PT interview will come out via Compass later this term.
Timetable
As you may remember from last year’s newsletter we welcomed Ms Sabrina Lin to our Specialist Team as our native speaking Mandarin teacher. Ms. Lin’s arrival coincides with a change in our timetable as a result of the new enterprise agreement for teachers. One of the effects of this agreement is each of our Specialist lessons are being extended from 40 minutes to 50 minutes. To accommodate this change our timetable has to change slightly swapping lunch and snack around. (As most of our students tend to eat their lunch at snack time anyway, so this is not a huge change for our students).
However it does affect our canteen ordering system.
Canteen: Ordering
Our canteen operates on Mondays and Fridays for lunch only.
Due to the timetable change outlined above, orders must be placed by 4pm the day before the order is required. This means:
Monday orders by 4pm Sunday
Friday orders by 4pm Thursday
Orders placed after these times will not be processed.
This allows our Canteen Manager, Charlotte, enough time to get things organised.
To place an order, please download the free Flexischools App from the App Store or Google Play. Once you have downloaded the app you will be able to view and select your orders, and pay online.
Please be aware Flexischools does not automatically change the class of your child to their 2023 class. Please ensure you update this information when you next order.
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Canteen: Volunteering
Do you have some time to spare? An hour and a half on a Friday would be great!
Our canteen would not be able to run without the wonderful support of the volunteer Parents and Grandparents in our school. We would love to have you volunteer for us, whether you are an experienced hand or an eager learner. Please see below to sign up.
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
- Click this link to go to our invitation page on SignUp.com: https://signup.com/login/entry/827030846186224028
- Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp.com)
- Sign up! Choose your spots - SignUp.com will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!
Year level websites
You may not be aware but each year level writes a newsletter outlining what is going on in their classes this term. It is then uploaded to the school website. Data from Google Analytics leads me to the conclusion that very few people actually ever read these, so in the interests of having more effective communication, each newsletter has been uploaded to each year level’s website. Here are the links to each year level’s website which operates like a digital notice board.
Assembly
Whole School Assembly is at 9.15am on Fridays. There is no longer a 3.00pm assembly on Friday.
Everyone is invited. Any student receiving a Student of the Week (SOTW) award will be contacted by the students classroom teacher prior to the assembly. SOTW will begin next week.
Drainage
The Year 3/4 block has had some water run off issues for years. To solve this problem we employed our plumber, Mark, to embed pvc piping and aggregate around the top oval with a view to drain the water run off into the storm water drain near the carpark. This is what these marks are from:
Trees
As a consequence of our biannual tree audit we had some trees in and around the grounds trimmed to be made safer. It was quite the enterprise…
COVID 19
If you require RATs please make a request to the school office. HERE is information from the Victorian Government about ‘Managing illness in schools and ECEC - information for parents and carers’ . HERE is information regarding facemasks.
A summary below:
It is strongly recommended that students:
- who test positive to COVID-19 stay home and isolate for 5 days
- should not attend school after 5 days if still symptomatic
- who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school
- advise the school of the COVID-19 positive test result
- students who wish to wear a face mask should be supported to do so, and schools should continue to make face masks available for staff, students and visitors.
Where students become symptomatic at school they should:
- be collected by their parents/carers
- undergo testing for COVID-19
School Calendar
Please refer to the calendar on the School Calendar to find details about Term 1 dates, finish times and term holidays dates etc.
Have a great weekend.
Steve Donohue
Principal
WPPS Notices 3rd February 2023
1. Financial Assistance
2. Second Hand Uniform Shop
3. No Hat No Play
4. School Photo
5. PSW New Deliver Option
6. Parents Social Night
7. WPPS Movie Night
8. Chess Club
9. TeamKids - Newsletter
1. Financial Assistance
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2. Second Hand Uniform Shop - Gymnasium
8.30 - 9am
- Monday - 13th February
- Monday - 20th March
3. Remember - No Hat No Play
It’s that time of year - September to May, when all students are required to have on a hat for outside play. Children will be required to play in the shade if no hat is worn, and being a Sun Smart School its important to have sun protection.
WATTLE PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL | advancedLife photography Home (advancedimage.com.au)
5. PSW New Deliver Option
From 15th February, parents are able to order PSW school uniforms online and have the order delivered to the school office. Deliveries will be weekly for parent collection. This will save parents from actually having to go to the PSW shop if you know what you want and sizes.
Above is a screen shot of how the screen would look like.
The parent needs to choose the “Click and Collect” Option, the drop down box will appear and they choose for their item to be delivered to Wattle Park Primary School.
6. Parents Social Events
7. WPPS Movie Night 
8. Chess Club
Anyone may do a free trial.
9. TeamKids - Newsletter.jpg)
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