Hello Everyone,

Safety first everyone!

PLEASE DO NOT DO U TURNS ON BANKSIA STREET!

THIS WEEK A STUDENT WAS ALMOST HIT BY A CAR DOING A U TURN ON BANKSIA STREET. 

IT ENDANGERS OUR STUDENTS' LIVES.

BETTER LATE THAN DEAD!

Parents can drop their children off in Waratah Street and walk through the very nice park and cross at the crossing.

And on we go…

As part of our Year 6 leadership program each leadership team develops an initiative they would like to implement in the school. They discuss this with their teacher and write a persuasive text explaining the reasons this would be of benefit to our school. There have been a range of ideas including: basketball nets being installed, a Wellbeing Club, a Talent Show and a Reading Club. The first group I met with this week are interested in creating a WPPS school beanie. As the Winter months approach this seems to be a very good idea. We are currently in the design stage. More on this student led initiative as it progresses.

A reminder we have ‘Dogs on School Property’ Policy. This policy can be found HERE on our website with all our other policies. We have been in the position once before where a community member's dog has bitten a student. This was entirely unexpected and no harm was done however it is worthwhile reminding our community that this is part of what our policy says:

• pet dogs are not allowed inside any school buildings unless approved by the principal - this includes verandahs  

• pet dogs are not to be taken near areas occupied by any animals that are part of the school education  program e.g. the chicken coop 

Our Students - Foundation  - Measurement and Geometry

The Mathematics Curriculum is broken up into three strands. One of these is ‘Measurement and Geometry’. The others are ‘Number and Algebra’ and  ‘Statistics and Probability’. Foundation recently investigated the following aspect of their M & G curriculum:

Students identify measurement attributes in practical situations and compare lengths, masses and capacities of familiar objects. They order events, explain their duration, and match days of the week to familiar events. Students identify simple shapes in their environment and sort shapes by their common and distinctive features. They use simple statements and gestures to describe location.

Fun with Lines and shapes:

Integrated with number, counting. Exploring and describing different types of lines

Sorting, describing and naming two-dimensional shapes

Our Students - Year 2 - ANZAC Day 2023

Last week Year 2 learnt a lot about ANZAC Day, what it means and why we commemorate it.

Firstly, What is ANZAC Day about?

ANZAC soldiers arrived at Gallipoli shores at dawn on  25th of April. Thousands of ANZAC soldiers died in World War 1 in Turkey. After the war the flowers were poppies and rosemary and we still wear them today on every ANZAC Day. The soldiers ate ANZAC biscuits and food that wouldn’t go bad. 
Ben 2B

Why is ANZAC Day always on 25th April?

Because the ANZACS arrived at Gallipoli in Turkey on 25th of April. They thought it would be a quick fight but it ended out to be 8 months of brutal war until war was over. Lots of the soldiers got bad injuries and died. That is why ANZAC Day is a commemoration (not a celebration) and is on 25th of April.  
Olivia 2B

Who are the ANZACs?

The ANZACS are the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers. The ANZACS worked together to help defeat the enemy in World War 1. They unfortunately lost against Turkey but they fought hard. So Anzac Day is a day to remember the over 10,000 soldiers that died. 
Ella 2A

Making Anzac Biscuits.

On the first day back at school for Term 2 the Year 2s were so, so, so surprised to hear that we were going to make ANZAC biscuits! We all marched into the staffroom like little ANZAC soldiers! We each got a turn at sifting, mixing and cooking the ANZAC biscuits. When they came out of the oven they smelt so good. We were so excited to try them. We eat ANZAC biscuits because the ANZAC soldiers had them in their pockets for food because they don’t go off easily. So when we eat them, we remember the soldiers. Ella and Lachie 2A

Anzac Biscuits

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut
125 g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 20 min | Makes 25

Equipment
1 x mixing bowl
1 x large baking tray
1 x saucepan
1 x sieve
1 x wire rack
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons

Method

1. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the sugar, rolled oats and coconut. Mix well.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan at low heat. Add the golden syrup

and water.

4. Stir the bicarbonate of soda into the liquid mixture. Remove the

saucepan from the heat.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix

thoroughly.

6. Place teaspoon-sized balls of the mixture onto a greased baking

tray. Allow room for the biscuits to expand.

7. Bake at 175°C for 15-20 minutes.
8. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Our Students - Kitchen Garden Program - Year 4B

On Monday we had Kitchen and Garden. In the morning we did garden and did some weeding and harvesting for our kitchen lesson. We also harvested some olives to preserve later. In the afternoon, we had kitchen and it was fun! We made omelettes with silverbeet and herbs inside. We had a side salad with a yummy dressing with sumac. It was delicious and our class did a great job at slicing and cooking.

Khang, Mariam, Lucy and Charlie 4B

Our Students - Year 5
In Year 5 the students have been working on fractions with a particular focus on using fraction in equations this week. To practise their skill the kids played a game of spoons. The aim of the game was to create a fraction equation that equaled one with the four random cards in their hand. The game was a great success with some fantastic quick maths and a great understanding of addition of fractions.

Great Work Year 5!!!!

Nic Lindsay Katherine Kelly

Year 5 Team

Our Staff
My name is Jess and I’m studying a Masters of Primary and Secondary teaching at Deakin hoping to become a primary or secondary school teacher. I’m conducting my first placement at the school and am so excited to be working with the Year 4s for two weeks. So far I have loved getting to know the kids and have had the chance to meet some great teachers and parents around the school. Thank you for having me, Wattle Park!

Hi! My name is Rebecca, and I am in the final year of my Master of Teaching degree. I am studying primary and secondary teaching, specialising in music.
 
This week was my fourth and final week at Wattle Park Primary School with Emma Tan in 3B. My placement at WPPS has flown by, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here! Everyone at Wattle Park PS has been so welcoming, supportive, and encouraging, particularly Emma and 3B, which has made for a fantastic experience.

ICAS Testing

We are delighted to inform you that  we will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS competition this year across Years 4 – 6.

What is ICAS?  

ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling and Digital Technologies.  

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals.  

We encourage you to consider entering your child (Years 4-6 only) into ICAS this year.   

Learn more about ICAS here. (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas)  

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:  

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here.

1. Read the terms and conditions here.

1. Go to Parent Portal to purchase tests here.

1. Enter our school’s access code –  DGX967  

1. Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, and then proceed to payment.  

Please note that the ICAS tests shown for selection are at the school’s discretion.   

After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email. Please keep this for your records.  

ICAS Results and Certificates 

We will notify you of the date(s) that we run ICAS at the school and when your child’s ICAS results are ready. You will have until July 31st to make an order and your child will be sitting the test/s in August. Once we have received your child’s ICAS certificate, we will send it home with your child. The back of the certificate shows ICAS results and the login details, “TAP ID and Pin”, that you and your child need to enter on the Results Portal.  

Great Big Working Bee

Thank you to our Horticultural Specialist, Nikki Browne and Building and Grounds Committee leader, Michael Hunt for organising the following Great Big Working Bee dates. These are on our website calendar and downloadable to your phone.

Term 2 Sat 17th June       Great Big Working Bee       10 - 1pm

Term 3 Sat 2nd Sept         Great Big Working Bee       10 - 1pm

Term 4 Sat 9th Dec           Great Big Working Bee       10 – 1pm

We will construct a Spreadsheet with jobs to be completed soon - Mulching always a must!

Konnective Shutting Down on 15th May

Konnective is one of the 4 platforms we use to communicate with our school community. We use:

1. A) Compass
2. B) Our website; https://www.wattleparkps.vic.edu.au/
3. C) Class websites
4. D) Konnective

Konnective informed us last year that after 10 years of operation they are shutting down in September 2023. They have recently asked us to renew our subscription, which ends on the 15th of May this year. We will not be doing this.

Instead, we will wrap up our use of Konnective when our subscription concludes on the 15th May.

Please be aware your Konnective App, as connected to WPPS, will not work after this date.

All communication will be via Compass and/or our above platforms.

Chicken duty!

Thank you to those families who have assisted throughout term one and during the term one holidays (Feb 4th to Sun 23rd April). 

A sincere thank you to the following families; Bromwich, Shasavand, Hanson, Chua, Yang, Mack, Hul, Wong, Dong, Thomas, Beard, Liu, Scott, Evans, Adamson, Lambert and Rennie.

The family who has won a family experience is the Evans family.

Congratulations to Wilbur. 

Wilbur

The good news is we will still run this competition in term two and during the term two holidays. All you have to do is sign up and assist with the chickens on the weekend/during the holidays. Each time you volunteer, you and your family receive an entry into the raffle.  If you win, you get to choose what ‘family experience’ you would like.  These experiences include;

• Ninja Parc
• Hoyts
• Rainbow World
• Inflatable World
• Bounce
• Flip Out

Please see this link for more information and to sign up.

A special thank you to the Parents and Friends Association for the donation of the prizes. 

Running Club

The ever popular Running will return to WPPS every Thursday from 11th of May commencing at 8.00am

18th November 2023  Wattle Park Primary - Twilight Fete

The WPPS 2023 Fete has a new planning committee led by Amy Murphy (Sadie Year 2, Audrey F) and is already supported by numerous incredible parents. We are working together to create a fete that supports the school by raising funds to provide equipment, resources and high-quality care for our students. We’ll do this by bringing the community together to enjoy an afternoon of exciting rides, eating delicious foods, watching spectacular fireworks and having a lot of fun in the process.

We are looking for a few more members to fill a couple of positions to complete the committee. These include (but are not limited to) the coordination of the Entertainment, Food and Beverage, Marketing, Sponsorships, Donations and the Logistics portions of the fete. Committee members are required to attend a monthly meeting (via Zoom) on Tuesdays 8pm around mid-month, with more frequent meetings close to the fete on November 18th.

No experience necessary; a willingness to help and a commitment to seeing the fete be successful is all that is required to join.

Please reach out to any of the committee members with any questions or contact Amy on 0408 488 329 or wppsfete@gmail.com

We would love to have you on board!

2023 Twilight Fete Committee Members – 

• Amy Murphy
• Emily Beard
• Danielle Boer
• Elki Breslin
• Sjaan Keen
• Hayley Evans
• Alicia Rennie
• Anthony Hall

Canteen: Ordering

Our canteen operates on Mondays and Fridays for lunch only.

Due to the timetable change outlined above, orders must be placed by 5pm the day before the order is required. This means:

Monday orders          by 5pm Sunday

Friday orders             by 5pm Thursday

Orders placed after these times cannot 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. 

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:

1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on SignUp.com: https://signup.com/login/entry/827030846186224028
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp.com)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - SignUp.com will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!

Have a great weekend

Steve Donohue

Principal

Wattle Park Primary School

It's that time of year again when we mums and special people have a little time to ourselves!

Come along to a great afternoon on Sunday 21st May from 3-5pm at La Perla Bar, 625 Camberwell Road, Camberwell.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE BY WED 17th MAY: https://events.humanitix.com/wpps-mums-social-event-2023

For only $35, you will receive drinks on arrival, and an array of delicious canapes, as well as good conversation! Bar prices will be at happy hour prices. 

Spaces are limited to only 40, so get in quick!

While this year's event is a little different to last year's, we know it will be just as fun! 

If you have any questions, please email pfawattleparkps@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Parents/Carers of Year 6 students,

You would have received notification via Compass regarding Transition into Year 7 in 2024.  Please note that this form must be back to the school no later than Friday, 12^th May.
Please contact the office should you require assistance.

5. Book Club
6. School Photos  
7. Second Hand Uniform Shop



1. Mother's & Special person's Day Stall

2. Put Away in May - Remember September
Hats are no longer required to be worn in the months of May to the end of August.

3. First Aid Room Volunteer
In order to keep our First Aid Room clean and tidy, we require volunteers to assist with this task. We need approximately 40 families on our roster to ensure that every family only needs to do this once per year. It is not time consuming and requires approximately 15 minutes of your time on a FRIDAY.
https://signup.com/go/MvZZbFq
4. 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.
5. Book Club

Please note all online orders due no later than Monday, 8th of May.
6.  School Photos
Photos have been delivered to classrooms.  If you have any questions/concerns regarding your order please contact Advanced Photography direct on info@advancedlifevic.com.au.  The school code for ordering is Q32WP2PAR.
7. Second Hand Uniform Shop
Monday, 8th May 8.30-9am
Monday, 5th June 8.30-9am