Hello Everyone,

As we wrap up Term 3 I’d like  to thank everyone for their contributions to our students’ education and general well being.

I tried to list people when I first began this newsletter but there are so many people who donate in myriad ways it is a task rendered impossible by the sheer volume of volunteers. As pictures paint a thousand words here we are instead:

A shout out to the Stringer family for providing us with such a unique and  valuable experience.

Jemima has become not only a study for our students in how to be responsible but also in where our food comes from and the quintessential cycle of life. Jemima also happened to be the most charismatic, fat and  fluffy head of livestock we’ve  ever met. We wish her the best as she returns to Fish Creek today.

Our Students

Year 1 - Minibeasts
As part of their unit on 'Minibeasts', Year 1 students explored how humans, animals and the land interact with each other. They learned how they eat, move and protect themselves. Students observed the features of minibeasts and developed an understanding of how their habitat and features help their survival. On an excursion to the Melbourne Museum on Monday  9th of this month, at the 'Bugs Alive!' exhibition, students had the opportunity to see, hear and smell the world of insects, spiders, snails and other invertebrates. Students learned about what minibeasts eat, how they breed and how they contribute to ecosystems by pollinating flowers and decomposing waste. Students viewed the Imax feature: Bugs: Mighty Micro Monsters in 3D. 

Wilbur: I really liked the Imax Micro Monsters movie at the start of our excursion to the Melbourne Museum.

Temperance: I liked the scorpion in the Imax movie. It was really cool!

Jamie: I liked all the insects on display at the Museum. Most of all I found my favourite butterfly; the monarch butterfly.

Arvid: I liked when we went to the Museum. The 3D movie was cool, but a little bit scary with the trap door spider.

Leo: We went to the Melbourne Museum and it was cool. I liked the 3D movie when the scorpions were fighting.

Anna: It was really kind for all of the parents and the kids from our school to come and see our dioramas.

Milla: I liked the trapdoor spider in the 3D movie, when it caught the other spider.

Evie: I liked how we showed our dioramas to the whole school and parents. It was so fun.

Damian: When we went to the museum I liked the 3D movie because there was a spider which gave me a jump scare. There was also a spider which looked like it was hypnotising me.  

Year 4 - Mathematics
To consolidate the term in Maths, students from Year 4 investigated how much they had grown since Term 1!  Students used the height chart we created in Term 1 to estimate how many centimetres they had grown.  They then set about measuring their current height and calculating their actual growth.  We represented our measurements using decimals but also extended our thinking about fractions and considered their height as fractions of a metre. This was a great way to compare the difference between tenths and hundredths.  Mrs Woodhouse (who has started feeling very short compared to her Year 4s this Term) was surprised to learn that most students had only grown 3/100s – 5/100s of a metre! Perhaps she is shrinking?

2023.09.09 Saturday  - Victorian State School Spectacular
Last  weekend 28 of our students headed to the John Cain arena for an event as spectacular in name as it is in reality. Thank you to everyone who has assisted in this endeavour including all the parents who have been transporting their children backwards and forwards to every rehearsal.

A huge thank you to Ms Michalska who has used every one of her lunchtimes to work our students up to a standard we are proud to put on display. I’d also like to acknowledge the Herculean amount of work our Learning Assistant , Ms Jo Gleeson has put into the organisation of our students for this event. Our entry into the VSS would not be possible without the dedication of these two valued staff members.

Please click on the link below for a glimpse of the action!

https://youtu.be/MvieQ2zMAlg

Art & Bunnings
A message from our spectacular Art Teacher, Ms Sarah Nolan:

The Art Room at Wattle Park has been extremely lucky to have received several donations from Bunnings in Box Hill this year.  Initially, I went in to ask for any timber cut offs for a Year 5 and 6 string and nail art project.  I was promptly directed to the Bunnings Activities organiser, Sarah, who asked what and how much I needed and what it was for.  Within days I had the right supply of flat timber to cater for 100 students.  Grateful as we were, Sarah mentioned that anytime we needed materials for school purposes that Bunnings would always consider donating to us.  Trying our luck again and with the school fete pending, I had an idea that would be fun and special for the younger years.  Watch this space but we were successful in our second request and an exciting new project will take place in Term 4 for Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2.  Lastly, our good friend at Bunnings, Sarah, is going to come to visit year 3 in Term 4 and share a fun activity with donated materials of which we very much look forward to.

We are so grateful that Bunnings is so generous and are willing to support and enhance government school projects.

Sarah Nolan

Visual Arts Teacher

Notices

Spouting cleaned

Over the holidays we will be having all our spouting cleaned.

Holiday Chicken duty!
We are still in need of volunteers to look after our chickens for the second week of the holidays (Sunday 24th September - Sunday 1st October). 

If you can spare 10 minutes in the morning and afternoon on any of these days, please  visit https://signup.com/go/AhJsPWC and add your name.

Thank you to those families who have assisted throughout term two including the term two holidays (Tues 25th April to Sun 9th July).

This competition is still going! 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.

Hats on in September!

With our emergence from the Winter gloom into the glorious Springtime sunshine comes the need to be aware of the damage rays can do. As per our Sunsmart Policy WPPS states the following:

From 1 September to 30 April, all students must wear a sun protective hat that shades the face, neck and ears for all outdoor activities. 

“Hats on in September, off in May”

Students who are not wearing appropriate protective clothing or a hat may be asked to play in the shade or in a suitable area protected from the sun.

2023.011.18 WPPS Fete - WE NEED DONATIONS

Over the coming months we will be asking Wattle Park families for certain donations to help make the fete a success. We will try to spread out our requests to not overwhelm families but any donations we do receive will be greatly appreciated.

First up, we are looking for donations of:

HANDMADE GIFTS

•     Homemade candles
•     Jewellery (earrings, bracelets, necklaces)
•     Fairy wings
•     Floral wreaths (to wear)
•     Christmas decorations
•     Dolls Barbie / doll clothes & accessorieS
•     Headbands
•     Cards and Keyrings

CRAFT ITEMS

•     Patterned Fabrics
•     Plain tote bags for library bags
•     Stuffing
•     Christmas wrapping paper & tape
•     Plain magnets that we can stick things onto
•     Plain clear gift bags
•     Dowel stars & sticks (so we can do fairy wands)

Please drop any donations at the school office.

Any questions, please contact Rosie: info@rosacommunications.com.au, Kelly: kelly.baird@hotmail.com or email wppsfete@gmail.com

Follow and stay updated!

Facebook: @wppsfete

Instagram: @wppstwilightfete

Lorikeets in the playground
You may wonder why we have the big log cordoned off at the top playground. This is because last weekend two lorikeets made themselves nest in the log. We wish them and their feathered family well. 

Canten - pricing changes for Term 4
Our desire to ensure the canteen is accessible to students has led to minimal pricing changes since 2019 and given the rising general living costs that we're all experiencing, we have also held off passing on increased supplier costs over the past 12 months.

Recently, however, we reviewed the canteen operations and decided to increase the cost of some items to ensure the canteen remains viable into the future. Following approval by the School Council, the revised prices can be found on Flexischools. 

You will note some items have remained the same (Eg. Vegemite/Cheese sandwich $2.00, Nuggets $0.60).

Canteen begins again on the first day of term 4 Monday, 2nd of October.

Digital Reports
A reminder from our newsletter (2023.06.23)

Currently we issue reports at the end of Semester 1 (term 1 and 2)  and Semester 2 (term 3 and 4).

We also publish them on Compass as digital documents by 4pm on the day they go home.

As agreed upon at School Council on Tuesday this week, and as an environmentally responsible school, this Semester 1 report will be the last time we provide all students with a hard copy report.

In acknowledgement of the preference for a hard copy report, we will still provide paper reports to those parents/guardians who request them. All you will need to do is email your classroom teacher to let them know this is what you would like.

For further information regarding how to access your child/rens reports (from as far back as Semester 2017) please go HERE. 

Student reflections will continue to come home as a hard copy in an envelope.

Have a safe and restful holiday

Steve Donohue

Principal

Wattle Park Primary School

1. Remember September to May - No Hat No Play
 

It’s that time of year - September, 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 from now till May.
New hats are available from the office $15.

All late students MUST report to office before heading to class, to receive a late slip.  Otherwise, your child will be reported as absent and parents will receive an sms notification that their child in an unexplained absence.

If you have a child starting primary school in 2024, it’s time to enrol. Even though the dead line for enrolling your child has passed, late enrolments will be accepted

If you are enrolling the sibling of a student at our school for Foundation in 2024, and both children will be attending our school at the same time, your child is prioritised for a place at our school as per the department’s Placement Policy.

For more information, please read about when and how to enrol your child in Foundation at vic.gov.au/enrolling-foundation-prep.

If you are seeking to enrol your child into Foundation next year, please contact our school office on 9808 2165  to request an enrolment form or visit our website https://www.wattleparkps.vic.edu.au/page/80/Enrolment to download a Word Version – 2024 Enrolments.

4. 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

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. Second Hand Uniform Shop Volunteer
Volunteers are desperately needed to help out our amazing Second Hand Uniform Shop Manager Kelly Baird.  If you can spare some time to help out, please contact the office on 9808 2165. 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.