Hello Everyone,

We are at the end of the 5th week of an 11 and half week term. 

As we head towards the end of the year there are lots of events taking place including Yr 6 Graduation (in a new ‘Ceremony & Dinner & Disco format), Yr 5 & Year 6 Bike Ed, Running Club, Step Up Program, two talent shows, a variety of excursions and the whole school swimming program. This is just a few!

Communicating the dates, time and various requirements of each of these events involves a lot of conveying of information. Please bookmark your year level websites and the school calendar to keep up to date with what is happening.

Foundation	Year 1	Year 2
Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Year 6	Specialists

A reminder:

2023.11.06	Monday	Curriculum Day	STUDENT FREE
2023.11.07	Tuesday	Melbourne Cup Day	STUDENT FREE

Although there will be more information about this in next week’s newsletter I’d like to acknowledge the student led initiative that occurred yesterday.

The Year 6's are fundraising money for the SolarBuddy program in order to build solar lights to help children living in extreme energy poverty. SolarBuddy is an Australian charity uniting a global community to illuminate the futures of all children.

This initiative was led by our students, facilitated by our Year 6 teachers and involved the entire school. A true ‘learn by doing’ inquiry approach to making a positive change in the world.

No better time than now for such an enterprise.

Our Students
Assembly 9.15am on Friday 

Students of the week
Well done to all our recipients for actively displaying our school values. Students who are not in attendance to receive their certificate will be awarded at next week's assembly.

Week 5
Class	Student	Class	Student
FA	Eva B	FB	Gary Y
1A	Saj J	1B	Sridatta X
2A	Jakob R	2B	Tyler M
3A	Ayva S	3B	Josh W
4A	Isla B	4B	Charlie G
5A	Leen M	5B	Ethan W
6A	Patrick B	6B	Ivy H

Mathletics Champion
Congratulations to Oliver Clark from  3B who won this week for his excellent performance and regular participation in Mathletics this week. 

Mathematics Year 2
This week in Year 2 we have looking at capacity and how to read scales on a measuring jug. We read the book Mr Arrchimedes Bath and learned about water displacement.  Then we investigated this principle using unifix cubes and measuring jugs. We found out that it is quite challenging to get exact measurements, but we did our best by estimating. We had a lot of fun.

Year 2A and 2B.

 

 



LOTE Menu Design Competition
We are thrilled to announce the outstanding winners of our recent Best Menu Competition! The creativity displayed by our talented students was nothing short of remarkable, and we are immensely proud of each year 5 and 6 participant's hard work and dedication. 

The winner is ‘Crazy Food’ by Lauchlan, James, Liam and Owen from 5B. 

Your menu impressed our judges (who were the whole school students and some teachers), especially junior students with its attractive dish selections and cool designs. 

Congratulations on this well-deserved victory!

Nudie Foodie Award 
Congratulations to Ammar A from 5B for winning the Nudie Foodie Award. 

How to win….

It’s simple - students are asked to bring in their Nude Food Lunches. 

Each week a Scarecrow teacher or leader will visit one classroom (at random). They will select one student with delicious, healthy Nude Food.

Their photo will be taken for Assembly and they will receive an amazing  DIY ECO Herb Head Planting Kit.

House Points
The House Points have been collected for this week.  The winning house decorates the trophy with their colours and have it displayed in the foyer of the school. 

Notices

Petition - REINSTATE the 903 bus along Warrigal Rd

This is of concern given that up to 20 of our students use it every week. Below is a copy of the letter sent by the School Council and myself to our School Community.

Hi School Community,

We found out this week that the 903 bus route from Mentone to Altona is being re-routed, and will no longer service a large stretch of Warrigal Road (from Elgar Road to Burwood Hwy/Toorak Road). This affects a number of you that use this service - on both sides of Warrigal Road and in both directions.

Instead, the 903 will be re-routed to service Deakin University. 

This change will be happening from this Sunday 15th October. Please check alternate arrangements.

What we can do as a school

As a school we are writing formally to the relevant ministers and local MPs. 

We have also been in touch with local schools, daycare centres and Cameron Close to ensure they are aware.

What can you do?

Most importantly, please check the new route on ptv.vic.gov.au. If you have any difficulties, please contact them directly via 1800 800 007 (Choose "Option 1").

You may also like to contact any of the following:

Paul Hamer, MP for Box Hill - paul.hamer@parliament.vic.gov.au

John Pesutto, MP for Hawthorn (the other side of Warrigal Road) - john.pesutto@parliament.vic.gov.au

Gabrielle Williams, Public Transport Minister - gabrielle.williams@parliament.vic.gov.au

Ben Carroll, Deputy Premier (fmr Transport Minister) - ben.carroll@parliament.vic.gov.au

Lizzie Blandthorn, Minister for Children - lizzie.blandthorn@parliament.vic.gov.au

Ingrid Stitt, Minister for Ageing (if you have family around the area who may be affected) - ingrid.stitt@parliament.vic.gov.au

We appreciate the concern this may cause and we will continue to campaign for a viable service.

Kind regards,
Steve Donohue, School Principal WPPS
Naomi Hanson, School Council President

HERE is the petition to sign

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.

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.

2024 Class Formation - Policy
Teachers will soon begin sorting out 2024 classes.

Students are placed  in classes based on a variety of factors including:

• medical requirements
• legal obligations (intervention/court orders etc) 
• safety concerns
• academic needs and
• student generated friendship preferences

If you feel your child has specific educational needs in relation to class placement, please communicate this via email to both the student’s classroom teacher and me steven.donohue@education.vic.gov.au by Friday 3rd of November.

The WPPS ‘Class Formation Policy’ is on our school website.

Have great weekend everyone

Steve Donohue

Principal

Wattle Park Primary School

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Please scroll through to see all of our latest notices!


1. Wattle Park's Got Talent DVD Order
2. Foundation 2024 Step Up Program
3. More Raffle Tickets Available at Office
4. Volunteer for Second Hand Uniform Shop
5. School Beanies
6. Remember September to May - No Hat No Play
7. Late Students
8. Apply Now to Enrol Your Child in Foundation for     2024
9. Volunteer for First Aid Room
10. PSW New Deliver Option  
11. Uniform Price Increase 

1. Wattle Park's Got Talent DVD Order


2. Foundation 2024 Step Up Program

Just a reminder that the transition program for new Foundation students for 2024, will occur on Wednesday, 15th and 22nd November.  All students must be enrolled to attend. Enrolment form can be found here.

3. More Raffle Tickets are Available at the Office

4. 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.

5. School Beanies

6. 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.

7. Late Students
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.

8. Apply now to enrol your child in Foundation for 2024
The Department of Education has released a new statewide timeline for enrolling in Foundation for the 2024 school year.

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.

9. 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

10. 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.

11. Uniform Price Increase

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