Hello Everyone,

A message from the Deputy Premier and Minister of Education Hon. Ben Carrol has come through to all schools to welcome everyone to Term 2 and to remind partners/carers of a couple of things:

In summary, the message says:

1. Mobile phones are banned in state schools. This includes any communication device.
2. Respect for school staff and all people in our school community is essential to a safe learning environment for our students

You can view the message HERE

Kitchen Garden Program
Perhaps this is a measure of success of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program producing an abundance of produce, but we have a stealing problem.

Our Garden Specialist, Nikki Browne, rallies our Year 3 and 4 students to plant, grow and harvest a variety of produce that is subsequently cooked up into a gastronomic frenzy with said year levels, led by the highly knowledgeable Carolina Trantino. Recipes can be found here:
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program Recipes

However, our produce is being stolen. We are not talking about the occasional person picking some basil and or sorrel for their family dinner that night as they troll through on the weekend or after school.  More than happy for that to happen. This community involvement is what the garden is for.

We are talking about whole trees being stripped of fruit and plants being dug up and taken away.

We only lock the Warrigal Rd gate on the weekend. The Banksia St and Somers St gates remain unlocked as we hire our gym out to various groups.

Growing, harvesting and cooking food is a marvellous part of our learning program. 

Please keep an eye out if you are on site.

Chooks
Thanks to the Stringer Family our fabulous feathered ladies have returned! Thank you to Ms Woodhouse and Ms Duong for incorporating the assistance of Team Kids and the Cameron Close residents to populate our feeding schedule, so we do not have to appeal so desperately to our school families to attend to the ladies on the weekends.

Click here to visit the Volunteer SignUp page.

Click here to read more about what is required for Chicken Care.

New building
Due date for completion, which includes significant ground works to improve the safety for our students and regarding waste removal is in the next four weeks. Weather dependent.

ANZAC Day Dawn Service at WPPS
Wattle Park Primary School, with the permission of ANZAC House, annually holds a linkage (by ABC broadcast) to the dawn service on the school grounds. The Ceremony is an important occasion, so that future generations of young Australians do not forget the horror of war and the importance of ANZAC Day in Australia’s history

Thank you to everyone who got themselves here on Thursday morning before 6am for the service which we streamed from the ABC coverage of the dawn service at Shrine of Remembrance.

Our Students

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.

Mathletics Champion
Congratulations to Benjamin S in 6B who won this week for his excellent performance and regular participation in Mathletics this week. 

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

Year 4 - chickens!
To celebrate the arrival of our new chickens, Year 4s participated in a STEM challenge designing and constructing an enclosure for a baby chick!  Our design needed to provide shelter and air flow so that the chick could live safely at our desks. We then decorated the enclosure, so it was also a nice place for the chick to live. 

At first, we were given one toilet roll and encouraged to see how we could use it as a main feature in our feature. From this starting point, some of our designs got more creative some students included some luxury features in their enclosures such as slides, pompom nesting boxes, double beds and even a shower!

Our new school chickens have arrived!  If you would like to volunteer to feed our new friends and welcome them to the community, please visit our SignUp page here.  You can find our instruction booklet here.  Everyone is welcome to give it a go!

Assembly
9.15am  Friday

Uniform Shop
Thank you To Kathy Bagust and Tenielle Kost who are providing cost effective access to sartorial perfection via the Uniform Shop. 

Next date TBA.

Education Perfect

All students in Years 3 - 6 at Wattle Park Primary School have been invited to take part in the Education Perfect Global Language Championship 2024. This competition will be held from Tuesday 7th May starting at 10am and finishing at 10am on Tuesday 14th May inclusive. Please check here for the full participation guide, rules and tips.

Education Perfect is an online self-directed learning tool that provides an interactive learning experience. It is currently used in LOTE sessions in the classroom for set tasks. Students are also encouraged to practise 5-10 minutes every day at home if time permits.

To log into Education Perfect, go to https://www.educationperfect.com/, or download the Education Perfect app from the Apple iTunes Store/Google Play Store. Please use the child’s username and password provided in class over the past couple of weeks. If you have any questions regarding Education Perfect or if your child has lost their username and password, please contact your child’s teacher or our LOTE teacher Ms Sabrina Lin at sabrina.lin@education.vic.gov..au

Mother’s Day Stall

ICAS
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 (Year 4-6 only) into ICAS this year.   

Learn more about ICAS here.

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

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here.
2. Read the terms and conditions here.
3. Go to Parent Portal to purchase tests here.
4. Enter our school’s access code –  IOQ829  
5. Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, 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 Monday 29th July 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.  

Our Staff

Hello Wattle Park!

Since 2013, after moving to Australia, I started teaching at Wattle Park. In the last six years, I had my two children and I must say, it certainly has been great to come back after having a year of leave! I come from a secondary school teaching background (Economics, History, Geography), and have transitioned into primary school teaching whilst working in London. I have also taught in Hong Kong and Canada.

I am currently enjoying introducing the ‘Sounds Write Program to Year 2, a highly successful evidenced based spelling program that prescriptively teaches spelling conventions. I feel not only proud, but am grateful to be surrounded by students who are so caring and supportive of each other. I must say Wattle Park students are the best!

Sam Teng Yr 2B

Canteen
Our Canteen operates on Mondays and Fridays for lunch only.  

Ordering - Full Menu

To place an order, download the free Flexischools App from the App Store or Google Play. Once you have downloaded the app you will order and pay online. 

Orders must be placed by 4pm the day before the order is required.

Monday orders   by 4pm Sunday

Friday orders     by 4pm Thursday

Last Chance Ordering - Reduced Menu

If the normal daily service cut off has been missed.  Items such as pies, nuggets, sausage rolls, popcorn and drinks will be available as part of this service with a cut off time of 8.30am the day of canteen.

Please be aware Flexischools does not automatically change the class of your child to their 2024 class. Please ensure you update this information when you next order.

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!

Volunteers course

If you’d like to volunteer in 2024, please obtain a Working with Children’s Check and complete our Volunteers course.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Steve Donohue

Principal

Wattle Park Primary School

• TeamKids Newsletter 

2. School Beanies

If you are the holder of a Govt Concession Card or Health Care Card, you are eligible for Government assistance called CSEF, (Camps, Sports, Excursions Fund).

This payment of $150 is for any school activity including camps.

Please fill out the form HERE along with a copy of your concession card, and hand into the office.

This procedure should also be followed for eligible existing families, for 2024 payment.

If you have  any enquiries, please contact the office on 9808 2165.

4. Volunteer Needed for the First Aid Room
Much appriciated if any one can help us clean the sheets in First Aid Room. Your help can make the First Aid room a more safer and cleaner enviroments.We have had no one since mid last term. Please sign up HERE.

5. 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.

6. Chess Club

A Message from the director of Chess Club

Subject: Chess Tournament Results

Hi,

WPP did really in the previous chess interschool comp.

If suitable could the following info about it please be published?

On April 12th and 13th WPP partook in the Mindful Chess interschool chess tournament.

WPP came 3rd out of 19 competing schools. Qualifying a team to go on to the Chess VIC semi finals!

Aaryan Dalwadi had an exception performance winning 11/16 games.

Regards,

Felix Chandler
Director
Mindful Chess
0451965385
Mindfulchess.com.au

Calling all Parents and Caregivers for the Shaping Whitehorse Community Panel!

The City of Whitehorse are looking for 50 everyday people to work together and help shape Council’s plans for the next four years. If you are over 18 years old and live or run a business in Whitehorse, then you’re perfect for the Shaping Whitehorse Community Panel.

The Panel will meet four times in August (for a total of 14.5 hours), supported by professional, independent facilitators and will involve group discussions, considering diverse viewpoints, identifying themes and priorities and preparing recommendations for Council to consider when developing its plans.

Plus, each participant will receive a $150 payment for their valuable contribution!

To nominate complete and submit the nomination form found here by Sunday 26 May, 2024: https://yoursay.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/shaping-whitehorse