wattle.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au

WPPS Newsletter 28th June

#166

Principal's Report 28th June 2024

Hello Everyone,

As we all ascend the thermals to all sorts of exotic locations, be it the launching off on a plane to the bustling streets of the UK or a descent from the kitchen to the wrapt wonders of the couch accompanied by a cup of tea

(or whatever else your inhouse flight attendant might be inclined to provide), I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has volunteered this term.

Volunteered for Kitchen Garden, for School Council, for excursions and Gala Days, and even to assist in belting out the national anthem at Assembly - thank you. You make the world a better place - (irrespective of tuning…)

Time is such a precious commodity and using yours to help us is appreciated. So much so that SAKGP could not run without it.

So as the sun comes out next term and you feel reinvigorated to manifest goodwill upon the universe in some form or other, please consider volunteering. Obtain a Working with Children’s Check, complete our Volunteers course, and you are right to go.

A reminder too. The very capable Mr Richard Abell will be Acting Principal for the first week and a half of term 2, with the Assistant Principal’s position filled by the equally effective and well known WPPS entity, Ms Julie Carlson. Ms Carlson’s Year 6A class will be taken by Mr Lawrence, a classroom Replacement Teacher the students are already familiar with.

I return on Thursday, 25th July and have no doubt things will run very well.

Students first day back Tuesday 16th July

Please check the SCHOOL CALENDAR for all other upcoming events including school camps

Chooks
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

Semester 1 Reports - live today!

Reports go live on Friday 28.06 at 4pm on Compass.

If you would like a hard copy of your child’s report please email your classroom teacher and your child will be given one on Friday 28.06.

Go HERE for how to access your child’s report on Compass.

New Mathematics Victorian Curriculum 2.0
The Victorian Government has recently changed the F-10 school Mathematics curriculum to raise Australian learning outcomes to meet higher international standards.

The former Mathematics curriculum represented students’ progress with a dot in each one of three strands of Mathematics:

Number & Algebra
Measurement & Geometry
Statistics and Probability

This new curriculum breaks this up into 6 strands and only requires one dot to represent all of a students’ Mathematics progress:

Number	Algebra	Measurement
Space	Statistics	Probability

In the interests of keeping parents and guardians informed, WPPS has decided to represent each of these six strands, mark each one, and give a dot to indicate overall progress. Therefore our reports look like this:

As the new curriculum is more challenging it may mean your child achieves a lower level this year than they did last year. It is unlikely your child’s achievements in Mathematics have regressed - rather, the curriculum targets have been raised. We look forward to working in partnership with you to further educate our students.

Our Students
Students of the week

Friday 28.06 at 9.15am Final Assembly for the term

A Celebration of Fairy Tales in Foundation

Foundation have completed their Fairy Tales unit:

Students will learn about the elements of fairy tales that distinguish them from other types of fiction. They will learn that fairy tales have elements of character, plot, and setting that are found in other types of fiction, and gain an understanding of the “lessons and morals” in fairy tales.

As part of their reflection upon their learning our Foundation students had their Fairytale Dress up Day on Wednesday last week. And what a day it was!

The Boy From Oz - Go Ethan!

Here are his show dates from The Boy From Oz playing at the National Theatre and a link to the tickets https://theatrical.com.au/boyfromoz/

Chess success - Well done Aaryan!

A message form Felix Chandler, the director of MIndful Chess who operate south Chess Club on Fridays at lunch time

"A Chess Victoria Zonal Inter-school Tournament was held on Tuesday 18 June 2024, and Wattle Park Primary ranked 2nd amongst the 14 Schools that Participated (based on taking the top 4 students of each school).

Wattle Park chess players continue to be very adept and will progress to the state championships later in the year (having now qualified).

A total of ~67 players competed and each one competed in a total of 7 rounds with progressively matched difficulty, i.e. players were paired with the stronger opponents as they won, and difficulty levels were reduced in case of losses. 0.5 points are awarded in the case of a draw.

Roger Tao and Sridatta Xiao had exceptional performances winning 5/7 games. We look forward to more students supporting the team by attending the interschool tournament next term.

If you would like to to involved in Chess Club please contact Felxi at:

felixchandler@mindfulchess.com.au

Year 2 Information reports

Our Year Two students proudly showcased their incredible information reports and dioramas yesterday, demonstrating their hard work, creativity, and newfound knowledge. From fascinating facts to beautifully crafted models, this expo was a true celebration of their achievements. Congratulations, Year Two! ???️

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.  

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

Read about ICAS subjects and prices here.
Read the terms and conditions here.
Go to Parent Portal to purchase tests here.
Enter our school’s access code –  IOQ829 
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

Continuing getting to know our staff at WPPS, we say hello to Ms Cooper who teaches 5A.

When I was studying teaching at University, never did I think I’d work in a school that had its very own ‘prize winning’ chickens; let alone poddy lambs! For these reasons and many more, I feel so fortunate to have been a part of the WPPS community since 2017. I have had the pleasure of teaching both lower and upper primary and am currently teaching my second year of Year 5. Within each year level there are so many opportunities that both the students and teachers get to experience. One of my favourites across the different levels is Inquiry as it provides opportunity to delve deeper and explore questions and wonderings as they arise. Observing my students getting lost in a topic always puts a smile on my face!

I hope to see you around.

Kathryn Cooper

Uniform Shop

New Uniforms
The Uniform Shop for new uniforms is located off site.
Please click HERE for the location and price list for all our new uniforms.
Uniform orders can be delivered to the school office.

School Bags and School Beanies
Available from the school office

Second Hand Uniform Shop
Located in the school gymnasium
Cash only

Last Friday of every month 8.30am - 9.15am