Hello Everyone,

2025.05.19 Sushi Day! 
Thank you to Teneille Kost, who organised the very popular Sushi Day that happened Monday the 19th May. There were over 300 orders and Tenielle did a terrific job from beginning to end. The students had a healthy lunch and WPPS made some money! Thank you Teneille!

Keep an eye out for more information regarding our next Sushi Day on the 23rd of June!

2025 Parent Payments
Thank you to everyone who has already made, or is making arrangements to pay their Parent Contributions.

The easiest way to access how to pay is:

1. Go to your Compass home screen
2. Click on the Payment centre then scroll down to:
3. 2025 WPPS Parent Contributions

Our Students
Students of the Week!

Term 2 Week 5
Class	Student
FA	Maia L	FB	Hayley Z
12A	Jenion Z	12B	Joseph M
12C	Isabelle J
3A	Ted S	3B	Oscar T
4A	Grace S	4B	Austin H
5A	Charvee K	5B	Destiny C
6A	Hunter V	6B	Edie P

Mathematics Champion
A round of applause for: 

Archie K - 1/2A

who has excelled in Mathematics this week through consistent participation and impressive performance. Well done!

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. 

2025.05.21 John Monash Science School 

The John Monash Science School runs the  ‘Little Scientists, Big Science’ and ‘Mini Mathematicians’ programs which aims to introduce high-achieving Grade 5/6 students to a range of advanced topics and experiments. The JMSS Year 10 and 11 students mentor Primary School participants through four exciting sessions, opening their eyes to a world of possibilities in the STEM realm. This program runs one day a week for 4 weeks.

Article from Year 6 students Roger, Aryan, Betty and Naomi who have been attending:

Betty, Naomi, Aaryan and Roger were picked for the John Monash Science School program or JMSS for short.  Whoever wanted to go, had to write a letter about why they should and the teachers decided who would go.  We were the lucky 4 who were chosen and we were very happy about it.

2025.04.23 Day 1
At 12.30, Mark Boer {Betty’s Dad}  picked us up and we drove to the school.  We parked at the church.  When we arrived we had to sit in a room for a while because we were early. After that some high school students brought us to a bigger room.  There were other schools too.  Ryan and Yimo sat with us and first, we played a social game.  We had to find a person that matched what was on the sheet.  Next we played a game with cards and Ryan and Yimo helped us. All six groups had to pick different numbers from 1-6.  If you picked the same number as another group you didn’t get the points.  

Lastly, we played mathematical snakes and ladders. We had to roll two dice and we could either times, plus, minus or divide to see how many spaces we could go forward.  The first person that reached exactly 100 was Ryan.  Betty won next.  After all that fun, we had to say bye and we got back in the car.  We arrived back at school at 3:35. We all had a really great time and couldn't wait for the next session.

2025.04.30 Day 2
On day 2 we met with Liv and Dwayne. They were very kind.  First, we did tumbling towers which was a very fun game where we had towers with numbers that were strategically placed to fit other numbers. To win/advance you would need to fit all numbers accordingly from biggest to smallest but you don't get to change therefore this game would make you calculate percentage and think hard about your choices. 

After that we played Pictionary, where the teacher would give you a subject relating to maths then you would have to show it and draw it out to the rest of your group and if you guessed it correctly you move up and draw the next subject.  Surprisingly, we won, even though we were falling behind, Dwayne even had to leave for class in the middle of doing it. Our final activity for the day was the puzzle piece game where you had to place puzzles on top of numbers ranging from 1-100 solving problems such as place a puzzle so it touches 4 prime numbers and 1 composite.   

2025.05.07 Day 3
On day 3 we continued the puzzle piece game but this time we started with the hard questions as previously the medium level questions were too easy and easy to solve so naturally we started doing the hard questions.  Luckily we had help from Liv and Dwayne so it wasn't even a challenge we even managed to do half of all the hard questions. 

After that, we played a minigame which was a head shoulder game which was based on the answer to the question was odd was hands on head and if it was even hands and hips this really challenged our quick thinking. Surprisingly, our team had the top 5 placements including Roger, Aaryan and Liv. Next we did a maths version of tic tac toe which you had to have the numbers in a row add up to 15. Roger found out a secret way to win instantly if you started as the attackers. The way was to place 5 in the middle, therefore making it impossible for you to lose, we did this strategy in a 2v2 Roger and Aaryan vs Liv and Dwanye we actually won.

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program
The Year 3s and 4s are back in the garden and kitchen for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program!  Our new garden teacher Kathleen had lots planned for us to do!!  Year 3 students spent a beautiful sunny morning busy in the garden harvesting olives, weeding garden beds readying them for new plants. They did such a thorough job that students had time to plant rocket and spring onions!  The Year 4s worked hard rejuvenating several areas of the school garden. They mucked out the chicken coop and put their wheelbarrowing skills to the test to transport and lay mulch across the entire shaded garden bed. They all displayed excellent teamwork and determination to get such a big area completed in their session.

Of course, without our wonderful volunteers our students would not have been able to achieve so much in our sessions. We always welcome new faces to come and volunteer in our Kitchen and Garden. Parents, guardians, grandparents, gardeners, and non-gardeners alike are all welcome to visit the SignUp pages (links below) and find a time to come in and enjoy the experience with us. And remember, your child does not have to be in Year 3 or 4 for you to join in!

4A –Sign up HERE
Garden 9- 9.45am, Monday
Kitchen 10-11.30am, Monday

4B - Sign up HERE
Garden 10-10.50am, Monday
Kitchen 12.30-2.00pm, Monday

3A –Sign up  HERE
Garden 9- 9.45am, Tuesday
Kitchen 10-11.30am, Tuesday

3B - Sign up  HERE
Garden 10-10.50am, Tuesday
Kitchen 12.30-2.00pm, Tuesday

Thank you!

ICAS
We are delighted to inform you that we will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS competition again 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.  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.

1. Read the terms and conditions here.

1. Go to Parent Portal to purchase tests here.

1. Enter our school’s access code –  IOQ829  

1. 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 Test Dates, Results and Certificates 

Writing	Digital Tech	English	Spelling Bee	Science	Mathematics
Mon 4th Aug9.15 am	Mon 4th Aug2.30 pm	Mon 11th Aug9.15 am	Mon 18th Aug9.15 am	Mon 18th Aug12.30 pm	Mon 25th Aug 2.30 pm

We will notify you when your child’s ICAS results are ready. You will have until Monday 28th July to make an order. 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.  

We are proud to offer ICAS and look forward to some fantastic results later in the year.  Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions or send me an email at james.feather@education.vic.gov.au.

  

Kind regards,  

James Feather - Learning Specialist

Our Staff

Our series on our staff proved so popular last year, I have requests for it to return as our parents have different teachers this year.  Reintroducing Ms Downes:

I have been part of our school family for so long that it could be said that I am part of the furniture. In fact I am pretty sure that the only person who has been here longer than myself is Ms Antonino, our wonderful 3A on Fridays teacher. 

When I first arrived for my first day at WPPS (all the way back in the last century!) I was very pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a beaming and welcoming Annmaria as we actually went to university together and shared the same majors. Since that day I have made many lifelong friends through our great school and have so many happy and fulfilling memories that have enriched my life both professionally and personally.

Wattle Park was school number four for me. My first year of teaching was at Thorpdale Primary, in potato country, followed by Epping and Merrilands. During those early years I mainly taught in the Year 5/6 area and my first grade at WPPS was a 5/6 composite. After a few years I made the move down to Prep (as it was called in those days) which was a huge change from the upper school kids, but one that I loved (after the initial shock).

In December of 1998 I began a new phase of my life when my husband, Rick, and I welcomed our first little ray of sunshine, Allie, followed two years later with the arrival of Emily. I spent a number of years away from teaching, raising our family, which I adored. During this time, I sat on committees for our local kindergarten and primary school and volunteered 2-3 days a week for the literacy program when my kids were young.

Our former Principal, Nick Farley (I have seen four Wattle Park Principals so far), finally convinced me to return to teaching when my youngest was in Grade 1. I took over from Julie Gledhill who was about to go on Family Leave in the role of part time Phys Ed teacher. I have had a lifelong love affair with sport, so this job seemed absolutely perfect for me. I have played many sports competitively over the years including basketball, netball, equestrian and squash and I still drag this, shall we say mature, body around the tennis court. My other passions include reading, travel, eating out with friends and of course the beach – my happy place.

This year I am excited to be sharing my experience with the gorgeous families in 1/2 A.

Have a great weekend everyone

Steve Donohue

Principal

Wattle Park Primary School

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Our school Disco is on Thursday 19th June!

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Sponsor or Donate and make all the difference!

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Please scroll through to see all of our latest notices!


1. CSEF
2. School Saving Bonus reminder
3. Australian School Dental
4. Chess Club

1.Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.
If you have a valid means-tested concession card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. Means-tested concession cards must be valid on the first day of Term 1, 2025 (Tuesday 28 January 2025) or Term 2, 2025 (Tuesday 22 April 2025).
A student aged 16 years and over who is considered a mature minor and holds a valid concession card is also eligible to apply.
Eligible families will receive a payment of $154 per year for primary school students. The funds will be paid directly to the school to be used towards camps, sports and excursion costs for the benefit of your child.
If you applied for CSEF through our school last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
If you would like to apply for the first time, please contact the school office on 9808 2165 and ask for an application form. Please return completed application forms to the school office as soon as possible.
Thank you,

Steve Donohue
Principal

2.  School Saving Bonus reminder and allocation to  school activities 

The Victorian Government is delivering the School Saving Bonus (SSB) – a one-off support of $400 for eligible government school students from Prep to Year 12 in 2025.
The SSB can be used for uniforms and textbooks until Monday 30 June 2025.
Any funds remaining after 30 June 2025, including online voucher amounts that have not been redeemed, will become a credit to use on school activities. However, the credit will not be available on your family account at our school until late July.
To use any remaining SSB funds to cover the cost of school activities in July, please refer to the SSB online system and allocate the funds to school activities before 30 June 2025.
To learn more about the SSB online system, download the step-by-step System guide for parents and carers (DOCX, 945KB) or watch this School Saving Bonus video. System guide translations are also available in 14 languages.
The Department of Education’s SSB contact centre will remain available until 30 June 2025. The contact centre can be reached by:

• completing the School Saving Bonus enquiry form
• calling 1800 338 663, between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm on weekdays.

After this date, please contact our administration team for any SSB related questions.
Thank you,


Steve Donohue
Principal

3. Australian School Dental

Dear Parents/Guardians,
Australian Dental Health will be visiting Wattle Park Primary School!
ADH will be providing free dental check-ups and treatment for eligible students. Regular dental check-ups are essential for keeping your child’s teeth healthy—preventing cavities, spotting issues early, and encouraging good habits.
This service is provided at no cost to eligible families through Medicare’s Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS). If you have neither, Australian Dental Health will still provide a free check-up for your child.
It only takes a few minutes! All form submissions will be conducted online only. There will be  no paper forms or in-person submissions.
Deadline for Online forms: Jul 1, 2025 11:59 PM.
Any forms received after this time will only be accommodated if time permits.
Don’t miss the chance to keep your child’s smile healthy! 
If you have any questions, please reach out to ADH at info@adhv.com.au or 03 93239607.

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