Hello Everyone,

Now is the time to enrol a preppy for next year!

2026 Foundation/Prep Enrolments

There are two ways.

Online enrolment

1   View the Foundation Digital Enrolment Parent Guide.

2   ​Submit an enrolment application for Foundation (Prep) by Friday 25 July 2025.

You will be notified of the outcome of your application between Mon 28 Jul - Fri 8 Aug 2025.

3   Accept the offer by Friday 22 August 2025.

Hard copy enrolment

Simply fill in a paper enrolment form available at our office or download HERE and email to: wattle.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au

School Tours

School tours occur most Fridays at 10am and take approximately 45 minutes . 

Tours can be booked by calling the school office on 98082165 or you can book online HERE

Further details regarding enrolment can be found on our school website HERE 

Our Students

2025.05.21 Foundation Fairytale Fiasco Incursion

On Wednesday, the Foundation students had their Fairy Tale Fiasco Incursion! 

Children engaged in two workshops by The Drama Toolbox. Tiddalick the Frog, bringing the Indigenous Australian Dream Time story to life and a Fairytale Fiasco fun fractured fairytale that engaged students in narratives, improvisation and creativity. The performances explored the differences and similarities between fairytales, characterisation and role-playing, and the transition from books to performance. 

“I loved dressing up as the frill-necked lizard” - Atlas FA
“I like the name of Prince Bubblesnot” - Maia FA
“It was fun when we did funny dances all together” - Bumi FA
“I loved going inside the secret tunnel with the music” - Harriet FA
“I loved it when the kangaroos tickled Tiddalick the Frog with their tails” - Billie FA
“Crawling into the tunnel with the music was so much fun” - Chance FA

Deakin Uni x Wattle Park Primary School Counselling Opportunity
Wattle Park Primary School continues its valued partnership with Deakin University’s Counselling Unit to offer student counsellors the opportunity to work with students from Wattle Park Primary School. 

The purpose of this engagement is to provide short-term counselling to support students in achieving physical, social, emotional, academic, and psychological wellbeing.

Prior to undertaking placement, students have completed core subjects required to equip them with sufficient counselling skills and the ability to apply these to a range of clients as required.

Counselling support is only effective when those taking part are willing participants. 

If you wish for your child/ren to participate in the Deakin University Counselling Opportunity, please email the school office at wattle.park.ps@education.vic.gov.au.

WPPS will select which students participate in the program based upon the parameters of the counselling provided and the needs of the specific child. As you will understand, medical privacy is of the utmost importance, and as such the basis upon which students are chosen will only be discussed with relevant parties.

Students of the Week!

Term 2 Week 6
Class	Student
FA	Chris W	FB	Edwin B
12A	Cyrus C	12B	Gaanavi M
12C	Claire Y
3A	Sridatta X	3B	Hailey K
4A	Tameem M	4B	Cherish C
5A	Cyrus L	5B	Oliver C
6A	Will P	6B	Justin B

Mathematics Champion
A round of applause for: 
                                         Aiden W 12c

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. 

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 Aug 9.15 am	Mon 4th Aug 2.30 pm	Mon 11th Aug 9.15 am	Mon 18th Aug 9.15 am	Mon 18th Aug 12.30 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 Annmaria Antonino who teaches in Year 3A on Fridays:

Dear WPPS community,

“Where do I begin

To tell the story of how great a love can be…”

My relationship with Wattle Park Primary School began in January 1990 when I accepted a position teaching Year 3/4. I was just 22 years old, exploding with passion and excitement, eager to have my first class after a year of shared specialist roles in two other schools. WPPS had around 180 students and just seven classes on enormous grounds, with a shelter shed on top court and mature wattle trees scattered all around… such a beautiful setting. My classroom in the main building was quite bare, just a blackboard with out-of-date canvas pull down maps, traditional heavy wooden desks and one Apple Computer, the Macintosh with the large floppy discs! I was the only person on staff whose parents were born overseas and spoke a language other than English. I was so very proud of my Italian heritage and shared my love of all things Italian with everyone. I was never shy! The WPPS community was so warm and welcoming, I had found my place. 

Writing this piece makes me smile as I reflect on a very special relationship so far, 35 years in fact!  I spent the first five years at WPPS as a class teacher, then I had the opportunity to work in industry. My WPPS community wished me well, but they all knew I would return to them and how right they were! Although it was so much fun to wear suits, be taken out for long business lunch meetings, develop teaching programs for adults and experience a life without bells, that year away, chasing profits, made me realise just how important teaching was to me and how this was where I could make a difference in the lives of so many!

I returned from industry to WPPS for another memorable five years as a class teacher, always encouraging families to be involved in their children’s education. My door was always open, or I was just a phone call away on the school landline! I believe communication is key to success and families quickly learnt that together we could work through any challenges they might be facing and together we would also celebrate success!

My WPPS community was there when I married Aurelio in 1997, their children sang in church as my papà walked me down the aisle. I simply went from Miss to Ms Antonino and after my European honeymoon, continued to teach. Then in 2000 I took leave to begin my own family. Motherhood is my other great love, as family means everything to me! I devoted myself to my children, Mia and Gianni, and when they both began their schooling, I finally returned to WPPS. 

I decided to work part time so I could involve myself in my children’s schools and give to their teachers the support that so many parents at WPPS had given to me over the years. I was a class representative most years and involved on so many committees, it was so much fun to be the parent helper! 

Upon my return to WPPS, I was delighted to see the Cameron Close Reading Program was still running weekly and the relationship with our neighbours was strong (I established this program in 1996). I was given the opportunity to teach Italian to Year 3-6 students which was exciting. It was wonderful to be back at school and to be sharing Italian language and culture with students who were so eager to learn a second language. By now WPPS had doubled in size and Deakin University was feeding us enrolments from all around the world. Never had we had such a multicultural community. The school was buzzing with different languages, the community was slowly changing.

When Italian was replaced with Chinese at WPPS, I taught Art for a few years, another interest, but I finally found my calling when I began supporting EAL (English as an Additional Language) students and their families over a decade ago. Teaching students English and helping families establish themselves in our community was very rewarding, but a new opportunity came knocking. 

In 2024 I returned to the classroom in a shared teaching role with Mr Monea in Year 3, a position I still hold and love dearly. Communication is my focus in class. I keep a written journal with each of my students, where we freely exchange thoughts and feelings each week. I use poetry, songs and games to enhance listening and speaking and I absolutely adore sharing my love of literature. I feel my friendly, energetic personality puts students at ease and draws them into activities that help them improve all aspects of their English language learning, whilst gaining confidence and having fun.

One piece of advice, I just can’t help myself… cook together, set the table and share a meal and conversation with your family every day – you will be surprised what you learn! 

I feel blessed to be a part of the Wattle Park Primary School community.

Thank you for the love, everyone! 

Annmaria Antonino

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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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.

4. Chess Club

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• Newsletter
• 100 Hours Outdoors Challenge!

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Support our local business !!!

Camberwell High School invites you to our upcoming parent seminar event:

Growing Up Online, with cybersecurity expert, Susan McLean
An educational & empowering session for parents and carers, Susan’s unparalleled knowledge leaves audiences shocked at the reality of the online world. It is a wakeup call to even the most switched-on parent.

Monday 21 July
7pm - 8.30pm
E-Centre Auditorium
Tickets: $10.00
Booking essential – book now

 

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