Hello Everyone,

Welcome back everyone!

I hope everyone had a refreshing break.

This term is 11 weeks long (last term was only 9) and there are quite a few large school events including:

• Sat 22nd November WPPS Fete!
• Mon 8th - 17th December Whole school swimming program - dates TBC
• Thur 11th December Year 6 Graduation Ceremony and dinner

There are a multitude of other year level specific events each of which has both a well being and academic outcome that facilitates your child/ren's development.

Check the WPPS school calendar , for other events, downloadable to your phone including dates for school camps in 2026.

2026 Year 34 Camp Arrabri lodge in Warburton
           Term 3 Mon 20th July - Tues 21st July

2026 Year 56 Camp Portsea camp - Portsea
           Term 4 Mon 26th October - Wed 28th October

Check year level websites for class specific information. 

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

Thank you
Those of you who have had reason to enter the Foundation/Yr 5/6 block have no doubt encountered this tree - it has a propensity to lash out with spiky leaves and leave a rash as evidence of its malicious intent.

Thanks to Macka and Wombat, it was removed during the holidays, leaving us with the opportunity to restore the bed and plant more child friendly creatures that don't leave welts as a result of any interaction.

Thank you also to whoever has left us these in the foyer (assuming it was a donation?). They have come in very handy

Our Students

Student achievement in NAPLAN is reported using proficiency standards for each assessment area at each year level. The standards are set at a challenging but reasonable expectation of what students know and can do at the time of testing. There are 4 proficiency levels: 

• Exceeding: the student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing. 
• Strong: the student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing. 
• Developing: the student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
• Needs additional support: the student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes that are expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

WPPS has great NAPLAN results:
Year 3

Year 5

However, you will notice a heightening in the profile of NAPLAN at WPPS. There are 1533 primary schools in Victoria. We are currently ranked 119 according to NAPLAN results (ref 

https://bettereducation.com.au/school/Primary/vic/vic_primary_school_trends.aspx

I think we can do even better.. so…

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2026

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual nationwide assessment for students in Years 3 and 5. Our next NAPLAN assessments will take place in March 2026.

NAPLAN consists of four areas (or domains):

• Reading
• Writing
• Conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
• Numeracy

At school, we will support students by building their familiarity and confidence with NAPLAN test-taking, beginning in Term 4. We celebrate and value our students’ academic achievements, and NAPLAN preparation will be one of our priorities.

How you can help at home

There are many ways you can support your child with NAPLAN. We encourage parents to explore practice tests available both online and in stores.

Available online platforms

Year 3 NAPLAN practice site (for Yr 2's) FREE

Year 5 NAPLAN practice site (for Yr 4's) FREE

• Rise+ – https://riseplus.education/naplan-practice-tests/
• EXCEL Test Zone – https://www.exceltestzone.com.au/

These platforms closely resemble current NAPLAN assessments. They offer timed test conditions, instant reporting, growth analysis, and rankings that compare your child’s results with other national test takers. Once subscribed, tests can be repeated as many times as needed.

Other NAPLAN resources

• ACARA past papers (FREE):
• NAPLAN 2012–2016     
• https://acara.edu.au/assessment/naplan/naplan-2012-2016-test-papers
• NAPLAN 2008–2011
• https://acara.edu.au/assessment/naplan/naplan-2008-2011-test-papers
• Blake’s Back to Basics NAPLAN (Officeworks, Amazon, Booktopia)
• EXCEL NAPLAN-style tests (Officeworks, Amazon)
• School Zone NAPLAN (Kmart, Target, Officeworks, Amazon)
• Test Mate NAPLAN (Amazon)

If you would like a copy of an ACARA past NAPLAN paper, please email samantha.kwong2@education.vic.gov.au. Papers will be left at the office for collection.

Chickens!
Hi Families of WPPS!

Our wonderful chickens need looking after not only by our students during the week, but also on weekends. Our Year 4 families are doing a great job caring for them over the weekend but we need the whole school’s help too. 

We currently do not have anyone caring for our chickens this weekend or in the upcoming weekends and we need your help!

Our SignUp is structured so that you are responsible for the chickens for a full day on the weekend, but this only requires one visit in the morning (at or before 9am) and one visit in the afternoon (between 3pm-5pm). 

The kids love it and you may even pick up a few eggs to take home!

Please sign up here: https://signup.com/go/dKqTDEy

For further instructions on their care, please use the following link:

2025 Chicken Volunteer Duties  

Thank you for your help,
James Feather, Lauren Neilson & Richard Abell
Year 4 Teachers

Students of the Week!
As a result of our recent School Review, as well as the work we are doing with our School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Program, our school values have changed from six:
Respect, Responsibility, Care, Encourage, Value and Challenge to the ‘Three R’s’;

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience

Congratulations to all of our students who have displayed these values this week

Mathletics Champion
A round of applause for:

                                                Awarded next week

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

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. 

Our Staff

Continuing our series on getting to know our staff at Wattle Park Primary School we introduce our  much adored Foundation teacher - Ms Robyn Heeps:

I have been part of the Wattle Park school community for many years.

It has always been a friendly and supportive body, and I have become acquainted with wonderful families and children during this time.

I have worked across the school and watched students grow and develop in preparation for their secondary schooling. It is always delightful when they come back to see you, or you meet by chance, and they relate stories of the fun things we did together.

Foundation is an exciting year to be part of: it is rewarding to follow and observe the transition of these young children as they  become independent and capable students.

Wattle Park is a great place to work. 

Other Events

‘Hats on in September’ … and till the end of the year
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.

Running Club
The ever popular Running Club is back up and running for term three. Every Thursday at 8.00am join the team on the Top Oval.

Have a great weekend.

1.  First Aid Room Clean Needs Volunteers
To keep our First Aid Room clean and tidy, we require volunteers to assist with this task. It is not time consuming and requires approximately 15 minutes of your time on a FRIDAY.

Please click on the link to sign up.  https://signup.com/go/GZAwtYc

Thank you for your time

2.  Book Club

3. Sun Safety - From MONDAY

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