Hello Everyone,

2026 Classes
Organisation for next year is well underway. 

Please note our Class Formation policy mentioned later in this newsletter.

2026 NAPLAN
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. 

Here is an example of some of the questions:

Year 3 practice question example:

Year 5 practice question example:

I think we can do even better… so…

2026 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)

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

Beginning in this term we will support students by building their familiarity and confidence with NAPLAN test-taking. 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.

‘Hats on in September’ … and till the end of the year
Last week we had a ‘Hat Amnesty’, meaning we reminded our students to wear their hats at snack and lunchtime.

Hat Amnesty is now over!

From now until the end of the school year any student not wearing a board brim hat will need to play in the shade.

With our emergence from the Winter gloom into the glorious spring time 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.

Our Students
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.

This week we investigated responsibility and how it looks in play spaces. You can view the video HERE

Responsibility - Play spaces thumbnail  - Please also link the picture 

Mathletics Champion
A round of applause for:

Daksh P FA

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

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 re - introduce Ms Anna Saaksjarvi who works Wednesday to Friday in Year 12C. 

Hi again everyone ? 

As I have said before, I really do feel very lucky to be part of such a welcoming, supportive, fun and engaged community. This community includes the children, staff, parents and careers. We are so lucky to be such an open, friendly and inclusive school. Something for which I think many of us are certainly very proud of.

I started teaching at Wattle Park Primary in 2012 in the Year 5/6 area. Since then, I had some time off whilst having my 3 children, who also attend our amazing school. After spending some time in Grade 3 and Grade 2 after returning from maternity leave, I am now very much enjoying teaching Year 1/2C.

As one of the literacy leaders, along with Sam Teng, I am incredibly proud of the dedication and commitment of our staff to learn more about and implement the Science of Learning in our school. We are working very hard on taking the knowledge of world wide researchers and leaders across a variety of areas, including neuroscience, to adapt our curriculum to become more explicit and in line with up to date, evidence based practices. We’re certainly still a work in progress, but we are very proud of where we have come from and where we are going. All of our hard work and dedication is all about providing the best for all of our students!

We want everyone to come to school feeling safe and happy and that no matter where they are on their learning journey, they are improving and working towards achieving their individual goals. We all have our own unique strengths and wonderful different ways of experiencing the world. Understanding that and celebrating that is important.

As I have said before, I really appreciate how our students look out for and support each other. How truly lucky we are! It is certainly a reflection of our wonderful broader community. 

Term 4 is always an exciting term, with many events for everyone to look forward to! It also tends to fly by! So,I wish everyone a great final term to the year and hope you all enjoy the summer holidays!

Anna Saaksjarvi Year 1/2C

Notices
Class Formation Policy
WPPS is sorting out 2026 classes.

Students are placed  in classes based on a variety of factors including:

• medical requirements
• legal obligations (intervention/court orders etc) 
• safety concerns
• academic needs and
• student generated friendship preferences

If you feel your child has specific educational needs in relation to class placement, please communicate this via email to steven.donohue@education.vic.gov.au by Friday 14th of November.

The WPPS ‘Class Formation Policy’ is on our school website.

Running Club
The ever popular Running Club is back up and running for term four. 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  

• Newsletter

$200 Voucher for Kids’ Swimming Lessons at Surrey Park Swimming
Families can get $200 off swimming lessons at Surrey Park Swimming through the Get Active Kids Voucher Program. Apply from 15 Oct–13 Nov at getactive.vic.gov.au/vouchers using Provider Code 2931371.