Dear Parents and Carers, 

There is now light at the end of the tunnel for a return to school this term. Thank goodness!

Assistant Principal Mr Steve Donohue, has designed a table that clearly shows when students in what levels return to school. It is on our website here If you haven’t been to our website, please go there and ensure that you are across information about when your child returns to school.  

Mask wearing is now mandatory for all students in Years 3 to 6 when they return to school.  Mask wearing for students in Foundation to Year 2 is strongly encouraged. Please ensure that all masks are named as it is imperative that if lost, masks can be returned to the rightful owner. 

I know many of you will have heard about the concerns regarding the necessity to have good ventilation levels in schools. This is not such a problem in summer, with doors and windows open and fans or air conditioners operating.  

The Department of Education are implementing a ventilation infrastructure assessment of approximately 20,000 classroom and CO2 monitoring in order to determine which spaces within schools will require additional ventilation and/or filtration measures. 

Commencing Term 4, the Department will roll out air purification devices to schools. 

We will keep you informed about when this has occurred.  

This week we have welcomed a new teacher to our school Ms Adriana Bisognano. Ms Bisognano has taken the Year 2A role due to Ms Kimielle D’Mello being the successful applicant for a teaching position at Glen Waverley Primary School. Fortunately, Adriana was able to have a face-to-face handover of the teaching and learning program from Ms Kimielle at the end of term 3 and has been ably supported by Year 2B teacher Ms Kathryn Kelly.  

What a challenge to commence teaching at a new school during COVID restrictions without having actually seen or met the students in person! It reminds me of the ‘School of the Air’ where students in remote settings receive an education by using an HF radio receiver to communicate with the schoolteacher and their classmates. 

I know that many of our students 12 years old and above have already had their first COVID-19 vaccination. I am just so, so proud of them.  

Personally, I find it difficult to pay attention to people who are against vaccination. My younger son is a doctor in the Emergency Department of a NSW hospital. He speaks with me about the daily horror that his medical team faces with dying COVID patients. At first older patients but not now, patients are of all ages. The medical teams work so hard for their communities, 12-hour shifts are common. 

Our lives in Victoria have certainly been tough for a long time but we are a strong supportive community here at Wattle Park and we will pull through.   

I’m not sure what activities parents and children participated in during the holidays. I’m guessing lots of walking, riding, reading, watching Netflix, playing interactive games and catching up with friends in parks. At least it was a change of routine and the demands from remote learning.  

It was certainly a different type of holiday not being about to adventure past 15 kilometres. I have enjoyed the opening of golf courses to the general public. It has been a delight to see so many people on a golf course with their dogs. I’m not sure whether golfers feel the same though! 

Teachers will shortly begin discussions relating to classes for 2022. A number of factors are taken into account when placing students in class groups. Please note that it is not acceptable for parents to request specific teachers or friendship groupings for their child. If parents feel their child has specific educational needs in relation to class placement, all communication regarding this will only be accepted in writing, addressed to the principal and must be received by Monday 1st November. 

Congratulations to students Evan F 6B and Cleo T 5B who participated virtually in Rotary MASH Primary School Speech Competition on Tuesday night. Evan and Cleo were superb! We have such talented students at Wattle Park Primary. Public speaking can be a confronting experience, but Evan and Cleo were such naturals. Very proud of them both. 

Enjoy the weekend. 

Warm Regards


Gayle 

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Please be aware that all students are required to have on a hat for outside play. Children will be required to play in the shade if no hat is worn, and being a Sun Smart School it's important to have sun protection from now till May.

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