Hello Everyone,

Welcome to term 4!

I hope everyone had a restful break.

You may have noticed there have been a few repairs to the door to the shed under the 3/4 block. I had a call from our Gardener, Nikki on the first Monday of the holidays to say there had been a break in and various things had been stolen. I came onsite to see what had happened, reported this to the police and had our carpenter repair the damage. If such an event has one positive outcome it highlights how rare an event this is.

Please refer to the calendar on the School Calendar to find details about Term 4 dates, finish times and term holidays dates etc.

Our Students

Hats on from September!

This term all students must wear a WPPS school uniform hat when outside. This is part of our Sunsmart Policy to protect our students against UV radiation and the ravages of cancer - ugh! More information can be found on our website HERE. 

Students of the Week

Well done to all our recipients for actively displaying our school values. Students who are not in attendance to receive their certificate will be awarded at the next week's assembly.

Class Student

FA Jamie Z

FB Liam W

Year 1A Marley S

Year 1B Avery C

Year 2A Oliver K

Year 2B Destiny C

Year 3A Isla B

Year 3B Lucy R

Year 4A Xoli McG

Year 4B Jialin L

Year 5A Jay N

Year 5B Holly P

Year 6A TBC

Year 6B Trent Z

Chesterfield Farm Excursion

A note from Ms Churchward about last term’s Foundation Excursion:

As part of the Foundation integrated topic about farms and farm products we all went on an excursion to Chesterfield Farm on Wednesday, 7th September.

It was such a fun filled, sunny day with lots to see! A big thank you to the Parent Helpers who came along to assist us on the day. Students were actively engaged in many learning experiences such as:

• Going on a tractor ride around the farm and looking at all of the animals along the way. It was very bumpy!
• Watching a sheepdog at work to see how the dog is trained to round up the sheep. 
• Visiting and handling many farm animals in the nursery such as calves, guinea pigs, rabbits, lambs and goats.
• Feeding the animals. We met lots of two legged animals such as kangaroos (with joeys in their pouch!), emus and ostriches. The four-legged animals included donkeys, llamas, horses, deer, sheep and cows. A lot of them were very greedy and tried to steal bags of food from the students!

Police Youth Resource Officer presentation 

As we head towards the end of the year, earlier this week we had a Police Youth Resource Officer (YRO) come in to speak to each of our upper year levels, Year 4, 5 and 6 in regard to supporting safety and well being. These sessions ran for 50 mins each and identified and addressed cyber bullying, various forms of assault and measures a young person can take to protect themselves. There was much positive feedback from both students, teachers and parents about the presenter (Tania) and the information these sessions provided. I have requested we do these sessions at the beginning of each year as part of ‘Start Up Program’. Year 4 have yet to have theirs as Tania called in sick but this will be rescheduled when Tania is back on board. You can find more information about this initiative HERE.

Mobile telecommunication devices:  Phones/ Apple watches etc

A reminder to everyone, students there are no mobile phones/telecommunication devices   allowed to be used in State Schools. HERE is the statewide policy.

Anaphylaxis Policy

WPPS has several students who suffer from a nut allergy. Exposure to nuts for these students can result in an anaphylactic response which could be deadly. Therefore WPPS is a nut free school. You can find more out about our ‘Anaphylaxis Policy’ and ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ HERE on our website. 

Assembly

There will be no Assembly  Friday, 14th October due to various events being on at the same time including Division Softball. 

However! Parents/Guardians whose child is receiving a ‘Student of the Week Award’ on the following Assembly, Friday 21st October, will be invited by the classroom teacher to attend. 

After this we will look towards inviting parents/guardians to Assembly.

Our Staff

Hello Wattle Park Families,

I feel very privileged to have been a part of the Wattle Park community for over seven years.

I am currently a Learning Assistant and Library Technician.

Working across two roles has allowed me to participate in so many fantastic events around the school, from camps to sports days but the best part of my job is seeing the excitement on children’s faces as they discover a book they love in the library.

It is with mixed emotions my time at WPPS is coming to an end as I start a new chapter in my life, moving to a new school to further my knowledge as a Library Technician.

I want to thank all the students and families for making my time at WPPS such a wonderful experience, I will miss you all.

Regards,

Carolyn Gangell. 

Here we have Carolyn, out in the rain, setting up the pump to save the Library every time we have a significant downpour which is an example of one of the reasons we hire particular people: because they are courageous. This is also the major reason we find ourselves saying goodbye to staff: because they are courageous. 

We all wish you the best of luck Carolyn (whilst simultaneously knowing you don’t need any luck at all!)

Thank you’s

Thank you once again to Paul Summerbell who added to our lucious pile of mulch in the car park. I am looking at another working bee on the weekend of Saturday, 12th November so we can have the place looking a triumph of horticultural endeavour as a consequence of unrivalled community engagement!

2023 Classes

Teachers will shortly begin discussions relating to classes for 2023. A number of factors are taken into account when placing students in class groups including, medical needs and educational requirements and student generated friendship preferences.

It is not acceptable for parents to request specific teachers or friendship groupings for their child. 

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 Monday 31st October. 

COVID 19 

There will be new guidelines from the Department of Education sometime next week. We have put our hand up to continue to have RATs delivered to households but we have had none delivered.

Face masks

Current advice from the Victorian Government recommends face masks are worn in indoor settings (except for close contacts, who must wear a mask indoors unless an exception applies). Students who are close contacts and want to attend should still take 5 RATs over 7 days and wear a face mask whilst indoors if they are aged 8 years or over. A letter provided by the Department of Education and Training has been sent out this week via COMPASS to explain DET’s current position. 

2023 Enrolments

2023 school planning has commenced. We are having quite a few families who are asking to enrol from outside our zone due to various factors - all of which are inherently a very positive reflection on WPPS!  So, if you have a child/children due to commence school in 2023 please complete a school enrolment and forward to the school office along with a copy of their Birth Certificate & Vaccination Certificate ASAP. A  2023 School Enrolment form is available HERE on the WPPS website or the school office.

One more thing!

We are padlocking shut the gate to Warrigal Road after 9.15am every morning. It opens again around 3pm. We are doing this because we have a student who has a penchant for running out of the class and out of the school grounds. There are processes in place to ameliorate this issue but the safety issues are abundantly evident. Thanks for your understanding on this one.

Have a great weekend.

Steve Donohue

Principal

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Please scroll through to see all of our latest notices!



1. Wattlewood Studio
2. Remember September - No Hat No Play
3. School Council Dates for 2022
4. Banksia Street Parking - Please avoid driveways!
5. Volunteers Urgently Needed for First Aid Room
6. Book Club
 



1. Wattlewood Studio

https://www.trybooking.com/CCAGA

2. Remember September - No Hat No Play
 

It’s that time of year - September, when 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 its important to have sun protection from now till May.
New hats are available from the office $15.

3. School Council Dates for 2022

Tuesday, 18th October, 7pm
Tuesday, 13th December, 7pm

4. Car Parking, Banksia Street

Parents, out of courtesy to our neighbours please do not park across their driveways in Banksia Street, when dropping off or picking up your children. Whitehorse Traffic Officers will be patrolling during these times.

5. Volunteers Urgently Needed for First Aid Room

We operate a first aid room at Wattle Park Primary school. In order to keep our First Aid Room clean and tidy, we require parent volunteers to assist us each Friday. We'd love 40 families to help - so you only have to help once a year!
For only around 15 minutes we appreciate you checking the area, changing the sheets, and returned washed sheets the following Monday. 

How to assist

• Click on the link below, choose the date you can assist, and sign up.
• You will not require an account or to keep a password. 
• If you would prefer not to use your email address, please email the school and your details can be entered manually to include you on the roster. 
• To assist with tidying the First Aid room please sign up here: 

https://signup.com/go/bpUzddO

6. Book Club

Please be aware that Book Club is on line ordering only.  Please do not send cash to the office. Delivery of orders will be mailed to school. The deadline for orders is next Friday, 14th October.

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Planning has began for 2023 classes. To help us in this process, if your child/children will not be returning to Wattle Park Primary School next year, please complete the Exit Form and sent it back to school as soon as possible.
Thank you.

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Support our local business!!!

TeamKids has some exciting news!

We’ve teamed up with 28 by Sam Wood to offer all families a two-month subscription plan to 28 by Sam Wood for $99.

In return, every family that signs up will receive a $100 Visa gift card.

PLUS, they’ll go into the draw to WIN 1 of 10 GOLDEN TICKETS to SUMMER at TeamKids.

This incredible offer won’t be around for long, so please send this through to your families so they can be ready to join the FUN when the offer goes live on Monday, the 10th of October!

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