Hello Everyone,

What greater indication of a vital and dynamic community is there than the action they take in a crisis.

There has been an overwhelming response by our WPPS Community in regard to the appeal made in last weeks’ newsletter for gardening implements. These tools support our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen and Garden program and help engage and educate our students about biology, horticulture and where the food comes from and what we put in our bodies.  

Thank you to everyone who has contributed, their time volunteering in the garden and in all sorts of ways:

• 3 x  wheelbarrows - courtesy of Hanson Building  via Naomi Levin, one of our School Council members
• 6 x  grafted mature dwarf orange and mandarin trees donated Jason Gay, ably assisted in their delivery and planting by Mackka.
• 1 x  Bunnings voucher - Thank you Astrid Backburn!
• 1 x wheelbarrow, 4 x cultihoes and 3 x secateurs as a result of a written appeal to Box Hill Bunings made by a member of our School Council.
• Thanks also to Michael Chan CEO of Lycasia Property  for his very generous financial donation in response to our request for assistance to replenish the tools stolen
• 2 x steel carts (child friendly wheelbarrows) sourced as a donation by Anthony Hall (PFA President) and supplied by Michael Tricarico from https://www.sherlocklastslonger.com.au/carts.htm

Our Students

Year 2 ‘Big Day out’

The former Year 2 Sleepover is being replaced by a new event: The Year 2 ‘Big Day Out’. This is due to a variety of factors including:

• Students sleeping overnight in the same room as their teacher not being representative of any school camp (FYI all school camps involve students sharing a room with each other - never a teacher)
• This event needing to reflect it’s educational purpose which is a soft introduction to Year 3/4 school camp
• Updated Child Protection guidelines

Thank you to the Year 2 Parent Reps whom l spoke to about this upgrade and for their positive input in light of the above factors. A message from our Year 2 teachers outlining what this will look like:

Introducing the new and improved ‘Year Two Big Day Out!’

The ‘Year Two Big Day Out’, has been thoughtfully curated to reflect a first day of school camp; including the wearing of casual clothes and spending time with classmates outside of normal school hours. 

This is an introduction to the concept of a school camp as our students head into Year 3/4 when they will spend two nights away from home. It also functions as a timely reminder to provide your child with the experience of spending a night or two away from home with a person/s who are not family before they undertake this part of the Year 3/4 program.

Later in Term 4 (date TBC), the Year Two students will participate in a day full of fun activities, with a delicious BBQ dinner and activities concluding at 8.30 pm on school grounds.

As we move closer to the date, more information will be shared, including activities, volunteer tasks and a volunteer signup sheet. 

Ms Kelly and Ms Adriana

Student of the week

Parents and Carers of students who have been awarded SOTW awards were invited on Wednesday to attend today’s assembly. From next week’s assembly (Friday 28th October) onwards we are inviting all parents and carers to attend - Hooray! 

  9.15 - 9.35 F- Yr 3 Assembly 

  2.35 - 3.00 Yr 4-6 Assembly

Class Student

Regional Athletics

This week we had various sporting events take place that involved a lot of talented WPPS students. Thanks to the parents who transported the students and to Mr Lindsay who supplied all administrative support.

Eva B Shot Put Discus

Mae P 100m 200m

Henry C 800m 1500m

Ayman R Long Jump Relay

Tom P Relay

Jack W Relay

James C 1500m

Scarlett S 200m

Oliver S Relay

Here we have a selection of the above students who competed including Eva (shot put and discus) and Henry (800m and 1500m). Both won their events and are off to state championships on 2nd November 22.

Girls Division Softball

Lily B

Alyssa B

Sophie F

Sumayyah S

Sophie B

Mabel C

Yasara S

Sophie W

Eva B

Production!

‘Circus is Coming to Town!’ is WPPS's production this year. Details about this production and a Trybooking link to purchase tickets were sent out on Wednesday last week via Konnective and Compass. All students at WPPS are performing on stage and are not required to purchase a ticket

Click on this link:   https://www.trybooking.com/CCAGA

1.                   Choose the performance
2.                   Select your seats and tickets
3.                   Click ‘checkout’ and pay with your credit card
4.                   A confirmation via email will be sent with your tickets attached
5.                   Print out your own tickets to bring with you to the Production

There is no limit to the number of tickets to purchase, so please purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment.

Ticket Pricing: $25 per ticket. A 50 cent per ticket booking fee will be added to your purchase.

Preschool children can be seated on their parents' knee at no charge. Please leave the theatre if your pre-schooler becomes unsettled.

Our Staff

Continuing our series introducing staff at WPPS, we have Ms. Philippa Statkus.

Greetings Wattle Park people!

I’ve been teaching at Wattle Park since 2017, working in Year Five and Year Six, and as the Learning Specialist. My love of literature plays a huge role in my passion for learning, and seeing my students become curious readers and purposeful authors is one of my favourite things about teaching. My career in education started in 2006, and has taken me everywhere from teeny tiny towns in Western Australia, to Tokyo, and now Melbourne. No matter where my classroom is, my students are what makes my work such a joy. This year I have been part of the Teaching Excellence Program, and it has been amazing to take my students on this learning journey with me, and see them thrive as thinkers and learners. Term Four in Year Six is filled with excitement as the students prepare for the next stage of their educational journey…high school! Seeing my students leave primary school as independent learners who are curious about the world always makes me smile.

Philippa Statkus

Notices

COVID 19 

The last of the RATs went out on Tuesday this week. If you require RATs please make a request to the school office. HERE is information from the Victorian Government about ‘Managing illness in schools and ECEC - information for parents and carers’ . HERE is information regarding facemasks.

A summary below:

The Victorian Government has announced the end of the Pandemic Declaration and associated Pandemic Orders. The following settings, based on advice from the Department of Health, will apply from 11.59pm Wednesday 12 October 2022.

It is strongly recommended that students:

• who test positive to COVID-19 stay home and isolate for 5 days

• should not attend school after 5 days if still symptomatic

• who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school

• advise the school of the COVID-19 positive test result

• students who wish to wear a face mask should be supported to do so, and schools should continue to make face masks available for staff, students and visitors.

Where students become symptomatic at school they should:

• be collected by their parents/carers

• undergo testing for COVID-19

• Parents and carers will therefore be asked to continue to report positive student COVID-19 cases using the VicED COVID Tool.

Saturday 12th November  10 - 1pm - Great Big Working Bee!

Our mission is to clean up the Banksia Street side of the school. We want clean, broad, mulched mass planted beds with defined edges. So we need people with  chainsaws, whipper snippers, shovels/spades, brooms and blowers.

This will make the place easier to maintain and provide a sense of order and calm. What better way to have a safe learning environment! I am making a spreadsheet that I’ll hook up to here next week with what needs to be done. We can use our newly donated tools!

Polished Man

Jo Gleeson, one of highly valued Learning Assistants,  is participating in  Polished Man , an non profit initiative that encourages men to step up, speak out and take a stand against violence towards women and children. Jo put on a morning tea for the staff on Tuesday. This was her speech:

Good Morning everyone,

I would like to start by thanking Steve for allowing me to put on this morning tea today. For the month of October I have been fundraising for Polished Man. Polished Man is a campaign to raise funds & awareness to STOP violence against women and children. 

1 in 2 children experience violence each year and 1 in 3 women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15.  But did you know in Australia, on average, a woman is killed by an intimate partner every week and a child is killed by one of their parents almost every fortnight? 

The funds that are raised support trauma prevention & recovery programs in Australia & around the world & are distributed to 5 different organisations that run these programs. Australian Childhood Foundation, SAMSN, Hagar Australia, McAuley Community Services for Women & YGAP. 

If this is something you feel you would like to donate to, please scan one of the QR codes which will take you to my fundraising page. 

If at this time you are unable to donate maybe you could have a nail painted to draw awareness to the campaign & give violence the finger. 

Either way please enjoy this morning tea. 

Thank you for your time.

Jo Gleeson

If you’d like to participate in this worthy cause please scan this QR code or go  HERE

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. 

School Calendar

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

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. 

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

Dress rehearsal Monday 24^th October

Please give permission for your child/ren to attend via the Compass Portal

• the students are to come to school in their school uniform with their costume packed in a named bag 
• the dress code for the rehearsal is: black pants/leggings and black top /t-shirt 
• strictly no shorts are allowed
• the dress code for the concert: black t-shirt, black pants/leggings
• Funky Hair and makeup for the concert is allowed but not compulsory 

Concert day Tuesday 25^th October

• The students are to arrive at Besen Centre 6:00 sharp
• Concert starts at 6:30 sharp
• The students are to be dressed in black : t-shirt, black leggings, black pants
• Strictly no shorts allowed

The students will have no shoes or socks on the stage

2. Second Hand Uniform Shop

Monday, 14th November, 8.30 - 9am

 

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.

4. School Council Dates for 2022

Tuesday, 13th December, 7pm

5. 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.

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