December 11th 2024
'The Puggle Post'
OUR SCHOOL VISION:
"Wandong Primary School...Making a difference by developing confident, independent and resilient learners who strive for personal excellence."
What's on What's Due
| DECEMBER | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Thursday 12th | PAFA meeting 9:15am |
| Thursday 12th | Parent helper morning tea in the library 11:00am -11:30pm |
| Friday 13th | Freaky Friday Dress Up Day - teachers dress as students/students dress as teachers |
| Sunday 15th | Wandong Community Christmas Carols - See information flyer below |
| Monday 16th | Christmas Box Car - Whole School 4:30pm to 6.30pm |
| Monday 16th | Pizza in the park A-K Surnames 1:00 - 2:00pm - Selected students only |
| Tuesday 17th | Pizza in the park L-Z Surnames 1:00 - 2:00pm - Selected students only |
| Tuesday 17th | End of Year Assembly - 9:15am |
| Wednesday 18th | Recess and lunch drum concert - In the Hall |
| Wednesday 18th | Grade 6 Graduation 2024 |
| Thursday 19th | Funfields - End of Year Pool Party |
| Friday 20th | Last Day Term 4 |
| Friday 24th | A Family Carol Service - St. Johns Anglican Church Wandong - 7:00pm - Please see flyer below |
| JANUARY | 2025 |
| Thursday 30th | First Day Term 1 - Students in year 1 - 6 |
| Friday 31st | First Day Term 1 - Foundation students |
| FEBRUARY | 2025 |
| Wednesday 19th | Alternate Day – Meet the Teacher Day - Student Free - If your child requires care, please book in at https://theircare.com.au/ |
| Monday 24th | Photo Day - All day |
| Monday 24th | TOURING WANDONG 6:00pm - 2026 students |
| MARCH | 2025 |
| Wednesday 5th | Foundation Students start full time |
| Monday 17th | TOURING WANDONG 6:00pm - 2026 students |
| Tuesday 25th | TOURING WANDONG 10:00am - 2026 students |
| APRIL | 2025 |
| Tuesday 22nd | 2026 Enrolment applications accepted from today and close Friday 25th July |
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Grateful
A shoutout to School Council and Vettey Curlis in particular for driving our campaign to improve disability parking with local council. I’m incredibly grateful for this team who worked hard on scoping possible solutions to the options council provided and then continued to communicate and meet with council to ensure this work was carried out. From Wandong, thank you team 😊
Please NOTE – Whooping Cough Reported
Please be aware that we have had a reported case of Whopping Cough at Wandong. Children who are diagnosed with Whooping Cough are excluded for 5 days after starting antibiotic treatment.
Curriculum Contributions – payment due February 1 – School Saving Bonus CAN HELP US
Please remember that the Curriculum Contributions should be paid as priority over any Optional Education Items, including camps and special events. The Curriculum Contributions are items that your child/ren take temporary or permanent possession of and amounts to less than $4 a week. This is less than a coffee once a week. Please ensure that this is paid promptly to ensure our program leaders are able to purchase the required resources for 2025. Thank you to everyone who have already paid this in full or has organised a payment plan.
Farewell Year 6 Wandong Legends
While I have the chance, I would just like to say a few words before our Year 6 leaders depart – Thank you to your parents and teachers for bringing you to this point. For being a role model, for at times being a friend and other times making the hard call when our students couldn’t. Thank you for being an encourager and at all times a teacher in all that we do.
Our students are growing up in times where friends are made and lost with the click of a button. Where celebrities and how people look seem more important than who we actually are. As our students leave Wandong, a beautiful safe haven where friendships have been forged, memories made and foundations laid, I would like to encourage you to ask yourself these questions: What do I believe? AND just who will I be?
Just who will YOU be? Will you be the person who worries about having the best clothes and the best shoes or will you be the person who has good values? Will you be the person who cares about others or will you be the person who just doesn’t bother? This is your choice and it is never too late to be who you want to be. Ask yourself now and decide early. Our journey will be made much smoother and the difficult decisions we will face, made much easier if we know what we believe and who we want to be.
The last seven years have brought you all to this point and you have made incredible friendships. However, people come and people go, but that’s just life. Your primary school journey has come to an end, but true friendship and bonds stay strong through change. Stay true to yourself and hold tight to those bonds that matter.
You were in Year 2 when I came to Wandong and I still recall the morning conversations and after school stories. Your genuine interest when you asked, “how are you?” High school may prove difficult or daunting at times, there may be bad days, hectic weeks, or even crazy long terms. You might even have good ones that you want to share with others. You know where I spend my days and I’d love to be the one you sometimes call on to share this with.
Now I just want to leave you all with that question….. Just who will you be??? It’s your decision and yours alone.
December Reports
Remember that Student Reports will be loaded onto COMPASS on Friday.
Bring On 2025
On Tuesday, our students transitioned to their 2025 classrooms with their 2025 teacher and friends, some who might even be new friends. Please find attached our 2025 staff list and map.
Principal Certificate of Excellence
Once again for Semester 2, when I finalise reports, all the children that have been awarded an ‘EXCELLENT’ for behaviour and effort in every class, including specialists will have a certificate uploaded to Compass. Please make sure you check your child’s dashboard.
Academic Excellence
For the third year we will also be highlighting overall academic excellence in English and Maths. Each area of the school, teachers in Foundation, Year 1/2s, Year 3/4s and Year 5/6s will moderate all available data for each child in both areas of the curriculum and award one student in each year level.
English Academic Excellence – Students who achieve predominantly excellent standards of achievement in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.
Mathematics Academic Excellence- Students who achieve predominantly excellent standards of achievement in Number, Algebra, Measurement, Geometry, Statistics and Probability.
Recognising a student’s personal achievements for their ongoing and consistent high achievements over the year is of the upmost importance to our school. These will be announced in our final assembly and this certificate of achievement will be awarded to these students and uploaded to their Compass dashboard.
Watchful Eye and January
For those of you who live near the school I would appreciate you keeping a watchful eye on our school over the holiday break. If you notice anything suspicious, please notify D24 on 000 or Wallan Police on 5783 0400. Especially keep a look out for the graffiti artists who tend to visit schools each holiday period, and for those people who decide climbing on the roof is a challenge they can’t resist. Please call the police immediately if you see either of these things happening
Early Arrivers
As the term has progressed, we have seen a steady increase in the number of students arriving early and left to their own devices in the yard – well before any other students have arrived. This is a reminder that staff supervision does not begin until 8:50am before school. After school, supervision is from 3:30pm until 3:40pm.
Library Books
Don’t forget to return all library books and other reading material as soon as possible. Might be a good chance for children to clean up their rooms and look for missing books under their beds.
December Reports
Remember that Student Reports will be loaded onto COMPASS next week.
End of Term 4
It’s a long term! Our students are beginning to tire… but we are almost there 😊 We have a busy end to this year in 2025. We have our whole school Christmas Box Car afternoon on Monday the 16th, graduation on Wednesday the 18th and our end of year Funfields Day on Thursday 19th. On Friday the 20th, students who attend will be dismissed at 1:30pm.
On this day we will run an alternate program where children will only have one break at 11.00 am. It would be best if they were provided with a substantial snack for this break, as lunch will not be eaten at school. Children will be dismissed at 1.30 pm.
Thank you to our wonderful Parent Helpers and Volunteers
On behalf of the students and staff, I would like to thank all of the family members, friends and volunteers who have assisted at the school in 2024. Wandong is very fortunate to have volunteers who are willing to give up their time to assist with:
- Reading, Spelling and other activities in the classroom
- Camps and excursions
- PAFA and School Council
- Sausage Sizzles, Mother’s and Father’s Day stalls
- Working Bees
- And an array of other events and activities.
Dates for 2025 – please ensure you are checking our calendar
Wednesday 29th January – Foundation assessment day #1
Thursday 30th January – Students in year 1-6 start
Friday 31st January – Foundation students start
Holiday Programs – TC CHECK OUT THE HOLIDAY PROGRAM!
Please book in for TheirCare holiday program at TheirCare – Family Login
WELLBEING
SEW in 5/6H
Starting a new school year with a new teacher and grade—or even transitioning to high school—can bring both excitement and challenges for our senior students. They may face uncertainty as they adjust to new routines, expectations, and learning environments. Building relationships with new teachers and classmates can be daunting, and some students may feel anxious about meeting academic or social expectations. However, these experiences also provide valuable opportunities for growth, resilience, and the chance to embrace new opportunities in their educational journey.
With this in mind, our focus of developing essential coping mechanisms to build resilience as they prepare for the transition into Grade 6 or high school has continued this week. Students have explored when and how to use a variety of strategies, including peer support, self-regulation, and other productive coping tools, to navigate challenges effectively. Additionally, students have been learning techniques to better understand the feelings and needs of others, fostering empathetic communication and stronger relationships. These skills are not only designed to support them in their next stage of learning and life but were handy to take on a test run at our recent camp to The Ranch.
The Ranch Student Activity Group Postcards
PIZZA IN THE PARK
Pizza in the Park 2024 – 200 Nights of Reading
A major encouragement for students to complete home reading at Wandong Primary School is the opportunity to share Pizza in the Park with their friends and teachers.
This will be celebrated across TWO days this year, according to students’ surnames:
MONDAY 16 DECEMBER, A-K SURNAMES
TUESDAY 17 DECEMBER, L-Z SURNAMES
The cut-off date will be Friday 29 November. After this date, no further students can be added to our lists. An alert will be emailed to indicate when the event has opened on Compass for you to consent and select pizza flavours. (Pizza selection is made via the Questions Tab in the event.) Once the event is opened, consent and pizza selection must be made no later than Monday 9 December.
On their day, students will leave school at 1:00 p.m. and walk to L.B. Davern Reserve. Once there, the children will enjoy pizza together. All students will then have the opportunity to play on the play equipment, or with some sports equipment, before they head back to school at 2:00 p.m. (If it is raining, we will eat pizza at school).
BOOKLIST ORDERING PROCESS 2025
PAFA
Next Meeting: December 12th, 2024 @ 9.15am
We would like to thank all our wonderful Wandong families for participating in our fundraisers this year. We hope we had something for everyone over the course of the year, and that the students have enjoyed the STEM incursion and the wellbeing day that we were able to plan and provide this year.
Our last event of 2024 is the Box Car Rally, so if you haven’t started thinking about a box car, start now!! The Rally is next Monday! So come down and enjoy a picnic dinner from the Food Trucks, a show from the school choir and cheer on the students running their cars down the race track. There are 8 show and shine awards and then of course the races to win as well. However, it’s all about family time making the box car and having some quality time with the community on the night. We hope to see you there.
OFFICE NOTICES
Office Hours : - 8:30am until 3:55pm
Picking Up Children – Please help our admin team!
In exceptional circumstances and emergencies, at times children need to be collected from school early. Please help our wonderful administration team by ensuring that this is not done during the break times of 11:00-11:30am and 1:45-2:30pm. When children are outside playing with their friends, they do not hear the announcements and it is difficult to have a staff member unlock classrooms to collect bags and belongings. Please help support our classroom programs by waiting until 3:30pm to collect children. The admin area is growing quite hectic in the afternoons with families collecting children early. Thank you in advance for your support and understanding.
IMPORTANT: – Mobile Phone/Watch/Device Policy
In 2020, DET introduced strict restrictions on the use of any device with access to a cellular system, with or without a physical connection to a network. Where students bring a device of this type to school, it MUST be placed in secure storage at the office.
IMPORTANT: – Student Information
It is very important we have up-to-date information for all students. Please check Compass and update current home & email address, phone numbers & medical details.
Reminder: –
Hats must be worn throughout Term Four & Term one outside. If they don’t have a hat, they can only play in a shaded area.
**Kids can get messy, please be organised & keep an extra set of clothes in your child’s bag for emergencies.
SOCIAL MEDIA AGE LIMITS SURVEY
UNIFORM
IMPORTANT
**Please remember to put your child’s full name on their uniform. Please don’t use initials, as this makes it harder for us to find the owner.
If you order a bag, the order can be placed in your child’s or siblings’ tub for convenience. If not, you will need to supply a bag or make arrangements to collect your order.
COMPASS – CANTEEN UNIFORM ORDERING
When ordering uniforms through Compass, use Canteen. See below for how to order
Going paperless will reduce waste & conserve our natural resources.
Please Note:
Select the following day as your order date if the current date is closed, even if it’s a weekend!
Log into the Compass App.
Select more at bottom of screen.
Click on the Canteen button.
COMPASS CANTEEN ORDERING
Log into the Compass App.
On home screen select Canteen or select the more button and then Canteen.
Click on the Canteen button.
Select Get started.
Select Student and then next.
Select Sitting—Select next date if current date is cut off for uniform or select date given for ordering e.g. Pizza Day.
Select sitting e.g. Uniform, Team shirt, Pizza Day etc.
Select next.
Click on item you require e.g. Bomber Jacket, pizza etc.
Add item.
Repeat for other items e.g. Short sleeve polo, drink.
Proceed to review order.
Select Customise when ordering Uniform or Team shirt.
Select Sizes.
Select Add to order button.
Note: If ordering Team shirt put Number in Special instructions.
Select Add order.
Add another order or select Confirm and Pay and follow the steps for payment.
CHURCH CARPARK MAP
AFTER SCHOOL CARE
Social, enjoyable & fun experiences for children
Develop creativity, life skills & confidence through play
Qualified, caring & engaged staff
Exciting & thoughtfully develop programs
Healthy & Yummy food provided each day
Bookings now open!
| Monday - Friday Hours of Operation | Fees before Child Care Subsidy* | Out-of-pocket fees after Child Care Subsidy** | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before School Care (BSC) | 6:30 AM to 8:45 AM | $24.10 | $2.41 |
| After School Care (ASC) | 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM | $26.40 | $2.64 |
| Pupil Free Day | 6.30 AM to 6.30 PM | $118.20 | $11.82 |
| Holiday Program*** | 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM | $112.79 | $11.28 |
*Standard fee costs before Child Care Subsidy/ **Standard fee costs after maximum Child Care Subsidy / *** Standard fee costs excluding incursions/excursions
Cancellation Fees
(No Child Care Subsidy applied to Cancellation Fees)
BSC/ASC within 48 hours of session start time: $5.00
Holiday Program within 5 days of session start time: $10.00
Same day cancellation fee is out-of-pocket session fee.
Late Booking Fees
(Child Care Subsidy is applied to Late Booking Fees)
BSC/ASC within 48 hours of session start time: $5.00
Holiday Program: book less than 5 days from the session start time fee is $10.00
Late Pick-up Fees
(Child Care Subsidy does not apply to Late Pickup Fees)
$1 per minute after service close time
To register visit theircare.com.au
TheirCare support team is available between 6.30am – 9am weekdays (Eastern Standard Time) on 1300 072 410 or info@theircare.com.au
MUSIC
Thank you for your interest in the Instrumental Music Program at Wandong
Primary School.
Our program provides students with the opportunity to develop musicianship
skills, build confidence and collaborate with others to deliver performances.
Above all, we aim to foster peoples love of music, have fun and stay creative!
Students may choose from the following
Please find below, the conditions of our program and Enrolment form.
Please read carefully to ensure your child’s maximum involvement and development.
In order to continue and develop their skills, students are encouraged to
show evidence of regular practice. Below is a recommended guide for weekly
practice times:
Beginners: 15-20 minutes, 3 days a week
After one year: 30 minutes, 4 days a week
After two years: 40 minutes, 5-6 days a week
Payment Terms & Withdrawal from the Instrumental Music Program
1. An invoice will be sent at the beginning of each term and is to be paid,
in full, via Direct Deposit.
2. Fees must be paid by the due date. Failure to do so will result in lessons
being stooped until payment has been made.
3. Unless notified, the instrumental teacher assumes all students in the
program will automatically continue lessons each term. A verbal or written
notification to the instrumental teacher is required to withdraw students
from the program. Notice needs to be received 2 weeks prior to the end
of the term, to avoid incurring the next term’s fees.
