
March 1, 2023
'The Puggle Post'
OUR SCHOOL VISION:
"Wandong Primary School...Making a difference by developing confident, independent and resilient learners who strive for personal excellence."

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Curriculum Day โ Pupil Free
Curriculum Days are super precious to our staff. The leadership team work hard to cram as much Professional Learning into this one very long day. We are blessed with amazing internal experts in the field of Literacy and Numeracy and these legends plan rigorously for the best and most beneficial learning for staff, based on feedback, observation, and our very important student learning outcomes. Our upcoming Curriculum Day on the 10th of March is focused around all things Mathematics, where staff will take a deep dive into Place-Value and the interconnected nature of the curriculum.
Meet the Teacher Conferences Feedback
Thank you to all our parents and staff for holding such a successful week of โMeet the Teacherโ conferences. It was amazing to hear the wonderful stories of information sharing and connection. Building strong, respectful and meaningful relationships with your childโs teacher and the school will help us to work together and support your childโs academic progress and wellbeing. The feedback we have received via our online survey has been truly outstanding with resounding affirmation
When everyone works together, we see increases in attendance, motivation, attitude towards school and learning, social relationships and progress towards further education.

Should you feel that you were not able to share all relevant information, please consider:
โข Sending a brief email with additional details
โข Booking a time to continue the discussion
As the year progresses, information sharing is important. Donโt hesitate to discuss any questions you might have with your childโs teacher. Establishing this relationship is a two-way process. We would love to hear stories of your childโs achievements outside of school so we can celebrate them. We would also like to hear of any struggles so we can support your child.

I know it can be hard to get your child to share their experiences from school. Try to make it a nightly routine around the dinner table. Encourage them to talk as you walk home. If you have questions, please donโt hesitate to ask.
LABOUR DAY โ PUBLIC HOLIDAY
Monday 13th of March is the Labour Day Public Holiday. The school will be closed for the day.
Fundraising
We continue to promote all our PAFA fundraising efforts across the year to help improve our Buildings and Grounds. Last year we smashed our fundraising target for a new playground. However, this was saved and put away to make a strategic plan and design when we were fortunate to be successful in gaining an Inclusive Schools grant. Hopefully this term we will hear from the Victorian Schools Building Association regarding our grant and the process forward. When we begin working out the scope of works for this playground, we are excited to be able to build bigger and better with the additional fundraising we had from last year, as well as what we can potentially fundraise this year. We are eternally grateful to our very active and supportive PAFA team who work tirelessly to bring much needed funds into the school. Unfortunately, as a government school, the basic educational funding just doesnโt cover all that we desperately need. We truly value the part our families play in supporting the efforts of this awesome school we are privileged to be a part of.
Court orders and Custody Papers
From time-to-time issues with families require Custody and Intervention Orders. The school must have current documentation to be able to support families in managing these issues. We are unable to prevent either party from collecting children if we donโt have current documentation. If circumstances within your family require orders to be put in place you will need to provide a copy to the school. Please let the school know if circumstances change resulting in the removal of these orders.
Parent/carers are provided general school operational information via: Newsletter โ available weekly through compass and email

Please also remember that you are able to make an appointment with any staff member to get the most accurate information for any question that you might have.

Wandong has very much an โOpen Doorโ policy, but itโs important that the Communication procedures are followed. I urge you to please contact your childโs teacher if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child that need addressing. Your childโs teacher should be your first port of call, as they will often have all the relevant information to resolve the situation or provide the correct information.

2024 SIBLING ENROLMENTS
DET now have a new timeline for potential enrolments for 2024. It is imperative that our current families with children starting school next year hand enrolment forms to the office asap. With our school population continuing to grow, it is extremely important that you are securing your place now. Enrolment applications for 2024 will soon start flooding in when DET open the application process in April and all applications will be finalised by July/August. I predict we will reach capacity very early and if a sibling enrolment is not in within this period, there is no guarantee that the enrolment can be accepted if your live out of zone. Please let your connections know that this needs to be on the top of the โTo Doโ list.
Working With Children Checks
As we get closer to being able to return to having parent/family volunteers playing a more active role at school, now is a really important time to ensure that you have a current โWorking With Children Checkโ (WWCC). Many volunteers have not looked at their WWCC card for approximately 2 years and may have discarded any reminders sent by email or in the post.conferences, every idea was met with โabsolutely, no problemโ, โlet me do that partโโฆ seriously, what a team ๐ This week, our teams have worked hard to get as much information as possible regarding our students so we can work together to meet the needs of all our students and their families. Today, our ever-awesome team are โputting inโ in excess of 10-12 hours, away from their own families to meet with children and parents across the school. Iโm truly proud and overwhelmed with their commitment and selflessness to the learning environment we treasure at Wandong.
Working With Children Checks are required by law for anyone involved in child related work, and this is reflected and embedded in our Volunteers Policy.
Volunteers will also have to abide by Department of Health and Department of Education and Training vaccination requirements at that time.
NOTICES
Office Hours
Please note that the school office hours are 8:30am until 4:15pm.
We would like to request parents/guardians of students to pack a set of spare uniform items in their childโs bag. We have limited spare uniform at the office. If your child has recently needed to borrow items from our sick bay, please wash and return them to the office as soon as possible.
IMPORTANT โ 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 โ Student Information
It is very important we have up-to-date information for all students. Please check Compass and update current home & email addresses, phone numbers & medical details.

Picking Up Children โ 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.
PAFA
What's happening at PAFA this term?
The Parents and Friends Association would like to say a big thank you to everyone who volunteered, participated, and donated last year. After three difficult fundraising years, the record-breaking support and generosity we saw in 2022 was incredible!
Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday March 14th at 9.15am, everyone is welcome. We need people of all sorts of strengths and abilities. You donโt need to have all the time in the world to do it! Itโs ok to join up as a support volunteer and help when you can! Bring your friends, the more the merrier.
Things you might find yourself doing: (but only when you say you want to!)
- Putting forward fundraising ideas
- Running or co-leading a fundraiser, such as a special lunch day, a raffle, or a Motherโs Day stall
- Running support on events such as these
- Volunteering time to support the school (such as organising the colour run prizes)
- Asking local businesses for donations
- Meeting new people
Our first fundraiser for 2023 will be a Sausage Sizzle in March on the 23rd (grades F-2) and 24th (grades 3-6) stay tuned for more information.
Our Easter Raffle is back this year with a slightly different format - PAFA will be collecting Easter themed donations through the week of March 20th - 24th. For each donation received, students will have the opportunity to vote for which teacher they would like to see slimed at our Slime the Teacher event on the last day of term! As usual, students will also receive an entry into a class draw to win one of two prizes. Our raffle will take place on Tuesday, April 4th.
Colour Splatacular Fun Run
Information about our "Colour Splatacular" colour slime fun run has been sent home and all students can now create their online profile at www.australianfundraising.com.au Unlock your first incentive prize simply by raising $10 online. The more your child raises, the more prizes they will receive.
You can also share in $200k of extra prize credit, win a PlayStation 5 Gaming Bundle and become a Fundraising MonSTAR!
Please note that this year's fun run will be run entirely online - any cash donations received must be converted to digital donations using the instructions in the sponsorship booklet before the end of term or they will not count towards your prize total.

Please note:
We have unnamed uniform turning up at lost property daily. Below is a fundraiser for Wandong Primary School, where you can purchase name tags & other personalised items.

WELLBEING
Social and Emotional Wellbeing in 5/6H
The things we do well are often called our โstrengthsโ and can include things like displaying kindness, courage, leadership, and creativity. Evidence has shown that when we are using our strengths, we are happier, more energised and feel that what we are doing is purposeful and meaningful. When we know our strengths, we can use them to achieve our goals and to approach tasks with a sense of purpose and confidence.
At times, students face difficulties navigating the social aspects of the schoolyard, where kindness and friendship can go a long way. Over the past few weeks, the 5/6s have been building an understanding of their own character strengths and admirations. This self-awareness and reflection adding students as a tool to understanding what they have to offer as a good friend, as well as what they need or seek in a friendship.
This week students, have explored their favourite fictional characters and what they admire most about them. What admirable actions do they show and demonstrate to others. For example, Harry Potter always looks after his friends, and he never gives up in the face of danger. They also looked at people they know in their own everyday lives they admire and identify similar positive traits they identify with.


MUSIC

THEIRCARE
