July 24th, 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

JULY 2024
Wednesday 24th Whittlesea Division: GIRLS AFL FINALS -Selected Students only
Tuesday 30th Community Connections Yoga Free Event for our School Community 9am -10am
Wednesday 31st PAFA meeting - 9:15am
Wednesday 31st Scholastic Book Club - Issue 5 - Orders close today
AUGUST 2024
Thursday 1st Foundation 100 Days
Thursday 1st 1/2 Grades Friends With Honey Incursion - Consent due
Friday 2nd National Green and Gold Day Dress Up
Friday 2nd Billie G's Cookie Dough DRIVE - orders are now open
Friday 9th Spare Change Challenge closes
Monday 12th - Friday 16th National Science Week in 2024
Tuesday 13th Community Connections Yoga Free Event for our School Community 9am -10am
Tuesday 13th 1/2 Grades Friends With Honey Incursion
Thursday 15th Working Bee - FS, 1/2H & 5/6C 2.30pm - 3.30pm Parents welcome
Friday 16th Curriculum Day - No Students โ€“ If your child requires care, please book in at https://theircare.com.au/
Monday 19th Launch Pad Program For Parents - Special evening for those with a submitted application 6pm - 7pm
Monday 19th - 23rd Book Week 2024 - Reading is Magic
Tuesday 20th Foundation Excursion - Animal Land - Consent/Payment due
Thursday 22nd Celebrating Writing: 8:40am - 9:10am (Classrooms)
Thursday 22nd Book Character Dress Up Parade: 9:30am - 10:00am (Basketball court)
Thursday 22nd - Monday 26th Book Fair: 8:30am - 9:00am & 3:30pm - 4:00pm (Library)
Friday 23rd Stronger, Higher, Faster, Together. WPS Tabloid Olympics
Friday 23rd Billie G's Cookie Dough DRIVE orders closes today
Tuesday 27th Community Connections Yoga Free Event for our School Community 9am -10am
Wednesday 28th Father's Day Stall
Thursday 29th Father's Day Stall - Catch up day
SEPTEMBER 2024
Sunday 1st Pizza Day orders close today
Tuesday 3rd Foundation Excursion - Animal Land
Wednesday 4th Foundation Water Safety Program - Consent due
Thursday 5th Pizza Day
Friday 6th Billie G's Cookie Dough pick up from AUSLAN room
Monday 9th - Friday 13th Foundation Water Safety Program
Tuesday 10th Community Connections Yoga Free Event for our School Community 9am -10am
Friday 13th Working Bee - FA, 1/2G, 5/6E 2.30pm- 3.30pm Parents welcome
Friday 20th Last Day Term 3
Saturday 21st World Gratitude Day
OCTOBER 2024
Monday 7th First Day Term 4
NOVEMBER 2024
Friday 1st Foundation Day Camp - Consent and payment due today
Friday 1st Grade 1/2 Camp - Consent and payment due today
Friday 1st Grade 3/4 Camp - Consent and payment due today
Friday 1st Grade 5/6 Camp - Consent and payment due today
Monday 4th Curriculum Day - No Students โ€“ If your child requires care, please book in at https://theircare.com.au/
Friday 8th Working Bee - FC, 1/2W & 5/6B 2.30pm- 3.30pm Parents welcome
Monday 18th - Wednesday 20th Grade 3/4 Camp - Log Cabin Camp
Friday 22nd Foundation Day Camp
Monday 25th -Tuesday 26th Grade 1/2 Camp - Overnight Camp "Camp Weekaway"
Wednesday 27th - Friday 29th Grade 5/6 Camp - The Ranch
DECEMBER 2024
Monday 2nd Professional Practice Day (Student Free) - If your child requires care, please book in at https://theircare.com.au/
Tuesday 3rd Whole School Colour Run Day @ L B Davern
Friday 6th Funfields - End of Year Pool Party - Consent and payment due today
Friday 6th Working Bee - 1/2L, 3/4G & 3/4B 2.30pm- 3.30pm Parents welcome
Thursday 19th Funfields - End of Year Pool Party
Friday 20th Last Day Term 4

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

SICK BAY

Sometimes it can be tricky to discern whether your child is fit to attend school. If your child is feeling unwell with cold/flu like symptoms, have been vomiting or had diarrhoea in the last 24 hours please keep them at home until they are well again. Sick bay tends to be a busy hub so if we call for your child to be picked up and you are unavailable, please make other arrangements as it not acceptable or practical to accommodate a sick child at school for the whole day.

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Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 It is the parentโ€™s responsibility to advise the school via Compass if their child is away from school and alert us of notifiable diseases as per the School Exclusion Table:

https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/infectious-diseases/school-exclusion

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Please join us

We are excited to be keeping families informed via our Facebook group. This is a closed group and we enjoy the positive community that we are establishing on this platform. The information shared is timely and ongoing through our many moderators. You can also like/follow our page and enjoy the photo updates.

We currently have 960 followers on our official school Facebook page. Please head over and โ€˜LIKEโ€™ and โ€˜FOLLOWโ€™ us at https://www.facebook.com/WandongPS/

We currently have 592 members in our official school Facebook group. Please ensure that you answer the questions when you join us, as our moderators will decline any request that is not authentic and a genuine parent of our community. Please head over and join this group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/3619617971385556/.

Please note that like a friendโ€™s profile, Facebook PAGES are designed to create an authentic and public presence on Facebook. On the other hand, Facebook GROUPS are the place for small-group communication and for people to share their common interests. Our official GROUP is for that purpose, as mentioned in previous newsletters. You are invited and welcome to this space to share, communicate and ask questions of others in the community. This site is moderated by selected staff across the school.

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Staffing Update

This week we are excited to welcome Mr Riley Callick who has joined our Wandong family. Mr Callick is a family face at our school and recently completed a four week placement in our 3/4 team. Mr Callick will be in 5/6C on Thursdayโ€™s and will be supporting in our specialist and support team on other days during the week. Please make Mr Callick feel welcome and say, โ€œG,dayโ€ when you see him.

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Also, a reminder that Mrs Elliott is taking some much deserved Long Service Leave from week six this term. Ms Yarni will be taking 5/6E for this period and Ms Domino and Ms Biddick will be taking the junior school for PE.

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Like many schools and organisations, we are facing the many impacts of staffing shortages. There is currently a National Teacher Workforce Action Plan to address nationwide shortages. There is also some interesting and alarming data coming from the Catholic Universityโ€™s annual OHS Survey of almost 2500 principals that reveal workforce shortages rose from being the 12th-highest form of stress in 2021 to the third-highest last year. The number of staff wanting to retire early or quit had tripled since 2019. The Victorian government has invested millions into stemming the teacher shortage, including recruiting overseas teachers, financial incentives for hard-to-staff positions, fast-tracking pathways to teaching from other professions. We are also in a situation where we are applying at a rapid rate for partially qualified students to be granted Permission To Teach, just to ensure we have enough coverage across our school.

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Furthermore, our teaching union is currently advocating for short and long-term measures to stem the shortage, including retention payments for existing staff and funding job placements.

We are so fortunate and blessed at Wandong, as we hear story after story of other local schools and even teaching staff whose children donโ€™t have a permanent staff member.


We are incredibly fortunate to have a very stable staffing profile, despite there being a crisis across our state with staffing shortages and many, many classes without a teacher. I am forever grateful for Wandong being a school of choice and this reputation being translated into our ability to recruit quality staff.

School Review

Today is our first day of our four-day school review. This is such a wonderful opportunity to take a deep dive into the amazing successes weโ€™ve had over the last four years. As a community, together, we have absolutely smashed our targets and made significant whole school gains in all areas. We are so proud of our Wandong family and all who call Wandong โ€˜homeโ€™. Please reach out if you would like to be part of this process over the coming weeks and we can forward you more specific information, times and dates. Thank you to all the staff, students and community who will provide invaluable feedback as we journey through this next period.

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Parent Guardian Opinion Survey

WE WANT OUR FAMILIES TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst a sample of randomly selected families. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of familiesโ€™ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.


The survey will be conductedย online, only takesย 20ย minutesย to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.


150 families will be invited to participate and this is open Monday 29th. Please ensure you action this asap if you receive this email.

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Curriculum Day Reminder โ€“ Friday 16th of August

Just a reminder that Friday the 16th of August is our whole school pupil free Curriculum Day for Term Three. Please ensure you are booked in with TheirCare if you require supervision for your child on this day.

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WELLBEING

SEW in 5/6 W Conflict vs Misunderstanding

As Term Three begins, itโ€™s a wonderful time to reflect and grow our understanding of different situations that my occur in the classroom or out in the yard. This week in SEW, we reflected on why, as a school we have โ€˜Mean Moment Mikeโ€™, โ€˜Bully Brendaโ€™, โ€˜Connie Conflictโ€™ and โ€˜Missy Misunderstandingโ€™.ย  We discussed why the use of names and images supported the schoolโ€™s choice to use these in behaviour management.

โ€œIt gives us the language to use when trying to explain something that happenedโ€ โ€“ Jacob
โ€œIt helps us to understand the difference between bullying and not bullyingโ€ โ€“ Alyssa

During the lesson, we created posters to put up in our room to explain the difference between a misunderstanding and a conflict. These posters allowed us to work in teams and explore the meaning as well as what situations a misunderstanding or a conflict may occur. Walking around the classroom it was wonderful to hear all the amazing discussions occurring and seeing how listening to others broadened our comprehension of these words.

NOTICES

Office Hours :- 8:30am until 3:55pm

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.

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 address, phone numbers & medical details.

Wet Weather

We would like to request parents/guardians of students to pack a set of spare uniform items in their childโ€™s bag, including a waterproof 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.

Thanks Administration Team

Uniform Orders

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.


**Please remember to order a bag for smaller orders & for larger orders select two.

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 – CANTEENย  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.ย 

Click on the Canteen button.

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Select Place Order at bottom of screen.

Select Student.

Select Date. (Will have to select next date ifย  current date is cut off)

Select sitting e.g. Uniform

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Click on item you require e.g Short Sleeve Polo.

Select how many you want and then select the size.

Add to cart.

Repeat for other items e.g. Bomber Jacket.

View Cart

Proceed to Checkout or create another order.

Parking in the church carpark

PAFA

Next Meeting: 31st July 2024 @ 9.15am

ย Look what PAFA is up to in term 3.

We will send out information as it becomes available on each of these events and let you know how you can participate!

If there is anyone whoโ€™d like to help at the Fatherโ€™s Day stall or sorting and delivering cookie orders or pizza please donโ€™t hesitate to get in contact. stephanie.domino@education.vic.gov.au

AFTER SCHOOL CARE

About the program

TheirCare provides adventurous and stimulating Before & After School Care Programs in a safe environment for all children. During sessions children develop life skills, friendships, confidence and creativity through play.

Wandong Primary School has partnered with TheirCare to provide this service to your school which includes quality care, booking flexibility, amazing programming for your children and commitment to deliver on our promise to your school community.

Operation Times Fees* Out of Pocket Average^
Before School Care 6:30am - 8:45am $21.00 $3.15 - $21.00 $4.83
After School Care 3:30pm - 6:30pm $23.00 $3.45 - $23.00 $5.29
Pupil Free Day 6:30am - 6.30pm $103.00 $15.45 - $103.00 $23.69
Holiday Program 6:30am - 6.30pm $103.00 $15.45 - $103.00 $23.69
Late Booking Cancellation Fee Within 48 hours $5.00
Cancellation Fee Same Day Full Fee See BSC/ASC

Service Phone Number: 0497 877 771ย  Your Service coordinator will be available during sessions times.ย  TheirCare support is available during office hours if required on 1300 072 410

How to Enrol

Visit Theircare website: www.theircare.com.au and click on ‘Book Now’ in the top right hand corner to register your child’s details.

*Standard fees excluding incursions/excursion costs

^Based on ABS published average family income for the suburb the school is located

MUSIC

Wandong Primary is pleased to offer instrumental lessons for students from Foundation to grade 6.

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 childโ€™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 termโ€™s fees.

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