1. No category

Williamstown Primary News
13th November 2014
Dates to
Remember
NOVEMBER
Monday 17th
LSV Open Water
Gr 3/4B, 3/4C, 5/6F, 5/6P
Tuesday 18th
2015 Prep Transition
2015 Prep Info Night 7pm
Thursday 20th
LSV Open Water
Gr 3/4A, 3/4I, 5/6B, 5/6H
Tuesday 25th
School Council
DECEMBER
Tuesday 2nd
Gr1/2 Wishing Tree Stall
Tuesday 9th
Gr6 to Yr7 Transition
Day (Government
Schools)
Wednesday 10th
End of Year Concert
Monday 15th
Grade 6 Graduation
Friday 19th
End of Term
Dismiss at 1.30pm
Supervision in the Yard commences at 8.45 a.m. and finishes at 3.45pm.
Principals’ Comments
Dear Parents,
This week marks the middle of term and sees us working busily to ensure
things are in place for the 2015 school year. Students and teachers are in
reflection mode, working through a range of summative assessments over
the next few weeks in preparation for report writing which will be our
opportunity to share the growth of our kids in both academic and social
learning this year.
Welcome to our newest Willy Kids
And while our current students are working through this assessment
period, this week we have welcomed our newest Willy kids to our school.
How fantastic it was to meet many of our 2015 Prep students who
attended school for the first time as part of our Kinder to Prep Transition
program.
We have 60 plus pre-schoolers coming to school next year and
participating in the transition program. We offer two 90 minute sessions in
a Prep classroom which is designed to help the children become familiar
with the classroom learning environment and the wider school
surroundings. We believe this will set them on their way to a happy start
at school and build their understanding and expectations of what school
life is like.
For most, it was smooth start this and there were many smiles on faces,
including our teachers, as the kids settled in like they had been here
before. We say a big thank you to our Grade six students who assisted the
Prep team in welcoming everyone. We’re not sure who had the biggest
smiles actually, these guys or the little ones. It was a great time all round
and we all look forward to next week.
Our School Structure and Class Placements
As well as the assessment and reporting tasks, curriculum and budget
planning and staff selection, the school will work towards finalising
student placements in the coming weeks. As previously mentioned, in
2015, we are planning to run 22 classes, including straight Prep, 1 & 2
grades, and then 3/4 and 5/6 classes.
As discussed through consultative processes with our staff, we have also
decided upon the specialist learning provision for next year. Our school
will continue to enjoy the valuable experiences of all specialist areas. Art,
Music and PE will operate full-time. Italian will continue as a part-time
specialist area and the Library program will continue with the classroom
teacher implementing this program. We are pleased to say that we are also
continuing with our Reading Club program and Literacy support. During
November the teachers will also begin the process of placing children in
classes for 2015. This is an exacting task and teachers spend many hours
Contact
Web: www.williamstownps.vic.edu.au
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 9397 1248
placing the children in the most appropriate
grades.
The students’ best interests are taken into
account as we work to build and strengthen
their academic and social capacity. Our focus
of the Willy Kids are Friendly Kids philosophy
is very much considered. An important part of
our values and beliefs at WPS is to consider
the whole child; their opportunity and
capacity to establish new friendships, develop
resilience and build dynamic social skills such
as inclusiveness is highly valued. At Willy
these are considered essential learnings for
every child. Children need to be able to settle
into their new class readily so we endeavour
to ensure children are placed with familiar
faces who at times are their current friends;
while at the same time, we need to
acknowledge that some children work better
away from some of their friends and,
moreover, it may be good for children to be
challenged to make new friends as it is
unrealistic to expect that we will travel
through life with only one set of friends.
organising classes, you can write to the
Principal team. For example, if you are the
parents of twins and you wish to request they
be placed apart then you simply have to put
this in writing and send it along to the office.
Once classes are settled it is very difficult to
move children around as they are typically
placed with their friends and as individuals
they contribute a gender, ability and social
balance to the grade. Moving one child is
typically disruptive as it may leave a class
unbalanced. Furthermore, there are often
confidential
matters
influencing
the
placement of children. These matters cannot
be shared and we simply ask that parents
trust the school’s decision.
Given the number of children who need to be
placed there are oversights occasionally. If
this occurs parents are encouraged to contact
us. However as a general rule we are unlikely
to make changes to class placements. Our
experience over many years suggests that
children’s or parents’ concerns are quickly
forgotten within the first few weeks of the
new term. More importantly we believe that
it is important for children to build the
resilience and social skills required to make
new friends and broaden their experiences.
Further, when placing children in new grades
a range of others factors are also considered
based on some simple principles.
➢ classes need to have a gender balance,
➢ classes need an academic ability
balance,
➢ classes need a “social behaviour”
balance.
Recruitment processes
At this time of the year it is most usual for
schools to be working through the process of
staff selection, both for teaching staff and
educational support staff. We thought it might
be useful to briefly outline the process as it
works in all state government schools.
The DEECD has very detailed and strict
guidelines about how this highly confidential
process must be adhered to. Such guidelines
are built around strong principles of merit and
equity so that the process is fair and consistent
for all potential applicants. A multi-step
selection process is used, commencing with a
written application encompassing a relevant
curriculum vitae and responses to state-wide
key selection criteria. Schools also have the
option to add a school based criterion as well,
related to a school specific program or
priority. Typically, candidates are given two
weeks to submit their application.
All these considerations make this process a
complex task indeed! So how do we do it?
Teachers will meet and consider the relative
academic and social abilities of the children
and then begin to place them in grades taking
into account the above considerations. Once
the grades appear to be evenly placed the
specialist teachers, past teachers and the
Principals will consider the lists and give their
feedback. Class lists are then given to the
Principal team who decide which teachers
will teach which classes.
As a general rule the school cannot accept
requests from parents for specific class
placements or teachers. However if there are
important family matters that you feel the
school needs to take into consideration when
-2-
Lost Property
In the words of the wonderful people looking
after this area, that is, our dedicated team of
parents and our wonderful office staff, lost
property at Willy is 'OUT OF CONTROL! '
We need your help!
We have made a concerted effort this week to
ensure that kids write their name on drink
bottles, hats and lunch boxes. We ask that you
support us by ensuring that every item of
removable clothing children wear to school is
also labelled. We are also reminding them
about their responsibility and the need for
respect of property as great Willy Kids. Whilst
we understand the odd bit of forgetfulness
can occur at the end of a class or lunch break,
we are hoping we can build their
independence by checking they have picked
everything up before they move on. And this
is not an issue restricted to the junior children!
In fact the number of Year 6 jumpers and
Willy Juniors hoodies we find is astounding.
Please invest in a black texta and have
conversations about this with your child. We
don't want to be recycling the great number of
items we currently are, even though we know
there are many families of less fortunate
children who are grateful.
All applications, and in many cases this can be
up to or exceeding 100 applications, are read
thoroughly by a staff-selected, designated
selection panel. This selection panel is made
up of staff from the school, ensuring there is
gender representation and at least one of the
panel representatives must be trained in the
Merit and Equity process by the Merit
Protection Board. The panel is responsible for
reading every application and short listing
these to a manageable number of candidates
to interview, somewhere in the order of four
or five applicants per position. The interview
must be conducted fairly so that predetermined questions which are directly
related to statewide key selection criteria are
asked of each and every interviewee.
In addition to the information gained by the
panel through application and interview,
referees can also be contacted for further
information about a candidate’s suitability.
The selection panel makes a recommendation
to the Principal, of all successful applicants in
ranked order according to how well they met
the criteria. Schools then go through the
process of offering the highest rated candidate
a position, knowing that many applicants are
applying for more than one position at any
given time.
Once the decision and offer has been made
and accepted, schools undergo a two-week
appeal
period
before
any
public
announcement can be made. It is essential that
the privacy of applicants and the
confidentiality of this process are upheld right
throughout this period.
Finally, all candidates are able to seek
feedback from an identified panel member
after the process has been completed.
However even at this stage some information
remains confidential and cannot be shared.
We hope this has provided an insight into this
school based operation. Fortunately, we are
spoiled for choice at Williamstown although
of course, this often makes the process quite
challenging as we seek to recruit the best
possible person for our school and ultimately
our children.
Remembrance Day
Tuesday was Remembrance Day. To mark the
anniversary of the end of the First World War,
our Year 6 Junior School Councilors led a
short but beautiful ceremony in the
quadrangle. They led the whole school
through an observance of a minute’s silence,
followed by the Last Post. The service closed
with our national anthem. We were very
proud of the way all our kids attended to this
so respectfully and thoughtfully. They were a
credit to themselves, their families and our
school.
Have a great week ahead!
Regards,
Andrea and Steven.
-3-
Gr. 5 / 6 NEWS
Willy Kids are Friendly Kids
This term we were working on
Bike Ed
Bike ED is back on this week for the grade 5’s.
Thank you to the following parents who will
be assisting this Friday for our session that
runs from 11.15 – 3.20;
David Weber
Katrina McKeon
Cathy Palmer
Bianca Muraca
Jenni Tham
Louise Allen
Julie Brock
Sharelle Joseland
Kim Satchell
Cara McMahon
RESPONSIBILITY
This week we have been looking at
Seeing it through
And next week will be looking at
Fixing things up
From time to time we make mistakes. At times
we make these mistakes accidentally, at other
times we are careless or occasionally we
simply choose to do something we should not.
Mistakes are a normal part of growing up and
if we learn from our mistakes we end up better
in the end.
Learning to "fix things up" after mistakes is a
difficult thing to do, but it is so important.
"Fixing things up" means repairing the
damage you have caused to someone or
something. It means you take responsibility
for what has happened and through your
actions prove to others and yourself that you
know you have made a mistake and you want
to improve the situation.
Be prepared to say sorry and then prove you
are sorry by not letting it happen again.
If something has been damaged, offer to fix it
or replace it.
Take responsibility for your actions and be the
first to say sorry; don't wait until you have to
apologise or told to by someone else.
Open Water Swimming
Open water swimming is underway. It was
great to hear that 5/6L and M had a great time
on Monday and display outstanding Willy
Kid behavior. Our other grades will be going
next week. Please ensure your child brings
bathers, towel, a light weight long sleeve tshirt, wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, wetsuit
(optional), rash vest, lunch/snack, drink
bottle, warm clothing and a spare towel (in
case of cool weather). The dates grades will
be going are as follows;
Monday 17th Nov – 5/6 F and P
Thursday 20th Nov - 5/6B and H
Final Week Celebration
Below is an outline of our proposed plans for
the traditional final week celebration for our
grade 5/6’s.
Every Friday is
WALK TO SCHOOL FRIDAY
Tuesday 16th Dec – Williamstown Life
Saving Club – TBC
Wednesday 17th Dec – Luna Park
Thursday 18th Dec – Lunch at Nelson
Place.
th
Friday 19 Dec – Last day assembly and KK
Congratulations to
3/4C
The approximate cost for the above activities
will be $45.00 per student.
Permission notes with further details will be
sent home shortly.
-4-
Willy High Familiarisation Session
Those grade 6 students who are attending
Williamstown High next year will participate
in a familiarisation session next Tuesday the
18th November between 9:15am and 11:00am.
Students will be taken on a tour of the school
and participate in a mock high school class.
and time. The permission note and $25 cost
should have been returned by now. 3/4J and
3/4T had their session on Monday and it was
fantastic! The weather was kind, the children
were well behaved and the instructors were
impressed. Well done everyone.
Thanks and stay healthy!
Sheena, Merilyn, Tanya, Neale, Michelle and
Judy.
With thanks,
5/6 Team
Gr. 3 / 4 NEWS
Gr. 1 / 2 NEWS
Lots happening here in the Grade 3/4 area!
Unit of work
Next week’s topic for show and tell
Bring a toy that you have made for example
Lego, loom bands, a puppet.
Integrated Unit: Maritime History of
Williamstown
The children have been busily making their 3D models of an historical Williamstown
monument or icon for homework and some
have even been brought to school early! They
are looking spectacular and we can’t wait to
have our big display afternoon. Feel free to
cruise through the 3/4 corridors to check out
the lovely work that’s been done.
Movie news
Orders for The Bug Project DVD are due by
next Monday 17th November. This is not a
fundraiser. We are covering the cost of
having the DVD printed only, and it could
make a happy memory of Grade 1/2 in 2014.
Wishing Tree gift stall
Just a reminder that the stall will be held on
Tuesday 2nd December.
We are requesting parents to donate food
items for sale on that date, such as Christmas
treats; shortbread, rum balls or gingerbread
are some ideas that come to mind.
Miss S also needs some ivy, jasmine, etc. vines
(stripped of leaves) to make Christmas
wreaths.
Coming soon: watch this space!
 A tour of the Williamstown Historical
Society
 A sail on the replica Enterprize
 A tour of Williamstown guided by the
Grade 3/4 students themselves
Homework
As stated in previous newsletters, this is due
TOMORROW – Friday 14th November.
End of year celebration
More news about this Teddy Bear Picnic event
on Tuesday 16th December, in the next couple
of weeks
Times Tables Challenge
Congratulations to our Grade 3 champion Will Horn 3/4A – and our Grade 4 champion
– Harry Willett 3/4I. Thank you also to all of
the class representatives who were a part of
this annual event. It was a huge challenge to
answer times tables questions in front of 160+
people in such a pressure filled situation, well
done to everyone!
The Grade 1/2 team
Liz, Tracey, Joel, Robin, Maddy, Marina,
Nicki, Anna and Rochelle.
Swimming
Each class will be attending on a different day,
please refer to your child’s note for your date
-5-
recorders in your schoolbag whenever you are
not playing it.
Also, grade 5-6s, please don’t forget to bring
your iPads to music class.
prep NEWS
2015 preps
It was lovely to see the fresh young excited
faces of the 2015 preps for their first transition
session on Tuesday. Next Tuesday we will
have another session of transition followed
by an information night for the parents in the
redbrick hall.
ARIA AWARDS!!!
Willy
Primary’s
classy
A.P.,
Steven
Montgomery and his ensemble, “The
Melbourne Ska Orchestra”, have been
nominated for an ARIA Award which will be
presented later this month.
The category is “Best Live Act” and this is a
publicly voted category.
Mr. Mo would be mildly embarrassed by this,
but I think it would be marvelous to have as
many people from the W.P.S. community vote
for the Ska Orchestra as possible. I’m sure the
band would appreciate it.
You can vote at:
http://www.ariaawards.com.au/publicvoting
or scan here on your mobile device-
End of year activities
In the next couple of weeks we will be
sending home notices about our end of year
activities. We traditionally walk down with
our buddies for an ice-cream, have KK within
our classrooms, and have a whole prep area
picnic of hot chips down at Commonwealth
Reserve. Please look out for these notices
when they come home.
Fire Ed
Next Wednesday we will have a visit from the
Fire Brigade and they will discuss with the
students appropriate safety measures should
there be a fire at home. The week after they
will bring the truck and give the students the
experience of holding the water hose and
dressing up in a miniature uniform.
Until next week
The Prep Team
Voting closes November 19, so be quick!
If you want to know what you are voting for,
check them out on YouTube. They are an
amazing act!
MUSIC NEWS
End of Year Concert
Cheers- Matt Scalzo
Just a heads-up that the Rock Band, Marimba
Band and Choirs will be having their end of
year concert on the 10th of December. Full
times and details will be coming out shortly.
Please see Matt Scalzo with any questions or if
you are unavailable on this date.
PE NEWS
Hot Shots Tennis
This term during P.E, all classes from Grade
Prep-6 have been learning about tennis (or bat
tennis for the Grade 3/4's). Our 'Hot Shots'
tennis program has been supported by Tennis
Australia. As part of the program, students
Recorders
Recorder term is in full swing for the grade 36s. However, there are still many students
who are forgetting to bring their recorders to
class. I strongly advise that you keep your
-6-
are entitled to claim a free t-shirt online. A
registration form has been attached to this
week's newsletter. For every registration form
that gets returned, our school can claim a $2
rebate that we can put towards more sports
equipment. In addition to the $2 rebate, every
student that registers for a t-shirt will not only
get some free gear, but a $5 reward. It's winwin for everyone involved, so please make
sure you fill out the attached form and return
it to your child's classroom teacher A.S.A.P.
have kindly volunteered to grow a
moustache. At the end of the month, students
can vote for their favourite moustache with a
gold coin. All money raised will go to the
Movember cause. You can see photos of their
progress outside the office. Thanks to these
teachers for getting involved and to the JSC
for their continued hard work.
Amaya, Lisa, Zoe and the JSC
Tennis Clinics
We were lucky enough to have coaches and
tennis students from Bayside College's tennis
school come out to run a clinic for all the
Grade 5/6 classes. A big thank you to John
Trickey for his help in coordinating this.
NUDE FOOD MONDAY
Jump Rope For Heart Prizes
We are still awaiting delivery of the Jump
Rope For Heart prizes. Hopefully they will
arrive soon so we can provide an extra thankyou to all the students that helped us
fundraise for the Heart Foundation.
Congratulations to
Prep V
Student welfare
5/6 Lacrosse
Lacrosse training is well and truly underway
in preparation for the Western Region
Primary Schools Lacrosse tournament that
will be held on the 21st November. We have a
record number of 55 students participating in
the tournament. This would not be possible
without the generous support of the
Williamstown Lacrosse clubs that are
providing the students with coaching in the
lead up to and on the day. A big thanks to
Laura Kelly for her help in coordinating this.
Intensive Therapy Program– JANUARY 2015
SHINE (formerly The Andrew Dean Fildes
Foundation
for
Language-Learning
Disabilities)
SHINE plans to offer three intensive therapy
programs in January 2015 for students with
Language-Learning Disabilities with an
emphasis on students with Autism Spectrum
Disorders (Asperger’s or High Functioning
Autism),
Language
Disorder;
Speech
Disorder;
Reading Delay-ImpairmentDisorder-Dyslexia and other Learning
Disabilities.
We are lucky to be a part of such a sporty and
supportive community!
Jacky
DATES
OF
INTENSIVE
THERAPY
PROGRAMS
Program 1, Week of 5-9 January, 2015 (MonFri) 25 places available
Program 2, Week of 12-16 January, 2015 (MonFri) 25 places available
Program 3, Week of 19-22 January, 2015 (MonFri) 25 places available
Junior School Council
This term the JSC will be supporting
‘Movember’ to raise money for Men’s Health.
Matt Scalzo, Neale, Joel, Mr Mo and James
-7-
Community NEWS
If you would like further information or an
Application form please see Lynne Bourchier
or Pamela Pehm in the office or go to the
SHINE website at www.shine.org.au
parent
information
evening
LOST PROPERTY NEWS
PLEASE NOTE;
NEW LOST PROPERTY SYSTEM
Gifted & Talented Children in the West
Wednesday, November 19
7:30 - 9 p.m.
St
Mary’s
Primary
School
Hall,
Williamstown
118 Cecil Street, Williamstown
This evening is an opportunity to explore
developments in the area of gifted education.
An invitation is extended to those interested
in the education and support of highly able
children in schools across the West of
Melbourne.
In an effort to create a better functioning lost
property system, and tidier foyer to the hall,
you may have seen 2 new wheelie bins for
Lost Property.
In recent years a growing quantity of unnamed property being left at school has
prompted the need for a new approach. These
bins will serve to contain lost property for up
to a week. Each week parents from a
designated grade are required to sort through
these items. Named items will be returned to
students classrooms. ANY UN-NAMED
ITEMS WILL NO LONGER BE STORED BY
THE SCHOOL, BUT TAKEN STRAIGHT TO
THE 2ND HAND UNIFORM SALE. It is
regrettable that so many items, especially
school uniform, are coming to school unnamed prompting this change to the process.
Guest speakers include Dr S. Nikakis and Mr
A. Dorrisa from the Catholic Education Office
Melbourne, and
Mr J. Sheedy, Principal :
St Mary’s Williamstown.
We will also gauge interest in establishing a
Parent Support Group for highly able children
in the West.
Kindly RSVP your interest in attending to
Simon at [email protected]
With this in mind, please, please, please, take
the time to again check that all uniform and
other clothing/items brought to school are
clearly named with your child's FULL NAME.
Iron on labels are long lasting and very
effective, but a permanent marker used to
write on the label/collar is perfectly adequate
and unarguably cost effective!
Parent Helper roster - Term 4
Date (wk beg.)
Grade
th
17 Nov
5/6P
24th Nov
0D
1st Dec
0I
th
8 Dec
0O
15th Dec
0V
-8-
OSHClub News
Before School / After School Care Program
Program Update
A reminder that children will need to wear hats this term at before and after school care.
Alex will be away for 4 weeks but she will return at the last week of school. We have two staff
members Stephanie and Molly assisting at the program who are welcoming and have several
years of experience at OSHClub.
This week the children will be doing Animal week where we will be doing lots of arts and
Crafts on animals
Next Week’s Activities
Monday
Before Care
Activities
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Felt
Rattle Snacks
Feather Bird bookmarks/
/Highest
/coin Toss
Who is
Number
Missing?
Learn to Draw
Balloon
Aussie Bulldog
Animal Masks/
Animals/Batty Animals /Line
/Ball tiggy
Bat Tennis
Bowling
Tiggy
Standing
Paper Lion
Jungle /Four
/Musical Statues
Corners
Animals
After Care
Colouring
Activities
/Fruit Salad
Parent Information
OSHC program phone: 0413619019
Coordinator: Alex Tsoukas
Assistants: Allana Agius, Beau Harrison,
OSHClub Head Office: 03 85649000
All families must be enrolled to attend the program, remember this is Free!! Please create an account online
at www.oshclub.com.au all bookings and cancellations can also be managed via your online account. For on
the day bookings please contact the Coordinator direct at the program.
-9-
-10-
-11-
-12-