Friday 14th August, 2026

A Message from our Principal!

School News and Updates

District Athletics

Congratulations to the 29 Year 3–6 students who represented Wangala at the District Athletics Carnival last week. Our students displayed great sportsmanship, gave their best effort and supported one another throughout the day. It was also fantastic to see our new Wangala sports tops being worn with pride. Well done to all students on your outstanding representation of our school!

NAPLAN Results

Back in Term 1, our Year 3 & 5 students participated in NAPLAN, which reports on two key measures:

Proficiency, which shows the percentage of students achieving in the four performance categories: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs Additional Support.
Relative Growth, which measures the progress students have made between their Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN assessments, identifying the percentage of students achieving medium or high relative growth.

Results have now been released, highlighting many positive outcomes at Wangala, including:

The percentage of Year 3 students achieving in the Strong and Exceeding proficiency bands is above both similar schools and our network (29 schools) across all assessment areas: Reading, Writing, Spelling, Numeracy, and Grammar & Punctuation.
The percentage of Year 5 students achieving in the Strong and Exceeding proficiency bands is above similar schools in Numeracy.
The proportion of students demonstrating medium or high relative growth from Year 3 to Year 5 is above both similar schools and the network in Writing and Spelling.

These findings will help inform our ongoing improvement work and support the implementation of targeted strategies to further improve student outcomes.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Thank you to all families who attended our Parent/Teacher Interviews last week. Open and transparent communication between home and school plays an important role in supporting every student’s learning and wellbeing. If you were unable to attend, please contact your child’s teacher to arrange an alternative meeting time.

OSHC Fees

Due to increased costs associated with running our OSHC program, including staffing and consumables, sessional fees will increase by $5 per session for both Before School Care and After School Care from the beginning of Term 4. This adjustment ensures we can continue to provide a quality OSHC program and brings our fees in line with other programs in the local area.

Compass Notification Issues

We are aware that some families have experienced issues receiving Compass notifications. We have raised this with Compass, who are currently investigating the issue. Recent advice indicates that some email domains, including Hotmail, Live and Outlook, have been affected. As a troubleshooting step, please ensure that notifications are enabled for the Compass app on your phone. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this issue.

School Review

Thank you to all the parents and carers who participated in our School Review focus group yesterday. Your perspectives and feedback are invaluable in helping shape the future direction of our school. Our School Review Day will take place next Thursday 20th August, where the review panel will observe classroom practice and meet with staff and student focus groups. All of this information will then be taken into consideration when identifying priorities and setting the strategic direction of the school for the next four years.

Confirmation of Student Return for the 2027 Academic Year

As we begin planning for the 2027 school year, we kindly ask families to let us know if their child will not be returning to Wangala Primary School in 2027. If your child will be attending another school next year, please notify us as soon as possible by emailing wangala.ps@education.vic.gov.au. This information is essential for our planning, including staffing, class structures and resource allocation. If you have any questions or require assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact the school.

Upcoming Events

Book Week

Book Week will be celebrated in Week 7, from Monday 24 August to Friday 28 August, and we have a range of exciting activities planned for our students. Throughout the week, classes will read a shortlisted Book Week title each day and participate in engaging activities inspired by the stories. Students can also enjoy a special Principal read-aloud at lunchtime and are invited to bring along their favourite book from home on Friday.The week will conclude with our much-loved Book Week Parade on Friday. Families are warmly invited to attend this special event, which is always a highlight of the school year. We look forward to celebrating the joy of reading with our school community.

Billy Tea Bush Band

On Thursday 27th August, we are excited to welcome the Billy Tea Bush Band to Wangala for a day of music, dancing and fun! Each class will take part in their own Aussie Bush Dancing session, learning lively, easy-to-follow dances while celebrating Australian culture and music. The day will conclude with a whole school community concert at 2:15pm, where students will showcase what they have learnt. Families are warmly invited to attend the concert and join in the fun. We hope to see you there for this wonderful community event!

Daffodil Day

Next Friday 21st August, Wangala will be supporting Daffodil Day to help raise awareness and funds for cancer research and support services. Students are encouraged to wear a splash of yellow to show their support. Gold coin donations are encouraged, with all funds raised going to the Andrew Love Cancer Centre, which is a located in Geelong. Thank you for helping us support this important cause and make a difference for those affected by cancer.

Kind regards,

Joe Doyle

Principal

Dates to Remember

Wangala Primary School acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land we are on, the Wadawurrung people, and thank them for sharing their long lasting culture with us as we learn and grow together.

Term 3 dates:

Friday, 21st August Assembly in the gym @ 2:30pm

Daffodil Day celebrations

Monday, 24th Aug P/1S Excursion to The Belmont Library

Monday, 24th August – Friday, 28th Book Week

Friday, 28th August Book Week Parade

Friday, September 4th Assembly in the gym @ 2:30pm

Thursday, 10th September Footy Colours day

Friday, 18th September Last day of term 3 2026

Term 4:

Classroom Spotlight: 2/3K

This term, the students in 2/ 3K have been learning about the deep connection First Nations Peoples have with Country. They have explored how land, water, sky, animals and people are all connected.

Students have discovered how Dreaming Stories are linked to special places and how First Nations Peoples have cared for Country for thousands of years.

Some promises that students have made to help Care for Country are:

I promise to pick up every single piece of rubbish I can see.

I promise not to litter and pick up rubbish.

I promise to plant new trees.

I promise to take care of the land.

I promise to not cut down trees.

I promise to work with others to care for Country

In Literacy this week we have begun to read the book Walking In Gagudju Country Exploring the Monsoon Forest. A book written by Diane Lucas, Ben Tyler and Emma Long. Who through the book share their knowledge and love of the Top End of Australia.

District Athletics

On Thursday 6 August, 28 Wangala students proudly represented our school at District Athletics at Landy Field. Students competed in a range of events including 100m, 200m, 800m, relays, long jump, triple jump, shot put and discus.

For many students, this was their first opportunity to compete against students from other schools. They showed fantastic effort, determination and sportsmanship, giving every event their best and representing Wangala with pride.

Although we don’t have any students progressing to the next level of competition, we are extremely proud of every student who competed. With Wangala being one of the smaller schools competing against much larger schools, the effort and commitment shown by our students was fantastic.

STEAM & Kitchen/Garden

Prep/1 have finished a fabulous first five weeks in the kitchen! Students have been developing their confidence and independence while learning essential food preparation skills including how to slice, dice, grate, mix, fry and knead. They have also been brave food explorers, trying new vegetables such as kale and broccolini and experimenting with new combinations of ingredients in salads, soups, pizzas and more. It has been wonderful to see students becoming more adventurous and confident with food. Thank you to Stef, Sarah and Holly for supporting this wonderful program!

Grade 1/2 have been investigating the fascinating world of materials and their properties. They are learning how different materials respond to water, wind and movement and are now working towards their end-of-term design challenge: creating a mini house that is waterproof, windproof and shake-proof! Students will need to think like engineers as they test, redesign and improve their creations.

Grade 2/3 have been exploring Light and Shadows, investigating how light travels, what happens when light meets different objects and how shadows are created. Their learning culminated in a very exciting design project where students created their own DIY shadow puppet theatres. They worked extremely hard on their theatres, navigating various structural challenges and we can’t wait to see more of their stories and performances next week.

Grade 3/4 have been investigating gases and chemical reactions, including exploring how different gases can be used to power vehicles. Students have been testing reactions and experimenting with ways to create movement. So far, the most successful reaction for vehicles has been the classic bicarbonate of soda and vinegar reaction, along with the power of compressed air. The students have spent this term researching and completing experiments that formed their hypothesis and theory behind their design.

Grade 5/6 have been working hard to reinvent our garden space. Students have been thinking creatively about how our large garden area could be used and improved, while considering the needs of plants and the factors that contribute to plant survival. They are investigating how we can make better use of the space while creating an environment that supports biodiversity, learning and our Kitchen Garden program.

It has been fantastic to see students across the school questioning, designing, testing, creating and learning through hands-on experiences. Our STEAM, Kitchen and Garden programs continue to provide opportunities for students to connect classroom learning with real-world problems and develop their creativity, collaboration and problem-solving skills.

Buddies!

This week, our Grade 5/6 students enjoyed teaching their buddies some footy skills and sharing their expertise. There are definitely some future footy stars in the making!

PE with Andy!

Prep / 1 Sarah

The junior classes are continuing to develop their fundamental movement skills in PE through a range of small rotations. Students are building their confidence, coordination and control while practising jumping, kicking, throwing, running, balancing and striking skills. The mini trampolines are always a favourite!

Grade 2/3 Kelly – The Grade 2/3 students in Kelly’s class have made the most of the sunshine this week, getting out on the oval and practising their footy skills. They showed some fantastic handballing and kicking skills, with many students successfully marking the ball and hitting their targets. It was wonderful to see their developing eye-hand coordination and enthusiasm for footy!

Award Recipients...

Congratulations to these well deserved recipients of the Star Student, Student Leader, Physical Education and Wellbeing Awards.

Billy Tea Bush Band - Thursday August 27th

We are very excited to have Mick and Phil from Billy Tea Bush Band here at Wangala on Thursday 27th of August. The Billy Tea Bush Band connects children, teachers and families with our Australian culture, history and music through dance and fun. The school program is entertaining and inclusive, leaving schools and families with a greater sense of community and connection.

Throughout the day, each class is taught some special folk dances by Mick and Phil, which will be performed during a whole school ‘bush dance’ from 2.15pm. Please make sure you mark this date in your calendar! Parents and families are encouraged to join in with these dances, led by your children. These folk dances are designed to be very easy to learn and repetitive. This is a whole school event and we would love to see as many people as possible on the day! Depending on the weather, the Billy Tea Bush Band event will be held in the gym or outside in the courtyard area.

I have attached some information on The Billy Tea Bush Band below.

https://billyteabushband.com.au/

There is no cost for this event, however please ensure you provide consent via Compass for your child to participate. Please don’t hesitate to reach out should you have any questions.

OSHC Update

We would like to advise families that OSHC fees will be changing from the beginning of Term 4. Our new fee structure will be as follows:
Permanent Bookings
Before School Care – $30
After School Care – $35
Casual Bookings
Before School Care – $32
After School Care – $37

We appreciate your understanding and continued support of our OSHC program. Please feel free to contact the OSHC team if you have any questions regarding the updated fees.

Student Spotlight! - Rory & Koby Lukies

New Uniform! - Available now at Noone!

We have some exciting new uniform available from Noone. There are black puffer vests and soft shell jackets (Size 10 & up) ready for purchase to keep the students warm for the rest of winter!