Newsletter
Friday, 8th September, 2023
From the Principal
With one week remaining for Term Three we can reflect on the amazing teaching and learning, across the school. I particularly think about the introduction of the ‘Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden’ program into our curriculum at the beginning of the term which has elevated our already existing kitchen garden program. This program has been a huge highlight for our students in the 5/6 classroom which each menu elevated and our ‘new favourite’ meal that we’ve prepared. It is evident the joy that this program provides to our students, encouraging a pleasurable food experience utilising the harvests from our garden, and being willing to try something new each week. At this time of year we begin to think about what next year will begin to look like, with some exciting plans to expand our program further in 2024.
Over the past year we have worked steadily on developing a ‘Reconciliation Action Plan’ with our vision of creating a community unified in acknowledgement and celebration of First Nations people, recognising their resilience and living cultures. In this we are committed to increasing the understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, histories and cultures with a localised context and voicing our support for reconciliation. We hope to launch and share our ‘Reconciliation Action Plan’ or RAP poster ready next term.
I’m really excited to announce to the community that Miss Rebecca Longley has accepted an ongoing position at Wangala Primary School after a twelve month contract on leave from her previous school. We’re thrilled to keep Miss Longley with us as an exceptional teacher.
This coming Friday is the last day of term, with some very exciting things planned for the day. To celebrated RUOK? Day, which would be on the Thursday, we will be having RUOK? activities in the classroom, with students wearing their house colours on the day. We also invite our community to attend to watch our tabloid sports on the Friday, followed by open classrooms where you’ll have the chance to share in the learning from our geography inquiry across the term. Following this we invite you stay around for our community barbeque and a very special performance from our ‘Dance Club’ members. See the flyer further in the newsletter.
Today I had the absolute pleasure of watching an extra-special performance of the ‘Short Black Opera’ at the new Geelong Arts Centre featuring two of our students, Ruby and Harper. ‘Short Black Opera’ is an national Indigenous not-for-profit company based in Melbourne, specialising in training and performance opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing artists, and also operates the ‘Dhungala Children’s Choir’ which the performers today were trying out for. Ruby and Harper should be incredibly proud of themselves for putting themselves forward for this opportunity and giving it their all; I know I was one proud Principal sitting in the crowd watching!
As my official end of term communication, I wish each and every member of our community an enjoyable holiday break and look forward to seeing everyone return on Monday, 2nd October. Next term is a long term with so many thinks planned including our swimming program. Rest up!
Steven King
Principal
Dates to Remember
Friday, 8th September
Newsletter
Responsible Pet Ownership Incursion
Monday, 11th September
Grade 5/6 BioCATS Excursion
Assembly at 2.45pm in the gymnasium
Tuesday, 12th September
Belmont Kinder Visit and Kitchen Garden Program
Friday, 15th September
R U Ok? Day Celebration
Open Classrooms
Last Day of Term 3
2.30pm Finish
Monday, 2nd October
First Day of Term 4
Tuesday, 3rd October
Kitchen Garden Program
Friday, 6th October
Newsletter
Monday, 9th October
2.45pm Assembly
Tuesday, 10th October
Belmont Kinder Visit and Kitchen Garden Program
Wednesday, 11th October
Prep 2024 Transition Session 1
Tuesday, 17th October
Kitchen Garden Program
Wednesday, 18th October
Whole School GAC Performance
Prep 2024 Transition Session 2
Friday, 20th October
Newsletter
Monday, 23rd October – Friday 3rd Nov
Whole School Swimming Program
2.45pm Assembly
Wednesday, 25th October
Geelong Cup – Pupil Free Day
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.
Short Black Opera
Student Awards
Well done to our Star Student and Principal Award recipients…
Prep – Sam, Hazel
One and Two – Van, Jaxon, Eloise, Rory, Paxton
Three and Four – Cruz, Nadia
Five and Six – Riley, Texaz, Louella
Reminders
Community Celebration and Open Classrooms
Please join us for our Community Celebration and Open Classrooms on Friday the 15th of September (the last day of term 3)
11.30-1.00 Tabloid Sports – students are encouraged to wear their house colours, if you are unsure which house your child is in, please contact reception
1.00 – 1.30 Open Classrooms
1.30 – 2.30 Community Barbeque & special ‘Dance Club’ performance
Don’t forget 2.30pm finish time
SunSmart – Broadbrimmed Hats
Important reminder – broadbrimmed sun hat’s must be worn at all times whilst outside from now until the end of term one 2024. If your child does not have one, they are required to stay in the shade and will not be permitted to play in the sun. We have Wangala Primary School hats available for purchase from the office.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Curriculum Days for Term Four
We can confirm the following Curriculum days have been approved by School Council for Term Four. Please put these in your diaries as student free days. We do plan to operate our Outside School Hours Care service on the day for enrolled students, if there is enough interest.
– Monday, 27th November
– Friday, 8th December
Prep Transition Program
Our 2024 Prep Transition Program will begin in the second week back of Term Four, beginning with two online sessions. We will then see our new Prep students onsite. Dates and times are available on our website.
Free!
We have an electric organ at the school that is no longer needed. If you’d like this, please let us know! It works beautifully and would be a great addition to someone’s home (perhaps with headphones!) We have also advertised this on our Facebook page.
Congratulations, Airlie!
One of our very talented long jumpers, competed in the District Athletics Championships at Landy Field on Tuesday the 5th of September.
Congratulations Airlie, we are all very proud of your efforts!
OSHC
Last week, Steph’s Dad won 10kg of jumbo marshmallows (all in the name of charity!) and handed them over, which left Steph with not only a surplus of marshmallows on her hands but a craving for S’mores. So, what better than to make S’mores all together in OSHC?! We had so much fun constructing and eating them, messy faces and all. Whilst no one was able to polish off the entire treat, they put a smile on our faces for the whole afternoon, and we all learnt something about how different countries have different popular treats.
Thanks to all the OSHC kids who made it so enjoyable and thanks for the marshmallows, Steph’s Dad!
Student Review: They were really sticky on our faces but it was delicious, I loved it! -Danielle
Porrgil’s Patch - Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program
On Friday the 1st of September the year 3-6’s were lucky enough to experience a gardening incursion with James McLennan from Grassroots Sustainability. James educated our students and staff on the importance of soil quality and the role soils plays in growing nutritious produce.
We learnt how to make a ‘garden lasagna’ which involved layering cardboard, manure, coffee grounds, dried leaves, hay and pea straw to create the perfect environment for microorganisms to exist, these play an important role in the nutrient cycle.
Our Kitchen crew have continued to WOW! us every week with some delicious meals including homemade chicken dumplings with crunchy slaw and dipping sauce, as well as Spanakopita with beetroot raita and Indian flatbread.
It’s fabulous to see fresh produce harvested from our Kitchen Garden being used in the dishes.
Maths in the Senior Classroom
The 5/6 students have been busy learning about time – 12 and 24 hour time, calculating elapsed time and reading timetables. In one lesson students had to estimate and measure how long it would take them to complete a range of tasks including:
- writing out their 7 times tables
- reading a page of their books aloud
- writing ‘the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’
- 10 push-ups
- Running a lap of the oval
- 50 skips or star jumps
Students then calculated the difference between their estimations and the amount of time it actually took them to complete.
Year 3 /4 Classroom
This week the 3 / 4 students have been learning about money. They have been practising how to add and subtract money and have created their own money walls.
In reading the students have been focusing on using their comprehension skills by making connections to the text Market Day, which is a nicely written book about a family’s visit to a market and a girl who has a coin she can choose to spend it however she chooses.
The students have been working also on finalising their trioramas for the open morning on Friday to showcase what they have learnt about our neighbouring countries and the plants and animals that live there.
PMP with the Prep and Grade 1/2 class
This week in Physical Education the Prep and Grade 1/2 classes joined together and practised their fundamental motor skills. They rotated around the various stations and practised skills such as catching, throwing, jumping, running and striking. Skipping and shooting hoops were the highlights. It’s so impressive to see how far the prep students in particular have come since the start of the year. Practice makes perfect. Well done legends!
Whole School Swimming Program
The whole school swimming program will be delivered in week four and five of term four. It will be at – Geelong Aquatic Centre in Newtown. The students will participate in a nine day intensive program with lessons running for 45 minutes. More details will be posted on compass early next week so keep an eye out.
Swimming is such a vital skill in life and it is the expectation that all students will be participating in this program. We will be travelling to and from the venue via bus. Times are as follows.
Week 4- Four days- Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri – (no lesson Wednesday as it’s Geelong cup).
Swimming lesson- 12:15pm to 1pm
Week 5 – Five days- Mon to Fri
Swimming lesson- 12pm to 12:45pm
The school is making every effort to keep the cost down so that all students can participate. In the note sent home next week, I will be seeking your child’s swimming ability so we can cater for their needs. Any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. Thanks Andrea Hueston.
Music and Movement Festival
Exciting news! On Wednesday 18th October, at 1pm Wangala P.S. will be performing in the Geelong Music and Movement Festival at the new Geelong Art Centre.
We will be part of Session 5 and tickets will be available so that families can come and see us on the BIG stage, under lights.
Our theme this year is Fluoro Fun (70s/80’s theme.) We have been busy learning and memorising our “Breaking Free” dance.
It is going to be such a memorable experience for everyone!
Please keep an eye on Compass for consent and payment details.
BioCATS excursion for the Senior Students
Grade 5/6 – BioCATS excursion this Monday
REMINDER that this Monday the 11th of September the grade 5/6 students have an excursion to BioCATS. BioCATS is run from the Deakin Cats Community Centre at GMHBA Stadium as a full day program running from (10am- 2pm). Students and teachers will be participating in dynamic scientific experiments, using problem solving, statistical analysis and observation skills to learn about the science and mathematics of football and career pathways in sport.
The program also reinforces the concepts of health and wellness and the benefits that come from sports participation. This is an amazing opportunity for the students to finish off the term with a day full of fun, integrating all areas of the curriculum. It is expected that all students attend this event.
We will be leaving school at 9:30am this Monday morning, so students will need to be on time to ensure we don’t miss the bus and our first session at 10am. Students will need to wear their school uniform and sneakers on the day and bring a bag with their hat, drink bottle and food in it. If you have any questions about this excursion, please don’t hesitate to contact me, I have no doubt that the students are going to thoroughly enjoy this experience.
Thanks Andrea Hueston
(P.E Teacher)
R U OK? Day
Focus on Curriculum
As readers and writers, children explore their world everyday beyond school and home
It’s important at home that you:
– Show genuine interest in your child’s reading and writing and viewing of all different types of texts
– Let them see you read and write and tell them why you are reading and writing
– Talk to your child about their understanding and encourage their reading and writing efforts.
– Share family histories and stories through talking and encourage your child to talk to older frailly members
– Discuss television shows or films that you have watched together
– Encourage your child to develop their own library of books
– Talk about world events and encourage your child to look at different sides of the story to form their own opinions
Doing Maths Together at Home
Have you tried these counting ideas at home?
– Count the food items as they are placed in the trolley or unpacked at home
– Count each toss of the ball as you play a game
– Count the steps to the letterbox, front door, clothes line etc.
– Collect and count objects such as toys, shells and flowers from the garden
– Count days on a calendar
– Read books that involve counting.
Our Positive Behaviour Matrix
