Friday, 28th July, 2023

From the Principal

It has been another busy fortnight at Wangala Primary School with so many exciting things happening across the school.

During the week our whole school helped our landscaper, Julian, plant a number of native gums along the new fencing in our gymnasium car park in recognition of National Tree Day which is this weekend. While it will take some years to grow, planting natives around our school site have numerous benefits such as giving us oxygen, storing carbon, stabilising the soil and providing habitats to our local native animals. I recall planting trees in my local community when I was a primary student and still remember their location, having seen them grow so much over the years. This is another great example of how we encourage community mindedness at Wangala Primary School.

Last Tuesday I was lucky enough to step into the kitchen as part of the ‘Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden’ program. Our participants were busy making a delicious vegetable risotto, Indian flat bread, and a hummus dip which was shared around the communal table with all our five and six students and our volunteers and staff members. When our gardens eventually produce a continual bounty of fruits and vegetables, our students will be planning seasonal menus based on the harvest. We are incredibly lucky to have the site and resources we have, especially when we get to consume delicious food each week!

Next Monday we will confirm the enrolments for 2024 prep students and invite our new community members to a series of transition events in Term Four. If you know of anyone that has not enrolled yet, please remind them that they must do so as soon as possible to ensure they are part of our amazing school.

Lastly, a huge well done to all of our students who participated in workshops with the Australian Ballet yesterday. I was so disappointed that I couldn’t be there, having to attend a principal’s network meeting, but I heard the workshops and performance at the end of the day, were absolutely amazing. Thanks to Ms Whytcross for organising this experience for our very lucky students.

Best wishes to you all,

Steven King
Principal

Dates to Remember

Monday, 31st July
Assembly at 2.45pm in the gymnasium

Tuesday, 1st August
Belmont Kinder Visit and Kitchen Garden Program for 5/6s

Friday, 4th August
Principal’s Day

Monday, 7th August
District Athletics at Landy Field

Tuesday, 8th August
Kitchen Garden Program for 5/6s

Friday, 11th August
Newsletter

Monday, 14th August
Assembly at 2.45pm in the gymnasium

Tuesday, 15th August
Belmont Kinder Visit and Kitchen Garden Program for 5/6s – Science Week (science of taste)

Wednesday, 16th August
E-Safety Seminar 5/6s

Tuesday, 22nd August
Kitchen Garden Program for 5/6s

Friday, 25th August
Book Week Celebration Day
Newsletter

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.

Reminders

Reporting Absences – Just a friendly reminder to please notify the school if your child/children are going to be absent.
This can be done via:

Phone – 5242 2997, please select ‘1’ for student absences and record a message
by emailing [email protected]
Compass App – Compass is where all of our communication and consent forms will be published. If you require assistance with accessing Compass or you require your password to be reset, please contact reception.

Please do not rely on Seesaw for reporting absences, this communication is not received by our administration staff.

Head lice – It has come to our attention that some students in the school may have head lice and I seek your cooperation in checking your child’s hair this week. If your child has long hair (any length below their jawline) please ensure that it is tied back at school, this is our school policy.
Head lice do not transmit infectious diseases – they are transmitted by having head to head contact with someone who has head lice. Head lice are common in school-aged children and are the most adaptable of creatures.

What can you do?
We seek your cooperation in checking your child’s hair, and in those instances where head lice or eggs are found, treating your child’s hair. Please visit www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au and search for “head lice (nits)” for advice on finding, treating and preventing head lice.

If head lice or eggs are found on your child’s hair you need to inform the school and advise when the treatment has started.

When can my child return to school?
Health regulations requires that where a child has head lice, that child should not return to school until the day after appropriate treatment has started. More information about exclusion requirements can be found by searching for “school exclusion table” at www.health.vic.gov.au.

We are aware that head lice can be a sensitive issue and are committed to maintaining your confidentiality.
Thank you for your cooperation.

Porrgil’s Patch - Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve had an update from Porrgil’s Patch. Kim is back in the garden on a Tuesday, she was very impressed with the year 5/6’s efforts in maintaining all of our veggie garden area’s in her absence, well done team!

Our Winter crops are flourishing with silverbeet, carrots, spring onions and a heap of herbs ready for harvest this coming week. Our lovely lady chooks are continuing to provide us with delicious, fresh eggs, even during these cooler months, which is fabulous!

We will harvest and use this produce in the kitchen on Tuesday. The year 5/6’s will be cooking a silverbeet, leek and feta slice, honey carrots and meringues to share, delicious! Please remember that these shared tasting sessions are in addition to their packed lunches, they are not intended to replace their lunch.

Planet Ark’s National Tree Day falls in July, as a show of support, Wangala Primary School students have planted 30 spotted gums along our gymnasium boundary fence. During the planting sessions students got their hands dirty while learning about the importance of trees, how we can protect them in order for them to thrive and their legacy! Thank you to Julian, our landscape garden, for helping us throughout these sessions

Outside School Hours Care

Over the past couple of weeks in OSHC we have been talking and thinking about how we are Being, Belonging, and Becoming. We have been playing a range of games to help us learn more about ourselves and each other, such as Farmer Sam, Guess Who, and Oh Good, You’re Here. We’ve also been challenging ourselves by creating puzzles, building incredible structures and having many drawing challenges. We also enjoyed a special pancake breakfast in Before School Care, and had a tonne of fun with our very own Spiderman!

Theodore’s Book Suggestion to Read at Home - Hugasaurus by Rachel Bright

A lighthearted celebration of friendship and kindness!

“One sunny morning, a happy little Hugasaurus waves goodbye to her Pappysaur and sets off into the world on her own for the very first time. When she finds a playground, some new friends welcome her to their games. But it isn’t long before the other little dinosaurs start to squabble.

Can Hugasaurus bring her new friends back together using the magical power of kindness?A joyful celebration of kindness and its potential to change the world”

Patterns and Algebra in the Senior Class

The 5/6 students are learning about creating sequential patterns and the rules they follow. They had a great time creating a range of 2 and 3 dimensional patterns.

Year 3 /4

The Year 3 / 4 students began a new text in class called Dirt by The Sea. The students recorded a lot of wondering about the book using the books front cover and made a prediction about what the text could be about.

In Mathematics the students have been investigating patterns and being able to name and create the rules for different number patterns. Can you name the rules in the patterns below?

Writing with the 1/2's

This week 1/2L have been learning about coming up with big ideas in our writing. We started this by reading The Wonderful Book by Leonid Gore and created puppets based on the characters. Next, we came up with our own big ideas and changed the story by adding a character or a new problem and solution. Once we practised our puppet show, we created flyers to convince people to come to our puppet show. Have a look at some of the amazing puppets and flyers we have created!

Dance Club

It’s time to get your groove on!!!

Ange and Holly will be running Dance Club for 6 weeks during lunchtimes on Tuesdays this term on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th August and 5th, 12th September. The students who participate will develop and practise a dance to perform at the end of the term.

Tuesdays 1:45pm – 2:15pm in the Gym.

District Athletics Day for all Grade 3-6 Students

District Athletics Day is fast approaching. The students have been very busy practising their athletics skills during their Physical Education last term and this term. It is the expectation that ALL students in grade three to six will take part in the event.

There is a cost for this excursion – $15 which will be used to cover the cost of the bus, officials and affiliations. It is essential that permission is given to ensure that students are able to travel by bus to the event.

Permission and payment need to be finalised by Thursday the 3rd of August please . The event will be held on Monday the 7th of August at Landy Fields in South Geelong. More details to follow as to which events the students will be participating in. We will be leaving school at 9:10am and returning before the end of the school day. This is always a fun day and I’m sure that it will be a highlight for many 😉 Thanks to those students that have paid and given content.

Any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Andrea Hueston

Focus on Curriculum

Reading Ideas

View and try quizzes together by clicking the Quiz link on the Connect-primary website for primary students
Write down what your child is telling you about an experience and then read it back together
Visit your local library or School library to select and read books together
Find out facts about the world by clicking the Find out link on the Connect-primary website
Draw or paint pictures about the scenes or characters click on the drawer link on the Connect-primary website
Explore words using a dictionary
Talk about what authors and illustrators do
Point out important things about a book – for example, the front cover, the spine, the contents page and the title