A very big welcome to the new families joining the Wangala Primary School community and a welcome back to our existing families.  It has been great to see many of you over the past few days, and to see that everyone is refreshed and ready for another big year at our school.  I’m very excited to tell everyone that we started the year with 100 students enrolled in the school!  When moved to the site and becoming known as Wangala Primary School in 2021, we started with only 32 enrolments.  Our growth has seen the addition of many new staff members, but also new students and families who call Wangala Primary School their school.  We are all excited to see where 2025 takes our school!

The school’s goals for 2025, as set out in our ‘Annual Implementation Plan’ are focused on consolidating the school’s instructional models, particularly our instructional model in English.  This will see Rashelle Moon stepping into classrooms in her role as a Learning Specialists to support classroom teachers to embed the teaching and learning instructional model for English.  The second goal for 2025 is focused on strengthening assessment practices, to ensure that all teaching staff are proficient in utilising learning data to inform their teaching and learning programs.  Our third goal for 2025 focuses on strengthening our wellbeing strategies and the supports we have for individual students to achieve to their greatest potential. 

As communicated during the week, we will no longer be using SeeSaw as a platform which means that day-to-day communication with your child’s classroom teacher, will need to be through the Compass system.  Details on how to do this were communicated through a Compass news item.  I take this opportunity to remind you of the purpose of these communication methods.  When contacting classroom teachers via the Compass ‘email’, this is to be used for discussions regarding your child’s academic progress, health or wellbeing, and as a means of sharing information relevant to you child’s day-to-day experiences at school.  If your child is absent, you can mark their attendance via the Compass app, or contact the school via the school’s email address or call and leave a message on the dedicated absence line.  A reminder that your classroom teachers are available at limited times across the week for discussions that can be scheduled in.  Guidelines for acceptable responses from school staff is two to three working days for general inquiries, and 24 hours for more urgent inquiries.  While our staff do their best to respond to general queries as soon as possible, the ‘right to disconnect’ legislation makes explicit that all employees have the right to refuse, to monitor, read, listen to or respond to contact that occurs outside their working hours.

Over the coming weeks you will have the opportunity to engage with your child’s classroom teacher for our ‘Parent/Carer Conversation’.  This time is to be scheduled through the Compass system, and your child’s classroom teacher will contact you on the number registered in our system at this time.  Our ‘Parent/Carer Conversations’ provides you with an opportunity to share any relevant information with your child’s teacher to help them build strong and positive relationships.  This will include vital information about your child; their strengths, interests, concerns, learning needs and other background information.  We value school and home partnerships and appreciate the role this plays in enhancing your child’s school experience and enriching their learning and wellbeing.

I finish this newsletter item with sad news for our community.  Nat Kwiez, Education Support superstar, who has been part of the Wangala Primary School community for the past three years, will be taking leave from work at the school to pursue other opportunities in 2025.  Nat has been a valued member of the Wangala Primary School staff and will be very missed while she is away.  All the best Nat in your new ventures; I look forward to your return!

Kind Regards,

Steven King

Principal