Principal’s Report’s

Trivia Night and 150th Birthday Update

What a great week we had last week! Friday night saw our first major community event take place in the form of our WNPS Trivia Night at the Town Hall. I must confess that this was my first ever trivia night so I was a little nervous about my capacity to be a valuable contributor to my table, but I was relieved to see that the Funky Bunch hosts catered to almost every member of the audience. I can’t thank our Community Engagement committee enough for their tireless efforts getting this event up and running. I would also like to remind families that anyone can be part of the Community and Engagement committee and we would especially welcome some new members for the 150^th celebration planning as well as the 2024 school Fete. If anyone would like to know more information about this please don’t hesitate to email us at the school. There will be a 150^th planning meeting for anyone who is interested at the school next Tuesday 24th October at 6.00pm. Thank you to all of the families who attended the trivia night, supported our silent auction and helped create such an inclusive and enjoyable atmosphere. We made approximately $2,000 from the Silent Auction.

Referendum BBQ

I would like to thank Belinda Gill for organising the Referendum Sausage Sizzle that was held at the school on Saturday morning. Belinda organised sponsorship from Bakers Delight Williamstown and Borrack Square Butcher in Altona North. She also organised a timetable of volunteers and we thank Patrick Ronchi, Tim Hickman, Tim Steer, Kam Ho, Ian Smith, Bec Harding, Lisa Caulfield, Arlene Lawrence and Tracy Carroll for donating their time and expertise on the day. A total profit of $1,667.80 was raised for the school.

Grade Structures

It is that time of year when as a school we are busy finalising grade structures, teacher allocations and class lists. I can confirm that our 2024 class structure is now finalised (unless there is any major enrolment growth or decline between now and the end of the school year which we feel is unlikely).

I would also like to confirm that we have allocated all classroom teachers and classrooms which will be sent home tomorrow to families. Over the next 2-3 weeks, we will be drafting class placements for students. As per previous years, students will have the opportunity to list 5 peers whom they would like to have at least one in their class. Teachers will then work together to ensure there are varied, equitable, academic, social and emotional groupings across each year level. We also invite parents to please put in writing any requests for student placements based on social and academic relationships as well as previous experiences and we will endeavour to take these into consideration.

Please note that we are unable to take specific requests for particular teachers but are happy to have discussions if there are any concerns. We kindly ask parents/carers to place any requests or feedback in writing addressed to myself no later than Friday the 3rd November. These can be sent directly to my email address richard.buckingham@education.vic.gov.au. We expect student placements to be communicated to students and parents by the end of November which will allow plenty of time for any adjustments as well as for children to be in their 2024 classes before the statewide transition day on 12th December.

Introducing Shevani Moodley

As you are aware, Mrs Emin is on leave for the majority of this term, which she has extended to include most of term one 2024. In her absence, we have Ms Shevani Moodley in her place. We welcome Shevani into our WNPS community and look forward to working with her.

Below is a short message from Shevani.

‘My name is Shevani Moodley and I’m very excited to be the Acting Assistant Principal at Williamstown North Primary. Thank you to the community of staff, students and families have made me feel very welcome so far. Over the past two years, I’ve been working with the Department of Education in the School Improvement Division supporting several schools in Western Melbourne to improve their teaching and learning outcomes. This has been a great experience which has allowed me to learn volumes about school improvement and research-based teaching, learning processes and pedagogies. Prior to that I taught for 11 years in a variety of schools in the inner city, north-west Melbourne, and internationally. I’m really looking forward to using all the knowledge I’ve gained to support teachers, students and families in Williamstown North Primary School’.

Other Staffing News

In other staffing news we have Mr Evans taking paternity leave for the remainder of the term as he and his wife are expecting their second child in the coming weeks. We are also excited for Mr Evans as he has been appointed learning specialist at Moriac Primary School and he and his family make the move down to the Bellarine Peninsula. Dale’s last day before he takes leave will be next Friday the 27^th October. He will be back at WNPS on the last day of term. We wish Dale and his family all the best for their move. I can firsthand recommend that Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Bellarine are fantastic places to live.

Loud Shirt Day

Tomorrow is Loud Shirt Day! Loud Shirt Day is a way that we as a school can support ‘Next Sense’ raise money for students with hearing loss. Students can come to school in a 'loud shirt’ and parents have the opportunity to donate via the QRCode or bring in a gold coin donation on Friday. The QRCode is attached to this newsletter. We will also be welcoming our visitor, Melissa Horne MP who will be in attendance to support this initiative. Students have entered in a colouring in competition and there will be a prize for the best entry along with the 'Loudest shirt'. Winners will be announced during the whole school assembly on Friday afternoon. 363 Entries received for the colouring in competition.

Reminders

Finally, I would like to remind families that Monday the 6^th November is a whole school student free Curriculum Day and Tuesday the 7^th November is Melbourne Cup Public Holiday.

Have a lovely week, Richard—Principal

Student of the Week