Welcome Back for Term 4

We warmly welcome all students, staff and parents back for the start of term 4.

We sincerely hope the break was restful and restorative in preparation for the busy final term ahead.

On a personal note, I have been so touched by the warm wishes upon my return. Whilst this wasn’t foreseen or anticipated, I am excited to lead the school for one more term!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Matt Naudi, who undertook the Acting Principal Role in Term 3. I know that Matt valued the opportunity to meet Willy North students and staff and to work closely with our school’s wonderful teachers. We genuinely send our best wishes with Matt as he continues to forge his leadership pathway into Principalship.

A big thank you also to Wendy Emin (Assistant Principal) and the school’s leadership team for their support to Matt last term and for working so hard to successfully implement so many major events over the course of the term.

Holiday Works

Over the break, it has been great to continue with ongoing improvements to our grounds and facilities.

Thanks to the fantastic proceeds from the Walkathon, new goals have now been installed on the Freyer St end of the greenfield (photo below). Later this term, the remaining Walkathon proceeds will be used to install two new basketball posts on the central basketball court and new backboards to all existing basketball posts.

As part of our Accessible Buildings Grant, asphalt works were also undertaken over the break between rooms 5,6,7 & 8 to ensure a much smoother and more even pathway between these rooms. Over the coming weeks, a new covered walkway will be installed between the JLC and existing covered walkway between rooms 5-8.

Planning for 2023

At Monday’s staff meeting, our teachers spent the majority of this meeting exploring the best possible grade structure for our 2023 classes. We now have several models drafted that will aim to house approximately 660 students across 28 classes (we currently have approx. 700 students enrolled). When this model is finalised, we will publish this through the newsletter for your reference.

To support our 2023 planning processes, we are very keen to finalise (as close as practicable) our student enrolments for next year. We currently have 76 Foundation students enrolled for 2023. Based on these numbers, four classes will be established for this cohort, each with 19 students. If you are yet to lodge an enrolment form for Foundation next year, we urge you to complete this ASAP and drop this in at the office. This will also be imperative for our upcoming transition program which begins in a few weeks.

Similarly, if by chance you know that your circumstances will be changing in 2023 and you are leaving our school community, we would be so grateful if you could please forward me an email with these details to jim.cahill@education.vic.gov.au

Building our 2023 Classes – Learning Buddies

In the coming weeks, all students across the school will be asked to trace an outline of their hand and to write the name of a learning buddy on each finger, in preparation for our teachers to begin to build the new classes for next year. Learning buddies have been identified as those students within the classroom who support each other’s learning; they may help you when you are working on an activity so that you have a better understanding, or they may give you some ideas for how you may enhance your work as well as being someone that you interact well with during group activities. During these discussions in the classroom, we emphasise that learning buddies may be different to the students who you consider to be your close friends, as sometimes our good friends can distract us from our learning. The differences between the learning needs and social connectedness will be a key part of the classroom discussions over the next several weeks. We encourage families to facilitate discussions at home as to whom the most suitable learning buddies may be for your child/ren.

As we begin to draft our new classes for 2023, there are several factors that will be carefully considered. In each new class, teachers will aim to ensure that there is a balance of academic capabilities, social competencies, behavioural traits & additional needs, so that the classes at each level have an almost identical profile. In addition to these factors, our teachers also take into account each child’s nominated learning buddies to ensure that every child is matched to at least one of their nominated learning buddies. (Please note that the learning buddies are not listed in any preferential order and it is explained to all students that they could be placed with any one of these 5 nominated buddies). As you can appreciate this is a very complex undertaking, especially in light of our total school enrolment in excess of 660 students.

To this end, please be assured that all of these factors are carefully considered. Like you, we want to ensure that we establish the best learning opportunities for all of our students in 2023 (particularly in light of the disruptions over the last several years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic). Given the rigour in this process, we ask that parents refrain from requesting friendship groupings and teacher preferences, unless there are extenuating circumstances (past or present) that we may not be aware of which may potentially impact on a child’s placement.

If you believe that extenuating circumstances exist in regards to your child’s placement in 2023, please feel welcome to provide these details via email at jim.cahill@education.vic.gov.au The school’s leadership team will carefully consider this parent input before finalising all future students placements for next year.

Basketball Win

Cannons M&M team made up of predominantly of year 3 WNPS students; Luca V, Anton H, Oliver S, Brody M and Javier M won the Bay West Tournament 2022, Under 10, Division 1 competition. It was a superstar effort by all players, winning their first tournament, being undefeated in their 5 games over the weekend. Coached by Pat Marshall and Ben McCarthy (WNPS parents), the team now looks forward to an exciting new summer season now commencing at Altona Stadium where the boys will play Under 12, Division 2.

Enjoy the rest of the Week

Jim Cahill - Principal, Williamstown North Primary School

White Ribbon Day 2022 is on Friday, 18 November.

Prevent Men's Violence against Women

This year’s White Ribbon Day theme is “Let’s Be the Change.”

The focus is to create meaningful change through conversations and education in communities right across Australia.

We invite all Australians to come together in their workplaces, schools, and communities to participate in White Ribbon Day.

With the amazing support of community members like you, we can host events in every State and Territory in our collective ambition to end all forms of men’s violence and abuse against women.

“Let’s Be the Change” by being part of the solution.

You can help be the change by:

Learning about topics like respectful relationships, stopping violence, and calling other men in through our Barbershop resources.

· Connecting and talking about these ideas with your friends, family, and colleagues to encourage change.

Hosting an event or activity that brings attention to the issue. Use our White Ribbon Australia resources to learn what immediate steps you can take to be part of the solution that ends gendered violence. We have designed this Host Kit to help you get started.

· Supporting everyone, including yourself, to practice being caring, vulnerable, and emotionally expressive.

To find out more about how you can get involved, visit our White Ribbon Day website.

2022 LIFT THE LID WALK for Mental Health - MORELAND VIC

2022 LIFT THE LID WALK for Mental Health - MORELAND VIC Hosted By Australian Rotary Health. Event starts on Sunday, 9 October 2022 and happening at Moreland, MORELAND, VI. Register or Buy Tickets, Price information.