Newsletter 4

Dear Parents and Carers

This week is Harmony Week.  It is a celebration of our cultural diversity and reminds us that as a country, many cultures call Australia home. Australia is the most successful multicultural country on earth, and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it. The message of Harmony Day in 2026 is ‘Harmony – Everyone belongs’. This theme encourages inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for all Australians, regardless of their cultural background. At WCPS, students will have the opportunity to complete some Harmony Week activities in their classes. Traditionally, orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Day. Orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the encouragement of mutual respect.  On Friday 20 March, students may choose to wear orange or clothing that is representative of their culture. Talk to your child about some practical ways they can demonstrate ‘Harmony – Everyone belongs’ in their day-to-day actions.

Tuesday this week was Saint Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick was born in England, but when he was a teenager, he was captured by Irish pirates who took him to Ireland as a slave. After six years, Saint Patrick escaped and returned to England and his family.

When Saint Patrick became a priest, he travelled back to Ireland as a missionary so that he could teach the people about God. He used examples to explain the mysteries of the faith in simple ways. One day, Saint Patrick compared the Trinity to a shamrock. He said that the shamrock has three leaves, but it is only one plant. In the same way, God is three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—but one God.

It doesn’t feel that long ago that quotes like “In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to” by Dave Hollis were referred to after the major impact of covid on our communities.  I can safely say and I’m sure we all agree that since this time, things have become more frantic and society feels that we are moving faster than ever before, we are busier than ever before and potentially more tired and time poor than ever before…… It looks and feels like we have long forgotten about our reflections post covid. What can we do?  As a school community, we can choose to slow things down and value the important things.  We can choose to value conversations, relationships, partnerships, manners and appreciate the learning and life opportunities provided to us.  Please have real conversations when things matter, reduce clutter and value the time that we have with each other.  This is not only good practice for communities but provides a great environment for children to grow and learn in.  Before sending an email, posting something, reacting quickly or saying yes to another commitment think about how this will impact you and whether it will help to create the calm that is so important for good learning, wellbeing and development.

Imagine you are building a house, and the brick layer has a day off from site every week, even worse they take two days off every week or even more…. How much longer will it now take to build your house?  This applies to student attendance… some students may be absent for one day per week which equates to an 80% attendance rate or two days per week which equates to a 60% attendance rate.  How much longer will it take these students to grasp school routines, grow and enhance their learning?  To participate fully in the school program, it is crucial that attendance is maintained at close to 100%.  We understand that if children are unwell, they will need to stay home and get well but it is unfair to expect growth from children if they are not present to further develop their skills.  Attendance reports will soon be sent to families providing your child’s percentage of attendance. The aim is for your child’s attendance rate to be as close to 100% as possible.

Please note that if students arrive late at school, they are required to sign into the office and take a late pass with them to their classroom.  This will ensure our system logs their attendance.  When signing students out early for an appointment, please also sign them out at the office and your child will be called up to the office to meet you.

As a school, we encourage our students to play as this significantly promotes and supports child development.  It is important, however that students are not playing on equipment or in the grounds before or after school unless participating in an organised activity.  For student safety, students must move directly to pick up areas so they can be supervised appropriately.  It may seem harmless to have a game with your child on the way out, but this can encourage other students to join who may not have a carer on site.  We appreciate your support with this.

Parent/Carer/Teacher interviews for students from Kindy-Year 6 will occur on Monday in week 1 of Term 2 with the day dedicated to interviews. This enables parents/carers and teachers to discuss student progress and emphasise the partnership between home and school in developing each child to their full potential.  A key factor in student learning is their own disposition to learning and for this reason, it is important to determine student successes and goals in this meeting. Include students in these meetings when possible.  Please ensure you have secured a time as the booking forms become available.

Our Year 3-6 students demonstrated excellent participation and teamwork at the swimming carnival last week. Many students challenged themselves to enter additional events and tried their best to extend their swimming skills. House captains also had the opportunity to practise their leadership skills and they did an outstanding job assisting students to get ready for their races. Thank you to Mrs Tash Richards for her outstanding coordination of this event. Thank you also to the many parents and staff who assisted on the day and at before school training leading up to the event. We appreciate your commitment to supporting our students.

This week our Year 3 and Year 5 students completed their NAPLAN assessments. This is a national test to track the progress of Year 3 and 5 students for the country, the state, systems and for schools.  The students displayed a calm, focused and positive attitude throughout the testing period. They approached each day with confidence and resilience, and they should be very proud of their efforts. Thank you to our parents and caregivers for ensuring the children were rested, prepared and ready for each testing session.

Demand for Kindy 2028 positions at WCPS is again extremely strong.  If your child is currently enrolled in our school and they have a younger sibling who is due to commence in 2028, it is crucial that you get your application in before the end of this week or they will miss out.  Priority is given to siblings, however if we are not aware that they are starting school, a position may not be available.

Best wishes and God bless