Willoughby Public School Newsletter

At Willoughby Public School we empower students to demonstrate creativity, collaboration, curiosity and persistence to become successful life-long learners. Students will be challenged in productive and innovative learning environments promoting inclusivity, resilience, respect and confidence.

• STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY TUESDAY 28  JANUARY  2020 - No students at school
  
• STUDENTS YEARS 1-6 RETURN ON WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY 2020
• NEW ENROLMENTS YEARS 1-6 START THURSDAY - by appointment
• BEST START INTERVIEWS FOR KINDERGARTEN   -  29, 30 & 31 January & 3 February
• KINDERGARTEN WILL COMMENCE ON TUESDAY 4 FEBRUARY
  

The school has five school development days per year and we ask parents/carers to make alternative arrangements for their children. These days are invaluable for whole school planning and Professional Learning and they usually occur on the first day of Terms 1, 2 and 3 and on the last two days in Term 4.

Thank you to every student in our school for working hard towards achieving your personal best. Congratulations to our Year 6 students and we wish you the very best in high school and for the future.

Thank you to our parent community for the amazing support throughout 2019 and we look forward to another great year in 2020.

Thank you to our wonderful teachers for your outstanding work and dedication to learning at Willoughby PS have a relaxing fun filled holiday.

At the end of every year we have the opportunity to thank and farewell members of our school teaching community. I would like to acknowledge the commitment and dedication provided over the years to the Willoughby PS school community by these wonderful teachers:

Mrs Trojkovic has accepted an EOI as Assistant Principal at Turramurra North for 2020, she will be working with Miss Michelle Verhagen for 2020. I would like to wish her the very best as she takes up her new position in a smaller school setting and we look forward to seeing her back at WPS in 2021. Thank you Mrs Flynn for your contribution to the kindergarten team in 2019 and Miss Goodchild for teaching Year 4 this year and we wish you the very best for the future.

I’m sure you will join with me in wishing this wonderful group of teachers the very best in 2020.

Congratulation to: Holly B, Amelia L and Dana W from Year 3 and Willow TD, Grace B and Keira W from Year 6 for working tirelessly, after to school and on the preceding weekends to ensure the project was a resounding success. They built models, practiced various layouts, as well as designed, printed and distributed some amazing promotional material. On the night, the girls setup and promoted the display, sold tickets at the door. Thank you for volunteering your time, working together, sharing ideas, collaborating on every aspect of the project. Great evidence of an understanding of key ideas of future focused learning. What wonderful feedback to receive from a member of our school community.

Regular attendance at school is essential for children to achieve their educational best, increasing career and life options. I would like to remind you that the Education Act (1990) requires parents to ensure that children of compulsory school age attend school each day it is open for instruction. Class rolls are marked every morning and parents are required to sign their child/children in at the school office if they are late and out if they are leaving early. Thank you for your ongoing support with this issue.

 If your child from Kindergarten to Year 5 is not returning to Willoughby PS in 2020, please let the office know in writing – addressed to the principal. This information helps with class organisation and planning for 2020. 

Jennifer  SImmonds, Principal

Could you be an ethics teacher for WPS? We are seeking volunteers so that ethics classes are available for all families who have requested them. Ethics teachers receive full training by Primary Ethics, the not-for-profit organisation approved to design curriculum and training for the ethics program. Training consists of a two day workshop and short online modules. Lesson materials are provided. Suitable volunteers have an interest in children’s education and development of critical thinking skills and must be available Wednesday morning each week to teach a half hour class. A small amount of weekly preparation (such as reading through lesson materials) is also required. In ethics classes, children learn how to think logically, disagree respectfully and support their arguments with evidence, rather than act according to blind habit or peer pressure.  Children discuss topic such as: -imagining how others feel -how do we treat living things? -what is laziness? -how do we disagree in a respectful way? -fairness   If you are looking for an opportunity to make a valuable contribution to our school, please visit www.primaryethics.com.au or  contact Melissa Budic at willoughbypsethics@gmail.com for more information.

What a big year we have had!  We are really proud of what the P&C has achieved this year, and we’d like to share some of the highlights.

Advocacy

We’ve had fortnightly meetings with the School Executive (our Principal Jennifer Simmonds, and DP’s Shaun Michael, Michelle Upston and Emma Blake).  We’ve attended many PRG meetings regarding the school upgrade, we’ve organised a community forum about the future focused learning spaces and pedagogy, we’ve lobbied council for improvements to traffic and we’ve liaised with WGHS regarding traffic and upgrades to the Keary St / Mowbray Road Oval.  Watch this space!

Every term we’ve had two meetings with our executive committee – pre and post our regular P&C general meetings.  We’ve also set up a WhatsApp group for our executive, to discuss and resolve issues of immediate concern.  We’re proud of our response rate to issues raised by members of the school community. 

Through her role as the parent representative on the school Merit Selection Panel, Jenni has spent countless hours assisting in the recruitment and selection of a number of teaching staff, including our new Deputy, Emma Blake. 

Communications & Marketing

Through the awesome work of our Communications Convenor, Amy Anderson we’ve improved the class contact list system (now using online forms), developed our Social Media presence via our Facebook site, liaised with School to ensure communications about P&C events and activities are disseminated efficiently via Skoolbag (thanks Shaun!) and the school newsletter.  We’ve also developed a new logo for the P&C and various sub-committees and have implemented a more streamlined and professional approach to the promotion of our events.  We’re in the process of developing a new website, and although this is taking some time it’s going to be a great improvement to what we have.  Through the efficiency of our Secretary Bec Cleary, we’ve conducted open and efficient Term meetings, with concise reports and minutes.

Partnerships & Grants

Our quiet achiever, outgoing VP Matt Loughnan ensured the continuation of our relationship with Richardson & Wrench, locking in a three year partnership deal.  Matt also successfully applied for a grant for a new playground for the school, which will be built as part of Stage 2 of the Upgrade in Term One next year.  Our hardworking, outgoing Treasurer Cath Lloyd, (apart from her ongoing job of keeping our accounts on track) once again successfully applied for a WCC Council Grant to ensure our wonderful buddy program with Cromehurst continues.  These grants, the revenue from our advertising supplement and sales from the Entertainment Book have resulted in over $28,000 cash or in kind to the school.  They also ensure the school has some fantastic programs, facilities and services. 

Events

Our bright and bubbly, outgoing Events Coordinator, Amanda Ley planned and executed a number of our events this year - which have been both extremely successful, but also beautifully community orientated – building on our charter to bring back the community spirit to Willoughby Public School.  We’ve raised over $30,000 for the school through these events alone.  In addition, the combined Chicks for a Cause lunch and Fiver for a Farmer SRC fundraiser (which was instigated by a school parent via the P&C) raised over $9,500 for Rural Aid.  Such a worthy cause and a testament to the generosity and spirit of the school community.

Sustainability

We’ve proudly spearheaded the implementation of a new Sustainability Taskforce to tackle this very real and important issue.  Although in its infancy, we’re excited about where we can go with making WPS as “Green” as we possibly can.  Watch this space!

Traffic

We’ve also formed a new Traffic Taskforce, instigating improvements to pedestrian safety around the school.  We’ve introduced a Traffic Tip Tuesday social media post, and we’re in the process of implementing some Walking Buses for various routes into the school – alleviating the traffic congestion we all know about!  We’re also lobbying the WCC and state government for some improvements to the traffic conditions around the school, including crossings and crossing supervisors, traffic light phasing, improvements to footpaths, including pedestrian railings.  Watch this space!

Uniform

We listened to the concerns of the students and parents/carers and formulated a survey around some possible options for a unisex approach to school wear.  We can’t wait to see our gender neutral polo shirt and pants/shorts to be implemented in 2020!

Supporting Sub-Committees

The P&C have made supporting our sub-committees a major priority.  We’ve attended many meetings and fielded many enquries from the Uniform Shop, Band, Netball and Chess Clubs.  We held a MeetUp in Term Four to further develop the interconnecting relationships between the clubs.  Sub-committees are such important threads in the fabric of our school and we are keen to continue collaborate, support and enrich the programs that they offer.

A huge thanks to our 2019 Executive Committee - Matt (VP), Cath (Treasurer) and Amanda (Events), who are unfortunately stepping down in 2020.  And Bec (Secretary) and Amy (Comms), who are continuing on in 2020.  Thanks for all your hard work and support guys – much appreciated.

A big thanks also to our Non-Executive Committee – our Assistant Secretary - Antonina Mineko and our Assistant Treasurers - Caroline Vickery & Darren Periera. 

Our gratitude also extends to our Events Teams:

Welcome Party & Picnic – Amanda, Steph, Juliemma

Election BBQ’s – Amanda and the Band Committee

Mothers Day Stall – Juliemma, Noemi, Amanda

Blokes Night – Amanda

Fathers Day Stall – Kevin Wong, Amanda

Parents Part – Adam, Amanda, Ruth, Amy

Bunnings BBQ & Cake Stall - Jenni and Zoi

Chicks for a Cause – Claire & Lucy

Starry Night – Steph, Carolyn and Ruth

…oh and let’s not forget the loads and loads of volunteers who’ve helped flip sausages, take tickets, set up tables etc. etc.  Thank you!

Our External Revenue Team have also done an amazing job – thank you Simrita, Meredith, Kylie and Amanda.

Headed up by Lisa, our fabulous Lost Property Angels have kept the piles under control!

And our Grounds Committee – Greg Flavel and Claudia Zines.  The workload has reduced somewhat this year with all the building works going on, but you’ve single handedly kept the gardens looking spic and span, and we thank you for that.

A big thank you also to our sub-committees, who beaver away behind the scenes to ensure your children embrace their love for music, netball and chess.

Band – Heather Chopra, Melissa Gock, Nikki Templeton, Dimity Pinto, Brooke Charlton, Meredith Robson and the coordinators of the three bands

Netball – Mel Fisher, Kirsten Delaney, Zoi Barber, Emma McGoldrick, Saskia Kirsin, Linda Shaw

Chess – Nathan Isterling, Cameron McNeil, Cath Lloyd, Frieda Chen, Linga Ma

Uniform Shop – Helen Bromley-Fox, Mel Fisher, Emma McGoldrick

Sustainability – Benjamine Duncan, Daniel Barber, Lee Stewart

We’d also like to acknowledge a number of people who are leaving the school this year, who have put in many, many, many hours over the years… A big thanks to Mel Fisher, Helen Bromley-Fox and Melissa Gock in particular. 

Also, a big thank you to the school executive team, Jennifer, Shaun, Michelle and Emma for your continued support of the P&C.  We’ve really enjoyed working with you towards our common objective – the best learning environment for our students.

This week the P&C we held a special breakfast for all WPS staff, including teachers, admin staff, school learning support officers, our awesome general assistant, Graeme and our three wonderful cleaners, as well as the Executive Team.  It was lovely to be able to recognise the tireless work that all of these people put in to Willoughby Public School, and thank them all in person.

So, you’d think reflecting back on all of that, that our work is done.  We still have many more things we’d like to see through in 2020, including: 

·       Assisting the school and our sub-committees with transitioning to the new building, including the set-up of new facilities

·       Supporting our sub-committees to ensure they are well-informed and governed correctly

·       Streamlining the structure of our Executive and Non-executive committees, including the introduction of an Immediate Past President role

·       Distributing more evenly, by year group, the management our community events, so that organisation doesn’t always fall to one person

·       Developing a sustainability approach to all areas of our school, including our sub-committees and events

·       Continuing our plight for a safer environment for our children to get to and from school

And…

·       a Fair to celebrate the opening of our beautiful new and refurbished facilities!

We’re excited to welcome some new faces to our teams – both on the P&C itself and on all our fabulous subcommittees.  We’re looking forward to working with you all in 2020.

Thanks everyone for your continued support!

Your P&C Presidents,

Jenni Brown & Tanya Taylor

2020 Committees

P&C Executive

Co-President - Jenni Brown

Co-President -Tanya Taylor

Vice-President Communications - Amy Daly

Vice-President Partnerships - Meredith Robson

Treasurer - Raffi Mavlian

Secretary - Rebecca Cleary

Fundraising / Events - Juliemma Moran

P&C Non-Executive

Assistant Treasurer – Damien Berrell

Assistant Treasurer – Caroline Vickery

Assistant Secretary – Kirsten Delaney

Website – Tristen Jones

School Development – Colin Sargent

Grants – Lee Stewart

Community Advertising – Simrita Virk

Entertainment Book – Meredith Robson

Lost Property – Lisa Giziarotis

Woolworths Earn & Learn – Kylie Abineno

Sports – Keshvar Searle

Grounds – Kelly Swanson-Roe

P&C Events

Assistant Events / Event Technology – Amanda Ley

Welcome Party – Kirsten Delaney, Kristen Wright, Zoi Barber

Mother’s Day Stall – Juliana Damcevski, Sandra Sutherland

Blokes Night – Vacant

Father’s Day Stall – Vacant

Parent’s Party – Adam Hill

Fair – Vacant

Bunnings & Election BBQ’s – Vacant

Chicks for a Cause – Claire Hughes

Starry Night - Vacant

Band

Co-Convenor – Meredith Robson

Co-Convenor – Jason Jones

Co-Convenor – Kate Nieland

Treasurer – Andrew Griffiths

Secretary – Anita Ackerman

Chess

Convenor – Paul Relf

Treasurer – Vacant

Secretary - Vacant

Netball

Convenor Netball – Bec Muir

Convenor Net-Set-Go – Zoi Barber

Treasurer – Emma McGoldrick

Secretary – Saskia Kirsin

Uniform Shop

Convenor – Slavka Vagnerova

Treasurer – Emma McGoldrick

Secretary – Tamara Isterling

Sustainability

Convenor – Benjamine Duncan

Treasurer – Lee Stewart

Secretary – Daniel Barber

Traffic

Tanya Taylor

Jenni Brown

Juliemma Moran

Gary Feder

Kirsten Delaney

Katie Robertson

The new ‘unisex’ short sleeve polo school shirt is in production and will be available for sale in Week 1 of Term 1, 2020. The new girls’ grey shorts will also be available from this date and can only be worn with the new polo shirt.

The sale of new items will be based on the depletion of current stock of the same/similar size and style. Please note there is a transition period of up to 3 years for all new uniform items.

Your friendly uniform shop will have a new home in 2020, and in preparation for the move, we have needed to ‘run down’ some of our stock. Please be patient and kind to our shop volunteers during this time.

School bags are due back in stock week commencing Monday 18 November. The best way to purchase a school bag is ‘online’ and we will arrange to deliver it to a class or let you know when you can collect it.

Please be aware of the shortened opening hours for the last week of term, and extended opening hours/days for Week 1, 2020.

We’d like to thank all our wonderful volunteers and committee members, past, present and future.

Term 4, 2019 Shop Hours

*CLOSED* Week 10, Wednesday 18 December 2019 (last day of school)

2019/20 Online Ordering will be available during the summer holidays, HOWEVER orders will not be available for collection until Tuesday 28 January 2020, this includes any orders made after 9am on Friday 13 December 2019 (order deadline).

Back to School, 2020 Shop Hours

Tuesday 28 January – Pupil Free Day – 10.30am till 12.30pm (including Dr Shoe from 11.30am)

Wednesday 29 January – Students return – open 8.30 till 9.30am

Thursday 30 January – 8.30 till 9.30am

Friday 31 January – 8.30 till 9.30am

Normal Shop hours resume, Week 2, Term 1, 2020 on Wednesdays and Fridays, 8.30 till 9.30am.