At Willoughby Public School we aim to cultivate socially-aware learners who are critical and creative thinkers, within a safe, respectful and responsible learning community.
Dear Parents/Carers
Welcome back to Willoughby PS for 2023! I trust you had a relaxing summer holiday with your family and friends. I know our teachers had a wonderful break and are ready to meet and greet their new classes on Monday. A special warm welcome to our new families across Year 1 to Year 6 and our excited new Kindergarten students and families.
Staffing update
It gives me immense pleasure to welcome our new permanent teachers to Willoughby. We have a great mix of early career and experienced teachers joining our team and I am delighted to introduce: Mr Brad Keyes, Miss Trisha Dixon, Miss Madison O'Mullane, Mrs Vanessa Pearce and Ms Michelle Sayers. Miss Alicia Lee and Ms Penny Widner have joined our music team and Ms Vanessa O’Gorman-Hughes is our Chinese Language teacher while Ms Simy Chen is on parental leave. Welcome back Ms Nardia Darnell after her 12-month secondment as AP at Turramurra North PS and Mrs Debbie Dixon returning to WPS full time. Despite the shortage of teachers, we have been incredibly lucky to cover every class.
Class formation
I have submitted the numbers to the Department of Education. We have formed 36 classes for 2023. Every year we follow the guidelines from the Department of Education relating to average class sizes. Kindergarten – 20, Year 1 - 22, Year 2 – 24, Years 3 to 6 – 30. This has created the need for 3 within-stage class groups – Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2) Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4), Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6). Our syllabus in NSW is based on Stages, within all classes there is a range of ages and academic ability. Teachers use assessment information, formative and summative, to work out the starting point for the students and then build the learning program for the students accordingly. Please read the attached parent guide for greater understanding of learning Stages.
At the end of each year I ask our teachers to nominate which grade/ stage they would like to work in for the following year, as we form our new classes’ teachers are placed on grades/ stages according to their choice. This choice allows teachers to develop and apply their skills across our school, we are lucky to have such professional and creative teachers leading the learning for our students. The students also nominate who they would like to be with in their new class, this information is then used to form the classes. All students will end up with a nominated friend from their list.
All students will be placed into their new classes on Monday. Our 2023 Kindergarten students with their parents will meet in the hall at 9:00am. At the 9am bell the rest of our students will meet their 2022 teachers at the usual before-school meeting point. The grade supervisors will then, in stage or grade groups, introduce the students to their new teachers and allocate them into their new class.
Please see the end of day exit points for your child/ children for Monday afternoon.
Kindergarten - exit from Area 1 via the laneway between WPS and WGHS (Gate 6)
Stage 1 - Year 1 and Year 2 – Gates 1 and 2 on Oakville Road
Stage 2 – Years 3 and 4 – Keary Street Gate 5
Stage 3 – Years 5 and 6 – Gate 3 Oakville Road
Please see the map below for class locations.
New syllabus implementation
Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2 will be implementing the new English and Mathematics syllabus this year. Our teachers have completed extensive professional learning to support the implementation process. Aspects of the English and Mathematics syllabus will be explicitly taught to our students, assessment will track student progress and guide the learning to meet student needs as identified. Mr Hutchison has a significant leadership role as our WPS Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction. He will be focusing on literacy and numeracy, curriculum, and assessment and on improving teaching practices across the school. Mrs Davidson will be working collaboratively with Mr Hutchison and our teachers K-6.
2023 Student Leadership Team:
Our 2023 student leaders are ready to lead our student body and be an advocate of student voice at Willoughby PS. Please see the attached photo of our 2023 leaders. They have already had an impact by being part of the welcoming team for our 2023 Kindergarten students with their involvement in our Kindergarten Transition program in Term 4 2022. Each class over the next 2 weeks will be holding elections for their Semester 1 Student Representative Council. Our sport house captains did an outstanding job motivating their house teams at the swimming carnival on Wednesday.
Swimming Carnival 2022
It was a successful start the year with the swimming carnival, perfect weather ensured the success of the day. Our WPS students displayed outstanding sportsmanship throughout the day. Congratulations to our students heading to the zone carnival representing Willoughby PS. A huge thank you to Mr Hutchison for his great organisation and time management – the races kept to time! Thank you to our teachers and support staff that helped on the day as timekeepers, recorders, judges and race marshals and supervision.
We have had a great start to 2023 and we are looking forward to a wonderful year of learning at Willoughby.
Kind regards
Jennifer Simmonds
Principal
