Weetangera Primary School eNewsletter

From Julie

Dear Families

Today, at our Harmony Week Celebration Assembly, we were presented with the most beautiful artwork. The artwork has been painted by a member of our community and symbolises the story of us. The biggest of thank yous and warmest appreciation to Rob Scott and his family; Caden (year 7), Izzy (year 2) and Tania. The permanent home for this piece of work will be in the front administration area; we will be relocating the trophy cabinet to accommodate this:

I hope I have captured the story of the Scott Family artwork correctly:

The deep blue diagonals are the Molonglo and Murrumbidgee Rivers, the green diagonals the Brindabellas, the white top to bottom left to right represents the journey of learning from preschool through to Year 6, onto high school and college and then off to trades and university. The central motif represents on the outside the students who are members of the Yirris, our Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students, teachers and LSA Support staff, the wonderful administrative team, our community and in the centre the Scott Family. The interior-coloured groupings, using the colours of our new logo and associated branding represent the friendship groups, year levels and class groupings across our school.

We are all deeply moved by the meaningful and beautiful artwork that has been created for Our Place of Learning. Heartfelt thanks from myself and team, students, school, families and community.

Improvements

I have some other interesting news to share. Over the next few months, you will see some changes at Weetangera Primary School.

In my time here the team at WPS have endeavoured to ensure that upgrades, additions and improvements have been made to the environment of learning. The improvements include:

The electronic sign at the front of the school
The PBL signage across the school both inside and out
Updating of the logo and uniforms
A new front office and administration area
Screening on all windows both internally and external
An accessible ramp into the school
Sliding doors into and out of various units
Brand new hallway carpets – the red strip up the centre is a great walking path
Refurbishing and reconfiguring the preschool toilets
The current ramp into the playground is almost completed
And the big piece work by Stephen James, Librarian Extraordinaire who has facilitated a significant ongoing improvement to the library collection.

These are just a few of the changes that have been made.

In 2025 there will be two more areas of improvement work that will impact our school:

All toilets will be remodelled and updated across the school and the bubblers will be replaced with brightly coloured water fountains that will provide students with a place to drink and to fill up water bottles.
A GEOTHERMAL Heating and Cooling Project. Follow the link (this one 😊) and find out the details. What you will see next week will be the beginning of the project; a site office and associated area will be set up next to Unit 7 and the PLAYPOD Area will be fenced as this is the first phase of the GEOTHERMAL Project; drilling into the ground.

Why is this a required improvement at Weetangera PS? In all weather conditions the 52 year old heating and cooling system can best be described as ‘limping along’. On some of the coldest days in Canberra all staff and students can be found, indoors, bundled up against the cold and on the hottest days in Canberra when the system is not working ‘at it’s best’ we are all sweltering in the heat. The promise of the GEOTHERMAL System is one that looks to providing a reliable and consistent system of heating and cooling that enables learning to occur in a manner conducive to learning success.

Harmony Day

Today is HARMONY Day and I am drawn to considering how well our school does with being HARMONIOUS.

This is a huge concept for our students, raising thought provoking questions such as:

What is harmony?
How do I contribute my part to a harmonious school?
Do I consider others when I am at school?
Do I contribute, positively, to learning inside and outside of the classroom?
And what should I do when I see something that bothers me? That does not contribute to the health and well-being of myself and my peers.

Over the course of the week and throughout the year the focus of Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL), for class cooperation, for play times inside and outside, for learning and achievement provides all of our students with opportunities to consider how they can contribute to the life of the school, their family and to the broader community. I believe that at Weetangera Primary School we do ‘get it right for kids’. But please know, sometimes things ‘fall off the rails’ and we don’t. It is important that we can put learning back on track and so the key message to all of our students is always; you must tell someone when things aren’t working for you and know that we will act upon the information and support our students to be successful.

I shared two ‘thoughts for the week’ with staff this week.

Fill your weeks with kindness and harmony.

Have an excellent weekend.

Julie

Julie.cooper@ed.act.edu.au

Congratulations - IMP Extension Ensembles

Congratulations to the following students, who have auditioned and been selected to join the Instrumental Music Program (IMP) ensembles. This is a big achievement, and we are very proud of these and all of our talented musicians.

First Name	Year	Instrument	IMP Ensemble
Kevin	6	Trumpet	ACT Primary Concert Band
Willow	6	Tuba	ACT Primary Concert Band
Annabelle	6	Trumpet	ACT Primary Concert Band
Pippa	4	Voice	ACT Young Voices

Transport Canberra Bus Timetable

Timetable improvements to begin from 28 April 2025

An improved bus timetable featuring more peak and school services will begin from the start of school term two on Monday 28 April 2025.

Upcoming bus timetable improvements will include:

More AM and PM weekday peak services for key Rapid routes including the Rapid 2, Rapid 4 and Rapid 10.
More weekday and Saturday services to better connect the growing Molonglo region.
New and refined school services to better align with bell times based on school community feedback.

A full outline of service improvements for schools is available at: www.transport.act.gov.au.

Further information will be released in the coming weeks ahead of the beginning of term 2.

What's Happening in the Crocodiles

We have had a wonderful start to Kindergarten with lots of getting-to-know-you activities and learning how to use the inside and outside environments.

In maths, we have been learning about 2D shapes. We have used our detective skills and our shape magnifying glasses to find squares, circles, triangles and rectangles around the classroom. The Crocodiles have also enjoyed participating in hands-on activities to find out the difference between corners and sides. This helped us understand that some shapes can’t be made using straight sides but have curved sides instead.

We celebrated Harmony Day this week and discussed as a class what our different cultural backgrounds are. We discovered that some Crocodiles can speak another language, and we were excited to learn how to say ‘hello’ in these languages. We read books which prompted us to think about how we can demonstrate inclusivity in the classroom and playground. We would like to share some of our work, inspired by the book ‘Scary Bird’ by Michel Streich.

We hope you enjoy reading about us and seeing some of our work!

Michelle Robinson

In Year One, we are continuing to inquire into the global concept of Harmony by looking at different celebrations. For the past few weeks, we have been writing about different celebrations and things we find interesting about them. This week we learnt about Holi by watching a video and reading several books. We then shared our learning through sharing observations and writing about Holi.

Here are some of the interesting things we have learnt about Holi:

“They crush up flowers to make the colour.” - Cleo
“They celebrate by throwing colour at people.” - Sienna
“They celebrate in late February or early March.”- Ben
“The blue god was embarrassed by his blue skin.” - Maisy
“They celebrate by throwing colour into the sky.”- Lara
‘The most important thing about (Holi) is to have fun.” - Daisy
“They celebrate by lighting bonfires.” - Harriet
“They light bonfires to represent the triumph of good winning over evil.” - Eric
“Indians celebrate Holi.” - Tegbir

As we learn about each celebration, we have been creating a range of artworks. Holi is known as the ‘Festival of Colour’ so we decided to create some colourful artworks. We completed four art activities, mandalas with chalk, ‘henna’ hands, artworks by blowing paint with a straw and the most exciting activity was the tie dyed socks, which we can’t wait to wear when they are ready.

Megan Ferdinand

What an incredible start to 2025 we’ve had in the Sea Otters! Over the term, we’ve worked through our start-up program, giving me the opportunity to get to know each student individually and introduce them to Weetangera’s Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) values.

I have been so impressed by the resilience and enthusiasm of every student as they tackle new challenges. Going through NAPLAN was a significant milestone, and I’m proud of how each student approached it with determination, doing their very best.

As a class, we have demonstrated outstanding PBL values, reaching our first whole-school target of 400 Dojos! To celebrate, the students enjoyed some well-earned free time on the Chromebooks.

In Maths, we’ve been exploring angles and are now moving on to learning about time. The students have created their own clocks, which will be used throughout our unit. We’ll focus on understanding hours and minutes, and I encourage you to reinforce this learning at home. Simple discussions, such as asking what each number on an analogue clock represents or estimating how long a task will take, can make a big difference in their understanding.

In our Global Concept of Harmony we include Literacy and have been diving into persuasive writing. We’ve been discussing the importance of rules in society and will soon be working on persuasive pieces where students will propose adding or removing a school rule—and convincing us why their idea should be implemented! We have also introduced spelling groups to strengthen our literacy skills further.

In PE we have been feverishly developing our fitness for the cross country in week 10. In just over a week I can already see the improvement in their running as well as enjoyment.

We’re excited to announce that Year 3 will be hosting their assembly on Friday of Week 9. We would love to see as many family members as possible there to support us!

My transition to Weetangera Primary has been made so special by this amazing class, and I look forward to all the learning and growth ahead this year.

Allison Barker

It’s been an exciting and eventful few weeks, and we’re eager to share some of the learning we've been up to in the classroom. The Opossums have been hard at work! Recently, we began exploring the Global Concept of Harmony, which serves as a long-term focus across all subject areas. Here’s a quick snapshot of what we’ve been concentrating on:

During mathematics, we created our own “Wild Robots” using a variety of 2D shapes, linking them to our class novel. The students then tallied how many of each shape they used. The robots look fantastic! We will continue focusing on 2D shapes, particularly exploring how they are represented in the environment.

In HASS lessons, the students have been developing their research skills using Chromebooks and hardcopy resources. They’ve been exploring the diverse experiences of people in Australia before and after 1788. This exploration has led to deep and thoughtful conversations about how knowledge can help us live harmoniously.

During reading lessons, the students have been focusing on strategies to improve their text comprehension. We’ve been learning and applying the strategy of making connections. Students have practiced creating text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections using their "just-right" books to assist them.

We began the term by writing small-moment narratives, focusing on times in the students’ lives when they felt a strong sense of belonging. We have since moved on to learning what a recount is and how to write one. The Opossums are in the early stages of planning and drafting their personal recounts. As the unit progresses, we will use our newfound knowledge of Australian history—specifically the experiences of people before and after 1788—to create historical recounts.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this update on what the Opossums have been learning this term.

Celeste Tunnecliffe

What's Happening in the Ground Breakers

What a wonderful start to the year it has been. In our class we have been busy getting to know each other and forming a place where we feel safe, happy, supported and ready to learn together. Our class name has come from our studies on Jackie French’s book ‘Drought’:

We are the Ground Breakers, and we are cracking the ground with our ideas!

During writing lessons, we explored the way Jackie French used figurative language to describe the harsh environment and the impact of weather.

We focussed on one sentence where she had described the incoming storm clouds:

Then another gift at last, purple castles fierce and vast.

We changed this sentence by adding in our own nouns and adjectives but needed to ensure we were still giving the reader the impact of the much needed and impactful storm clouds arriving. Here are some of our examples:

Then another gift at last, the enormous wall, loud and deadly. -Mika
Then at last another gift, dark blooming clouds, an endless rift. -Henry
Then another gift at last, colossal giants cold and grim – Max
Then another gift as good as gold. Deadly waves, gloomy and cold. -Hannah
And then another gift at last…dark fortresses thick and fast. –Parker
Then another gift at last…mad chariots COLLOSAL and moisturised. -Lorenzo
Then another gift at last, hazy clouds blue and dark. – Mohammad
Then another gift at last, colossal funnels, electric and raging. -Jupiter
Then another gift at last, angered armies, brooding and DARK. – Eve
Then another gift at last raging mountains across the gloomy, ominous sky. – Darda
Then another gift at last, thunderous balloons dark, grey and fast. -Louisa
Then another gift at last, raging tyrants, compact and dark. -Willow

Our most exciting adventure so far this year has been our Year 5/6 camp. We spent two nights away at Birrigai. Here are some of the things we loved about camp.

I loved the fact that everyone worked together, and you could have lots of new experiences and challenges. -Kevin
I loved the giant swing because you got to choose how high you could go. Your friends got to pull you up on it. -Eve
The food was very yummy, especially the chicken burger! -Lorenzo
I loved the crate climb and the giant swing. The crate climb was great because you got choice with the height at each level. -Henry
It was hard without much sleep in my cabin, but I still enjoyed the giant swing. -Jack
I liked the crate climb because I got up to ten crates high. -Parker
I had a lot of fun on the high swing with my friends. -Willow
The cabins were good because we got to hang out and not be in the boiling hot weather. -Mika
The food was very yummy and scrummy 😊 -Elva
I loved the crate climb because I pushed Zayden off! -Aarav
I liked the walk because we went under the big rocks. -Willa
I loved the crate climb because Tahlia and I beat Eve and Ananya and it was fun jumping off because I felt like a fairy. Also the butter chicken was really good! -Louisa
I enjoyed the crate climb. Francis and I went to ten crates and it was really fun jumping off. -Darda
I liked the crate climb. Eden and I were the first in our group to go. -Emily
I liked the giant swing and crate climb the best. The cabins were good because the beds were comfy. -Eden
I liked the giant swing because I went to maximum height and I was the last person to do it! – Hannah

Emily Dziubinski

School Sport ACT Representative Teams

Talented sportspeople in Year 5 and Year 6 are welcome to trial for selection in School Sport ACT (SSACT) Under 12 Teams. The sports available for students to represent ACT in are: Aussie Rules, Basketball, Cricket, Cross Country, Football (Soccer), Golf, Hockey, Netball, Rugby League, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Touch Football and Track and Field. Please note:

A child should be playing at a high level for their club and/or playing in the top division available to be a realistic chance of being selected in a SSACT team, particularly in sports with high participation numbers, e.g. soccer and netball.

During the year trials are held for the various team sports and parents will need to register their child for them to be able to participate. Parents will need to access the School Sport ACT website to set up an account:

https://schoolsportact.org.au/

For cross country, swimming and track and field students will need to qualify for the SSACT Championships via the normal process, i.e. attend school and regional carnivals.

If you have any questions about the trial process for School Sport ACT teams, please contact any of the staff members below.

Thank you for your support,

Erwin McRae, Tyler Beltrame and Anastasia O’Donnell.

School Photos

Given below are the dates for upcoming School Photography Day for 2025

Friday 28 March 2025 (Term 1/Week 8) – Preschool Photo Day, End of the Week Preschool Group (Sibling photos will be taken between 8:45am and 9:00am Location - Preschool)

Tuesday 1April 2025 (Term 1/Week 9) – Main School Photo Day & Beginning of the Week Preschool Group (Sibling photos will be taken between 8:30am and 9:00am Location – New Hall Unit 7 & Preschool)

Please note Preschool beginning of the week date has been moved from 7 April 25 to 1 April 25

Students will not receive individual envelopes. Parents are encouraged to use the online school order code to order student photos and sibling photos.

Online Payments - We encourage parents to pay online before the School Photography Day. An online school order code is located on the flyer attached orders are mail via www.theschoolphotographer.com.au.
There are no individual student order codes.

Sibling Photos – In order for The School Photographer to provide the school with a list of sibling orders, the online ordering of sibling photos will be temporarily disabled one working day prior to photo day and re-open after all photo days are finalised. All students & families (if presented) will be photographed regardless of payment.
Sibling Photos are taken of siblings who attend the school only. Time and location for sibling photos are given above.
Cash Orders – via envelope. Please see Front Office
ALL STUDENT PHOTO ENQUIRIES – Parents to contact The School Photographer.

Email enquiries@theschoolphotographer.com.au or call: 02 9674 9824

Weetangera_School_Elite_Flyer.pdf

Book Club

Scholastic Book Club Issue 2 is available and all online orders are due by 28 March 2025.

ISSUE PREVIEW | Scholastic Australia

P&C Update

P&C General Meeting 25/3
Tuesday, 25 March 2025
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm (AEST)

Meeting link: P&C General Meeting 25/3 | Microsoft Teams | Meet-up-Join

All welcome.

Get Ready to Blast Off at the OUTER SPACE Disco!

Calling all young astronauts, dancers, and partygoers! 🚀 It's time to prepare for an unforgettable evening under the stars at the OUTER SPACE Disco at Weetangera Primary School. Whether you're a Junior or Senior School student, we've got a galactic dance party just for you!

🪐 When:
Friday 4 April, 2025

Junior School (P-2): 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Senior School (3-6): 7:00pm – 8:30pm

💥 Where:
Weetangera School Hall – Entry via the rear doors (playground side)

🎉 What to Expect:

Groovy tunes and space-themed fun all night long.
A chance to show off your best dance moves in the ultimate space party atmosphere.

🚨 Ticket Info:

Early Bird Tickets: $10 (available from Monday 3 March – Sunday 30 March)
Late Tickets: $15 (available from Monday 31 March – Thursday 3 April)
Tickets are only available via Flexischools, so be sure to grab yours early!

🛸 Important Notes:

Junior School parents – please stay to supervise your little ones.
Senior School parents – you’re welcome to drop your kids off, but please make sure to return by 8:30pm for pick-up.
No ticket sales after Thursday 3 April, and wristbands will be handed out via your child’s classroom after Monday 31 March.

🌌 Get your tickets soon and join us for an out-of-this-world disco experience!
Don’t miss the chance to be part of the OUTER SPACE Disco – it’s going to be one small step for your child, one giant leap for party-kind!

BOOK NOW via the Flexischools App. See you there! 💫

Event FAQs

All entry to the disco is via the rear doors to the school hall (playground side)
Junior School parents are required to stay to supervise their children
Senior School parents are encouraged, but can choose to leave if they wish, as long as they return to collect their children by 8:30pm
Disco tickets can be purchased exclusively via Flexischools
Tickets go on sale Monday 3 March and close Thursday 3 April. No ticket sales can be processed after Thursday 3 April.
Wristbands for entry will be distributed via the classroom after Monday 31 March
Food and drink, including BBQ, available to purchase on the night
Please bring cash as no card facilities are available
Parent and Community Volunteers are warmly welcomed. Please sign up here to lend a hand on the night: https://form.jotform.com/250501554174854
Event enquiries can be made to Gab on 0435 624272 or gabaffleck@gmail.com

Weetangera Public School P&C – 2025 Office Bearers

We are pleased to announce the newly elected office bearers for the Weetangera Public School P&C for 2025. Congratulations to:

President: Gabby Affleck
Vice President: Belinda Ryan
Secretary: Jonathan Sheahan
Assistant Secretary: Ben Morrison
Treasurer: Paul Zagami
Assistant Treasurer: Georgia Quinn
Public Officer: Akshay Gupta

A heartfelt thank you to all our parent volunteers for dedicating their time and energy to supporting the WPS community. Your contributions make a real difference, and we look forward to a fantastic year ahead!

If you’d like to get involved or learn more about what the P&C does, we’d love to hear from you. Keep an eye on the Weetangera School P&C Facebook Group or the Newsletter for info on upcoming meetings and events!

Canteen News

2025_Canteen_Banner_1.pdf

wps_menu.pdf

T1W10_Lunch_Special_20250321_160209_0000.pdf

2025 Uniform Price List

Weetangera_2025_Price_list_new_uniforms.pdf

Workin' Gear Schools is the new uniform supplier for Weetangera Primary School. New uniforms with the new SPW logo can be ordered using the link above. Students are still able to wear uniforms with the old WPS logo. There are still limited sizes available for sale at the front office. Please contact the school after 22 January to organise a time to purchase these.

Parent Portal at Weetangera

News Flash! Our school calendar is now available through the parent portal. Please keep an eye out for upcoming events.

Parent Portal is a secure online platform to share information between parents and carers and their student’s teachers. It’s available via a web browser and a mobile app.

Parent Portal has been rolled out across all ACT public schools and allows parents to:

notify the school when their child is sick or to explain an absence
book parent-teacher interviews (coming soon to WPS)
receive academic reports
receive the school newsletter
make payments
access the school calendar and their child’s student timetable (coming soon to WPS)
update their contact details.

One of the many benefits of the Parent Portal is that it is used by all ACT public schools from preschool through to year 12, so there will be no need to use a different system as children change schools during their public-school journey.

If you have children attending other public schools, you don’t need to sign up to the system twice.

Parent Portal is linked to the Student Administration System (SAS) used by the ACT Education Directorate for administering student data at ACT public schools.

How to register for Parent Portal

Sign up for an ACT Digital Account if you do not already have one. This is an important step in securely verifying the identity of parents and carers. It will not be possible to set up an account without undertaking this step. Detailed instructions including identification documents required to verify your account are listed on the Education Directorate's website in the Frequently Asked Questions.
You will be sent an access key (code) and a Parent Portal registration link specific to Weetangera Primary School via email to enable you to link your ACT Digital Account to your child’s records.

Sentral for Parents app

The Sentral for Parents app is the mobile app version of Parent Portal. You can access Parent Portal through the Sentral for Parents app, or using a web browser on your computer, mobile phone or tablet.

You can download the Sentral for Parents app for free from the App Store or Google Play Store.

Christian Education in Schools

Christian Education in Schools volunteers will provide a session on Weetangera PS on Monday 7 April. This session will be provided only to students that have opted in via the permission note. Please visit the school front office to get a copy of the permission form.