Weetangera Primary School eNewsletter

From Julie

Dear Families

At the Senior Assembly last week, which was hosted and organised by the students themselves, they had the delightful privilege of being visited by 3 caring and concerned community members. Zara, Edith and Audrey, students in Year 1, provided some ‘feedback ‘ to the students in the Senior years. It transpires that the 3 students had been working very hard to, in their own words, clean-up the grubby areas of the school.

So, with green buckets and tongs in hand they had discovered the following: Friday they collected 5 and a half buckets full of litter, the next week they had collected an average of 3 buckets of rubbish each day. They were a little outraged that students were continuing to litter, so they approached me and we had a ‘chat’. I invited them to attend the assembly, to write their message down, to come and practice their speeches and then to present their findings to the assembly. It was truly the most glorious thing to see, three of our youngest students, in their words, letting their peers know that they had to look after our environment and the community of the school. When I asked them; Who do you think is making the most mess? Without blinking they said YEAR 6!

Their actions along with the many students who chat to me, write me letters about their observations, plans and concerns reminds me that this is a truly fabulous place of learning, and our students are setting themselves up to be the next generation of change-makers.

On a different note, as from 1 August it is back to HATS ON in the playground and all students are aware of the requirements and the actions they need to take; when outside hats on! And a hat is defined as a structure, covering the head and containing a wide enough brim to protect (Usually 6 – 7.5cm) the face, head, neck and ears.

On Monday of next week the official NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy) results for each student in Years 3 & 5 will be mailed home. We have taken this approach to ensure that families receive information in a timely manner. From experience I am aware that, on occasion, important documents get lost in the bottom of school bags and don’t make it home to the people who need it. If you do not receive your NAPLAN letter, by the end of next week 11 August, please let the front office know.

In 2023 there has been a change to the way NAPLAN results are reported to families. The reports use a set of proficiency standards that have four levels of student achievement replacing the previous 10 band structure of previous years.

On most days I am out in the playground at recess and lunchtime, chatting with students and listening to the way in which they connect with each. My observation is that Weetangera Primary school is a positive, joyful and connected community of learners and we all have much to be proud of.

It was a simple thought for the week for staff to ponder:

Have a glorious weekend, hoping the weather lasts so we can all get out and about.

Regards

Julie

Julie.cooper@ed.act.edu.au

Playground Master Plan

We have entered the next phase of our playground upgrade, with the creation of a Playground Masterplan. This plan outlines a range of possible options for the renewal and upgrade for our main playground space. We are seeking feedback on the plan and next steps.

To see the plan and find out more, you can check out the display in the school foyer, or you can watch this 12 minute presentation explaining the various elements of the plan. If you have any questions or ideas about the plan, you can submit them through the feedback form linked below, or you can attend one of our upcoming drop-in sessions, to be held in the school library:

Tuesday 8 August – 8.15-8.45am

We are interested in your feedback. If you have any ideas, thoughts or questions about the plan, please let us know using this form: https://forms.gle/Mxhs8nKP4qTpSEhu8.

In our next newsletter, we will provide a summary of your feedback and answer any questions that have arisen.

Chief Minister's Reading Challenge

What's Happening in the Exceptional Elephants

This term in the Exceptional Elephants class we are learning how we can be creative with our thinking. Last week we spoke about what the word create means and how can we create things.

Some of the responses were;

to make things
to build towers
to cook food
to play
to dance and sing

We continued to explore the idea through play experiences, including making gingerbread men, experimenting with instruments, cooking in the mud kitchen, building in the sandpit, and creating artworks for our art wall!

Marinne Foley

PRESCHOOL

This term, the Marvellous Meerkats have begun investigating the question, “What is Inside My Body?” We have been finding out about the skeletal system, the role of the brain, heart and lungs as well as talking about how blood travels around our body. This unit of work has been integrated into various area of the curriculum. We set up a Teddy Bear Hospital in the dramatic play area, and incorporated the topic into music, art and craft literacy and maths.

We have learnt that:

“The brain is the boss of the body” (Eddie)
“There is blue blood and red blood inside us. It goes to the heart and lungs to get oxygen in it.” (Lara)
“There are juices in our tummy that mix with food.” (Sienna)
“The heart is a muscle.” (Ben)
“If we didn’t have bones we would be like jelly.” (Georgia)

Viginia Hambley

What's Happening in the Crayons

This term, kindergarten will be using the artworks of Lizzy Stageman and other traditional Aboriginal Artists from our local area to explore their ideas related to their inquiry unit, ‘Our Place’.

Lizzy is a First Nations Artist born and raised on Wiradjuri Land. She is a self-taught artist and storyteller, expressing her life through art with a personal connection to her culture using traditional symbols.

While learning about Lizzy’s artworks and the stories that inspire her paintings, kindergarten will be spending regular sessions in our school yarning circle as a time to connect with our special place of learning. The children will look to the Weetangera Primary School playground to gain inspiration for their artwork, which we will be excited to share with you are our galleries of learning later this term.

We are also looking forward to speaking with some local First Nations artists who will share their stories about the artworks they create to represent their stories and culture.

If you would like to learn more about Lizzy’s art, you can go to Lizzy Stageman’s website:

www.lizzystagemanart.com.au

Prints of her original artworks can also be purchased from: www.buyfromthebush.com.au

Leanne Brazier

What's Happening in the Galahs

Weetangera celebrated NAIDOC week in Week one this term. The theme for 2023 was ‘For our Elders’. Year One celebrated NAIDOC week with a focus on musicians and songwriters who guided generations and paved the way for us to take the paths we can take today. Guidance, not only through generations of advocacy and activism, but in everyday life.

One of the Edlers that we looked at was Archibald (Archie) Roach. We first learned about the incredible things that Archie did to advocate for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and how he continues to support First Nations people through his foundation.

We then listened to one of his songs titled ‘one song’. After listening to the song, we used a small section of his lyrics and created an artwork that reflected them.

Check out the lyrics and some of the artworks below.

We sing mountains and the trees
And the rivers flowing
We sing the rain that falls so free
And the wind that's blowing
Now we are blessed that we've been given
This beautiful land where we belong

Tarnii Boland & Sarah Masling

It is Term 3! Already?! As always Butterflies are off to a flying start for the start of the term, it’s hard to believe we are already in Semester 2.

A quick reflection on the last few days of our first Semester. The Butterflies earned, via a lazy couple of thousand dojo points, a ‘Teddy Bears Picnic’. The students had a lovely time enjoying a picnic, special snacks, games and an ‘ART-fternoon’. We also had an opportunity to share appreciation for each other by writing kind words on each other’s ‘hearts.’ It was a lovely day indeed!

The start of Term 3 has been busy! Our first week was spent exploring NAIDOC week and creating work for a special assembly on the Friday. Part of their work included a reflection on the city of Canberra and what kind of a ‘Welcome to Country’ they would create to welcome visitors to the city.

Students have been improving their Reading Stamina and are fast closing in on 20 minutes of being able to sit in one place and read to themselves without distraction or moving about. Wow! So fabulous! Butterflies are also becoming experts in mindfulness our breathwork circle always resets us for our day.

New units of work for Inquiry in History, Drama and Design and Technology have also begun. We are beginning to discover that the passage of time, as we understand it, is a linear thing, we even made a gigantic timeline to show a visual representation of this. We found out that Weetangera Primary School started way back in 1875! Gosh that is a LONG time ago, the current school of course is a little less old and is about to celebrate its 50^th birthday and with that in mind we have been practicing our 70’s themed performance piece for the big party.

We are understanding how to write a procedure, how to add a little more expression when we read; and getting to understand the many sounds all the letters of the alphabet can make depending on...well…so many things! A better understanding money is or first focus area for maths this term, get ready to have Butterflies asking to count all the money in your purse/wallet/moneybox. We continue have an ongoing commitment to understanding several different strategies for addition and subtraction. Added to this all the singing, dancing, PE-ing, and a general good time. It’s going to be a great term in Butterflies!

Rhonda King

What's Happening in the Green Tree Pythons

We have had a fantastic start to Term 3 in the Pythons! We have started quite a few new learning units and our brains are buzzing. As a side distraction we have also been following the FIFA World Cup and celebrating every Matilda’s win! We were sad when Nigeria beat Australia but we agreed they were a very impressive team. In class we have been running a low stake sweep with every student having an individual team as well as three other teams as groups. It’s been very interesting watching the Group winners and runner’s up pair up for the Round of 16.

In maths we’ve been learning about multiplication strategies and working out the best strategy to use for the problem at hand. We’ve been practicing repeated addition, skip counting, groups of and arrays. Our focus is on multiples of 2, 3, 5 and ten but making connections to other numbers too. We have also been learning about grid maps and following pathways and directions in our mapping lessons. This has been linking up to our geography lessons too!

August 1^st was “Hats On” again at school and the Pythons proudly all had their hats that day. In late July we started a count down and discussed the importance of hats. As a freckly adult I proudly wear my hat all year and it’s great to see the class show their understanding of sun safety!

In technology we have started a computer coding course using Scratch. This program, designed by MIT, is a block coding program that allows children to script code easily. It’s early days but by the end of term our students will have “Whack-A-Mole” games that they have built themselves.

Jess Yeo

What's Happening in the Bilbies

This term in the Bilbies we are learning all about Geography, particularly Australia. We started off by identifying all the states and territories in Australia before moving on to find out more about the natural and human features of each state. We learned about places like the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia, The Bungle Bungles in Western Australia, and the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland. We’ve also been learning about the main climate zones of Australia and how they affect our weather and the environment.

This week we have been focusing on the importance of Australia’s Traditional Owners and their connections to Country.

“They are very thankful for the land and the animals. They respect the Country that isn’t theirs.” - Henry
“They pass on their stories to the little ones and this is how they keep their culture.” - Abrish
“They have been living on the land for the longest.” - Julie

We have also been investigating the different Indigenous Countries around Australia with the Indigenous map of Australia. We located the Indigenous Countries at each capital city around Australia as well as identifying the traditional names for our own special places.

“Uluru is on Pitjantjatjara Country.”

“The Simpson Desert is on Wangkangurru Country.”

“Tuross is on Yuin Country.”

Teagan Lovett

What's Happening in the Everlasting Gobstoppers

In Maths we have been learning about multiplication. We started our first lesson by unpacking our learning intention for the unit which was ‘To choose appropriate strategies for calculations involving multiplication’. As a class we discussed what the key words are and ensured we had a shared understanding of what we are trying to learn. Students were able to put this into their own words and decided that the most important part was choosing efficient strategies that were accurate and fast.

We brainstormed some of the strategies we already know and have been adding to these throughout our lessons. Students have been practising multiplication facts to 10x10 and applying a range of strategies to sums, ensuring they are making efficient choices.

Here are some of the strategies we have been applying, described by different students in the class:

Arrays – “an array is when you have a problem, say 3x2, then you have an array that goes down three dots and two across. Then you would fill in the spaces with dots, so it is either a square or rectangle. Then you can count the dots. However many dots there are then that’s the answer.” - Willow
Double Double – “double double is a strategy you would use for your four times tables. You have the equation you are struggling on, for example you have 4x4. You need to solve 4x2 which equals 8. Then you need to solve 8x2 which equals 16. So 4x4=16.” - Zita
Rounding Up or Down – “rounding up is where you have two different numbers in the times tables. You can use it to solve any sums like 4x3. Say you know barely know your 4’s but you know your 3’s really well. You could go 3x3=9 and then add another group so 9+3=12. Therefore 3x4=12.” - Miles
Groups Of – “groups of can help with division and multiplication. The lowest number is how many there are in each group, and the bigger number is how many groups. So say we have 3x5, you make five groups with three in each. Then you count how many are in each group.” - Phoebe
Skip Counting – “skip counting is when you skip numbers by the same amount each time. Like if it was 5, you can keep skipping over numbers by 5 so 5, 10, 15, 20.” - Yiga

Alex Nicholls

What's Happening in the Barbeques

In the BBQ’s we’ve been learning about Business. In Year 5 we’ve been learning about consumers, products, services and goods; and how you can tell the difference between services and goods.

In Year 6 we’ve been busy making posters and setting up stalls for the BAKE sale!! We raised a huge $1450.55. We would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to all the people who made and bought from our bake sale. The money we have raised will be going towards our end of year celebrations.

The Year 6 cohort are also currently working on our ‘Market Day’ stalls which will happen early term 4.

Last week we finished our novel study on Storm Boy by Colin Thiele. We finished the novel and then watched the two movies. The latest movie was made in 2019. We compared the 2019 movie, to the 1964 book and 1976 movie. All were very different from each other and it was interesting to compare them.

In art we’ve been learning about symmetry. In particular reflectional symmetry. First we created, reflected and practised, reflection symmetry online through programs called ‘Silk’ and ‘Symmetry Maker’.

After we created them online we moved on to creating our own art using symmetry with a choice over how it is created. We are looking forward to seeing what other types of art can be created using maths.

In other maths we’ve been exploring angles. We have been looking at the different types of angles as well as how to figure out missing angles when we don’t have a protractor. We also explored how the interior angles of a triangle equals 180 degrees. We cut out triangles and placed them all together along a straight line, which we discovered equalled 180 degrees.

Bec Spoors

Congratulations are extended to three of our students who were recently selected to be a part of the School Sport ACT Under 12 Football (Soccer) squad. Elliot R and Kai M have been chosen in the ACT team for the School Sport Australia Championships to be held in Melbourne in October while MJ J is a shadow player. At this competition the boys will have the opportunity to play against some of the best players from all over Australia. Best wishes for the competition and we hope you enjoy the experience!

Erwin McRae

Communication at Weetangera

Communications_at_WPS.pdf

Book Club

Scholastic Book Club Issue 5 orders are due by 7 August 2023.

Book_Week_2023_Newsletter.pdf

IMP_Secondary_Ensembles_for_PS_ENEWS_2024.pdf

P&C News

There’s just ONE week until the night of the year, the Weetangera Primary School trivia night! The teachers have booked their table, so make sure you grab a ticket and find out if you’re smarter than a 5^th grader('s teacher). Tickets are $15 and only available from EventBrite - Weetangera Primary Trivia.

If you’ve already got your tickets, make sure you arrive nice and early – the doors (and the in-room bar) open at 6:30 and we’ll have silent auctions to bid on, a bottle of whiskey to throw a coin at and see if you’re the closest to the pin, as well as the chance to hang out with 150 of your new best friends. We will have card payment facilities on the night for purchasing things like raffle tickets or silent auction items, but would love for you to bring a bit of cash, and particularly your golden coins so that you can join in the games during the night.

Everyone attending trivia will also need to be signed in by a Labor Club member, and while we will have someone available at the door to sign anyone who needs it in, we’d love for those who can to coordinate their arrival with a card-carrying member from their table to make entry as smooth as possible.

We have a simply incredible list of prize donors to thank! Thank you to all of these wonderful local businesses for their support for our school:

Heartstory Photography, who have donated an $895 Heartstory portrait experience, including a framed 10x14” print
Bike Culture Belconnen, who have donated a green Trek Aloha 4 bike valued at $800
Wollongong Surf Leisure Resort, who have donated a 2 night stay by the beach valued at $550
Canberra City Gymnastics Club, who have donated a term of gymnastics fees valued at $325
Zone3 Canberra, who have donated two games of laser tag for up to 12 people valued at $264
Feel Better Pilates at Hawker, who have donated 20 pilates classes valued at $250
Platinum by April at Hawker, who have donated a $250 gift voucher
Capital Brewing Co, who have donated two cases of beer valued at $120
To all my Friends at Cook, who have donated a $100 gift voucher
Lerida Estate Wines, who have donated a $100 gift voucher
Anytime Fitness at Jamison, who have donated a 3 month membership and 15 two week passes
Status Golf, who have donated a $100 voucher
Waxology at Jamison who have donated a $99 voucher and a bag of goodies
Bounce Inc at Belconnen who have donated 10 free entry passes
Shaw Winery, who have donated a wine tasting with food platter
Hawker Takeaway, who have donated 4 meal prizes for a total value of $100
Questacon, who have donated a family entry pass valued at $70
Quintessence Nail and Beauty at Page, who have donated a $50 voucher
Dance Northside, who have donated a $50 voucher
Big4 Holiday Parks, who have donated a 2 year Big4 membership valued at $50
Page Bottler, who have donated a bottle of wine

And a big thank you also to the Labor Club at Belconnen, who have donated us the hire of the room for the night.

We’re going to remind you one last time – only those who are AT the trivia night will have the chance to win any of these fantastic prizes. So just pause reading the P&C update for a sec and book your ticket (but come back! We have more news for you).

Father’s Day Stall

Coming soon: Lap-a-thon

The lap-a-thon is back for 2023! Coming up in early Term 4, stay tuned for more information about the day, how you can support the day and, importantly, the dress-up theme the SRC has chosen for the event this year.

Let’s Get Social!

Follow our social media pages to stay up to date with the latest from the P&C and canteen.

Facebook: www.facebookcom/weetangerapandc

Instagram: www.instagram.com/weetangeraschoolpandc

See you at the trivia night!