Weetangera Primary School Newsletter | Week 5, Term 3 2025

From Mel

Dear Weetangera families

We have reached the halfway point of term 3. Already! Goodness me time flies when you’re having fun (and learning)! How lovely it is to have some warmer weather. I know better than to think it’s here to stay, but a glimpse of spring is always nice.

Book Week

We think school is exciting all of the time, but there is something special about Book Week. It’s a time where we re-connect with our enthusiasm for reading, where we explore wonderful new books, and (perhaps the most exciting of all) we get to dress as our favourite book characters! I for one have a great time every year, but it’s always so great to see the thought and effort that has gone into people’s costumes. And I know a lot of that is done by parents, friends and families. So thank you.

And let's not forget that Book Week is about amazing Australian books! All of the shortlisted books have been available in the library for the last few weeks, and teachers have been reading them with their class. You're welcome to pop in for a look too, if you like. They will be available to borrow soon too.

Please see below the books that were named 2025 Book of the Year. Perhaps these might be books you can read together with your children. You can find out more about these books and Book Week here: https://cbca.org.au/ 

2025 School Satisfaction and Climate Survey

Last week, you will have received an email from EDU Surveys regarding the annual School Satisfaction and Climate Survey. The email was delivered to the first 2 priority contacts listed for each student. This survey:

• helps schools identify strengths and areas for improvement
• informs school improvement practices and government priorities
• supports research and longitudinal studies to enhance education quality in the ACT.

It is really useful information for us, and we'd appreciate it if you could find some time to complete the survey before it closes on 5 September. If you are having trouble accessing or finding the survey, please email the team on EDUSurveys@act.gov.au.

If you need to change your contact email or any other information, please contact our front office on info@weetangeraps.act.edu.au.

It’s a bumper newsletter this week! Don't forget you can use the table of contents at the top to jump to the article you want to read first. Hopefully there is something in here for you to enjoy. And as always, if there’s anything you’d like to discuss with Julie and I, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Enjoy your weekend! And for those coming to the trivia night – see you there!

Mel 

Melanie.Bezear@ed.act.edu.au

What's Happening in Preschool

This term the children in the Blue Whales and the Orange Crabs have been exploring the Global Concept “Identity”. We have been exploring this through the lens of “how to identify things”. We have begun exploring colour, shape, number, size and much, much more.

To kickstart our learning the children were shown a “mystery item” as a provocation to start thinking about how we describe known and unknown objects. The children were encouraged to describe its colour, shape and size. After describing the object, they were invited to share what they thought it could be. The children developed wonderful descriptions of the item.

Charlie “it sounds like air and feels squishy”

Lachlan “it’s blue, you can play with it”

Liam “it feels like a poppet”

Ioan “it has little squares in the middle”

Rowan “it is squishy like goo”

Summer “there’s a circle there”

Oscar “there’s a big, big square on the outside”

Hamish “it’s blue, it is a square”

Michael “it has lots of little squares”

Selena “there’s a big circle to the side”

Maliyah “it is a big square and looks like waffles”

Zaid “it has a tunnel in it”

Claire “it feels wobbly”

Leon “it is rough”

Finn “it feels like bamboo”

We have been looking at the colours of the rainbow and have begun learning “I Can Sing a Rainbow”, we will continue working on this song throughout the term. To further assist in our exploration of colour we are engaging in colour days at preschool as a fun way to help the children learn about colours, their properties, and how they relate to the world around them. As a part of this, the children are creating a huge rainbow display in the classroom that will continue to grow as we delve further into our colour exploration. The children have been using different art mediums to create each colour in the rainbow. 

We have also been exploring shapes. We started by discussing which shapes are known already and then we have looked more deeply at shapes over the past few weeks. As we spend more time exploring shapes, we are looking at their properties and have used that information to help find those shapes in our preschool environment. We truly are amazing shape hunters!

We are spotting triangles this week!

Kate de-Mey

What's Happening in the Tree Frogs

This term in Kindergarten, the Tree Frog mathematicians have been busy building strong number sense through fun, hands-on activities designed to develop fluency with addition. It’s been a term full of discovery, problem-solving, and playful learning!

The focus has been on mastering important strategies such as subitising, the ability to instantly recognise how many objects are in a group without counting, and, counting on, especially from the bigger number, which helps build efficiency and confidence with addition.

Throughout the term, the Tree Frogs have engaged in a variety of exciting maths games to reinforce these skills, including:

100 Chart Challenges – Rebuilding the number chart in the correct order and practicing counting on from any given number.
Number Jigsaws – Matching number pieces to complete the puzzle and recognise number sequences.
Missing Number Addition – Solving addition problems with a missing part to strengthen their understanding of how numbers work together.
Domino Number Sense – Using dominoes to explore number recognition, subitising, counting, and simple addition in a playful, tactile way.

A recent favourite has been our new game: Guess the Secret Number on the 100 Chart! Each day, the Helper of the Day secretly chooses a number between 1 and 100. The rest of the class must guess the number by asking clever maths questions like:

• Is it an odd or even number?
  
  
• Does it have a 4 in the tens column?
  
  
• Is it more than 50?
  
  
• Does it come before 78?

Through this game, students are learning how to use mathematical language, think logically, and apply their number knowledge in a fun and meaningful way.

It’s been wonderful to see the growth in confidence and excitement around maths in our classroom.

Well done, Tree Frogs!

Hayley Dix

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 49

Next

What's Happening in the Toucans

What a wonderfully busy and exciting term it has been for the Year 2 Toucans!

During Science Week, we explored the theme “Decoding the Universe: Exploring the Unknown with Nature’s Hidden Language.” The students examined natural objects and were amazed to discover the fascinating mathematical patterns in nature, such as spirals, symmetry, and repeating sequences.

We were honoured to host the NAIDOC Assembly and the students led it so beautifully. We were especially fortunate to begin the assembly with a smoking ceremony, a very special way to acknowledge and celebrate First Nations culture.

This week, we are celebrating Book Week! The students have been enjoying reading and discussing some of the shortlisted and winning titles. We are all looking forward to the Book Week Parade on Friday—always a highlight!

Another big moment this term was our excursion to the National Museum of Australia, where we visited the fabulous Mr Squiggle Exhibition and explored other exhibits that linked to our Global Concept of Identity and History. The students loved making connections between the past and their own lives.

For the remainder of the term, we will continue to delve into History, with a focus on how Australian children have lived throughout different times.

It has been such a fun, rich term of learning for the Toucans—so busy, so exciting, and so much growth!

Shelly Murdoch 

What's Happening in the Flames

The Flames - Minds exploding with knowledge

5/6CH have been busy working on their mindful assessment for the Global Concept, Interconnectedness. This task brings together the connections we have made while exploring the learning intention:

We can understand why people immigrate to Australia through their stories.

Before beginning our final artefact, we worked together to explore several historical events which brought people to Australia. This involved us:

1. Choosing a time/event in Australia’s history which brought people to the country
2. Deciding on a perspective to explore
3. Finding primary and secondary sources on the event and the experience of the people
4. Recording keywords
5. Using our research to write the story from your chosen perspective

The first event we investigated was The First Fleet. Unit 8 listened to stories, researched facts and wrote the first paragraph together.

I never imagined I would be in this new place. I only stole some clothing. My family had moved to the city to get work but their Dad was rejected and we suddenly had no money. I just wanted to make some money by selling the clothes to help my family buy food. My younger siblings were starving, and I need to do something!!!

Now I am here in this foreign place, which is so different to England. I am scared because of the noises I hear. People are yelling in pain because of the punishments. The other day one of the older convicts had to be dragged to the small hospital tent because of the flogging he had been given. I don’t even know if he survived. I wish my parents were here with me. 

I empathise with the convicts who are giving their blood, sweat and tears to work ten hours a day. Every convict is given hard jobs to help build this new settlement.   

Students added more events and detail.

In my head I am raging with anger trying not to show it. I have seen other convicts trying to fight and threaten the guards. It never workers! They end up with punishment such as a flogging. I rarely get showers so most of us are starting to stink. Me and lots of convicts are starting to get diseases. There was a problem with one of the ships carrying food. There was a 5-day delay, making the food stale and mouldy, making lots of us sick. By Callum

2 days ago, I arrived and was given my first job. This job was home chores to do the laundry, cleaning the tables that people were eating their disgusting food on and home maintenance. All I get to eat is this disgusting canned meat and corn which are all rotten and off. By George

The taste in my mouth has been the same for days, the lingering taste of canned meat and corn has almost made me vomit. I’m always dehydrated because of the dirty water they give us once a day. All I do is cook and clean, over and over again. While the males' jobs might be harder, at least they are remotely interesting, I wouldn’t mind building something for a change! At night I hear rustling of animals I've never heard before and there are always insects biting me from the open-air tents. The heat is unbearable, I almost feel like I'm about to pass out from the heat. By Ava, Harriet and Penny

The second event we investigated was the Gold Rush. Students could work in pairs to research and write their diary entry.

I’ve come to Ballarat to find a better place for my family and for the chance of getting money. Back in China there's economic hardship and political problems. But it doesn’t get any better here. All I've heard against us Chinese people is discrimination and racism.  There was also a strange amount of yelling, especially from the policeman. They were constantly asking everyone for their mining licence, a mining licence. I was aware of them, but I didn’t think they’d be asking every second. The nights were hard, the smell of campfire smoke and the sound of the water streaming down the river, also the uncomfortable tents that everyone was sleeping in. By Aiko

I ran away from the officers. I don't have my license. I just want to mine for gold to send money home. I forgot to renew my license, so the police are chasing me. The sun is burning me, a bead of sweat slowly forming across my forehead the officers hate because I am a Chinese miner. I get caught up in a protest. I see other miners burning the license and fighting the police. I see a police officer behind then everything goes black. By Andrew

I was there on the boat on my way to Australia from China. Hi, my name I Joshua Zen Collinson. I spent 4701.52 yuan ($1000 AUD). I arrived at noon 2 days later in Melbourne. I walked for hours to get to Victoria once I was there. The fields were full of miners of different races, religions and continents. By Vincent

It’s rough being in the police force at this time. There is so much crime! It might sound easy to arrest lawbreakers, question suspects, and settle violence, but in the Gold Rush, there is so much crime you can’t count it all! Just today I reminded 20 people to get licenses, discovered and stopped 3 violent revolts, and convicted someone who stole gold from a miner! There was even a time when a conflict involving weapons appeared and people were murdered! By Archie

Today, all I can hear is the clank of pics and the cheers of miners as they seem to uncover gold, even I might join in. as i own a small food stall in central Ballarat, and i have been getting a lot more business since the miners came back in February, but at night, all I can hear is the shouts, cheers and clanks of people mining. By Daniel

Dear diary, I am Billy Chen Sang Wu. I have a little brother and a mom and Dad. We live in Qinghai China, and we are very poor. We had just little money, and we needed money so my parents sold almost everything we had so I could go to Ballarat on a boat all by myself, I promised that I will get our money back and bring my family to Australia to have a better life. By Henry

We then heard stories from Vietnam refugees.  Students worked independently to research and write their diary entry.

At sea we had to keep our lights off during the night so the coast guards couldn't see us otherwise we would be caught. We left Vietnam because South Vietnam lost the war. We knew we would be in trouble if we stayed. On this boat it’s just me, my brother and our two friends. My mother and father wanted to stay in Vietnam with our two baby brothers and see if they could get out a safer way. Hopefully to Thailand. I was sleeping during my brother's turn driving our little fishing boat when I heard gunshots. Pirates were shooting our boat as they were boarding. By Lachlan

Vietnam, 1978, April 4, 4:00pm

Dear Diary,

Today my community made a boat to leave Vietnam. At night we’re going to get onto the boat and quietly leave the country.

6:47pm

We just left the shore and now we are carefully and quietly heading out to sea. It will be 10 hours till we get to international waters. We are now in international waters. Now we are trying to find safe lands to dock our boat. The waters are incredibly ruff. I had bread and butter for breakfast. It's 20 of us on one small boat. By Phoebe

For their mindful assessment task, students have been able to choose their own event and perspective linked to the learning intention.

December 7th     

Dear Diary,

Today we are leaving I am scared but also very excited, I heard Australia doesn’t enforce curfews. I can’t even imagine a place that doesn’t make their people be in their houses by 9pm. As we were leaving, I couldn't stop the sense of threat and vulnerability that I felt while all the guards were looking at me it was scary, they could put me or my family in prison if they wanted to, but they didn't. As soon as we got on the plane and the doors closed, I felt safe like I did before the war. We were going to a better place where we would always feel safe. By Sam

July 1st, 1946

There are posters everywhere, I don't know what to say but they're crowded so it must be something important. I wasn't expecting much, it would probably be a job interview because there are no jobs and people NEED money or… WHAT?!?! The sign said, “People that come to Australia are promised a better life including amazing jobs and more delicious food!” By Ashton

Greece September 17^th, 1940

World War II 2:05am

Sirens and Gunshots in the air, I have been pushed by my mum into a tiny war bunker. It's so cramped the smell of sweat fills the air. All my siblings worried, the younger ones crying, the older ones stressing. My mother had to rush back inside the house to quickly grab the dog, and my father was fighting in the war. By Sasha

Other events being researched include:

Corinne Hannan

What's Happening in the Cyclones

We have had a busy start to Term 3 in Year 5/6 including our recent assembly. Below are some of the tasks we have been working on in class as well as some extra-curricular activities that have taken place.

Assembly: The Maths and Sport Song

The Maths and Sport Song was amazing! Nila found The Maths and Sports Song from Chat GPT and it was a good song. I used my best voice for the song because it was in the assembly on Friday, it was an amazing assembly and I liked it so much!

Eman F

Year 5/6 Assembly

In week three Year 5/6 ran the senior assembly. Some of the things that we presented were: Science Week information and the game show which had Anastasia, Julie, Mel and Tricia as the contestants but no one won. There was a group of students who sang a song that was not so great in my opinion, the song was called The Maths and Sport Song, later Julie gave out the Futsal medals. We also presented our prototype of our tiny house. I had a role at assembly for Science Week.

Lorenzo A

Science Experiment

Last week my class (Mr McRae’s class) and Bec’s class started an experiment on ice cubes. We were seeing how long it would take for an ice cube to melt using different methods. Before we started we had to write onto a sheet what we were going to use, what we were going to measure with and other questions like that. We had to get into groups of 3 or 4 so I got into a group with Kenta and Muz. Kenta wanted to use boiling water which I thought would be too quick. Muz wanted to go outside and use a magnifying glass and I decided to use salt. Bec told me that I had to put it on a plate because if I had it in my hand it could give me a freeze burn. 

On the day of the experiment it was cloudy so I thought that Muz would not be able to melt his ice cube that quickly. We started and I poured a bunch of salt on my ice cube. A few minutes later Kenta came over to me and said he was done! It took just 34 seconds! I went outside to see how Muz was going. I then found out that Muz was pressing the magnifying glass on the ice. I thought that was unfair and it was cheating. 

A while later Muz came in and said that his cube took 11 minutes to melt but mine was still going. It took a really long time. Bec then said that it was time to pack up but just then mine had melted so I got lucky. It took me 27 minutes to melt my ice cube! Then it was time to pack up. I thought that the experiment was quite fun but I got a bit impatient. 

Anthony N

Basketball

I’ve never really been a basketball player, after hearing that basketball tryouts were going to be a thing this year my friends and I decided to ‘try out’ something new, there were two trials in week ten, term two to get into the team. Mr Beltrame was the teacher to host basketball try-outs at Weetangra. We spent the whole of recess at the first trial, we played a basketball game with three teams, two teams with bibs and the third team without bibs, this was repeated at the second trial. I personally don’t think I did as well as I could’ve in those mini basketball games, it seems that I did well enough to be a shadow player though.

Now that I was a shadow I had to attend basketball training for the upcoming competition. Haley was our coach as Mr Beltrame was not available till week five term three. During these training sessions we practised dribbling the ball around cones, stealing the ball, preventing the ball from being stolen and shooting the ball from different angles of the hoop. In the week of the competition I didn't have to worry too much because I was absent on the day, but I still wished the best for our team! If I'm not wrong our team did win one game, isn't that great!

Zita J

5/6 Boys Futsal Competition

On Thursday 24th of July, the year 5/6 WPS boys Futsal team went to Lyneham Netball Centre for the Northside of Canberra Schools Futsal competition. Our team was made up of nine players- Jensen, Archer, Jack G, Shaan, Lukas, Callum, Ashton, Henry and I.

We all woke up early in the morning, wanting to have fun but mainly, win it all. The team got there at around 8:30 am, for a 9:15 kickoff. We did a quick 15 minute training session then we kicked off. We played Aranda PS, we anticipated a challenging game but we kept our composure and won 6-1 with an unlucky own goal. Then we had a 30-40 minute break before we played Margaret Hendry, if we won this we would go through to the round of 16. We played very well and we won 6-0. We then had a one-hour break before we played in the round of 16. If we lost this we would have to go back to school, so we could not lose. We played Radford and won 5-0 meaning we would be four games away from going to Sydney, we then ate and played the older Neville Bonner team, it was the toughest game of the whole competition for us. We had a 3-0 lead but they scored three quick goals to make it even, we then kept our heads up and each team repetitively scored in turns but we came away with a 6-5 win. We only had 15 minutes till the semi-final so we had no time to waste for our training before we kicked off. We played Brindabella and won 4-3, we then finished that game at 3pm and the final kicked off at 3:15 so we trained quickly then played the Neville Bonner 11 year-olds in the final. It was a tough and intense game where they scored first, we scored two in quick succession, then with only about two minutes to go they equalised. It was now 2-2 and it would go straight to penalties if we tied, and for the sake of my elbows which I had been diving on for the whole day, we needed to win. With the last kick of the game with only ten seconds left, the ball deflected off one of their players straight into Henry’s feet, and with the clock running out he struck the ball, and it glided on the ground with our whole team praying for it to go in. It went into the bottom right for a goal! Our whole team erupted in excitement as we had just won the grand final and were going to Sydney.

Overall the day was great and even though we won it all, we had good sportsmanship and kept our heads up all day. In regards to going to Sydney, the Year 5/6 boys are going to Hawkesbury on the 28th of August to play in an interstate NSW competition.

Jack D

The Chickens

In week three Nila and I took care of the chickens. Every day we collected the keys and clipboard from the front office. Then we walked to the garden and unlocked the gate and the chicken coop. The chicken’s names were Lacy and Opela. Lacy was a big white chicken with brown eyes, some grey and black feathers. Opela is a small black chicken with some shimmery green feathers and brown eyes.

To take care of the chickens we had to follow the instructions on the clipboard. First we filled up the food and water (sometimes we accidentally overfilled the water) to fill the tub for the chickens then on Monday’s and Thursday’s we had to clean the poo off the roof, EW!  

We had lots of fun playing and interacting with them, Nila was the first to pat the chickens (they ran away from her as soon as she patted them though.) I kept trying to pat them too but they were very sly and cheeky and they tried to run away,  but eventually I got to pat them! After we played and interacted with them Nila and I collected the eggs. They had laid some almost every day, they laid 7 eggs altogether!  On Monday they laid two eggs, Tuesday one, Wednesday two, Thursday two and zero eggs on Friday. 

After we said goodbye to the Chickens, Nila and I returned to the front office and filled in a thing called a health form, we wrote yes or no if we did it or not. Overall It was a great experience and I hope to be able to do it again soon!

April M

Buddies

This term we got buddies and I was so excited for it. We got to meet them on the first Tuesday, my buddy's name is Yogay. She was so small and cute. The first time we met she was a bit shy but after a while she started to talk to me. I have found out so much about Yogay. She loves the colour pink and she loves bunnies. After playing we had lunch but then we had to say goodbye and that was sad. Then I found out some even more disappointing news, we only get to see them every second Tuesday- that was the worst!

But the good news was the week went by in a flash (except Mr McRae’s maths lessons, that was the worst part of each day!) The next time we met our buddies we played board games. All the memories of when I was in preschool flashed back to me and I got to play with my friends and their buddies. That was the best time I had all year.

Mila P

For a couple of weeks, year 5 and 6’s have been hanging out with their buddies. Most people have buddies on Tuesdays, but some other people have buddies on Fridays. Year 5’s have been going down to preschool and year 6’s go up to Kindergarten, which is kind of unfair because Kindergarten is on the other side of the school but preschool is right outside our unit. We usually bring our lunch and eat and chat with our buddies. Last time we went, everyone got a pack of cards and everybody played a fun game of cards with their buddies. 

I saw some people playing snap, memory games, luck games and some games I had never seen or heard of before. I love buddies because it gives you a chance to hang out with a younger person and have fun with them and it’s always good to light up a kindergarten student’s day.Your buddy might have something in common with you or, if you're lucky (or unlucky) enough, you might be buddies with your sibling! Buddies are fun and it gives you someone to chat to.   

Ben C

Science Week

It was the day of the science experiment. In our experiment you got to put ice somewhere outside or on the playground but me, i put it in the cold shade. Do you want to know why? Here's an example: you get a glass of water, you put ice in it, if you get that glass of water it will only last for a very short time because it is above  0 degrees. Now that you know why i chose the shade, let me explain why I chose the cold shade. I chose the cold shade because I thought it would be quicker even though it was cold. 

 Okay at first it started to melt and everyone in my group said yours is melting, I agreed then i waited. It was 5 minutes since my ice started melting and it started to turn into water. And when I went to check the others were still struggling waiting for their ice to melt, then I went back to my ice and it had been 19 minutes. It was 20 minutes since I melted my ice and everyone's finished. I thought mine would have finished first but I finished last. Even though I wanted mine to finish first, mine was so slow!       

Aguaar D

This term we started doing Science. We learned about states of matter and how there are three states of matter. Gas, liquid and solid states of matter are the states of something forming like an ice cube. It starts as a liquid then turns into an ice cube. In week 4 we did an experiment and we made predictions. We tasted how fast an ice cube could melt. We got into groups with our friends and tested different methods. I put my ice in hot water and it melted in 16 seconds! We thought this was the quickest method and it was! My friend put hers near the window and it took more than 15 minutes and we thought this was because it was a cold day so it was not a fair prediction. My other friend was going to do the sun but she did not come on the day of the experiment unfortunately. One of the other girls in our group did the shade, this one did not work at all. It did not even melt by the end of the session so this was not really the best way to melt the ice cube quickly. I think everyone had different ways and opinions but we all had fun experimenting with the ice cubes. 

Senudi G

Luno’s Magnificent Maths Quiz

On the 8th of August Year 5/6 ran an assembly. My part in the assembly was running the maths quiz with Juno, in the maths quiz four contestants (Mel, Trisha, Anastasia and Julie) split into teams of two (Team A= Mel and Julie, Team B = Anastasia and Trisha) to answer some maths questions. There were eight questions in total and two of them were special questions involving Tahlia and Ananya. Juno and I were the quiz hosts and we started off by introducing ourselves and the topics we would be covering in the quiz. They were multiplication, division, fractions and negative numbers. At the end of the Quiz there was a malfunction with the scores so in the end both teams won! Then we wrapped up by thanking the contestants and telling the audience that we were very happy for watching our maths quiz.

Lewis R

Warhammer Club

In Warhammer Club we have been building and painting miniatures. Like stormcast eternal vindictors and Kruelboyz Gut Rippers and it's been so fun. Basically Warhammer has four realms- 40k Horus, Herusy, the old world and the Age of Sigmar and this year we are focusing on the Age of Sigmar. The Armour on Stormcast Eternals is made of a special element only found in the Age of Sigmar, it's called Sigmarite. It's said each piece is imbued with the power of lightning. But I know basically nothing about Kruelboyz but once we researched medieval shield designs for some reason. One time our Warhammer teacher Ms Cottam cut the heads off our models so we could have custom heads.   

Jaxson K

Maths

This term in maths we have been doing lots of topics but in this report I will tell you about Mr McRae's horrific mental computation jokes and hardish questions. First of all we need to address the horrible problem which is maths jokes. His math jokes are always so bad that they could make a fully grown man cry. Like come on Mr McRae, step up your game!

Now the actual questions. They are easy until questions 13-15 where they take a lot longer to solve. There are 15 questions in total meaning 15 points that you can get. If you get all of them correct you get Dojo Points which is a currency you get for being good (you can spend your dojos on free time, extra P.E time etc). The harder questions are the highlight of the mental computation.

To sum this up I will tell you about the very important problem about the difficulty of the questions. Most of them are too easy, then BANG it's so much harder. That's all I'm going to say! 

Hunter D

Erwin McRae

Futsal Report

In the first week of term Weetangera sent two teams to compete in Futsal tournaments run by Capital Futsal. On Wednesday 23 July the Year 5/6 girls team played in the ACT School Championships at Lyneham. The team won their first two games well and made the knockout stage of the tournament, in their round of 16 match against Ngunnawal the team performed well but unfortunately came up short in a narrow 2-1 loss therefore ending their tournament. The team played an exciting brand of Futsal and scored some impressive goals with good team play. I would also like to commend the team on being good sports during the competition. Thanks are extended to Trevor Burton for coaching the team, we appreciate your support. The team comprised of: Julie M, Ruby K, Willa M, Eve P, Thalia H, Victoria L, Samantha H, Elva CB and Harriet F.

The next day was the Year 5/6 Boys North Canberra School Championships (the tournament was split into North and South Canberra on separate days) and our team had a busy day. The boys managed to win their qualifying games to make the knockout stage and won their round of 16 game with an impressive performance. After this the drama began! Each game ebbed and flowed with action aplenty. In their quarter final against a Neville Bonner PS team we raced out to an early 3-0 lead before our opponents came charging back into the game with three quickfire goals. Our team kept their composure with goals then being traded between the teams, the crowd was on the edge of their seats as the game went from one end to the other and eventually the game ended with a narrow 6-5 win to Weetangera. Next up was a semi-final against Brindabella Christian College and we ran out winners 3-2 in another tight game. The team had qualified for the final against another Neville Bonner PS team and we started off slowly, conceding an early goal before scoring twice quickly to take the lead. The game remained tense, both teams trading blows with no one able to find the net and with about two minutes left our opponents scored an equaliser to lift the tension in the stadium even further. As the game headed to the final whistle and with penalties seeming inevitable, against all odds we scored a goal with practically the last kick of the match. There were scenes of jubilation as our team realised they had taken out the title! Well done to all our players- Jack D, Henry K, Archer S, Jack G, Jensen I, Callum M, Lukas A, Shaan J and Ashton C. As a result of winning this competition the team have qualified for the NSW Schools State Championships on Thursday 28 August in Sydney. Best wishes to the team!

Erwin McRae 

Volley Ball

Last week the Australian Women’s Volleyroos played the New Zealand Ferns in a five match series at the AIS and won 4 of the 5 games! It was wonderful to see so many Weetangera volleyball students and families take the opportunity to come and watch the matches in person. The Volleyroos are wonderful ambassadors for the sport and it was great to see some of the Weetangera students ask the players questions and talk to them after the photo.

Parent Information - Anxiety Series

In our last newsletter, we presented part 1 and part 2 of a series of articles about anxiety in children, written by Australian Child Psychologist, Michael Hawton.

Please see below article 3 and 4.

P & C Update

Trivia Night (22nd August) 

The Weetangera PS Trivia Night is TONIGHT at the Labor Club, Belconnen. Hope you have brushed up on your specialities and arranged care for the kiddies by now, because this is a night set to go off! 

A huge thank you to the P&C organisers behind this event, as well as Mel Bezear, who have worked tirelessly to make trivia night happen. 

The School Satisfaction Survey

Emails have been sent out to parents about the School Satisfaction Survey. The aim is to help the school understand how the school community is feeling and collect valuable data and feedback which is used for future planning and decision-making. 

Please check your inbox (sent on Fri 15th August from EDU Surveys) and take a couple of minutes to fill it out. 

Father's Day Stall

Put the date in your calendar - the Father's Day Stall will be held on Friday 5th September. 

Gifts for sale will be priced between $1-$5, and students will visit the stall with their teacher throughout the day. 

Canberra Southern Cross Club Community Partners

We are thrilled to be a Canberra Southern Cross Club community partner again for 2025-26. If you're a club member, nominate Weetangera Primary P&C as your community partner on your membership card, and then 75c of every $10 you spend on food and drinks at the club goes straight to the school as fundraising - money you were going to spend anyway. Don't forget to remind grandparents too!

Calling Weetangera Green Thumbs

The P&C will be organising a gardening bee soon to get the garden in shape in time for Spring, as well as some general maintenance and planting in the school grounds. We also have some exciting gardening-related fundraising plans on the boil and are putting together a small group to coordinate.

If you're interested in being involved, contact the P&C Secretary Jono at weetangera.pc.secretary@gmail.com. 

Stay in touch with the P&C

Apart from the newsletter, there are three ways you can keep on top of what's going on with your school P&C:

• Following the Weetangera School P&C page on Facebook
• Join the Whatsapp channel
• Subscribe to our mailing list

New attendees are always welcome!

Canteen Update

Weetangera Primary School Canteen

The Weetangera Canteen is proudly operated by the Weetangera P&C and is open Wednesday to Friday during school terms for both recess (10:50–11:20am) and lunch (12:50–1:20pm).

Our goal is to provide students with fresh, healthy, and affordable food choices while supporting families and contributing to school life. Every purchase helps fund P&C initiatives and school events.

Ordering Food

• Flexischools: All lunch orders are placed online via Flexischools. Orders close at 9:00am each canteen day. Families can also place orders in advance or set up recurring orders.
• Counter Sales: Students can bring cash for over-the-counter purchases at recess and lunch. A range of healthy snacks and drinks are available.

Our Menu

Our menu has had a complete refresh in 2025!

• A wide variety of healthy meals and snacks
• Daily specials to keep things exciting
• Seasonal menu items and fun theme days
• All items meet the ACT Healthy Food and Drink Policy

👉 View the current menu via Flexischools.

Food & Allergies

The canteen is a NUT FREE environment to protect students with allergies.
We are unable to accommodate special requests or ingredient changes, however we work closely with families to support students with food allergies and intolerances.

Volunteering

The canteen is only possible with the support of our wonderful parent and carer volunteers. Helping in the canteen is:

• Easy – jobs include preparing food, packing orders, serving at the counter, or a quick tidy up
• Flexible – even an hour makes a difference
• Rewarding – kids love seeing their families helping at school!

We also have a Canteen Volunteers WhatsApp group, which makes it easy to stay connected, get updates, and chat with other helpers.  

If you can help, please contact our Canteen Manager  – we’d love to have you on the team.

Email: WPSCanteen@hotmail.com

Phone: 6142 2621

More Than Just Lunch

The canteen plays an important role in our school community by:

• Supporting school and P&C events such as sports carnivals and fundraisers
• Reinforcing healthy lifestyle messages for students
• Building a strong sense of community through food and connection

Come and try the Weetangera Canteen – healthy food, happy kids, stronger school!

School Photos

School photos were sent home with students at the end of last term. There are extra photos available for students that participated in the following activities: School Leaders, House Captains, Year 5 Band, Year 6 Band.

For information on how to order these photos, please see the flyer below. 

Christian Education in Schools

Christian Education in Schools (CEIS) will be visiting Weetangera Primary School this term on Monday 22nd September.

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.

2025 Uniform Price List

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. 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:

• access the school calendar 
• notify the school when their child is sick or to explain an absence
  
• receive academic reports
• receive the school newsletter
  
• make payments
  
• 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

1. 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.
2. 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.

Parent Portal – Changes to ACT Digital Account ID requirements

The ID requirements for accessing Parent Portal have changed to make it easier to register your account.

If you have had trouble signing up to Parent Portal because of the ID requirements, we invite you to try again.

To access Parent Portal, you need to verify your identity via the ACT Digital Account. Previously you needed two forms of accepted ID and now you only need one. To register, use the Parent Portal access link and create or log in to your ACT Digital Account.

Please contact the front office via Email: info@weetangeraps.act.edu.au if you haven’t received an access key.

Communication at Weetangera

Community Notices

At a recent community launch held at the Bowling Club, concerns were raised about youth crime and the importance of engaging younger children in positive initiatives to help keep them safe. In response, ACT Police and Neighbourhood Watch ACT have committed to investigating options for local schools that support these goals — such as the Playing It Safe initiative (https://playingitsafe.org.au).

As part of our outreach, we’re keen to connect with families through trusted community channels. We would be incredibly grateful if your school would consider including a short message or advertisement in your upcoming newsletters to help raise awareness of our group and encourage local engagement.

Our aim is to:

• Share simple tips for keeping homes and valuables safe
• Promote community engagement 
• Encourage neighbours to look out for one another
• Provide contact points for those who want to get involved or learn more

We believe that schools play a vital role in fostering connected, caring communities, and your support would help us reach families who may not be active on social media or email.

For more information about this playgroup, please visit  www.playgroupact.org.au.