Weetangera Primary School Newsletter | Week 9, Term 3 2025

From Mel

Dear Weetangera Families

Goodness it's been a busy couple of weeks! 

On Tuesday evening, we held our Global Concept Galleries of Learning. Thank you to the many parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and other loved ones that attended. There was a fantastic buzz right across the school as our students shared their learning in the global concepts of identity and interconnectedness. 

I'd like to thank our WPS teachers for the work that they do every day with our learners. This was so evident right throughout the school on Tuesday. 

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Last week, along with Allison Barker and Jo Burns (year 3) I was lucky enough to join in with the community choir and participate in the 'Step into the Limelight' showcase, which included some amazing performances by public school students from across Canberra. It was lovely to see a couple of former Weetangera students - Suhaani and Madelena - performing too. They were fantastic!

Speaking of music, or year 5 and 6 bands showcased their talents at Floriade this week. If you have heard them play, you'll know that both bands are very good, and they did a wonderful job of representing our school among the flowers. Thanks to Sarah Masling for the great work you do with these budding musicians. 

We were also very proud this week to have our inclusion story shared with colleagues from across the Education Directorate. Anastasia O'Donnell gave a fantastic presentation about the WPS student wellbeing process and how our staff work together to ensure our students are supported to engage with learning. Thanks Anastasia! Thank you also to Sarah Baird for attending and playing such an important role as our DECO (Disability Education Coordination Officer). 

Our school leaders today attended the annual Minister's Student Congress. The Congress is an opportunity for ACT public school students to come together to discuss issues which matter to them and affect their education. We can't wait to hear from our school leaders about how that went. Thank you to Mademoiselle S for supporting our school leaders to embrace this opportunity. 

Library - open mornings in term 4

I'm excited to let you know that during term 4, we will be opening the library to our community before school. From 8.30am each day, the library will be open and available for you to come in with your children and read a book together before school. Our amazing librarian Stephen has been building our collection, and you should be find a book for any situation. You might like to check out our collection of dual-language books, our wordless picture books, hundreds of novels and exciting series, or the huge range of information texts in our collection.

Please note that supervision is not provided in the library before school, so it is important that students attend with an adult. 

We hope you enjoy using our library. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mel

Melanie.Bezear@ed.act.edu.au

What's Happening in the Frilled-neck Lizards

Term 3 in Kindergarten really starts to feel like they are lifting off. Over the last few weeks we have gone from most kids in the class using modelled writing as their guide to suddenly everyone having a go at writing independently! We support students with lots of environmental print in the classroom as well as encouraging them to trust their decoding skills as they bring their phonological awareness to their writing. Some students are conquering big words like furious and frustrated and because all by themselves. A lot of our writing has focused on safety and health messages this term as we ask “How can we stay safe and healthy at home, at school and in the community?” as part of our Global Concept “Personal Identity.

This term our class has started playing a version of “Celebrity Head” with a mystery number and an interactive hundreds chart on the TV. One student has the crown and has to ask a series of good questions to narrow down a number between 1 and 100. A second student eliminates the numbers as they go. The Frilled Neck Lizards are getting very good at identifying odd and even numbers and knowing that a question like “is it 4?” is less effective than asking “does it start or end in 4?”. Our number recognition beyond 20 is full steam ahead!

We have recently completed our Positional Language unit in Maths. As a final assessment, students were asked to follow a series of instructions such as “stick the purple alien inside the UFO” and “put the small UFO under the big UFO”. This created unique opportunities for students to describe an objects location in relation to other objects because no one stuck their stickers exactly where somebody else did. Stickers + Kindy = fun.

We re now focusing on our measurement unit, starting with mass. At a Kindy level this is all about describing which things are heavier and which things are lighter. We are “hefting” things and making comparisons. We can all say with certainty that a full drink bottle is heavier than a pencil or that a sock is lighter than a book.

I’m looking forward to an amazing Term 4 with this group of clever kids!

Jess Yeo

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What's Happening in the Dolphins

The Dolphins have been so engaged in their learning this term and have produced some excellent pieces of work that they should be very proud of!

Writing

In writing, students created diary entries about life before European settlement, during early settlement and in modern time. The diary entries focused on how different elements have changed over time such as clothing, tools and weapons and daily activities. We hope you enjoy reading some snippets from these.

Global Concept

As a part of our learning around the concept of ‘Identity’, students created triaramas that also showed the way things have changed over time. They first created the backdrop of each trairama era using coloured pencils and textas, then added in models to give more detail, using clay, paper and other craft ideas. Aren’t they amazing?

Gabe Kearins 

What's Happening in the Otters

The 4TB Otters have enjoyed a busy and productive Term 3. They have approached all of their learning with enthusiasm.

Visual Art

As part of the Visual Arts component of our ‘Identity’unit, students began by exploring the work of various artists and the techniques they use. They analysed these artworks through the lens of the seven elements of art (line, shape, form, colour, tone, texture and space). The unit culminated in students creating a self-portrait that reflected their identity.

Excursion

In Week 7, Year 4 visited the National Portrait Gallery for an engaging excursion. Each class took part in a guided tour, exploring a range of portraits and learning about the stories behind them. With the help of our guide, we examined the different artistic styles and techniques and even had the opportunity to try some of these methods ourselves.

Here are some of our favourite things about our excursion:

Marley- It was really fun, and we got to look at a lot of amazing artwork. Some were inspiring, but there was one portrait of a creepy foot!

Hesara- My favourite portrait was of Maggie Beer. I liked it because of all the plants and the texture of the painting.

Charlie- My favourite part was when we got to do our own drawings. The blind contour drawing was really fun because our pictures turned out hilarious!

Civics and Citizenship

Last week, we explored the difference between rules and laws, their purpose, and their impact on our daily lives as a part of the HASS component of our unit. In one activity, students considered what life might be like without road laws. Working in groups, they took on the roles of different community members to discuss the potential consequences. At the end of the activity, the students enthusiastically participated in a ‘radio interview’ with the teacher to report their findings to the class. Each group concluded that road laws play a vital role in keeping us safe, healthy, and alive!

Tricia Butters

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What's Happening in the Quakenators

Welcome to Term 3 in the Quakenators. We have been reflecting on our learning so far this term.

Malak- My favourite thing this term was the cactus art because we got to use a lot of different art mediums like sharpie, pencil, oil pastel and much more. The thing that I loved most about the cacti is that we got to make our own designs and patterns.

Timothy- My fav thing for Term 3 is Scratch, Little Alchemy, Book week, Rotations and building my tiny house. My Scratch project is about Transport Canberra. I did well on the highways and designs because I formed some shapes and of course I’ve done scratch projects before.

Little alchemy we did some interesting stuff about great elements and mixing stuff.

Book week is about dressing up as our favourite book character.

We even had a chill day, no maths, no English chill day! Rotations is about French, Music, Digital tech and P E because French is about French street signs and some quizzes.

Music is about some interesting things like maracas, ukulele and some beatbox stuff.

For digital tech we had Microsoft and Little alchemy as well. For P E we had some interesting sports and running games. For building tiny houses we built our rooms, furniture and garages. We even had to make our tv’s, toilets and movies. The furniture was so hard to do. They are really tricky for me, and I added a second floor.

Ewan- 5/6RS (Quakenators) has been doing some interesting artworks. Like the “Six Mediums” artwork where we had to think of an everyday item and draw it in six different ways with six different mediums.

Max- My favourite thing of term 3 was French because we got to do scratch or a play for French using French words and it was really fun. It was also exciting because you got to look at what other people have been doing. If you would like to like at my scratch here is the link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1191973979/editor 

Jack- My favourite this term was going to Sydney for Futsal. Because I got to play one of my favourite sports with my friends and at the hotel we got FREE slushies. We didn’t win but I still had a really good time. We won our first game 2-0 but we lost all our others. During the games I felt excited about playing against all the teams from Sydney because I knew they would be good. On the way back to Canberra I finally got to rest and sit down.

Beatrix- My favourite thing that we have learned this year was when we learned about Australian plants and their uses at Birrigai. I really liked learning about country. Now I can use and forage for plants that I might have not noticed if I had not been taught about them. I think that in every school we should learn about our country's native plants.

Ruby- My favourite thing this term is book week. We all got to see everyone dressed up and all my friends dressed up as fairies from the land of stories. It was cool looking at the teachers' costumes from Harry Potter.

Connor- Maths is my favourite subject and it is the best subject. Maths is the best, it is cool, it is the best subject and it is the best one. Maths is better than PE. I really like doing my times tables as I am getting so good at 2, 5, 10. I like the games that Tim put on the computers.

Amber- My favourite thing this term is the six mediums art and the cactus art. I loved book week since I got to dress up as my favourite character Sophie Elizabeth Foster. I didn't mind fractions or division. I love the book ‘Hunger Games’.

Julie- My favourite thing about this term was book week when we all got to dress up as our favourite character. My friends and I dressed up as the fairy council from The Land of Stories and the fairy godmother. We had lots of fun dressing up as a group.

Archer- This term my favourite thing was going to Sydney for Futsal and playing for Weetangera with three people in my class Shaan, Jack G and I. Throughout the day we had a great time, and our best moment was when we won 2:0, and it could of been a lot more.

In the second match we lost 3:2 it was a very close game, and we had a few unfair refs decisions, so we were a bit unlucky. We then went on to lose the next two matches but the good thing was that in those two matches we only lost by one and at the end of the day we were all happy, and on the way home I saw Lukas in his car and we both could see each other so we waved, then we had a good trip home and then had some dinner and went to bed.

Sarah- I really enjoyed doing basketball and having a chance to be a part of the Weetangera team. Of course, there were many other things I also enjoyed but basketball was the thing that stuck out to me the most. Going to the stadium with my friends and getting to play with them was such a fun experience, although we didn’t make it to the finals it was still worth it to go and give it a shot. The best part was the fact that I could go and get chocolate. And of course, share it with my team.

One more thing that I really enjoyed was doing the six mediums in art and getting to experiment with different mediums and materials and seeing which one looked the best to others and not just people who wanted to be nice and say they liked all of them, but people that were actually being honest. Overall, it was really a really fun term.

Abby- I liked doing the art activities because they were fun. My favourite activity that we have done was definitely "hand art". The “hand art” was my favourite because we had to trace our hands and then draw some lines all over the paper from left to right. After that we then coloured them neatly and then at the end it looked 3D.

Nash- My favourite thing this term was probably getting to try out new things in PE and doing Warhammer at lunch times on Tuesday because I got to paint models while talking with my friends. 

Zayden- This term my favourite thing to do was teaching tag rugby. I think my class learnt a lot from this. We did some drills and skills. I had so much fun.

Elena- I enjoyed our Interconnectedness unit. I enjoyed the gold hunt even though I didn’t get a gold ticket. I also liked writing about the gold miners, the convicts and about the Vietnam war. I liked the stories to go along with the scenes: The Rabbits, Heart of the Nation, ‘The gold rush book’ and The Little Refugee. My favourite part was writing the journals.

I liked learning about mediums and what their effect was in the six mediums art. I also liked our tiny houses, building and planning.

Kenta- I thought the Soccer game was a blast, it was a close game. My team lost but we still had a great time. I was a defender and saved a few shots. I won't say I’m good at soccer but the teams were strong. The thing I liked the most was probably how everyone tried their best and had good sportsmanship.

Lachlan- The best thing that I think I did in term 3 is PE and i really like doing it because it helps me be more active.

Fergus- I liked learning about Interconnectedness because I think it's interesting to learn about war and the history of our planet.

Bec Spoors 

What's Happening in Category 5/6

Students in Category 5/6 have been looking at how advertising influences identity or vice versa. We have looked at persuasive techniques, examples of ads, and also stereotypes and how these are used in different ways to target particular demographics. Students were set a challenge to market a hand fan directly to their teacher, using what they knew to target the ad specifically for Ms Cottam. Please enjoy their ads!

Emma Cottam

Library News

A reminder that students have access to a great range of books throughout the school holidays. They can borrow e-books, audio books and read-along books through SORA as well as explore World Book Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia Britannica which contain a fantastic range of interactive activities, videos and resources. These are all accessible through the digital backpack. Additionally Sora can be accessed through the SORA app.

Happy Holiday Reading,

Stephen

P & C Update

The Annual WPS Lapathon will be held Wednesday next week from 1:30 PM, and all parents, family and friends are invited! The Lapathon is our fun and active way to raise money for new school resources.  The year group in junior school and senior school that runs the most laps will win a Frozen Quelch Stick for everyone in the year.

Donation pledges are made easy at lapathon.wps.org.au. Spread the word (and the link!) to friends and family and help raise money for new PE equipment for the school! 

Save the date -- WPS Wardrobe Week (Week 2, Term 4)

Next term, get ready for WPS Wardrobe Week. Every morning from 8:30am to 9:00am, the P&C will set up containers under the K/1 covered area to accept donations of used school uniforms in good condition. We'll also be running flash sales where second-hand WPS clothing can be purchased for a gold coin. 

Get involved with the WPS P&C community: email weetangera.pc.secretary@gmail.com

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. 

Communication at Weetangera

Community Notices