Principal’s Report PTS Conferences

A big thank you to the many parents who have already booked a PTS

Conference for next week. To date, we have had over 400 conferences booked.

The details regarding our upcoming conferences have been included in this

week’s newsletter again for any families who may have missed this information

last week.

Please note that PTS Conferences for students on Years 3 to 6 will be

conducted next Monday 15th March afternoon/early evening, whilst students in

Foundation to Year 2 have conferences scheduled for next Wednesday 17th

March.

If you have any difficulties booking a PTS Conference, please don’t hesitate to

contact the school’s main office on 93975722.

Staff Training Day Report

Teachers and Education Support staff participated in a highly engaging staff

training day on Monday 9th March, which laid the foundations for the school to

introduce a new writing program over the next 12 to 18 months. The program for

the day was facilitated by Narissa Leung, who is a highly regarded educational

consultant that specialises in the area of literacy.

Narissa provided a comprehensive overview of the writing process throughout

the morning, focussing on a number of key practices that are central to

optimising student achievement in writing. Excitedly, the afternoon session

allowed teachers to begin working on the 6+1 Traits of Writing, which will be the

new program being adopted by the school to further enhance our instructional

practice in this important area.

The school will be engaging Narissa throughout this year, to work closely with

teachers as we delve deeper into the 6+1 Traits of Writing as a central

component of the school’s new Strategic Plan. We’ll continue to provide

(Continued on page 2)

Williamstown North Primary School

Newsletter

133 Melbourne Road, Williamstown 3016 Tel: 9397 5722 Email: williamstown.north.ps@education.vic.gov.au Website: www.willynthps.vic.edu.au

Compass Link—https://willynthps-vic.compass.education

Attendance—https://willynthps-vic.compass.education Video Tour—https://www.willynthps.vic.edu.au/page/172

New items added to the Calendar

Thursday 11th March Divisional Swimming

* Monday 15th March

Yr 3-6 PTS Conference & Teeth on Wheels

* Tuesday 16th March

Teeth on Wheels *

Friday 19th March Teeth on Wheels

* Wednesday 17th March Year 5 & 6 Athletics &

Foundation to Year 2 PTS Conferences

Swap Shop TBA

10th March 2021

Number 6

Respect — Resilience — Responsibility — Doing Your Best

2021 Term Date T1—28th Jan to 1st April

T2—19th April to 25th June

T3—12th July to 17th Sept

T4—4th Oct to 17th Dec

*************

Staff Training Days for 2021

Friday 7th May

Monday 1st November

updates on our writing advancements as they unfold over the coming months.

Class Reps – eNews

A huge thank you to our Class Rep Coordinators, Georgie Evanson & Sheena Hickman, who expertly

facilitated an induction session last Wednesday evening for our newly appointed Class Reps. It was very

exciting to get this important communication process for our school up and running again for 2021.

If all goes according to plan, the first edition of the eNews for each class should arrive/be distributed over

the next couple of days. Each edition of the eNews will provide a brief snapshot of the current learning

cycle with some at home tips for parents to consider. There will also be reminders in regards to upcoming

school events and important dates to note. We hope you find the eNews to be both informative & helpful

for further strengthening the partnership between home and school.

Please note that parents must ‘opt-in’ to this program with their consent, to receive regular editions of the

eNews. If you require an ‘opt-in’ form, please don’t hesitate to make contact with the school’s main office

on 93975722.

Parking Around the School

Interestingly, last week’s newsletter piece on parking around the school generated a flurry of emails around

many of the frustrations experienced by families during peak drop off and pick up times.

Further to my commentary last week, there was considerable angst around the practice of parents not

adhering to the ‘Drop Off and Pick Up Only’ signage around the school (particularly in Station Rd). In these

designated areas, parents should not be parking and leaving their cars. We ask that parents using these

areas remain with their cars and ensure their child/ren safely exit their car and then expeditiously move on

allowing for a new car to move into this zone.

We’ve been very fortunate over many years to ensure all students arrive at and leave school safely without

any traffic mishaps or accidents. Let’s all continue to work collaboratively and respectfully on this important

matter to maintain this high record of safety for all of our students.

Mini Working Bee

Thank you to the parents who responded to last week’s newsletter plea in regards to the junior sand pit. We look forward to working together tomorrow to remove the top layer of sand in the sand pit from 3.00pm onwards. See you with wheelbarrows and/or shovels in hand!

Enjoy the rest of the week

Jim Cahill—Principal

Willy FRENCH CLUB! Fun, effective and supportive language learning with native-speaking teacher.

Ideal foundation experience for young learners, as well as consolidation and socialisation for children from Francophone families.

Wednesdays 3.50-4.50pm

Williamstown Community Centre 14 Thompson St

Jim Callahan 0432 719 034 jim.callahan@lcfclubs.com.au

WILLIAMSTOWN NORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL - 1409 PARENT/TEACHER/STUDENT CONFERENCES (PTS)

Foundation to Year 6 - Week 8, Term 1,

Monday 15th March 2021, for Year 3 to Year 6

& Wednesday 17th March 2021 for Foundation to Year 2

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Parent/Teacher/Student (PTS) conferences will be held for all Foundation to Year 2 classes on Wednesday 17th March and Year 3 to 6 classes on Monday 15th March.

We now invite you to participate in the first stage of our Reporting platform by booking a PTS conference with your child’s classroom teacher. The conferences will be of 10 minutes duration and will be now be scheduled from 1.00pm till 6.30pm.

The focus of the conference will be to provide you with a clear picture of your child’s progress in Term 1. This will include shared commentary on work habits, progress, learning goals and connectedness.

Using Compass you can book your Parent/Teacher/Student Conference online from 9.30am on Tuesday 9th March, once the Newsfeed has been sent.

1. Parents will have a notification on their Compass dashboard advising them that they have a conference cycle open to make bookings for their child/ren.

2. Parents can click the notification to proceed to make a booking. Parent can either click 'Start Booking Now' or 'Show Me How to Book' to proceed'.

Please remember, that once a time has been booked, the options for parents are reduced. Be prompt to select your time. If all conference times are booked, please contact your child’s teacher to make an alternative time.

If your appointment is during the school day, details of where the children will be, will be advised in a Newsfeed, you can then proceed to their classroom to meet with their teacher.

If your child has a scheduled SSG (School Support Group) meeting with Giorgia Moss, please note that you do not need to book an additional PTS Conference time.

For classes that have two teachers, please select the following teacher when making an appointment; -

Year 6NZ – Sarah Nobbs Year 6GB – Cathy Graham Year 5RM – Kate Richards

Year 3DV – Wendy Drayton Year 3SF – Crissy Samaras Year 2HB – Sharon Hunt

The P/T/S Conference days are as follows:

Wednesday 17th March Foundation to Year 2

1.00pm to 5.00pm

5.00pm to 5.30pm (Staff Break)

5.30pm to 6.30pm

Monday 15th March Year 3 to Year 6

1.00pm to 5.00pm

5.00pm to 5.30pm (Staff Break)

5.30pm to 6.30pm

Jim Cahill - Principal Wendy Emin & Michael Gill - Assistant Principals

IMPORTANT PARENT INFORMATION FOR

ANAPHYLAXIS/ALLERGIC REACTION

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This letter is to advise you that children in your child’s class or a class at the same level suffers from Anaphylaxis or an Allergic Reaction. Essentially, this means that they have a severe reaction to an allergen, such as egg, nuts or nut products, dairy, sesame, mushrooms, beetroot or seafood. These children also cannot eat any food containing these ingredients or related products.

Children can have mild reactions or they can have an Anaphylactic reaction, which is life threatening. It may progress very quickly. Please note, these reactions can be triggered by these foods in either a raw, processed or a baked form.

In 2021, there are 42 children across the school that are allergic to foods.

Our school does not ‘ban’ foods that may cause an allergic reaction, however our Canteen does not sell nut products and we discourage Nutella & peanut butter sandwiches in lunch boxes. We specifically request that you do not include nut based products in your child’s lunch box please, and where possible endeavour to avoid other common allergens.

All children are made aware of allergens and actively discouraged from sharing food items. All teachers undertake regular training in this area and are aware of the appropriate response if a child was to have an allergic reaction.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Regards

Jim Cahill—Principal—Williamstown North Primary School