We hope your children enjoyed a relaxing family break and a chance to recharge ready for term 2. We look forward to the term ahead, working in partnership to support our students and young people as they learn new and challenging things and continue developing personal and social skills as a part of the Woodend community. 

Learning conversations that took place at the end of last term were a fantastic opportunity for families and teachers to strengthen their connections and establish clear learning goals for the year ahead. Feedback from staff and families was that the increased sense of normality and understanding that meeting face-to-face brought was appreciated. We hope to continue reintroducing opportunities for our parent community to be present on school grounds this term, beginning with the ‘It Takes a Village’ Parent Workshop hosted by Bully Zero in the gym this Wednesday. Bookings are still available via the School Interviews booking system.

For students, this semester begins with our Bully Zero workshops for all year levels. These sessions are focused around understanding what bullying is (and what it is not), the role of the Upstander (a person who speaks or acts in support of someone else) and strategies for addressing bullying behaviours. We want to refocus our students’ thinking on the role that all members of our community play in building and maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment. These sessions will be followed up in classrooms and the key messages of empathy and respect will be revisited throughout the year.

There are a number of fantastic learning opportunities being offered through a range of excursions and events this term. Across the school, students will be participating in cross country, attending performances, taking part in science workshops, representing the region at sporting carnivals and heading off on camps. While we continue to consider Covid-safety in our planning, we are thrilled that our students can resume participation in these activities. Please remember to refer back to our school calendar for important dates. 

Students in years 3, 5 and 7 will complete NAPLAN online in weeks 3 and 4 of this term. The NAPLAN is a nationally developed program that provides schools and states with information about how education programs are working and what areas need to be prioritised for improvement. More information for families can be found here. 

Our Reception teachers will be gathering data early in the term for The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), which measures how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school. The AEDC collects data every three years in schools across Australia and reports children’s results in 5 key areas of early childhood development called domains. Information for families is available here.

There are some staffing changes this term, mostly within the R-2 classes and we appreciate the professionalism and flexibility of our teaching staff who are able to accomodate these transitions smoothly for the benefit of our students.

  • Sonia Gallagher will be extending her time in Room 30 with Jude Gabriel-Smith working Monday and Friday while Sonia works Tuesday to Thursday.
  • Jennifer Toubia will be working Thursday and Friday in Room 6 teaching in partnership with Jess Harris
  • We welcome Jess Schmidt who will be working on Thursday in Room 18 in partnership with Belinda Yardley
  • Steve Freeman is on leave for the first 3 weeks of term, with Cathie Luke on leave in week 1 and Jane-Ann Natar in week 3. We welcome Vicki Gregory into the leadership team during this time.