Key Summary

P&C Meeting- thanks for attending last night. AGM to be held 16th March 2021.

School Priorities- our key priorities in 2021 relate to English planning, teaching and assessment aligned to the Australian Curriculum, tracking student progress and the implementation of Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) across our school.

Teacher Information Sessions- this afternoon, bookings required for 3:20pm or 4pm sessions.

2021 Leaders- student appointment and badge presentation next week.

Reading at Wondall- overview of our reading approaches to school.

Technology Increasing- we have new ipads and laptops being deployed in classrooms.

Early Start- our prep students completed Early Start activities to track their literacy understanding.

Religious Education- RI will commence in the coming weeks for students in Years 1-6.

Food Aware- with an increasing number of students with food allergies, please consider the foods being sent to school with your child.

Enrol for 2022- our waitlist for 2022 enrolments are now open.

As we commence Week 3, our official numbers for the year have been set with 698 students enrolled in the school.

P&C Meeting

School Priorities

At the end of 2020, our Year 5 students nominated for school leadership positions. It was fantastic to see the high interest in student leadership positions and all students did a wonderful job in the different selection stages. These consisted of nomination, shortlisting, interviews and delivery of speeches. Our 2021 leaders will be officially appointed at a badge session with an audience of their Year 6 peers and parents next week. Congratulations to:

Reading at Wondall

This week, sees the start of Guided Reading occurring in our classrooms for the year. Guided Reading is a rich and valuable teaching and learning process, whereby teachers and teacher aides work with small, targeted groups of students, focusing on the teaching of reading and comprehension using good quality, instructional texts. 

Guided Reading is a valued and integral part of our day at Wondall. Prep-Year 3 classes will be engaging in four Guided Reading sessions per week and Year 4-6 classes will be engaging in three Guided Reading sessions per week. Our teacher aides will support all Guided Reading sessions.

Through Guided Reading, classroom teachers will have the opportunity to read with every child in their class, each week. This will ensure students are reading books at their own level and have specific, individual goals to know how to improve their own reading.

Home reading books will also be given to students, to work on their strategies at home, particularly in the lower year levels. Students in the upper year levels will be encouraged to read books borrowed from the school library or from their personal libraries.

Please check out the following website for parent guides to help support your child in reading at each year level.

2021 Prep to Year 3 Dateclaimer : Wednesday 17 February Bravehearts’ Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show in the school hall from 9am. Proudly sponsored by the Wondall Heights SS P&C

All of our Prep-Year 3 students are invited to attend the Ditto Keep Safe Adventure Show presented by Bravehearts on Wednesday 17 February. This is a FREE presentation, proudly funded by the Wondall Heights State School P&C, making the information accessible to all students.

Teaching children personal safety skills is an aim of the Bravehearts’ Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show. The Ditto show is a live, interactive 40 minute performance starring Bravehearts’ mascot ‘Ditto’. It includes song, dance, and easy-to-remember messages about personal safety. These songs and messages were written by Bravehearts’ professional educators and child psychologists and are developmentally appropriate for your child’s age group.

What your child will learn

The show is underpinned by the following six principles of personal safety:

• Differentiating ‘yes’ and ‘no’ feelings
• Recognising the bodies ‘warning signs’
• Identifying ‘private parts’ and ‘privacy’
• Helping children identify language and feelings associated with secrets
• Reinforcing that there is no secret that children cannot tell someone
• What to do if you feel unsafe or unsure

Your child will learn these essential principals through songs such as ‘Run and Tell (someone you can trust)’ and ‘Private Parts (they belong to me)’. They will also learn ‘Ditto’s 3 Rules’, which are:

1. We all have the right to feel safe with people.
2. It’s ok to say NO if you feel unsafe or unsure.
3. Nothing is so yucky that you can’t tell someone about it.

As part of the program, children are each given a Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Activity Booklet to take home. We encourage you to look at the booklet with your child, using the activities to help cement the personal safety messages from the show.

PLEASE NOTE: Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure show and accompanying resources are NOT SEX EDUCATION. ‘Private parts’ are explained as being “our mouth” (as in kissing), “our chest”, “between the legs” and “our bottom”.

How you can learn more

Bravehearts is extremely proud of Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure program and believes by empowering children with personal safety skills and knowledge we are providing them with the tools to stay safe. However, just as teaching children road rules cannot guarantee our children’s safety on the roads, no program can ‘abuse-proof’ our children. Parents, grandparents, care-givers, teachers, and all adults must be vigilant and informed.

If you would like to learn more about how to talk to your child about personal safety, download Bravehearts’ FREE PERSONAL SAFETY PARENTS AND CARERS GUIDE from the Bravehearts website. Just go to: bravehearts.org.au/personalsafety.