Dear Families,

The beginning of Term 4 ushers in an exciting time, with many wonderful celebrations that bring our community together to celebrate learning, the arts, sports, the festive season, and another year of working together to help our young people thrive.

To ensure we have a safe and productive term, we would like to share a few important reminders:

Communications: Please ensure you are subscribed to the NewsBlog and receive Seesaw notifications. These two channels work together to provide our community with important news and updates. More communication information can be found here.

Kiss ‘n’ Go: We are always working to improve the flow and safety of our Kiss ‘n’ Go area. This is a no-parking zone. During drop-off and pick-up times, the maximum wait time is two minutes. This means no vehicle should be stopped in the Kiss ‘n’ Go prior to school finishing at 3:05pm. Please consider delaying your arrival to avoid congestion and do not stop outside the designated zone. Queuing in this area contributes to unsafe road behaviour, including illegal overtaking and U-turns.

While the weather is fine, we strongly encourage parking a short distance from the school in one of the surrounding streets and walking, riding, or scooting. Woodend Way, which connects the back of the oval to the western end of Sheidow Park, provides great access to many surrounding streets and parking areas.

Please see this Traffic Reminders blog post for more information.

Traffic Monitors: Our traffic monitors volunteer to help keep our community safe when using the roads around our school. Please remember that they are children learning this important responsibility and allow them free access to the walkways so they can get to their duty on time.

Young Street Garden: For the safety of our students, the gate on Young Street is opened at 8:30am and locked at 9:00am. Crossing monitors open the gate at 3:00 pm on their way to duty. Occasionally, situations may arise that cause delays. Please be reassured that Reception children will not be dismissed until a parent is present. Older children are able to make their way to your usual meeting point and wait for you to access the yard.

Waiting Outside: Classrooms open at 8:40am each morning. Once the teacher has opened the door, children may begin organising themselves for the day. These routines will vary between classes and may include children being asked to play outside if their teacher has morning yard duty or a meeting.

We remind all parents and caregivers that you must wait outside walkways and buildings until the bell rings at 3:05pm. This allows students to move freely and complete their learning and end-of-day routines safely.

Playground Use Before and After School: Once the school yard opens at 8:30am, students may play on the Middle Playground adjacent to the canteen. The Treetop Playground near the office, castle/tree climbing area and back half of the oval are out of bounds before school as there is no teacher on duty in this area. If parents wish to accompany their child to a playground before school, they may use the Middle Playground. After school, parents may supervise their children on either playground until the yard closes at 3:20pm.

Dress Code: Please ensure your child is dressed in the correct school uniform each day. Towards the end of last term, it was noted that some students were wearing nail polish, makeup, non-uniform hair accessories, and brand-name socks. A reminder that shorts should be plain navy and mid-thigh length. Bike shorts may only be worn as undergarments.

Our aim is to continue developing our school as a supportive, positive, non-discriminatory, equitable, and safe learning environment where all students feel they belong, are respected, cared for, and unified as a community to achieve common goals such as wearing the school uniform. Please see the Dress Code Policy for more information.

Hats: Please ensure your child has a school hat each day. It is compulsory to wear a Woodend school hat, unaltered, purchased from the uniform shop. Hats must be worn during outdoor activity when the UV index is forecast for 3 or above.

Important Dates: Please see our school calendar for important upcoming dates, including STEM Fest Expo, Sports Day, Art Beat, Student Free Day, Disco Fundraiser, Celebration Night and Fireworks, Year 6 Graduation, and more.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read these reminders. We encourage you to share them with any grandparents, friends, or family members who are part of your pickup routine.

We look forward to a wonderful term ahead, with much to celebrate as we see out another fantastic year of learning!