Wanniassa School
‘Success and excellence in education’
PRESCHOOL - STERNBERG CRESCENT WANNIASSA
JUNIOR CAMPUS - STERNBERG CRESCENT WANNIASSA
SENIOR CAMPUS - WHEELER CRESCENT WANNIASSA
Website: www.wans.act.edu.au
Email: [email protected]
PHONE: 6205 8055
PHONE: 6205 7566
PHONE: 6205 6200
Wanniassa P-10 School
February Newsletter 2017
Upcoming Events
Junior Campus
24 Feb
Green & Yellow Unit
Assembly 2pm
9 March
JC Swimming Carnival
10 March
Blue Unit Assembly
2pm
24 March
Red unit Assembly
2pm
Senior Campus
Every Wednesday
Ganbra Homework Club
3.15pm -4pm
Every Thursday
Junction Group
27 Feb – 29 Feb
Year 7 Camp
22 March
Year 7 Immunisations
Whole School
13 March
Canberra Day
7 April
WS ANZAC Day
Assembly 2pm JC Hall
7 April
End Term 1
26 April
Start Term 2
Principal’s Report
Welcome to all new students, families and staff and of course welcome
back to our ongoing learners. Thank you to the whole school
community who have made those new to our school so very welcome.
In 2017 we will continue our journey to personalise learning, connecting
every student to their learning to ensure they are engaged in the curriculum and
academically challenged. This is how we develop our students to be the drivers of their
own learning and set high expectations of themselves and others. Wanniassa School is
becoming renowned for this work and this week Cherie Connors is presenting our work in
personalised learning at an international conference of educators in Japan. It is great to
have our work recognised and valued in that international forum.
This week we held our whole school Meet and Greet with parents and families. Thank
you to all who attended. At Wanniassa School we believe that a strong partnership
between parents and school results in much stronger outcomes for your child. We have
received a lot of very positive feedback about the evening and also some constructive
suggestions as to how we could improve on the information evening for 2018. As part of
the way we operate and to ensure continual improvement, we reflect on how we could
make events like this better. We have many ideas ourselves, but would really appreciate
your comments on the strengths of the evening and ways we could make it even better
for you.
In Term 4 2016 Wanniassa School began its journey to embed Positive Behaviour for
Learning (PBL). PBL is a whole school approach to supporting the learning and wellbeing
needs of all students. Positive Behaviour for Learning is a proactive, positive model that is
based on the assumption that desirable behaviours should be taught. Strategies used to
teach other skills, specifically academic skills, should be used to teach appropriate social
behaviours. Under the umbrella of PBL, the Values program form the Junior Campus will
be extended to the Senior Campus in order to strengthen our one school ethos even
more.
To establish a PBL culture staff came up with an overarching statement of purpose to
express why we are embracing the PBL philosophy. Staff brainstormed this
collaboratively at a whole staff meeting and came up with:
At Wanniassa School, PBL supports our school values of respect, resilience
and responsibility by empowering students to be engaged, reflective and
independent learners.
They came up with the following overarching principles that align with the school values.
 Be a respectful learner,
 Be a responsible learner,
 Be a resilient learner.
The next step in the PBL journey is to identify the behaviours that we would expect to see
in each of the settings around the school.
Thank you
Shane Gorman
Principal
Elizabeth Courtois
Junior Campus Principal
Cherie Connors
Senior Campus Principal
P & C News
Wanniassa School Parent & Citizen Association - Annual General Meeting (AGM) & HELP NEEDED on P&C
Committee
The Wanniassa School P&C committee is to hold its Annual General Meeting at 6.30pm on Tuesday 21 March 2017
in the staff room on the Senior Campus.
All executive positions will be vacated and the following positions are available for filling in 2017:
President - chairs all meetings, provides leadership and acts as a spokesperson;
Vice President Junior Campus - assists President and Secretary as well as representative for Junior campus;
Vice President Senior Campus - assists President and Secretary as well as representative for Senior campus;
Secretary - Records minutes of meetings, sets meeting agendas and attends to correspondence;
P&C Treasurer - Responsible for all funds received and expended on behalf of the P&C Committee, reports
regularly to P&C meetings. Software package and training available. This is a vital role which the P&C can’t
function without.
Special Lunch Coordinator - coordinate and plan the canteen special lunch days for the year.
Marketing and Social Media Coordinator - A key focus of the P&C for 2017 is to increase the information flow
between the P&C, school and community. This position/s has been created to get more information out to
families and provide opportunities for families to engage in activities that benefit students.
P&C Council Delegate/s - Represent P&C at P&C Council meetings and report back to P&C meetings;
Public Officer - point of contact between Association and ACT Registrar General's Office (must be over 18 yrs and
an ACT resident).
Fundraising Coordinator - Coordinates and plans fundraising events throughout the year, with the assistance of
the committee and school community.
All executive positions will be vacated and the following positions are available for filling in 2017:
The Wanniassa School P&C represents parents and carers for students from Kindergarten through to Year 10. The
preschool, although part of the Wanniassa School community, continues to have a separate committee that is better
able to respond to its needs.
The current committee is a very small number of parents, we therefore encourage you to come along to meetings
and/or nominate yourself for a position on the P&C. The more active members we have, the better your P&C can
represent our school community.
The P&C meetings provide an opportunity for parents and carers to meet and discuss school matters, support the
school and students, hosting special lunch days and organising fundraising activities. The Principal attends each of
the P&C meetings and reports on what is happening within the school. This is a great opportunity to hear firsthand
what is happening in the school and raise matters for discussion.
If you are unable to commit to the participation on the School Board or on the School P&C, there are other
opportunities for you to actively participate within your school community including:
·
assisting with fundraising bbqs or other school fundraising events
·
volunteering to work in the school canteen on special lunch days or at school discos
·
helping out at the school clothing pool or school bank, or
·
providing literacy support and changing home readers
If you would like to know more about any of these positions, please contact Rachelle Davis, P&C Secretary on
0409840641 or [email protected] For more information see the P&C Council Website http://www.actparents.org.au
P&C ACHIEVEMENTS 2016

Welcome Evening – February 2016

Canteen to end of Term 2 2016

Mother’s Day Stall

Junior Campus Disco Term 2 and Term 4 2016

Federal Election BBQ and Cake Stall

Father’s Day Stall

Special Lunch Order Days

MathsPack for Junior Campus

ACT Election BBQ and Cake Stall

Wanniassa School 40th Birthday Celebrations

Bunnings BBQ
2017 P&C Meeting Dates

Term 1 – 21 February & 21 March (Annual General Meeting)

Term 2 – 13 June

Term 3 – 8 August & 5 September

Term 4 – 28 November
The meetings are always on a Tuesday and commence at 6.30pm (following the School Board meeting).
Held in the Senior Campus staffroom.
All are welcome and we would love to see as many parents involved as possible!
Term 1 Special Lunch Days

Nachos - Friday 3 March (Week 5)

Students Choice - Friday 31 March (Week 9)
Special Lunch Days will be held across the Junior and Senior Campuses and the canteen will be open for
recess on the Junior Campus (only) on Special Lunch Days.
Individual notes will come out for ordering.
For more information please contact [email protected]
Jordo’s Chop Shop are proud
supporters of Wanniassa P – 10
School.
Present this ad to the shop for a 10%
discount. Limit: one per customer.
Phone: 6231 8755 or 0423 727 252
https://www.jordoschopshop.com
Junior Campus News
Rainbow Unit News
What a fantastic start to the school year it has been! All three classes, the Dolphins, Turtles and Penguins, have
settled into preschool routines with big smiles and lots of enthusiasm. We have been participating in a variety of
indoor and outdoor investigations and getting to know each other. A Preschool is about BEING, BELONGING and
BECOMING.
Belonging is the basis for living a fulfilling life. Children feel they belong because of the relationships they have with
their family, community, culture and place.
Being is about living here and now. Childhood is a special time in life and children need to just ‘be’ - time to play, try
new things and have fun.
Becoming is about the learning and development that young children experience. Children start to form their sense
of identity from an early age, which shapes the type of adult they will become.
A huge ‘THANK YOU’ to everyone who attended our Preschool Community Breakfast last Wednesday, February 15th.
I think you will agree it was a huge success and a great way to meet all the other preschool families.
Kylie Jess and Virginia Fanning
Red Unit News
We have had a wonderful start to the year in Red Unit! The students have settled in well and are starting to follow
the rules and routines of kindergarten. We have begun learning the single sounds and can even blend some of these
together to read short words. We have also been practising our numbers and learning about shapes and patterns.
We have introduced the school’s Values Program and have had lots of discussions about making the right choices at
school. The students have received a special bonus bank where they are earning special stickers when they display
school values. This year we have also started a special online program called ‘See Saw’ where parents can see the
learning that is happening in Kindergarten. The teachers are adding a lot of photos and learning stories and parents
can look at these on their phones or tablets. The start of the year has been very busy and we are looking forward to
a lot more excitement over the rest of the term.
Sally Gore-Johnson and Isabelle Ludovici
Blue Unit News
During the first week of school, students created their own set of rules and expectations for learning, behaviour and
interactions in collaboration with the teachers. These align with the Wanniassa School 3 R’s of Respect, Resilience
and Responsibility. For English and HASS we have been sharing and learning about the different family structures
within our unit. We have discovered that many of us speak another language at home and some of our parents
were born overseas.
During our Science sessions we have been investigating ‘Push & Pull’ and have been
formulating our own hypothesis or predictions when conducting experiments.
Elissa Blowes, Haydn Dobson and Denise Shepherd
Green Unit News
We have had a busy start to 2017 in Green unit. Our focus has been understanding how we can be responsible,
respectful and resilient learners and what this looks like in Green unit. In Maths we have begun revising addition and
subtraction strategies. The students have learned new dice games that can be played at home with parents and
siblings. In science we have began exploring heat and energy. We were excited to test a hypothesis that hot water
weighs more than cold water. Please feel free to contact Mrs Bowman or Mr Livingstone to arrange a meeting if you
have any concerns regarding your child’s progress or would like to have a chat.
Christina Bowman and David Livingstone
Yellow Unit News
Yellow Unit are absolutely thrilled to be presenting this week’s assembly with Green Unit. It has been a tremendous
start to the year with expectations being met right from the very first day! We have been working so hard,
establishing routines and producing quality work to be displayed across the unit. Each and every member of Yellow
has risen to the challenge and students are displaying the Wanniassa School values we all know and love!
We have completed our ‘Best Part of Me’ poetry pieces, and if you didn’t happen to make it to our parents Meet and
Greet, you are most welcome to pop in and check out these excellent writing samples! Now, we are beginning
narrative and information texts; creating reports about the teachers at
Wanniassa.
Our ‘Values’ unit of work will be an
ongoing focus throughout the year,
but shall now be integrated into our
Science and Geography units where
we are learning about the life cycle of
living things and the continents of
the world.
We are already so engaged and
motivated as a unit and suspect this
will be an amazing year!
Jessica Booth and Dominic Nixon
Orange Unit News
Orange Unit Year 5 students have started this year brimming with enthusiasm! They are enjoying utilising their
electronic devices to enhance their learning. Students are reminded to bring in their device fully charged each day as
we are unable to offer students facilities to recharge them during lesson times. During Literacy sessions we are
studying narratives, in particular the books Boy Overboard and Little Brother, both of which introduce the topics of
refugees, civil war and how the lives of children in other countries can be vastly different to our Australian
lifestyles. The Senior Campus PE teaching staff run sports leaderships lessons on Wednesday afternoons for Orange
Unit students as part of our PE curriculum; please ensure that students wear sports appropriate footwear on these
days in order to participate fully in these sessions. Students are all looking forward to Camp Cooba, which is taking
place in Term 2. This camp is a fantastic opportunity for students to push their own boundaries and work together
as a team with their classmates and teachers whilst having a great time.
Tracey Hanson
Purple Unit News
It was great to meet so many of you at our Meet and Greet evening. We have hit the ground running in Purple Unit, I
received some great feedback from one student when she told me “I love how in Year 6 we were challenged from
day one”. Your children can expect to be challenged every day in preparation for high school and beyond.
We have set up our class expectations. These are the expectations that the students have for themselves, their peers
and the teachers they work with. During our genre writing sessions we are looking at persuasive writing, in
particular, referencing and quoting. These skills will lead into a strong understanding of essay writing, an extremely
important text type during secondary education. We have set up our Google classrooms, so if you want to see some
of the great learning happening in purple unit, have a look at our classroom pages. I look forward to working closely
with you in 2017, so please feel free to organise a meeting at anytime.
Nick Bond
Library News
Welcome to the start of another exciting year in the Library! There are lots of special events on the calendar this
year including the Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge, National Simultaneous Storytime, pre loved book sales, Book
Week and Book Fair.
Borrowing has begun with lots of students starting some exciting new books series or enjoying some old favourites.
Students have set library days for borrowing and returning, and can also come in the mornings or at lunchtime
Monday-Thursday.
Borrowing has changed for our Year 1-6 students with the limits increased so students can read even more, and
students are using strategies to choose fiction, non fiction and free choice books that meet their needs for reading at
home and at school.
Library Monitors
Congratulations to the ten year six students who have begun training as
library monitors this year.
They are: Cody Rogers, Rani Measham, Elektra Oshyer, Maddy
Menegazzo, Mya Lee, Giaan Krecak, Shayla Young, Charleigh Byrne,
Heath Davis and Olivia Lester.
They will be working in the library at lunchtimes, helping students with
loans and returns, assisting in the computer lab, looking after specific
fiction or nonfiction shelves, helping with displays and running special
lunchtime activities and competitions for students. They will also be
involved in running many of our special events. The monitors have
already shown themselves to be keen, capable, friendly and reliable.
We commend these students for their commitment and enthusiasm.
Keep up the good work team!
Reading Reporters
A key learning intention for students in the library is understanding
how they can locate and select books that meet their needs, and
choose a wide selection of books, genres and information types.
Students have been sharing the types of fiction and non fiction books
they enjoy and their reading habits by interviewing each other as
“reading reporters”. This has been a lot of fun and there may be some
budding reporters in our midst.
eBooks
At our parent information evening a number of parents came to the library to learn all about accessing eBooks from
home. There are thousands of eBooks available to our school community so if you are interested in learning more
please let me know. You are also more than welcome set up a family membership at the library if you would like to
borrow some of our physical resources.
Book club
Book Club has kicked off again this year with a great catalogue and lots of bargains. We are continuing to use the
LOOP system for credit card payments and you can still continue to pay by cash or cheque by sending to school in a
marked envelope with your order form.
Happy reading!
Amy Byrne
Teacher Librarian
Japanese News
こんにちは
Konnichiwa (Hello/Good Afternoon),
To start the year in Japanese, we have been looking at traditional New Year's games
and activities in Japan. We played a game called ‘Fukuwarai’. In this game we had to
recreate a face while blindfolded, a bit like pin the tail on the donkey, only harder.
Another New Year's event is Hatsu Basho, the first Sumo event of the year. In classes
we watched some of the 2017 Hatsu basho event and tried to guess which wrestler
would win each match. Sumo is a very old sport dating back more than 1500 years,
making it not only a great sport but a living example of Japanese tradition. Sumo
wrestlers defeat their opponent by knocking them off their feet or out of the circular
ring. The matches are fast and often very
entertaining. Students loved seeing the
incredibly tall and heavy giants competing and were shocked to see them
occasionally fall out of the ring and land on members of the crowd.
ありがとう ございます
Arigatou Gozaimasu
(Thank you very much)
Poulakis Sensei
Chaplaincy News
Hello! My name is Bernadette Mannion and I have been appointed to the position of chaplain this year at the Junior
Campus. My days are Monday & Tuesday and I have been spending the beginning of this term getting to know the
children and staff - especially the children in Red Unit. I have been made feel very welcome my staff and students
and I am gradually meeting parents too - please come and introduce yourself to me.
Breakfast club has begun and it runs from 8.25am - 8.50am from the canteen in the hall. It’s free for everyone and
parents are welcome to bring their younger children in. Parents are also welcome to drop in for a chat after lines on
Monday or Tuesday and are more than welcome to help out with breakfast clean-up too!!
As school chaplain, I am also available for a chat with anyone in the school community who would like to discuss
something confidentially and although I’m located in the Junior School am available to the whole school community.
I am here to support the school socially, emotionally and spiritually so please feel free to chat to me if you have any
questions, or concerns in any of these areas. I’m also available if you would like some parenting coaching. The best
way to contact me is via the office, or after morning lines.
I’m looking forward to working with the Wanniassa School community and serving you in any way I can.
Bernadette Mannion
Chaplain
Junior Campus Stationery Package Reminder
Final payment for the stationery package is due on Friday 24th February 2017.
This $ 70 package includes all the stationery items that your child will need for the year. It also includes access to the
online resources that support students’ reading, writing and mathematical skills.
The school has supplied your child / children with these items and would therefore appreciate payment as soon as
possible. We do have procedures for payments by instalments.
We appreciate your contribution made towards your child / children’s educational supplies.
Senior Campus News
Year 7 News
Year 7 students have settled well into high school and have been keen and ready to learn. As a group, we created a set of
high standards for how we work during class time that also consider our school's values of Respect, Responsibility and
Resilience. Year 7 students are enjoying the range of elective classes that are on offer and are already creating wonderful
piece of work in those areas. Year 7 MAPS are excitedly beginning to tackle the challenges set by their teachers. Our first
challenge is linked to reading. Students thought deeply about an essential question that would drive us and came up with:
If people continue to lose an interest in reading, how will this affect our future? From this students identified two
challenges for us at Wanniassa School:
1. Not all students like or want to read
2. We don’t have a wide enough range of books to cater for all students interests
It was decided that we needed to do something about this!
Year 7 students are very passionate about building the resources we have available to all students for reading, and to
increase the desire for students to want to read. We look forward to seeing how Year 7 go about creating a solution to
these problems and if you ask your child, they may have something exciting to tell you about what they have planned.
Year 7 STEM classes have begun and students are getting a taste of Science through obtaining their bunsen burner
licences. This sparked a huge interest in this learning area as students explored ways to purify water. Students will
continue to study the foundations of Chemistry including changes of matter and separation techniques. In Maths,
students are using class time and an online platform to consolidate their knowledge around number, probability, data and
statistics. The skills and knowledge gained in these classes will help them take on the STEM challenge of a Zombie
Apocalypse; creating a survival kit and completion of an obstacle course.
The Year 7 team enjoyed getting to meet parents at the Meet and Greet in Week 3. It is great to put faces to names and
to hear more about our students from a parent's perspective. We look forward to more communication as the year
unfolds.
The Year 7 Camp is fast approaching. The students (and staff) are excited to be heading off in Week 5 for three days of
adventures! If you have any questions about camp or anything else regarding your child, please do not hesitate to make
contact with me.
Kellie Keeffe and the Year 7 team
Year 8 News
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome back all of our Year 8 students to what promises to be an exciting year.
Once again, our students will be spending a large proportion of their time working in the Year 8 hub. In preparation for
2017, we have made a few changes to this learning space in order to provide the students with a variety of ways to learn.
Research has shown that students prefer to work and therefore learn in different ways. In stark contrast to more old
fashioned models whereby students are required to sit in rows at their desks with the teacher at the front, our students
are now able to choose exactly how they engage with the learning. We also have a centralised meeting space for all the
year 8 students to come together. This has been a great space for us to celebrate the achievements of our students and
many of them have already received Year Awards recognising the efforts that they are making in class.
Additionally we have added round tables for students to participate in collaborative work. There are also standing areas,
an area containing sofas and bean bags, individual desks and even some break out rooms for those students that want to
work in a quieter environment.
We have focused on our school values of respect, responsibility and resilience and through discussions in class, the
students have described what these terms mean to them and the importance of adhering to them.
Each of the students are now well along the path with regards to their project based learning with the initial planning
stages almost complete. Later in the term there will be opportunities for the students to invite their parents and guardians
into the school so that they can showcase this aspect of their learning.
I look forward to what promises to be another action packed year for our Year 8 students!
Darren King
Year 9/10 News
Students in years 9 and 10 attended the annual Lake Tuggeranong College Careers Expo in week 4. Wanniassa students
joined with other high schools from our local area to explore a range of different industries and careers; represented at
the expo by professionals from those industries who were able to answer questions about training requirements and
pathways from high school and college. This information will be used by the students in their MAPS projects this term. The
excursion also gave our students an opportunity to start thinking about college transitions by being in the college
environment for an afternoon. Good luck to the Year 9/10 students helping out at the Monash swimming carnival.
Students will be time keeping and marshalling.
Finance News
At Wanniassa School, we deeply appreciate the valuable support of our school community. Your voluntary contributions
made each year enable us to provide an enriched learning environment for all of our children.
Information on various ways of paying your Voluntary Contributions. Eg: QuickWeb (is an online payment service which
will enable families/communities to make payment via a secure portal on you school’s website www.wans.act.edu.au) OR
Visa/MasterCard credit or debit card (Bank: Westpac, A/C Name: Wanniassa School Management Account, BSB: 032777,
Account Number: 001869).
Please remember we also accept cash, cheque, credit card and EFTPOS payments through the Front Offices of both
campuses!
Sick Bay
If students are unwell they are sent to sick bay with a note from their teacher. The Front Office Staff will contact parents/carers
if necessary. As we have Duty of Care whilst the students are at school we request that Students DO NOT contact parents
themselves, but wait for us to call on their behalf. If your child contacts you asking if they can go home sick, ask them to get a
note from their teacher to go to sick bay and the Office Staff will then contact you. Thank you in advance for your support.
Attendance Matters
Regular school attendance is important. Your child can suffer academically if he or she misses just 10% of school days or the
equivalent of 18 days in a school year. Arriving late to school regularly can add up and have a similar negative effect.
Research shows that children do their best learning in the first school session of the day. For this reason, learning at Wanniassa
School starts at 9:00am. If your child regularly arrives late they will miss this learning opportunity and might begin to fall behind
in their literacy and numeracy.
Set an example for your child. Show him or her that attendance and punctuality matter to you and that you won’t allow an
absence or late arrival unless there is a valid reason. If you are unsure if an explanation for a late arrival or absence is reasonable,
please phone our front office staff for guidance.
We can help. If you or your child are experiencing difficulty with school attendance you can turn to the school for help. School
staff can provide parental support through the school psychologist or make appropriate referrals to external agencies.
Student Absences
If your student is absent, due to illness or leave, or needs to attend an appointment during the day, please phone the Front
Office on 6205 6200 for the Senior Campus, 6205 7566 for the Junior Campus and 6205 8055 for the Preschool and leave a
message or email [email protected]
Please remember to include the student’s full name, roll group and reason for absence (ie. sick, late or on leave) as well as your
contact details.
Whole School News