From the Head of Campus
Greetings Everyone,
Welcome to the next semester!
Although we are a little down in numbers both with staff and students due to COVID, we are managing well. It has been a terrific start following some wonderful holidays that children and families have experienced. At School Meeting last week, children had ventured into every state. It was terrific to hear children share their family’s news at School Meeting in our first week back.
With COVID all around, we are very grateful to you for supporting the wearing of masks when inside the school building and for encouraging your children to wear a mask, especially children in Year 3 and above. We are particularly aware of the wonderful camps ahead and wish to give everyone the best chance to be involved in these experiences.
Upcoming Camps
Ahead is the Year 5 Sovereign Hill camp, and the Year 6 Wugubank NT adventure to Wugularr. At the end of Week 6 our Year 3 and 4 groups head to Alexander Adventure Resort, which provides a range of terrific outdoor experiences. Staffing for these camps include group teachers and specialists. We do appreciate there may be changes to the attendance of students and teachers due to the prevalence of COVID, flu and other viruses. Parents will be notified of the confirmed staff involved in camps a few days prior to the camp.
Learning by doing
Learning by doing is the proposition that we learn more when we actually ‘do’ therefore reinforcing the significance of camps to the conceptual understandings that are a part of our inquiry involving children and teachers.
The American philosopher, John Dewey, first popularized learning by doing. Dewey became famous for arguing that we learn best when we deeply engage with the material. He believed that the best way to achieve that was to create a practical curriculum that had relevance to students’ lives and experiences.
We are most excited to be able to move ahead with the camps for our older children this term. The news from Tracey Clinch who visited Wugularr last week is that the Wugularr children are so excited about our Year 6 students being a part of their school during Week 4.
Term 3 PYP Units of Inquiry
- How We Organise Ourselves – Younger Years, Early Learning to Year 2
- Who We Are – Year 3 and 4
- Where We are in Place and Time – Year 5 and 6
These units of inquiry involve a 6 to 8 week in-depth exploration of a concept. At the various year levels, children inquire into a central idea or a main understanding guided by lines of inquiry and teacher provocations and questions.
Students in Year 3 to 6 will look forward to welcoming parents to the Expos designed to present their learning later in the term.
The Penbank Athletics Carnival held in Mornington last week was likewise a great success with all students in Year 3 to Year 6 involved in a variety of events. This event prepares our students for the District Athletics held on Wednesday 31 August. Good luck to all students who qualify for selected events.
Welcome Parents
For parents, please join us for School Meeting each Thursday 8.50 am. It is a time when we share the learning and come together as a school community. We love our parent audiences so do join us if you can.
There will be no School Meeting during Week 4 due to the Wugubank Camp, however, there are some exciting school meetings ahead with a breakfast for Fathers and Friends in Week 7, and Book Week in Week 8.
Parents and Friends Group (PFG)
We are excited to be bringing back the Parents and Friends Group (PFG). Families will receive an invitation to a meeting to be held this week. We invite all parents to this first meeting to re-invigorate events and activities involving parents and friends.
Plans for the return of the Penbank Rock Quiz on Friday 9 September are in the pipeline too. Look out for these invitations!
Pupil Free Day
Compliance training is becoming increasingly demanding with staff in schools required to be trained in many areas from food handling to Child Safety. To ensure all staff meet these requirements, a dedicated day for training staff is Monday 8 August. This will be a Pupil Free Day with the school closed to all students, from Early Learning to Year 12.
Dates for your diary
WEEK 3
- Sovereign Hill Camp – Year 5 – Wednesday 3 August – Friday 5 August
- Year 3 Body Safety Australia Imagine Me – Wednesday 3 August 10am
- Year 4 Body Safety Australia Imagine Me – Wednesday 3 August 11am
- Campus Tour – Friday 5 August
WEEK 4
- Pupil Free Day (Compliance Training Day) – Monday 8 August
- Year 6 Camp to Wugularr NT – Monday 8 August to Tuesday 16 August
- ELG/4 Excursion Bunjil Place: Edward the Emu – Tuesday 9 August 10am
- Year 3 Body Safety Australia Imagine Me – Wednesday 10 August 10am
- Year 4 Body Safety Australia Imagine Me – Wednesday 10 August 11:30am
WEEK 5
- Activities Week, Senior campus
- Year 6 Return from NT – Tuesday 16 August
WEEK 6
- Year 3 & 4 Camp – Alexandra Adventure Resort, Wednesday 24 August to Friday 26 August
- Prep & ELG/4 - Wildlife Xposure Incursion, Thursday 25 August
WEEK 7
- District Athletics @ Ballam Park – Wednesday 31 August
- Fathers, Friends, Footy & Fun School Meeting – Thursday 1 September
- Father’s Day – Sunday 4 September
WEEK 8
- Book Week
- Penbank Rock Quiz – Friday 9 September
WEEK 9
- Penbank Soiree – Wednesday 14th September 7.00pm
Term 3 Ends – Friday 16th September
We are excitedly looking ahead to the many wonderful learning experiences and events,
Kind regards,
VIVIENNE WEARNE
Head of Penbank
Playful explorers in the ELC
We have had a happy and settled start to the term in Early Learning! The children have returned from the holidays refreshed and excited to be back together as a group. We have enjoyed hearing about their holiday adventures and learning about their current interests as we develop our plans for the term ahead.
This term, we have introduced our new Unit of Inquiry: How The World Works
Our learning engagements and investigations for this unit will be hands-on, playful, and engaging! The focus will be on observing, experimenting, discovering, and learning about the world around us through active exploration.
We will be learning about:
- how we can manipulate materials for a purpose
- how forces can cause change
- how we can use our understandings to design and create
The children will be inquirers, thinkers and communicators as they encounter new materials, develop theories arising from their interests and design and create using a wide range of resources.
Concepts we will be exploring:
- Form – What is it like?
- Function – How does it work?
- Causation – Why is it as it is?
- Change – How is it transforming?
For our ELG 4 group, our early inquiries have centred on tornados. We have been developing theories about how they are created, their forces and their impact on the environment.
We have also been investigating different ways of using pipes, including creating waterways, tunnels and ramps.
Our ELG 3 children have also been exploring ramps in the block corner, using various materials to make the cars and trucks move. They have also shown great interest in using new tools such as staplers and hole punchers. This interest will be extended in the coming weeks as we create a tinkering area that will include magnets, tools and simple machines.
Teachers as researchers
Throughout this year, the Woodleigh Early Childhood team from Penbank and Minimbah Campuses have engaged in a collaborative action research project with early childhood consultant Kirsty Liljedren. Teachers and educators from both campuses have been meeting regularly to engage in professional learning workshops, critically reflect on our practice and share our documentation of the children’s learning.
Guiding Questions and Lines of Inquiry:
- What is the role of the teacher in relation to childrens' agency and assessment of learning?
- What is our image of the child? Exploring the role of the educator in supporting learner agency.
- What is worth documenting? Continuous assessment in the Early Years: exploring the content and ways we can make visible the children’s learning.
- How does documentation inform our pedagogy and practice? Exploring the monitoring, recording, and reporting of student learning.
- How can we work collaboratively with families? Making learning visible to children and families
As our research develops, you may notice changes to the information and documentation you receive about our program.
Current areas we are focusing on include:
- Exploring new ways of documenting – creating posters and displays, capturing the children’s thinking over several days, using titles and questions in our documentation
- Creating documentation that makes visible the children’s learning within the context of the group
- A more focused approach to our documentation. This will mean fewer 'snapshots' of the day and more detail about specific projects or inquiries.
- A “quality, not quantity” approach to sharing content on Seesaw – this will allow us to concentrate on relationships and engage in a more reflective approach to our teaching.
LISA COXON
Head of Early Childhood
DISCOVER THE SENIOR CAMPUS
The Head of Senior Campus, Nat McLennan, invites you to join her and the Principal, David Baker, for an introduction to Senior Campus life and a student-led tour of the Campus.
The transition from Minimbah and Penbank to the Senior Campus is a significant step in the lives of Woodleigh students and their families – one we hope to ease by building a sense of comfort and belonging prior to the start of Year 7.
Morning tea will be served before the tours, and while this event is intended for parents, not students, young children are more than welcome to attend with you.
We hope to see you at Senior Campus on August 4!
BOOK NOWAlmost, Maine is almost here!
There's less than a month before opening night for our 2022 production of Almost, Maine, the first Woodleigh senior school production to make it to the stage in three years. This is a fantastic milestone and great example of what creative Woodleigh students can do. Students have written and arranged the music; created animations and projections; crafted the set and costumes, and will be running the show. Come along and show your support!
Almost, Maine is rated PG and suitable for the whole family. Seating is limited, so don’t miss out!
Experience the life-altering power of the human heart and have your heart touched and warmed in the process.
BOOK NOW
Digital Wellbeing: how to stay focused in an age of distraction
Digital Wellbeing is something we all grapple with, no matter whether you're a student or a parent. When it comes to screens, few of us are sitting in the driver's seat. Our term 3 Parent Education Program (PEP) talk is the pep talk we all need: how to stay focused in an age of distraction.
Our PEP talk presenter, Dr Joanne Orlando (PhD, MEd, BEd), is a leading international expert on how to create a healthy relationship with technology. Based on her ground-breaking research, Joanne speaks to communities about how to balance the 24/7 nature of technology without losing the many opportunities it provides. She believes we can live well and stay focused with technology even with the ever-present possibility of distraction. In this term 3 PEP Talk, she'll share with us some simple tips on how to reign in our digital habits and create a relationship with technology that doesn't tax our wellbeing.
Joanne is the creator of the digital literacy and wellbeing education program TechClever, which helps schools and parents to frame conversations around technology away from one that focuses on fear to one that focuses on creating healthy relationships with our devices. Her most recent book Life Mode On, was released worldwide in 2021.
BOOK TICKETSCONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE TERM 3 2022
The Student Conveyance Allowance only applies to students attending the Woodleigh Campus located at Langwarrin South and students attending the Penbank Campus located at Moorooduc.
The allowance allows families in regional areas to receive help with the cost of transporting their children to their nearest school or campus. The conveyance allowance is a contribution towards transport costs and is not intended to cover the full cost and is available to students travelling by public transport, private car and private bus.
Completed applications are due by Friday 12 August, 2022. For full details, see below.
The Victorian Minister for Education has amended the definition of the closest appropriate school/campus (Instrument of Specification). This may impact some of our families who have been unable to make a claim in the past or deemed ineligible.
Both Woodleigh School and Bayside Christian College are registered the same and classified as same type schools. Therefore, previously if you lived closer to Bayside Christian College you would have been deemed ineligible to receive the conveyance allowance. However, parents can now apply for consideration by providing a “signed letter” to the school why the closest school of the same denomination is not appropriate for their child. You must include your child’s name and demonstrate the below points:
- The student does not belong to, or associate with, the school’s particular religion, or engage in religious activity associated with the school’s religious doctrines; and
- The relevant school’s compulsorily requires its students to engage in religious activity associated with that religion or religious doctrines.
The Department of Education and Training will review individual applications on their merits. Please note that you must still meet the main criteria listed below.
Completed conveyance application forms must be signed by the parent or guardian (page 4) must and submitted to the School.
If you have previously submitted a form and there is no change to mode of transport or address details you are not required to complete a new form for 2022.
New forms must be completed for students attending the School for the first time or existing conveyance allowance claimants who have a change of circumstances affecting eligibility. For example:
- Moving residence or changing their mode of transport;
- Changing schools/campuses. Ie Penbank Campus to Senior Campus
The Department of Education and Training’s main criteria for student eligibility is:
- The School attended is the nearest appropriate school. (or attach a supporting letter as per above)
- The student resides more than 4.8kms from the school by the shortest practicable route.
- Students are of school age 5 – 18 years and enrolled at school for 3 or more days per week.
To apply for a conveyance allowance, parents are required to complete the appropriate forms.
- Travel by contract bus: “Conveyance Allowance Application – Private Bus Travel”
- Travel by myki bus: “Conveyance Allowance Application – Public Transport Travel". Must provide prove of purchase ie copy of receipt or ticket.
- Travel by car: “Conveyance Allowance Application – Private Car Travel” will need to be completed for each student, listing all students travelling in the nominated vehicle.
- Combined travel: Each appropriate form will need to be completed as above, e.g. drive further than 4.8km to catch public transport (Private Car/Public Transport).
Please note for Woodleigh Campus families: If you live within 4.8km of public transport (ie one of our myki buses) and choose to travel by private bus or car you will not be eligible to claim the conveyance allowance.
The School will lodge 4 claims a year (1 per Term) with the Department of Education and Training. The Department will reimburse the school and the allowance will be credited to your fee account in instalments. Completed applications need to be received by Friday 12 August, 2022 to be included in the claim.
- Contract Bus Reimbursement is determined on the basis of the shortest practicable route from the student’s residence to the school and not the actual distance travelled in the bus.
- Public Transport The cost of fares are fully refundable.
- Private Car Reimbursement is made on the basis of the one-way distance travelled per vehicle and the number of students in that vehicle. Payment is made to the family operating the vehicle.
If you have any queries please contact Robyn Kent on 5971 6100 or email rkent@woodleigh.vic.edu.au.
We have had a happy and settled start to the term in Early Learning! The children have returned from the holidays refreshed and excited to be back together as a group. We have enjoyed hearing about their holiday adventures and learning about their current interests as we develop our plans for the term ahead.
This term, we have introduced our new Unit of Inquiry: How The World Works
Our learning engagements and investigations for this unit will be hands-on, playful, and engaging! The focus will be on observing, experimenting, discovering, and learning about the world around us through active exploration.
We will be learning about:
- how we can manipulate materials for a purpose
- how forces can cause change
- how we can use our understandings to design and create
The children will be inquirers, thinkers and communicators as they encounter new materials, develop theories arising from their interests and design and create using a wide range of resources.
Concepts we will be exploring:
- Form – What is it like?
- Function – How does it work?
- Causation – Why is it as it is?
- Change – How is it transforming?
For our ELG 4 group, our early inquiries have centred on tornados. We have been developing theories about how they are created, their forces and their impact on the environment.
We have also been investigating different ways of using pipes, including creating waterways, tunnels and ramps.
Our ELG 3 children have also been exploring ramps in the block corner, using various materials to make the cars and trucks move. They have also shown great interest in using new tools such as staplers and hole punchers. This interest will be extended in the coming weeks as we create a tinkering area that will include magnets, tools and simple machines.
Teachers as researchers
Throughout this year, the Woodleigh Early Childhood team from Penbank and Minimbah Campuses have engaged in a collaborative action research project with early childhood consultant Kirsty Liljedren. Teachers and educators from both campuses have been meeting regularly to engage in professional learning workshops, critically reflect on our practice and share our documentation of the children’s learning.
Guiding Questions and Lines of Inquiry:
- What is the role of the teacher in relation to childrens' agency and assessment of learning?
- What is our image of the child? Exploring the role of the educator in supporting learner agency.
- What is worth documenting? Continuous assessment in the Early Years: exploring the content and ways we can make visible the children’s learning.
- How does documentation inform our pedagogy and practice? Exploring the monitoring, recording, and reporting of student learning.
- How can we work collaboratively with families? Making learning visible to children and families
As our research develops, you may notice changes to the information and documentation you receive about our program.
Current areas we are focusing on include:
- Exploring new ways of documenting – creating posters and displays, capturing the children’s thinking over several days, using titles and questions in our documentation
- Creating documentation that makes visible the children’s learning within the context of the group
- A more focused approach to our documentation. This will mean fewer 'snapshots' of the day and more detail about specific projects or inquiries.
- A “quality, not quantity” approach to sharing content on Seesaw – this will allow us to concentrate on relationships and engage in a more reflective approach to our teaching.
LISA COXON
Head of Early Childhood
The Head of Senior Campus, Nat McLennan, invites you to join her and the Principal, David Baker, for an introduction to Senior Campus life and a student-led tour of the Campus.
The transition from Minimbah and Penbank to the Senior Campus is a significant step in the lives of Woodleigh students and their families – one we hope to ease by building a sense of comfort and belonging prior to the start of Year 7.
Morning tea will be served before the tours, and while this event is intended for parents, not students, young children are more than welcome to attend with you.
We hope to see you at Senior Campus on August 4!
BOOK NOWThere's less than a month before opening night for our 2022 production of Almost, Maine, the first Woodleigh senior school production to make it to the stage in three years. This is a fantastic milestone and great example of what creative Woodleigh students can do. Students have written and arranged the music; created animations and projections; crafted the set and costumes, and will be running the show. Come along and show your support!
Almost, Maine is rated PG and suitable for the whole family. Seating is limited, so don’t miss out!
Experience the life-altering power of the human heart and have your heart touched and warmed in the process.
BOOK NOW
Digital Wellbeing is something we all grapple with, no matter whether you're a student or a parent. When it comes to screens, few of us are sitting in the driver's seat. Our term 3 Parent Education Program (PEP) talk is the pep talk we all need: how to stay focused in an age of distraction.
Our PEP talk presenter, Dr Joanne Orlando (PhD, MEd, BEd), is a leading international expert on how to create a healthy relationship with technology. Based on her ground-breaking research, Joanne speaks to communities about how to balance the 24/7 nature of technology without losing the many opportunities it provides. She believes we can live well and stay focused with technology even with the ever-present possibility of distraction. In this term 3 PEP Talk, she'll share with us some simple tips on how to reign in our digital habits and create a relationship with technology that doesn't tax our wellbeing.
Joanne is the creator of the digital literacy and wellbeing education program TechClever, which helps schools and parents to frame conversations around technology away from one that focuses on fear to one that focuses on creating healthy relationships with our devices. Her most recent book Life Mode On, was released worldwide in 2021.
BOOK TICKETSThe Student Conveyance Allowance only applies to students attending the Woodleigh Campus located at Langwarrin South and students attending the Penbank Campus located at Moorooduc.
The allowance allows families in regional areas to receive help with the cost of transporting their children to their nearest school or campus. The conveyance allowance is a contribution towards transport costs and is not intended to cover the full cost and is available to students travelling by public transport, private car and private bus.
Completed applications are due by Friday 12 August, 2022. For full details, see below.
The Victorian Minister for Education has amended the definition of the closest appropriate school/campus (Instrument of Specification). This may impact some of our families who have been unable to make a claim in the past or deemed ineligible.
Both Woodleigh School and Bayside Christian College are registered the same and classified as same type schools. Therefore, previously if you lived closer to Bayside Christian College you would have been deemed ineligible to receive the conveyance allowance. However, parents can now apply for consideration by providing a “signed letter” to the school why the closest school of the same denomination is not appropriate for their child. You must include your child’s name and demonstrate the below points:
- The student does not belong to, or associate with, the school’s particular religion, or engage in religious activity associated with the school’s religious doctrines; and
- The relevant school’s compulsorily requires its students to engage in religious activity associated with that religion or religious doctrines.
The Department of Education and Training will review individual applications on their merits. Please note that you must still meet the main criteria listed below.
Completed conveyance application forms must be signed by the parent or guardian (page 4) must and submitted to the School.
If you have previously submitted a form and there is no change to mode of transport or address details you are not required to complete a new form for 2022.
New forms must be completed for students attending the School for the first time or existing conveyance allowance claimants who have a change of circumstances affecting eligibility. For example:
- Moving residence or changing their mode of transport;
- Changing schools/campuses. Ie Penbank Campus to Senior Campus
The Department of Education and Training’s main criteria for student eligibility is:
- The School attended is the nearest appropriate school. (or attach a supporting letter as per above)
- The student resides more than 4.8kms from the school by the shortest practicable route.
- Students are of school age 5 – 18 years and enrolled at school for 3 or more days per week.
To apply for a conveyance allowance, parents are required to complete the appropriate forms.
- Travel by contract bus: “Conveyance Allowance Application – Private Bus Travel”
- Travel by myki bus: “Conveyance Allowance Application – Public Transport Travel". Must provide prove of purchase ie copy of receipt or ticket.
- Travel by car: “Conveyance Allowance Application – Private Car Travel” will need to be completed for each student, listing all students travelling in the nominated vehicle.
- Combined travel: Each appropriate form will need to be completed as above, e.g. drive further than 4.8km to catch public transport (Private Car/Public Transport).
Please note for Woodleigh Campus families: If you live within 4.8km of public transport (ie one of our myki buses) and choose to travel by private bus or car you will not be eligible to claim the conveyance allowance.
The School will lodge 4 claims a year (1 per Term) with the Department of Education and Training. The Department will reimburse the school and the allowance will be credited to your fee account in instalments. Completed applications need to be received by Friday 12 August, 2022 to be included in the claim.
- Contract Bus Reimbursement is determined on the basis of the shortest practicable route from the student’s residence to the school and not the actual distance travelled in the bus.
- Public Transport The cost of fares are fully refundable.
- Private Car Reimbursement is made on the basis of the one-way distance travelled per vehicle and the number of students in that vehicle. Payment is made to the family operating the vehicle.
If you have any queries please contact Robyn Kent on 5971 6100 or email rkent@woodleigh.vic.edu.au.