2 December 2025

It’s hard to believe there’s only 3 weeks to go!

So many things happening……….

We may be heading towards the end of the year but things are certainly as busy as ever at Woonona Public School!

On Thursday 20 November a group of Stage 2 and Stage 3 students went across to the high school to participate in the Arithmechamps competition. This mathematics competition involved students from a range of local schools and we came away with 2 trophies, claiming both the Stage 2 competition AND the Stage 3 competition. Whilst it’s not all about winning, the sheer delight and excitement the students experienced running back into the school grounds and coming straight to my office to share their success stories sure was a memorable moment. They lofted the trophies with such pride and told me all about their victory, with huge smiles to match! It might not be all about winning, but it sure is a good feeling! Special thanks to Mr McMullen and Mrs McLerie for organising our participation in this event and to Mr Samuel for accompanying our students on the day.

Once again, another example of Woonona PS showing their support and wonderful sense of community spirit for our annual food drive, held on Friday 21 November. Organised by our SRC, the annual Food Drive supports Bellambi Neighbourhood Centre. Whilst families were only asked to donate a pantry item, many families choose to send in multiple items, even bags full of items. The support and generosity of our school community was greatly appreciated by all involved.

Link to FB video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19zg6Nx5k7/

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful P&C this year. We all enjoyed a lovely meal at the Headlands Hotel last Wednesday evening. It was a fitting way to end the year. The P&C have been wonderful to work with this year, being extremely generous with their time and always accommodating and considerate to the school and staff requests. I can genuinely say it is a true partnership where shared interests and goals are genuine and all about the students. Thank you, P&C members, for a wonderful year, I look forward to working with you all again next year on some exciting new projects!

More exciting things coming up…….

This time of year is the most exciting and busiest for our Year 6 teachers and students. It’s all coming to an end! Today saw our Year 6 students attend their final orientation day, which was a statewide orientation day. Our Year 6 students also have Jamberoo to look forward to this Thursday 4 December.

Next Wednesday 10 December sees our greatly anticipated K-2 Christmas showcase. Families of

K-2 students are warmly invited to attend. Details for this event have already been sent out.

Our annual Presentation Day assembly will be held on Tuesday 16 December. Families of those students receiving an award should receive a letter in the mail soon. It’s a time when we like to recognise those who have not only achieved great things, but for those who have experienced great personal growth, in a range of areas. Whilst receiving an award publicly is often considered a great honour, it is the sense of pride and intrinsic motivation that is of most value.

A reminder that reports will be published on Wednesday 17 December. They are accessible via the Sentral Parent Portal. Please ensure that you have access and your details are correct to guarantee access to your child/ren’s report. If you would like a printed copy, please email the school or call the office and this can be arranged.

Special thanks to Mrs Ney who is once again organising our Talent Showcase in the last week. This is a student only event and is a definite highlight and great way for our students to end the year. I’m sure many families are experiencing the ‘rehearsing’ phase at home as we speak!

As we approach the end of the year we are busily trying to prepare for 2026. If you are perhaps moving house or to a new area could you please let the office know, as this greatly assists us when trying to plan for definite student numbers and organising classes etc. It’s also a timely reminder to ensure home addresses and family emails are correct, as we approach that time of year when reports etc will be being shared. Thank you in advance for keeping us updated, it is a huge help.

And lastly, the last day of the school year for both students and teachers is Friday 19 December. Hard to believe we are only 3 weeks away from that day!

Woonona sure is a busy place and has something happening for everyone, right up to the last day!

Ms Alison Strinic

Relieving Principal

We are incredibly proud of the two students, Lillian and Zachary, who attended the CoS Public Speaking Showcase on behalf of Woonona Public School. Their poise, clarity and confidence on stage were outstanding. They represented our school with pride and should be commended for their wonderful effort.

Today we held our ‘Come and Try Day’ in which students visited or had students visit their classroom to get a taste of what 2026 may be like.

A new school year can bring much excitement but also some nerves around the unknown and changes to routine. Last years ‘Come and Try Day’ proved very successful and we received a high level of positive feedback from students and parents in regards to setting students up for a smooth transition to a new school year.

Our Kinder students visited Year One classrooms and explored what might be the same in Year One and what might be different.

Our Year One students visited Year Two classrooms whilst Year Two made the exciting trip to the Stage Two classrooms, where the current Year Three students showed them the ropes. They also got a trial run of eating lunch and playing in the COLA in preparation for next year.

Year Four made the pilgrimage to Stage Three classrooms and joined in with Year Five students, who enjoyed stepping up and being the leaders of the school whilst Year Six students were off at High School for the day.

There were many happy and reassured faces as students ate lunch together and made some new friends and met some different teachers.

Please note that the day is an opportunity for students to get a ‘taste’ of what their 2026 class may be like. It does not mean that your child will be with the teacher and class they visited nor the students in the class. Much is still yet to be worked through in regards to teaching staff for 2026 and student placements.

Student Feedback

I am looking forward to….

“Being able to always play on the Flat when I am in Year 1” - Alix KB

“To not being the smallest anymore when we are in Year 1” - Mia KG

“Doing more challenging things in Year 1” - Omar KB

“Doing more maths when I am in Year 2” - Sailor 1B

“Having a different classroom next year” - Jacob 1B

“Sitting at our desks more when I am in Year 3” - Levi 2L

I enjoyed…

“Meeting and being with new friends” - Hendrix 3-4B

“Trying new games” - Zach 3-4S

“Learning all about camp and Stage Three” - Elsie 3-4N

“Trying new things in the Stage 3 classroom” - Amelia 3--4N

What a busy year we have had in the Library. Students will have their final library lesson for the year this week with the Library closed for the rest of the term for stock-take. I have loved having the opportunity to share my love of reading with students this year and it has been very satisfying to see an increase in students visiting the Library, borrowing and engagement with reading texts. I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and healthy 2026.

Issue 8 Book Club orders have closed. These orders should arrive in the next week and will be sorted and delivered to students as soon as they arrive. Thank you for supporting Book Club this year, we have been able to purchase additional library resources with the reward points we earned from this program. Thank you also to Claire Irwin for coordinating this program again this year, without your help organising this each term we would not be able to run it.

The Library will be closed for the rest of the term for stock-take. Overdue notices will be sent out this week, and an additional reminder will be sent out next week. Please take the time to help your child locate and return their books this week.

If you received an overdue loan notice and the book is lost, please let us know so it can be wiped from our system. Notices will also list the book price which parents can pay to the office for purchase of a replacement copy. If you receive an overdue notice and the book has already been paid for previously or has already been returned, please send the slip back in with this noted down. Our library computer system will automatically create notices for any overdue books from this year as part of the end of year stock-take process. Thank you to those students who have already returned books or notified me about lost books.

Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.

Mrs Carroll

Librarian

Uniform orders are filled weekly by P&C volunteers.

School hats/caps are available to purchase from the front Office, cash payments only.

Further information on ordering uniforms can be found on the school website.

Please be aware that there are students in our school with allergies to nuts. We ask that you give consideration to voluntarily agreeing not to send nut products, in particular peanuts and peanut butter to school.

••• Bellambi Neighbourhood Centre Initiatives •••

• 7:45–8:30am each weekday during the school term: All students from pre-school to Year 12 are welcome to come grab brekky, recess and lunch. 🥪🍊🍏🍌🍐🍿🧃

• Tuesdays: Playgroup run by Big Fat Smile from 10am–12pm, bingo from 11am, and a community lunch at 12pm with dessert and coffee included. There’s also an after-school Fun Active Program run by Healthy Cities Australia for 8–12 year olds.

• Wednesdays: Ready, Steady, Cook! Free cooking sessions for 12–15 year olds, 3–4:30pm.

• School holidays: Programs run throughout the holidays. This year they’ve had silent discos, a meet-and-greet with Hawks players while learning new skills, and programs focused on growing your own veggies.

BNC runs many more programs throughout the year. Keep an eye on their Facebook page to stay up to date! If you’re interested in any of their programs, please head to their website and shoot them an email. 😊

Bellambi Website: https://www.bellambinc.org.au/