Dear Waddington Families,
It is hard to believe we are already heading into the second half of Term 3! There has been so much happening across Waddington over the past few weeks, and it has been wonderful to see our students enjoying such a wide range of learning experiences and opportunities.
Last week was particularly busy, with School Photos, our Peter Cheong author visit, the Australian Dental Foundation, National Science Week activities, our Room 4 Assembly and the commencement of our free after-school WA Football program. Our students continue to impress us with the enthusiasm they bring to new experiences and the way they represent our school.
This week we are also very excited to welcome our newest little learners as Ready Set Kindy begins. This program provides our future Kindy students with an opportunity to become familiar with Waddington, meet staff and other children, and begin developing that all-important sense of belonging before they start school. We look forward to getting to know our new families over the coming weeks.
There is certainly no slowing down as we move towards the end of term! Families can look forward to our P&C Father’s Day Stall on Tuesday 1 September, our Family Afternoon Tea on Wednesday 2 September, and Book Week Dress Up Day on Thursday 3 September. Our Book Week theme this year is A Symphony of Stories, and we can’t wait to see the creative characters that arrive at school! Please also remember that Friday 4 September is a School Development Day and students do not attend school.
Later in the term we will come together for our Waddington Faction Carnival on Friday 11 September, followed by more special events including our Student Leader Assembly, Book Fair, Interschool Athletics, the Year 3–6 Walk of the Whales excursion and our end-of-term Perth Zoo excursion.
One of the things I value most about Waddington is the strong sense of community that surrounds our children. Whether families are attending an afternoon tea, helping with a P&C event, cheering at the Faction Carnival, encouraging children to participate in an after-school program or simply getting them through the gate each morning ready to learn, every contribution matters.
Thank you, as always, for working alongside us. We are looking forward to a wonderful and very busy remainder of Term 3!
Warm wishes,
Ms Katherine Chivers
Principal
From the Administration Team
Term Planner
Please see below important information for Term 3 2026. These are subject to change so please keep up-to-date by checking the school website calendar regularly.
Important Dates
24 August 2026 – Newsletter 8 published
24 August 2026 – Ready! Set! Kindy! – 9am – 11am
24 August 2026 – WA Football after school program 3.10pm – 4.10pm
25 August 2026 – Ngala Toileting and Sleep Parent Session (1pm – 2.30pm)
26 August 2026 – School Board Meeting 9am
31 August 2026 – Ready! Set! Kindy! – 9am – 11am
31 August 2026 – WA Football after school program 3.10pm – 4.10pm
1 September 2026 – P&C Father’s Day Stall (all students)
2 September 2026 – Family Afternoon Tea
3 September 2026 – Book Week Dress up day
3 September 2026 – P&C Popcorn Day (free for all students!)
4 September 2026 – Staff Development Day (students do not attend)
7 September 2026 – Ready! Set! Kindy! – 9am – 11am
7 September 2026 – Jumps & Throws Carnival
7 September 2026 – WA Football after school program 3.10pm – 4.10pm
10 September 2026 – R U OK Day
11 September 2026 – Athletics Faction Carnival
14 September 2026 – Newsletter 9 published
14 September 2026 – Ready! Set! Kindy! – 9am – 11am
14 September 2026 – WA Football after school program 3.10pm – 4.10pm
16 September 2026 – Assembly – Student Leaders
16 – 18 September 2026 – NAIDOC Celebrations
18 September 2026 – Meredith Hammat Opening EC Space 2.30pm
21 September 2026 – Ready! Set! Kindy! – 9am – 11am
21 September 2026 – WA Football after school program 3.10pm – 4.10pm
21 -23 September 2026 – Book Fair 3pm – 3.30pm
22 September 2026 – Interschool Athletics Carnival (Balga PS – selected students)
23 September 2026 – Walk of the Whales – Subiaco Arts Centre (Year 3 – 6 students)
25 September 2026 – Perth Zoo Excursion (PP to Year 6 students)
25 September 2026 – Term 3 2026 ends for staff and students
12 October 2026 – Term 4 2026 commences for staff and students
Author/Illustrator Visit
Our Room 5 & 8 students thoroughly enjoyed meeting award-winning author/illustrator Peter Cheong! Peter read his book Every Night at Midnight and then presented a guided drawing session. Peter grew up in Perth and attended Rossmoyne SHS. Our students and staff all enjoyed the session to kick off our Book Week celebrations. Thank you to the Girrawheen Library for arranging the visit for us.
Lotterywest Healthways Grant
Waddington PS has secured a grant to support our project Learning Outside. This project aligns with Education Department and school priorities to promote active living, wellbeing and connection to place. We will be incorporating resources and activities from Nature Play and Your Move initiatives.
Home Challenge
Each newsletter we will be issuing a home challenge for children to complete with their families to earn a prize. Our first challenge is a Scavenger Hunt! Your child will be bringing home a sheet to record their hunt today. Every child who returns their completed sheet to Mrs Fairhead by Monday, August 31st, will receive a bubble blowing kit.
What is Nature Play?
Nature Play – Simple, Fun and Important
Nature play is simply playing outdoors with time and space for children to explore, create and use their imagination. It might be digging in the dirt, collecting leaves, building a cubby, climbing, balancing or inventing a game with sticks and stones.
The best part? Nature play does not need expensive equipment or a planned activity. Children can lead the play, make their own choices and discover things for themselves.
Nature play can happen almost anywhere – in the backyard, at a local park, on a bushwalk or even at school.
This week, try: Give your child 20 minutes outdoors with no planned activity. Let them decide what to do!
Ready! Set! Kindy!
Our Pre-Kindy program commenced today! Please see the letter below for further information. A registration form is available at the front office for parents who would like to join this wonderful program.
Attendance – Everyday counts!
Why It’s Important to Be On Time for School
Being on time is a key skill that helps students succeed both in school and in life.
Why is being on time so important?
- More Learning Time: When students arrive on time, they don’t miss out on important lessons and activities. Every minute counts and being there from the start helps them fully participate in the day’s learning.
- Fewer Disruptions: Late arrivals can interrupt the class. When everyone is on time, the day starts smoothly and everyone benefits.
- Builds Responsibility: Being punctual helps students learn to be responsible and manage their time well. These skills are important for their future.
- Better Academic Performance: Regular attendance and being on time are linked to better grades. Students who are punctual are more likely to be active in class and do well in their studies.
- Shows Respect: Being on time shows respect for teachers, classmates, and the school community. It shows a commitment to learning and the importance of education.
We know mornings can be tough, but with a bit of planning, we can make sure our students start their day right. Let’s make being on time a priority and help our students succeed!
PLEASE NOTE: Students who arrive after 9.55am miss more than half of the morning lessons. This will be marked as an unauthorised absence and will need an explanation.
Room 8 (Mookaroo Class) – Budding chefs and more!
Room 4 have started Term 3 rested and ready to learn!
The Mookaroo class has had a great start to the term. In English, the students have begun reading the novel “The Iron Man”, and the entire class are enjoying learning all about Iron. We are also learning how to take notes when reading texts or watching informative programs, including using some shorthand. This makes writing reports much easier and is a skill that they will find very useful all through high school and beyond.
We have two pre-service teachers in Room 8 for two weeks, Miss Chloe and Mr Kanjur. While they are learning lots about our classroom, they are also a valuable couple of pairs of extra hands that are helping us to complete lots of fun activities.
We have been learning about food production in Design and Technologies and students have discovered how corn tortillas are made and how honey is produced. To conclude these lessons, the students made corn tortilla chips and honey joys, then had the opportunity to eat them. Some students were heard exclaiming “Best lesson ever” after eating their honey joy. We will now start to learn about some of the careers relating to food production.
Wednesday was an exciting day, when Room 8 joined with Room 4 for an incursion from the Malaga Fire Station. Students learnt about fire safety, saw a firefighter dress in all his safety gear, and had the opportunity to man the fire hose, and they were all very accurate with their aim.
Last week was science week, and the entire school made their own paper which contains some paper daisy seeds. This paper can be planted in a small amount of soil and it will grow some lovely flowers. They also had the chance to enter a competition where they matched the seed to the plant they came from. Congratulations to Tong and Emma, who won seed planters with a watering can and gardening gloves.
To help improve our fine motor skills, the Mookaroo class have been completing some weaving activities. The small bags they are making are very cute and will be perfect for storing small items or even a mobile phone. A few students have even started making a second bag.
Last Monday, Room 8 joined with Room 5 for a meet the author event in the school library organized through the Girrawheen Public Library, where students met author and illustrator Peter Cheong and had the opportunity to complete some guided drawings with him and ask lots of questions.
We have had a very busy term and are looking forward to several more interesting activities in the coming weeks.
Mrs Cahill, Miss Swaine and Ms Chodaman
Community Notices
Roseworth Child and Parent Centre
Please see below some important information from Roseworth CPC and the timetable for term 3 2026 parent sessions.
Calling families with experience of autism or development delay
The Department of Communities, Thriving Kids team has partnered with Kiind and the Youth Disability Advocacy Network (YDAN) to engage with families and young people, who have experience living with developmental delay and/or autism.
Understanding the needs and priorities of WA families will help shape the future of Thriving Kids in WA, which is set to roll-out from October until January 2028.
If you or someone you know can share their experiences of accessing supports and services, please register your interest with Kiind or email info@kiind.com.au.
You can also register your interest with YDAN or contact Keeley via email keeley@ydan.com.au or call 0403 938 161 to find out more.
Ngala Toileting and Sleep Parent Session
Cheryl Marriot, Consult Practitioner from Parent Connect at Ngala, will be running a parent information session at Waddington Primary School on Tuesday, August 25th from 1 – 2.30pm. This free session is available for all Waddington Parents who would like advice on how to support their young children with toilet training and/or sleep routines. Please RSVP for catering to our office staff or call (08) 9462 9500. Interpreters available on request.
VacSwim lessons – October 2026 and 2026/2027 Summer School Holidays
Please see the flyer below if you are interested in enrolling your child in the above programs.
Enrolments for the October program closes on 19 August and for the summer school holidays, 14 October.
