FINAL FAREWELL
Thank you to Lucy and Mikayla for making a 'Final Farewell' video for the class. It was a very thoughtful gesture and you were able to capture many of the great times we shared. Best of luck for 2015 and stay in touch.

- Lucy

Mikayla's video to come.

DEPARTURE TO HIGH SCHOOL
Years have passed and memories have paved their way through our lives, constantly processing moments of joy, sorrow, grief and excitement. An endless marathon of obstacles and checkpoints, we continue chasing a goal one after the other; now is the nearing of another. During our years in primary school the collection of fragments that time itself has nurtured will not be forgotten nor neglected but cherished to surge together to witness the future of tomorrow. Hope is the beginning of a new chapter; high school. Unease may shroud the light, however, this chapter is yours - so make it! New experiences, friends, opportunities are all waiting so patiently, many empty pages in a book are to be written; your story, your life.

- Elycia 

PRINCIPAL'S CHALLENGE

On Monday 8^th of December, 9am, Room 22 received the shocking news: Principal’s Challenge is on that week! The Forgetful (and young) Mr Petch has not given us the study guide last week, so this really will put us to the test! This is our final Principal’s Challenge of Wattle Grove so we must strive to make the best of it. Even though we have a very short amount of time, we are the PAC class and we should be able to do it! We have 100 words to study and important facts of Australia to learn including some of the history of the golden Kalgoorlie. Come on Room 22, we’ll go for that 110%

- Henry & Peng

DRLC PORTFOLIOS

Wattle Grove Primary offers a wide range of different academic extension and enrichment programs, one of them being the Darling Range Learning Community Citizenship Portfolio. During this program, students from the Kalamunda Shire (Including Wattle Grove, Woodlupine, Forrestfield, High Wycombe, Edney etc.), are encouraged to complete a portfolio regarding the contributions they’ve had to the school, at home and in the wider community. There are three sections in each portfolio; excellence, leadership and participation.

There are four placements in the citizenship portfolio: The certificate of commendation, excellence, distinction and the winner. Many students from our classroom were lucky enough to receive one of these placements. They’re listed below:

Lucy– The Citizenship award

Khaled– The Certificate if Distinction

Blake & Bella – The Certificate of Excellence

Amos, Henry, Mikayla, Elycia, Bianca & Alyssha – Certificate of Commendation

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this program. And thank you; teachers, staff and parents for advising students in creating their portfolios. Your support is well appreciated.

- Khaled

GRADUATION 
On Tuesday 2^nd December, we had our Year 6 and 7, 2014 Graduation Ceremony and Dance. This was an incredible evening where the graduating class presented their final farewells to all the teachers, staff and parents and thanked them for their support. Of course, it was an emotional night for many as it signified our growth and transition into High School.

Halfway through the night, on behalf of all students in our class, Henry presented a short speech about our time in PAC and of its opportunities. He really reached out and spoke from his heart and that is what had us all hooked. With speeches from all the teachers following, Mr Petch presented his own message and it really touched our hearts. After several speeches from past students, teachers and current student reflections, it was time for the awards to be handed out. The Year 7 award recipients were:

-Citizenship Award 2014: Lucy

-Sports Award 2014 (Awarded by D.R.S.C): Blake

-Academic Award 2014: Amos

-Excellence Award 2014: Blake

It was a fantastic and exciting night for all, especially when we all stood and sang our graduation song, Que Sera – by Justice Crew. With the choir joining in it really signified our time together and of our memories over countless years of primary school. Bianca had written and composed a lovely song ‘Memories’ that was sung by the school choir; a beautiful and fitting symbol of our time at primary school. However the saddest moment yet was singing the Wattle Grove school song for the final time. This was the song many grew up with while at W.G.P.S and is definitely a song that will stay in our minds for a long time.

As the ceremony began to draw to a close, the Year 6 and 7’s presented their final farewell speeches. I was lucky enough to have been a speaker of which we stated our final thanks to all our past and current teachers, Principal, P & C and most importantly, the graduating class of 2014. After the ceremony it was time to dance! The rest of the night was spent dancing, individual and partner, and just generally having a good time. It definitely was a memorable evening for all.

- Mikayla

GRADUATION AWARD 
Tuesday 2^nd December 2014: a most momentous night for all Wattle Grove Primary graduates, Year 6’s and 7’s, from all walks of life. The night of the Graduation: a once-in-a-lifetime event that lest any fellow shall miss.

One aspect of the Graduation was the receiving of the awards. Many an award was presented, for all kinds of virtues. Greatest respect to everyone who received a certificate; I believe they are truly deserving of their awards.

Congratulations to Blake, who received not one, but two, prestigious awards: the Award of Excellence, as well as the Sports Award. The Award of Excellence recognises high achievement, productiveness, and effort in all areas of learning, from arithmetic to the Arts. A most marvellous award for any scholar. The Sports Award recognises excellence and high achievement in the sporting field, commending the juiciest fruit of physical education. A great award for any athlete. Blake successfully fills the criteria for both awards, and, I feel, is truly deserving of much praise and high acclaim. Well done, Blake.

Congratulations to Lucy, who received the prestigious Citizenship Award, recognising outstanding citizenship: kindness, thoughtfulness, and the ability to give. Citizenship is sparing a thought for others, and putting others before oneself. Giving to receive the pride and joy of giving itself, which is rewarding enough. A grand award for any humanitarian, and Lucy has filled the criteria to receive it. Congratulations.

The Academic Award went to I, Amos, the writer of this article. This award recognises the pursuit of excellence in everything one attempts, as well as exceptionally high results in English, Mathematics, History and Science. It came as a pleasant surprise, as I was entirely not expecting myself to receive such an award. However, I am grateful all the same, and I sincerely appreciate this wonderful gift.

Congratulations once again to everyone who received an award on Graduation Night. I believe everyone shall be commended for what they are good at, and I hope that one day the world will see and recognise what every individual has to offer. After all, we’re all good at something…aren’t we?

-Amos

 

Getting Into the Christmas Spirit

As you may already know, this year our school participated in Christmas for the Troops, an event organised to send special Christmas packages over to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel working overseas. Students were asked to bring in items for the event and they were taken to Mrs Bennett, the school chaplain. Some of the items received included magazines, toiletries, tasty lollies and a whole lot of 2-minute noodles. On Thursday, Mrs Bennet asked me to help her make up the boxes. We sorted the items out into piles to put in the boxes. They had to weigh under 2kg and be able to fit into a small box. After lunch, Elycia and I wrote Christmas cards for the troops on behalf of all of the Yr 6 & 7 students. It was a fun activity, especially as we had the chance to call the class using the phones and explain what we were doing! The next day, Ethan (from Room 18) and I helped Mrs Bennett and Mr Meachem take the boxes down to the office of local parliament member for Hasluck, Ken Wyatt. Unfortunately, Ken was in Canberra at the time. We took some photos with the boxes and enjoyed a quick chat with the women working in the office. They were very kind and offered us lots of food, including chocolates and muffins! It was a great experience helping out with the Christmas for the Troops. I learnt a lot about where our donations were going and I thank everyone who donated. You have made someone’s Christmas a little bit happier.        - Lucy

SWIMMING
For the past two weeks, the school has been taking part in swimming lessons at Belmont Oasis. Room 22 has been going with several other classes. Every day we have been bustling onto a crowded bus and taking part in learning not only swimming, but also a variety of survival skills and life-saving techniques. Some of us might also have needed to memorise some theory about things such as safety around the beach and home. The only cost has been $3.60 per day for the bus ride to and from Belmont Oasis. We have had a lot of fun rescuing our friends, practising our diving and splashing the teacher. On the last day of lessons, many groups joined up and competed in relays or games. The instructors came equipped with water guns and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. By the end of the lesson some of the teachers found themselves more wet than they might have preferred. We all enjoyed participating in swimming lessons very much and were able to have fun while still learning new things.

- Bianca 

WA PRIMARY SCHOOL OF THE YEAR
We did it!

Thank you to the Wattle Grove School Community for helping the school achieve the coveted title of ‘WA Primary School of the Year.’ We are absolutely chuffed. Wattle Grove was recognised for its push towards academic excellence. A special ‘thank you’ to the parents and children of Room 22 for your support and commitment towards the academic class and gifted and talented education. 
On Monday 1^st December, our Principal Ms Roberts and some members of the staff attended a ceremony held at the Crown Function Centre in Burswood. The event’s purpose was to celebrate the winning WA’s Primary School of the Year and many other incredible awards.

A few weeks before this event, our school, Wattle Grove Primary was nominated in the Top 4 Best Primary Schools in WA. This was a fantastic achievement and privilege to be in the running for such an impressive award. Eventually, the winners were announced and it was nerve-racking hoping we would be called out.  After a long wait, the results were announced and our school had achieved the great honour of receiving the title of ‘WA School of the Year’ and accepting this wonderful achievement.

The staff and students were all ecstatic by the thought of receiving this amazing award, we would like to thank everyone in the school who contributed to the making W.G.P.S. the School of the Year.

Well Done Wattle Grove Primary School!

-Rachelle and Alyssha

A MIDSUMMER'S DAY DREAM
Did you know…?
That Shakespeare never knew how to spell his name?
That Hamlet is just over 4 hours long?
That Shakespeare’s grave is cursed?

These, along with a couple of other weird and wonderful facts about the master playwright, were dug up from the old archives of Weird Obscure Internet Facts for my presentation on Shakespeare for the year 3’s of Room 23, who have been learning about Shakespeare in class and were very interested in my presentation. They listened with rapt attention as I explained what happened to him between the years of 1585 and 1592, why people thought he was a fake and what the curse on his tomb says (Shakespeare wrote it himself!) After the presentation was done, I answered numerous questions about my presentation- about 75% of them were about the curse! Overall, it was a very rewarding experience, getting to teach another class about something that I am extremely passionate about. Thank you to Room 23 for being wonderful students that showed a lot of interest in my presentation- it was wonderful to see!

- Bella

THANK YOU MISS HEYDON
On Week 6 of Term 4, Miss Heydon, our prac teacher departed from Room 22 and Wattle Grove Primary so that she could continue her studies at university to become a teacher next year. Her time in Room 22 will not be forgotten, as we had many laughs with Miss Heydon. She will be dearly missed in the PAC class as she has taught us many things. This included how to write explanations, how to make ooblek as well as how to find an area of a circle. We made slimy ooblek. The messy corn starch and water made our hands become sticky; add some food colouring and you have 23 students and two teachers with coloured and messy hands. During this experiment we learnt that this substance is known as a Non-Newtonian Liquid. A Non-Newtonian liquid is a liquid that does not follow the constant viscosity of other liquids, meaning that it does not follow the constant flow of other liquids. We also found out that science and maths are incorporated with each other. Miss Heydon taught us about statistics and probability in maths by playing a game. We also learnt about measures of centre and spread. The centre is the mean, mode and median and the spread is the range. You’ll be missed Miss Heydon. Thank you for everything.

-Alyssha and Shahana

HILLS CHRISTMAS APPEAL
It’s that time of the year again, and Christmas spirit is running high as many families are organising get-togethers, putting up the tree, hanging decorations and belting out Christmas carols at the tops of their voices (a major pain in the neck for neighbours who are trying to organise a quiet Christmas.) As well as all the general excitement and racket, there is also one more thing to look forward to- presents! However, many families cannot afford to have Santa visit their homes this year. Some of them are very short on money, others have spent everything paying their child’s school fees, and others are just unable to accommodate the sheer amount of people they have to buy presents for. To help these families find happiness in their Christmas endeavours, several churches and schools in the Hills region have started up the Hills Christmas Appeal - a donation event where everyday people donate items such as food, clothes, toys and gifts for others who have less than us. Our school, as part of our Wattle Grove Way, has decided to comply with our school motto and ‘Give To Receive’ this Christmas. May we all celebrate the Christmas season by giving, and in turn, receiving the joy of helping others have a fun and enjoyable time.

-Bella