Teacher Aide

Wangala Primary School is a small school nestled in the suburb of Belmont, approximately three kilometres from the centre of Geelong.  With a current enrolment of  83 students, there are four classrooms consisting of two P/1, 2/3/4, and 5/6.  The school moved onto new grounds located on Kidman Avenue at the beginning of 2021, taking possession of two new buildings located on the previous Oberon High School oval, offering state of the art facilities and ample room to grow our community.  The existing Oberon High School gymnasium was refurbished with the school taking possession of this in 2022.  With abundant grounds, the students have space to move and play, with new outdoor facilities installed as part of the move. The staffing profile of Wangala Primary School includes the Principal, four full time equivalent (FTE) teachers, five part time Education Support (ES) staff, a part-time Business Manager and a part-time Office Manager. The school also has a Wellbeing Officer who works part time. Art, Music, STEAM and PE are offered across the year with specialist teachers, and an Inclusion Teacher is employed two days per week. The chosen  language at Wangala Primary School is AUSLAN with students and staff learning alongside each other. Wangala Primary School also hosts an outpost of the `Geelong English Language Centre¿ who educate primary aged students who are newly arrived in Australia, who operate out of their own portable building onsite.

Wangala Primary School¿s vision is underpinned by its values, being caring, respectful, community minded, and future focused. We value the extension of each student¿s individual potential by encouraging, recognising, and rewarding effort and achievement. We provide educational programs that support the development of the whole child ¿ social, emotional, developmental and academic needs. We encourage students to achieve their personal best and to become respectful, responsible and safe citizens within society.  Our values have been embedded in student learning and form the basis for our school curriculum and culture. School Wide Positive Behaviour Supports are implemented and all staff are Berry Street Education Model trained, to best help our students thrive. Our students participate in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program.  This opportunity offers students the chance to engage in unique real-life literacy and numeracy experiences, while fostering a pleasurable food experience.

Staff are committed to working in a team to best achieve improved student and teacher learning. We work in a `Professional Learning Community¿ (PLC) to improve our teaching and learning programs, in a whole school approach.

The school values student learning and strives to ensure students have meaningful goals, targeted teaching and learning programs that recognise individual student needs. Our students are provided with opportunities to grow as sustainable citizens, and with a new site, have developed a new vegetable garden and sustainable practices, capitalising on student voice opportunities.  The school has a high level of community involvement which complements the learning environment and these link our students¿ engagement through many varied programs such as our breakfast program, weekly classroom reading, library support and outdoor maintenance.

Wangala Primary School is proud of its local Wadawurrung name, meaning to `make right¿ or `make good¿, and strive to achieve graduates who are the best versions of themselves.  Indigenous culture and perspectives are spread through all that we do at Wangala Primary School including in the naming of our buildings, and our newly established house system.