Wantirna Primary School

"some kid called anthony attacked students (choking, throwing things, hitting) including me and yk what the principle did? told him to apologise and then moved on, im sorry but what?????"

"Having looked at different schools in our area, Wantirna Primary was always at the top of our list. Sue made us all feel part of the school community from our first visit where the students are at the centre of everything they do. This was in stark contrast to another school whose principal openly mentioned they ‘run it like a business’. They say it all starts from the top so after getting to know Sue, we knew the kids were genuinely happy as we walked around and saw the classrooms. After just 1 year at Wantirna we have noticed our son change from a timid/introvert into a confident outgoing kid who will with confidence happily interact with other children from all grades and teachers. We were concerned how he would cope with all the new faces, schedules and learning new things each day but they were erased early on with his eagerness to go to school each day. A lower number of students creates a close community where everyone feels welcomed and can learn in a supportive environment which encourages each student to reach their full potential. If you’re looking for a school to start your child’s journey or wanting a change, please come down and take a tour. Simply put we could not recommend Wantirna Primary School highly enough."

"We were thorough in our research to find the right school for our daughter. We started touring schools 18 months before she was due to start. We tried not to have a preference when we did the tours, and wanted to see how our daughter would respond to each environment. When we toured Wantirna Primary we were impressed by the facilities, the teaching staff, the Principal, and most of all the interactions with the students. While walking the grounds with the Principal, Sue Fergeus, the students were in a PE class on the basketball courts and a ball came towards us, when my husband picked it up and threw it back, the young student confidently said “thanks Sir” it was genuine, unprompted and honest. It truly reflected the values Sue had just been explaining to us. We were so impressed with Sue’s knowledge of and connection with each and every student, you don’t get that at a larger school. Sue was quick to point out her staffs achievements and whole school approach to education… it really does take a village to raise a child. We could see the happiness in the spirit of the students, we were really encouraged by the genuine community feel the school has, it really reminded us of our own Primary experiences where you feel like you know the whole school community. We viewed each class level and the engagement at all class levels was impressive. Most importantly our daughter loved the environment, she asked us to take her back to Wantirna Primary so often after the tour it really was her excitement that helped us with our decision. For a smaller school the quality of their facilities are outstanding, 3 fantastic modern playground areas, a great library facility, the Junior Learning unit is bright and functional with new equipment and the School has undergone great building improvements in the past year. There are some great initiatives and we were really impressed that the assemblies were totally run by the students, building their public speaking and leadership skills. We did tour the other schools in the area, some of which have great academic “reputations”, although impressed with some facilities, the feel of those schools weren’t the true “community spirit” we wanted to instil in our daughter. We weighed up our options, and like all parents we only want to give our child the best education and start to her schooling years possible. The choices in the area are great but we couldn’t go past the culture that has been created at Wantirna Primary, they really do live their CARE values. Our daughter was confident throughout the transition days, the teaching staff from all years all engaged with the transition kids so well that by the time the term started the “Foundies” were already confident and got off to a great start. We have been blown away by how fast she has developed in this first year at Wantirna Primary, academically we couldn’t be happier and she absolutely loves school and loves the teachers. She is already talking about how excited she is to be in grade one next year and have a new group of “Foundies” so she can help them learn! This year as a family we have really enjoyed being involved in the school community, from the inquiry learning expos, volunteering at the Bunnings Sausage sizzle, to baking for the cake stall, enjoying the twilight sports night and forming great new friendship with parents of kids from all year levels. We firmly believe you will be happy enrolling your child at Wantirna Primary and look forward to meeting you in our school community."

"I give 4 stars as there is always room for improvement in everything in life. This is a honest school as the principal puts it and it is honest. There is no "show" put on when you go on tour or any other time. If you've looked around at schools you will find everyone of them has resilience, respect........ this school actually proactively does teach these to the kid's not just say them. We've been at another school that says all this yet fails big time in on not being proactive with bullies they have policies ke they all do, THIS SCHOOL IS PROACTIVE, INSTANTLY WITH BULLIES!! A child who has been bullied will be shocked how real kid's play, how they don't have to be on gaurd and to gain confidence in teachers who actually proactively provide consequences to situations. Ther can always be conflict amongst students from time to time yet to be amongst students who truely are just kid's being kid's is a great find. Every tteacher acts instantly when something happens and instantly consequences are in placed not just sent to the office. This is a REAL COMMUNITY in a school, all families are welcoming. The students are proactively invovled in running the school, the assembly is actually run by the students, the principal is in background to provide assistance (rarely needed) and is given a few minutes at the end to talk. Students in all classes as a whole are given opportunity's to showcase their work to all parents in ways of expo etc. The excursions are actual life based and taught in class as well not just the big ticket sovereign hill trips. It's fantastic to hear your child relate this back in home life and normal living. The maintenance of the buildings and grounds are continuous as in any school yet it's really nice to see students safety comes first and these are actually being done not like previous school which is about show and only what principal wanted done for his ego. We first said no when looking because of being on a highway (there is other paking), hadn't done a tour, yet we wished we had done this tour and we probably would have prevented the hardship our child went through from previous school. Having a large art room isn't everything getting the kid's to think out of the square IS!"

"We care about the school if treating students as individuals, no as factory-made widgets. If the school may have limited resource or facility, could we just blame the teachers/school or thinking positively the school not good? My kids are in this school. They are happy, polite, confident and full of creativity. And we also have a suppotive and friendly community. We believe this school has all essential can meet a public school needs. Let's face to what the school provide actual learning to the kids instead of supplies. All outstanding elitists are born to be unique and found their gifts. This is what we think the education a small school can do."